Lithuania–Poland border

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File:Granica polsko-litewska.png
The current border between the Republic of Lithuania and the Republic of Poland. It has remained unchanged in the period following World War II

The current Lithuania–Poland border exists since the re-establishment of the independence of Lithuania on March 11, 1991. Until then the identical border was between Poland and Lithuanian SSR of the Soviet Union. The length of the border is 103 or 104 kilometres (64 or 65 mi).[1][2] It runs from the Lithuania–Poland–Russia tripoint southeast to the Belarus–Lithuania–Poland tripoint.

History

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The current Lithuania–Poland border exists since the re-establishment of the independence of Lithuania on March 11, 1991.[3] Until then the identical border was between Poland and Lithuanian SSR of the Soviet Union. That border was established in the aftermath of World War II. Until then the identical border was between Poland and Lithuanian SSR of the Soviet Union.[4][5] A different border existed between the Second Polish Republic and Lithuania in the period of 1918–1939. Following the Polish–Lithuanian border conflict, from 1922 onward it was stable, and had a length of 521 km.[6][7] During the partitions of Poland era, there were borders between the Congress Poland (Augustów Voivodeship) and the Lithuanian lands of the Russian Empire (Kovno Governorate and Vilna Governorate). From the Union of Lublin (1569) to the partitions, there was no Polish-Lithuanian border, as both countries were a part of a single federated entity, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.[8] In the medieval times, Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania shared yet another border.[9]

Former border crossings

In the period 1991–2007, there were three road and one rail border crossing between Poland and Lithuania.[10]

Road

Rail

Features

File:Ogrodniki-Lazdijai - view from Lithuania.JPG
Former border crossing Ogrodniki–Lazdijai

It is the only land border that the Baltic states in general (and Lithuanian in particular) share with a country that is not a member of the Russian-aligned Commonwealth of Independent States.[11]

On May 1, 2004, when both Poland and Lithuania joined the European Union, this border became an internal border of the European Union.[12] On 21 December 2007, Poland and Lithuania accessed to the Schengen Agreement.[13] After this, crossing the border became easier, as EU internal borders are open to all traffic with little need for control. There are still, however, occasional customs and police controls against smuggling of restricted goods, which however affect only about 1% of travelers.[14][15][16]

References

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  2. (Polish) Informacje o Polsce – informacje ogólne (archive.org). Page gives Polish PWN Encyklopedia as reference.
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  6. Polska w cyfrach [in:] E. Romer Atlas Polski współczesnej, 1928.
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  9. Stephen R. Burant and Voytek Zubek, Eastern Europe's Old Memories and New Realities: Resurrecting the Polish-lithuanian Union, East European Politics and Societies 1993; 7; 370, online
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External links