Temporary capital of Lithuania constitutional claims, Kaunas was designated as a temporary or provisional capital until Vilnius would be "liberated from Polish occupation". In March 1938, Lithuania accepted a Polish ultimatum, demanding diplomatic relations. Despite normalised relations, the new Lithuanian Constitution, in May 1938, still claimed Vilnius as the "de jure" capital of Lithuania, and Kaunas remained as the temporary capital. Temporary capital of Lithuania The temporary capital of Lithuania () was the official designation of the city of Kaunas in Lithuania during the interwar period. It was in contrast to the declared capital in Vilnius, which was under Polish control from 1920 until
1922 Republic of Central Lithuania general election a mere fraction of the total population (about 2–3% of the population, according to Russian 1897 and German 1916 censuses). The Lithuanians nonetheless believed that their historical claim to the city (former capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania) had precedence and refused to recognize any Polish claims to the city and the surrounding area. The League of Nations mediated the dispute and strongly advocated a plebiscite where the local population would vote to be incorporated either into Poland or Lithuania. However, neither Poland nor Lithuania wanted the vote. Poland had control of the territory and saw no reason to