Zadar vs Alausí

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Zadar (US: ZAH-dar, Croatian: [zâdar] (listen); see also other names) is the oldest continuously-inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serves as the seat of Zadar County and of the wider northern Dalmatian region. The city proper covers 25 km2 (9.7 sq mi) with a population of 75,082 in 2011, making it the second-largest city of the region of Dalmatia and the fifth-largest city in the country. The area of present-day Zadar traces its earliest evidence of human life from the late Stone Age, while numerous settlements date as early as the Neolithic. Before the Illyrians, an ancient Mediterranean people of an Indo-European culture inhabited the area. Zadar traces its origin to its 9th-century BC founding as a settlement of the Illyrian tribe of Liburnians known as Iader. In 59 BC it was renamed Iadera when it became a Roman municipium. In 48 BC it became a Roman colonia. During Roman rule Zadar acquired the characteristics of a traditional Ancient Roman city with a regular road network, a public square (forum), and an elevated capitolium with a temple. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and the destruction of Salona by the Avars and Croats in 614, Zadar became the capital of the Byzantine theme of Dalmatia. In the beginning of the 9th century, Zadar came briefly under Frankish rule, but the Pax Nicephori returned it to the Byzantines in 812. The first Croatian rulers gained brief control over the city in 10th century. In 998 Zadar swore allegiance to Doge Pietro Orseolo II and became a vassal of the Republic of Venice. In 1186 it placed itself under the protection of Béla III, King of Hungary and Croatia. In 1202 the Venetians, with the help of Crusaders, reconquered and sacked Zadar. Hungary regained control over the city in 1358, when it was given to king Louis I of Hungary. In 1409 king Ladislaus I sold Zadar to the Venetians. When the Ottoman Empire conquered the Zadar hinterland at the beginning of the 16th century, the town became an important stronghold, ensuring Venetian trade in the Adriatic, the administrative center of the Venetian territories in Dalmatia and a cultural center. This fostered an environment in which arts and literature could flourish, and between the 15th and 17th centuries Zadar came under the influence of the Renaissance, giving rise to many important Italian Renaissance figures like Giorgio Ventura and Giovanni Francesco Fortunio, who wrote the first Italian grammar book, and many Croatian writers, such as Petar Zoranić, Brne Krnarutić, Juraj Baraković and Šime Budinić, who wrote in the Croatian language.

After the fall of Venice in 1797, Zadar came under the Austrian rule until 1918, except for the period of short-term French rule (1805–1813), still remaining the capital of Dalmatia. During French rule the first newspaper in the Croatian language, Il Regio Dalmata – Kraglski Dalmatin, was published in Zadar (1806–1810). During the 19th century Zadar functioned as a center of the Croatian movement for cultural and national revival in a context of increasing polarization and politicization of ethnic identities between Croats and Dalmatian Italians. With the 1920 Treaty of Rapallo Zadar was given to the Kingdom of Italy. During World War II, it was bombed by the Allies and witnessed the evacuation of ethnic Italians. Partisans captured the city on 1 November 1944; in 1947 it officially became part of SR Croatia, a federal constituent of the SFR Yugoslavia, whose armed forces defended it in October 1991 from the Serb forces who aimed to capture it. Today, Zadar is a historical center of Dalmatia, Zadar County's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, educational, and transportation centre. Zadar is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zadar. Because of its rich heritage, Zadar is today one of the most popular Croatian tourist destinations, named "entertainment center of the Adriatic" by The Times and "Croatia's new capital of cool" by The Guardian. In 2016 the Belgian portal Europe's Best Destinations.com named Zadar the "Best European Destination" after a three-week period of online voting involving more than 288,000 votes.UNESCO's World Heritage Site list included the fortified city of Zadar as part of Venetian Works of Defence between 15th and 17th centuries: Stato da Terra – western Stato da Mar in 2017.

Source: Wikipedia

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Lithuania (listen); Lithuanian pronunciation: Lietuva [ljIetU’va]), officially known as the Republic of Lithuania (Lithuanian Lietuvos Respublika), can be found in the Baltic region of Europe. It is located on the east shore of the Baltic Sea and is one of the three Baltic States. Lithuania shares land borders to the west with Latvia, Belarus, Poland, and Kaliningrad Oblast in Russia. Lithuania has a total area of 65,300km2 (25,200 sq mi) and a population of approximately 2.8 million. Vilnius is the capital and largest city. Klaipeda and Kaunas are other important cities. Lithuanians are part of the ethno-linguistic group known as the Balts. They speak Lithuanian, which is one of very few Baltic languages. For millennia, various Baltic tribes inhabited the Baltic Sea's southeastern shores. Mindaugas, a Lithuanian nobleman, united the lands of Lithuania in the 1230s and founded the Kingdom of Lithuania 6 July 1253. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which was Europe's largest country, was founded in the 14th century. Today, Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine are all part of the Grand Duchy. With the marriage of Hedwig, a Polish queen, and Jogaila of Lithuania's Grand Duke Jogaila of Lithuania in 1386, the Crown of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania formed a de facto personal union. Jogaila was crowned King jure-uxoris Wladyslaw I Jagiello of Poland.

In July 1569, the Union of Lublin established the Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania. The Commonwealth was in existence for more than 200 years. It was eventually dismantled by neighboring countries in 1772-1795. After that, the Russian Empire annexed most of Lithuania's territory. The modern Republic of Lithuania was founded by the signing of the Lithuanian Act of Independence on 16 February 1918 after World War I had ended. Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union, then Nazi Germany in World War II. The Soviet Union reoccupied Lithuania in 1944, just as the Germans were beginning to withdraw. The Soviet occupation was repelled by the Lithuanian armed resistance that lasted until the 1950s. On 11 March 1990, a year before the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union, Lithuania passed the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania, becoming the first Soviet republic to proclaim its independence.Lithuania is a developed country, with a high income advanced economy; ranking very high in the Human Development Index. It is a country that ranks highly in civil liberties, press freedom and internet freedom. Lithuania is a member of NATO, NATO, the European Union and the Council of Europe. It is a permanent observer to the Nordic Council and participates in the Nordic Baltic Eight (NB8) regional cooperation format.

Source: Wikipedia