Temporary capital of Lithuania

The temporary capital of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Laikinoji sostinė) 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 part of Poland from 1920 until 1939. Currently, the term temporary capital, despite being factually out of date, is still frequently used as a nickname for Kaunas, the second largest city in Lithuania.

On 18 September 2023 Kaunas modernism architecture which was constructed at the time when Kaunas was the temporary capital of Lithuania and experienced a phenomenal urbanization was recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. This way Kaunas became the only European city representing large scale urbanization during the interwar period and versatile modernism architecture (Art Deco, neoclassicism, traditionalism, functionalism, etc.).