Vilnius Its Jewish influence has led to it being described as the "Jerusalem of Lithuania" and Napoleon named it "the Jerusalem of the North" as he was passing through in 1812. In 2009, Vilnius was the European Capital of Culture, together with the Austrian city of Linz. The name of the city originates from the Vilnia River. The city has also been known by many derivate spellings in various languages throughout its history: "Vilna" was once common in English. The most notable non-Lithuanian names for the city include: , , , , , , ("Vilne"). A Russian name from the time
Status of Jerusalem and a violation of the rights of the Palestinian population. In 1980, Israel passed the Jerusalem Law, which declared that ""Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel"". The Security Council declared the law null and void in Resolution 478, which also called upon member states to withdraw their diplomatic missions from the city. The UN General Assembly has also passed numerous resolutions to the same effect. Israel took control of West Jerusalem during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, while Jordan had taken control of East Jerusalem (including the walled Old City in which most holy places are located). Israel