When there is a talk about the Crusades, people usually think only of the wars against the Muslims in the Holy Land in the 11th through 13th centuries. But there were another Crusades going on in same time in North Europe - the Baltic Crusades. Baltic pagan tribes were separated from the rest of Europe behind thick forests and swamps and still lived by their own old ways handed over from generation to generation. Though armed conflicts and invasions did often occur, they had no any significant impact on culture and life in general. During many decades Vikings tried to conquer and establish their control over the Baltic shores.
The conquest of the Baltic tribes began after the Crusades in the Holy Land suffered disastrous setbacks. After the crusaders lost Jerusalem to Saladin in 1187, their eyes were set on the last pagan areas in Europe. The first crusaders appeared on the eastern shores of the Baltic sea in 1202 . They established the castle and the city of Riga, now capital of Latvia. This branch of crusaders was originally called the Brothers of the Sword, later renamed the Livonian Order. Several hundred kilometers southward, in what is now the Kaliningrad district, another branch of crusaders settled. This one was called the Teutonic Order. Established in Acre in the Holy Land between 1120 and 1128, the order was centered in Swabia after the defeat in Jerusalem in 1187.
In 1236, after the battle of Saule, the northern branch of crusaders suffered a major defeat.
Lithuanians had a chance to form their own pagan kingdom. Soon it emerged as a great power and serious opponent to the European invaders.
After many armed conflicts with Teutonic and Livonian Orders, some of the Lithuanian Grand dukes allowed to baptize themselves into Catholicism in a hope to cease bloodshed. Nevertheless the attacks didn’t stop! Now Lithuanians realized how hypocritical were Christian promises and what they really wanted were their lands, not saving their souls!
Grand dukes like Mindaugas and Gediminas in disgust threw away new religion and turned back to paganism.
The Teutonic Knights failed to subdue pagan Lithuania, which officially converted to (Catholic) Christianity in 1386 as Lithuanian Grand Duke Jogaila married the 11-year-old Queen Jadwiga of Poland.
Lithuanians formed alliance with Poland and finally defeated Teutonic Order at the Battle of Grunwald (also known as Battle of Žalgiris or Battle of Tannenberg) in 1410, thus putting an end to Crusades against Baltic people.