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ON THE OCCASION OF THE UNITY DAY OF THE BALTSEmbassy of the Republic of Lithuania Embassy of the Republic of Latvia have the pleasure of inviting you to the opening of the exhibition TRAVELLING LETTERSMONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22th, 2014, at 6 p.m. LITHUANIAN CULTURAL CENTER AL. UJAZDOWSKIE 12, WARSAW

Lithuania and Latvia celebrates the Unity Day of the Balts. It is the anniversary of the Battle of Saule, which took place on the 22nd of September, 1236. Then the united forces of Balts won the historical victory over the Order of the Brothers of Sword. The battle is considered to be one of the most important military clashes and proved the unity of Balts. As the Lithuanian historian Tomas Baranauskas points out - the Battle of Saule was the first big step towards the victory in the Battle of Grunwald.

On the 22nd of September 1236 near the river Mūsa, Balts completely defeated the troops of the Order of the Brothers of Sword and the Livonian Order which invaded the Northern territory of Lithuania and which were led by the Master Volquin. Almost all knights of the Order of the Brothers of Sword and also Master fell in the battle. The Order of the Brothers of Sword suffered enormous losses in this battle. After the Battle of Saule and successes in another battles Selonians, the Kurshi and Estonians from Saaremaa joined the battles against the troops of the Brothers of Sword and the Livonian Order in 1237. In the same year the Order of the Brothers of Sword was incorporated in the Livonian Order. As a result Balts successfully defended their land.

The victory in the Battle of Saule is one of the most important events in the history Latvia and Latvia - the only countries, where the Baltic languages (Lithuanian and Latvian) are spoken in the present time.

In 2000 the Latvian and Lithuanian Parliaments declared the 22nd of September as the Unity Day of the Balts.