Geography of Lithuania offers perhaps of oil deposits, and the southeast could provide high yields of iron ore and granite. According to some geographers, the geographical midpoint of Europe is just north of Lithuania's capital, Vilnius. Geographic coordinates: Lithuania is situated on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania's boundaries have changed several times since 1918, but they have been stable since 1945. Currently, Lithuania covers an area of about 65,200 square kilometres. About the size of West Virginia, it is larger than Belgium, Denmark, Latvia, the Netherlands, or Switzerland. Lithuania is situated on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea and
History of the Jews in Lithuania "kahals" were not successful. The impoverished Jewish merchants, having no capital of their own, were compelled to borrow money from the nobility, from churches, congregations, monasteries, and various religious orders. Loans from the latter were usually for an unlimited period and were secured by mortgages on the real estate of the "kahal". The "kahals" thus became hopelessly indebted to the clergy and the nobility. In 1792 the Jewish population of Lithuania was estimated at 250,000 (as compared with 120,000 in 1569). The whole of the commerce and industries of Lithuania, now rapidly declining, was in the hands of the Jews.