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 the capital of the Republic of Central Lithuania (1920-1922), and part of Poland from 1922 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 Currently, the term temporary capital, despite being factually out of date, is still frequently used as a nickname for Kaunas, the second largest city in Lithuania.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, the modernist buildings in Kaunas that were built while Kaunas was the temporary capital of Lithuania and experienced rapid urbanization were recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. With this designation, Kaunas became the only European city representing large scale urbanization during the interwar period and a variety of modern architecture (Art Deco, neoclassicism, traditionalism, functionalism, etc.).