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Lithuania Minor
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==Geography== [[File:Lithuania Minor Physical Map.png|thumb|left|upright=1.4|Physical map of Lithuania Minor in 1905]] [[File:Gvardeisk_town_russia_view.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|[[Pregolya|Prieglius river]] on the southern border of ethnically Lithuanian territory in the 19th century]] The area of Lithuania Minor embraced the land between the lower reaches of the river Dangė to the north and the major headstreams of the river [[Pregolya]] ({{langx|lt|Prieglius}}) to the south. The southwestern line ran from the [[Curonian Lagoon]] along the Deimena River to its south, continued along the Prieglius River to the [[Łyna River|Łyna]] ({{langx|lt|Alna}}) river, up to the town of Alna (modern [[Druzhba, Pravdinsky District, Kaliningrad Oblast|Druzhba]]) and hence southward along the Ašvinė river to Lake Ašvinis and from there eastward to the border of Lithuania Major. The region embraced about 11 400 km<sup>2</sup>. The broader understanding of Lithuania Minor includes the area west from the Łyna and south form the lower reaches of the Prieglius and the [[Sambian Peninsula]], making up 17–18 thousand km<sup>2</sup> in total. The former ethnic region of Lithuania Minor belongs to different states today. The part of [[Kaliningrad Oblast]] (excluding the city of [[Kaliningrad]] and its surroundings), a few territories in Poland's [[Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship]], as well as the following territories in modern-day [[Lithuania]]: the [[Klaipėda district municipality]], the [[Šilutė district municipality]], [[Klaipėda]] city, [[Pagėgiai municipality]], and [[Neringa municipality]] had once ethnically, linguistically and culturally been the latter Lithuanian region. Although now divided among countries, Lithuania Minor had been intact formerly, all these areas were once part of [[Prussia]] and thus politically separated from [[Lithuania proper|Lithuania Major]]. From 1773 to 1918, all of Lithuania Minor was part of the [[Kingdom of Prussia]]'s province of East Prussia, the core of medieval [[Prussia (region)|Prussia]]. It was a region outside of the former [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania|Lithuanian state]], inhabited by a large number of Prussian Lithuanians. Ethnic Prussian Lithuanians were mostly [[Protestantism|Protestants]], in contrast to the inhabitants of Lithuania Major, who predominantly were [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholics]]. Giving the Prussian Lithuanian name first and followed by the German name, major cities in former Lithuania Minor were [[Klaipėda|Klaipėda (Memel)]] and [[Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast|Tilžė (Tilsit)]]. Other towns include [[Neman (town)|Ragainė (Ragnit)]], [[Šilutė|Šilokarčema (Heydekrug), renamed to Šilutė]], [[Gusev, Kaliningrad Oblast|Gumbinė (Gumbinnen)]], [[Chernyakhovsk|Įsrutis (Insterburg)]], [[Nesterov|Stalupėnai (Stallupönen)]].
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