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
Reunification of Jerusalem decided to capture it. Israeli victory resulted in the city's reunification. On 30 July 1980, the Knesset officially approved the Jerusalem Law, which called the city the complete and united capital. The reunification is celebrated by the annual Jerusalem Day, and Israeli national holiday. However, special celebrations are planned in 2017 to mark the Jubilee of the 1967 reunification. Under Jordanian rule no Jews were permitted to live in the city, which was governed as part of the Jordanian rule West Bank, and the Christian population plummeted, falling from 25,000 to 9,000. Reunification ended the programmatic Islamization of Jerusalem by