Maišiagala Hillfort — Attraction in Maišiagala

Maišiagala Hill Fort - a sight to admire. I didn’t know much about it before, but it left a huge impression on me. With Vilnius being so large and full of interesting things to see and do, it’s easy to oversee its surroundings that aren’t less interesting or beautiful. Maišiagala - a small town and centre of a namesake eldership - is one of them. It’s located just some 26km from the city centre of Vilnius, just off of the Vilnius-Panevėžys highway, but not many have actually visited it. The town was first mentioned in written documents in 1254, which is almost 70 years before the foundation of Vilnius! Later it had a large defensive castle, which was part of the defensive network around Vilnius against the Teutonic Knights. According to Jan Długosz, Grand Duke of Lithuania Algirdas died in this castle in 1377. The castle hasn’t survived until nowadays, but the old hill fort, also sometimes known as Bona's Hill named after Queen of the Lithuania-Poland who used to summer there, survives and it’s huge and truly impressive. After extinction of the Jagiellon dynasty, Maišiagala lost its status as royal summer residence and began to decline. It became property of various nobles and the last rulers were an aristocratic German noble family the Houwalds. They built the currently nearby standing manor in the Classical style. The hill fort is definitely a sight to admire - you have to go up steep slopes or take a set of stairs to get up and the view is beatiful. First, it overlooks the vast table top of the hill fort which has some huge beautiful trees growing there (though it’s more like a jungle) and offers a stunning view to the reservoir nearby. On a sunny or lightly cloudy day, the sunset there must be quite a sight. It was so during the golden hour, too. Sadly, it’s not easy to visit for people with movement impairments. Also, I’ve never seen anywhere so many copse snails like there. Also, information signs would...

Mašiagala je važno istorijsko mesto jer se tu nalazila jedno od drvenih utvrđenja koja su služila za odbranu Viljnusa od vitezova Tevtonskog reda. Utvrda je izgrađena je u 13. veku, ali je više puta rušena i konačno potpuno napušetena i uništena u 14. veku. Danas se malo toga može videti. Mogu se samo nazreti ostaci okruglih kula i mesta gde su bili palisati na uzvišenju. U podnožju se nalazi mali kameni spomenik. Na žalost, sve je obraslo visokom travom i gustim rastinjem pa je teško dostupno. Okolina je predivna i sa uzvišenja se pruža odličan pogled na...

Vaizdas nuo viršaus - gražus. Visgi aplinka menkai prižiūrima, piliakalnis apauginėja invaziniais menkaverčiais uosialapiais klevais. Yra mediniai laiptukai aukštyn, deja ir jie jau palūžę. Užlipus siauras pramintas takelis veda link suolelio. Iš ten ir atsiveria vaizdas. Lankant piliakalnį verta apžiūrėti ir dvarą...