Lithuania Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands
The land of today's Lithuania appears on 39 historical border maps from 500 BC to today. Over that time it was held, in whole or in part, by 15 different states, among them Lithuania, Russian Empire, Poland-Lithuania, USSR, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
LithuaniaExplore the history of Lithuania in the interactive map
Compare 1000 with today · Lithuania as a state on the map
Who ruled the land of Lithuania, map by map
Share of sample points inside today's borders held by each state on each map. Areas with no organised state on the map are left out.
| Map | Main states on this land |
|---|---|
| 1000 | Kievan Rus' 17% · Poland 3% |
| 1100 | Kievan Rus' 14% · Poland 6% · Principality of Polotsk 6% |
| 1200 | Other Rus Principalities 14% · Poland 9% |
| 1300 | Lithuania 97% · Teutonic Knights 3% |
| 1400 | Poland-Lithuania 97% · Teutonic Knights 3% |
| 1492 | Poland-Lithuania 97% · Teutonic Knights 3% |
| 1500 | Poland-Lithuania 97% · Teutonic Knights 3% |
| 1600 | Poland-Lithuania 94% · Prussia 3% · Denmark-Norway 3% |
| 1650 | Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 97% · Prussia 3% |
| 1700 | Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 97% · Prussia 3% |
| 1783 | Poland 97% · Prussia 3% |
| 1800 | Russian Empire 94% · Prussia 6% |
| 1815 | Russian Empire 97% · Prussia 3% |
| 1880 | Russian Empire 97% · Germany 3% |
| 1900 | Russian Empire 97% · Germany 3% |
| 1914 | Russian Empire 97% · German Empire 3% |
| 1920 | Lithuania 100% |
| 1930 | Lithuania 83% · Poland 17% |
| 1938 | Lithuania 91% · Poland 9% |
| 1945 | USSR 100% |
| 1960 | USSR 100% |
| 1994 | Lithuania 100% |
| 2010 | Lithuania 100% |
Historic cities in Lithuania
Questions
Which empires and states ruled the territory of Lithuania?
On the border maps from 500 BC to today, the largest shares of the territory of modern Lithuania belonged to Lithuania, Russian Empire, Poland-Lithuania, USSR, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Poland, along with 9 other states.
What was Lithuania part of in 1000?
On the border map for 1000, most of the territory of today's Lithuania lay within Kievan Rus'.
What was Lithuania part of in 1500?
On the border map for 1500, most of the territory of today's Lithuania lay within Poland-Lithuania.
What was Lithuania part of in 1900?
On the border map for 1900, most of the territory of today's Lithuania lay within Russian Empire.
Further reading
Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.