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
Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania The Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania or Act of March 11 () was an independence declaration by the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic adopted on March 11, 1990, signed by all members of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania led by Sąjūdis. The act emphasized restoration and legal continuity of the interwar-period Lithuania, which was occupied by the USSR and lost independence in June 1940. It was the first time that a occupied state declared independence from the dissolving Soviet Union. After the partitions of the