Latvia–Lithuania border

Border post on the Lithuanian-Latvian border
Lithuanian Border Sign near Šalnaičiai
Latvian Border Sign near Grenctāle

The Latvia–Lithuania border is the state border between Latvia and Lithuania. The length of the land border is 588.1 kilometres (365.4 mi) with additional 22.2 kilometres (13.8 mi) of sea border.[1]

The border starts from the triple junction of the borders with Belarus to the north of Lake Drūkšiai (55°40′50.17″N 26°37′49.79″E / 55.6806028°N 26.6304972°E / 55.6806028; 26.6304972)[2] and stretches to the coast of the Baltic Sea, where it ends between Palanga and Rucava. For 30 kilometres (19 mi) the border follows the Šventoji River.

History

The border started to exist in 1918, when independence was declared by both states. There were some disputes on the exact location of the border but these were settled after a few years. These disputes related to places where the old Russian province borders did not follow the language distribution, and to railways.

The border became partially defunct at incorporation into the Soviet Union, since it became an internal state border. At that time it was extended, since the Vilnius area was reincorporated into Lithuania. The international border was restored at independence in 1991. After prolonged negotiations, in July 1999, the border between territorial waters was drawn as a straight line between 56°04′08.9″N 21°03′51.47″E / 56.069139°N 21.0642972°E / 56.069139; 21.0642972 and 56°02′43.5″N 20°42′35.0″E / 56.045417°N 20.709722°E / 56.045417; 20.709722.[3]

Border crossing

Between 1991 and 2007, there were border checkpoints between the countries, now abandoned,[4] after both nations joined the Schengen Area in December 2007,[5] allowing unrestricted border crossing.

References

  1. ↑ "Valstybinės sienos demarkavimas" (in Lithuanian). National Land Service under the Ministry of Agriculture. 2013-02-28. Retrieved 2015-10-04.
  2. ↑ "Lietuvos Respublikos Vyriausybės, Baltarusijos Respublikos Vyriausybės ir Latvijos Respublikos Vyriausybės susitarimo dėl valstybių sienų sankirtos taško paženklinimo tvarkos" (in Lithuanian). Seimas. 1998-03-25. Retrieved 2015-10-04.
  3. ↑ "Lietuvos Respublikos ir Latvijos Respublikos sutartis dėl teritorinės jūros, išskirtinės ekonominės zonos ir kontinentinio šelfo atribojimo Baltijos jūroje" (in Lithuanian). Seimas. 1999-07-09. Retrieved 2015-10-04.
  4. ↑ Check satellite images and Street View, at e.g. at 56°04′38″N 21°07′21″E / 56.077356°N 21.122541°E and 56°16′28″N 24°21′56″E / 56.274576°N 24.365519°E
  5. ↑ "Latvia joins Schengen Zone". www.mfa.gov.lv. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
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