Temporary capital of Lithuania 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 1939. Currently, the term "temporary capital", despite having lost its meaning, is still frequently used as a nickname for Kaunas, the second largest city in Lithuania. During World War I, Lithuania declared independence on February 16, 1918. The declaration stated that Lithuania would be a democratic republic with Vilnius as its capital. This claim was based on
Jerusalem of the West He wrote: "We were living our dream in the midst of the beautiful countryside of the Maghreb. Tlemcen...resembles the city of David in altitude, climate, fauna and flora, to such an extent that we called in the Jerusalem of the Maghreb." Other towns given the appellation include Toledo and Antwerp. Many others towns in northern Africa were also called symbolically after Jerusalem: Ghardaia, M'zab (Second Jerusalem), Djerba, Tunisia (Ante-chamber of Jerusalem, Jerusalem of Africa), Ifrane, Morocco (Little Jerusalem). Jerusalem of the West "Jerusalem of the West" was a term historically used by Jews to describe a non-Jewish city west of