As my boyfriend says I should start the story with the great medieval funeral pyre. Tall flames born on oak wood upon which the body of grand duke Gediminas is placed... and then his ashes are buried at the top of this hillfort. The truth is that nobody knows the grave of Gediminas - one of the most famous rulers of the XIV century Lithuania. According to ancient traditions, disclosing the location of such an important grave would be a tabu, a secret not to be revealed. Today at the top of the hill visitors will find a stone altar built sometime in the last few decades. Lithuanian neopagans use this site for their mystic ancient rites.
And anyway, why was Gediminas so important? He was a superb diplomat! By trying to break the isolation of the last pagan country in Europe, he sent out letters to Western European cities inviting people of every profession to come and settle in Vilnius and promising them religious freedom which was very unique for the times marked by religious wars and inquisition in Europe. Even though the city has been around before, it is in one of these letters that the name of the city is mentioned for the first time, therefore Gediminas is considered to be the founder of Vilnius.
The hill of Gediminas‘ grave belongs to a chain of hillforts including the most famous Gediminas Castle Hill. It is this cluster of hillforts near the place where river Vilnelė enters the big river Neris that we can call the cradle of the city. I invite you to climb all of these hills and discover the magnificent views of Vilnius!