Tuši's blog: 15446

Lithuania: Road Trip - Lithuania, Day 5: From Vilnius over the Highest Mountain to Kaunas

According to a study made by a French scientist Jean-George Affholder in 1989, Lithuania is positioned in a geographical center of Europe. Jean-George re-estimated the boundaries of the continental Europe and he determined that the geographic center is located at 54°54′N 25°19′E, near a Lithuanian village named Purnuškės. The method that he used for calculating this point was based on the center of gravity of the geometrical figure of Europe.

Once more I woke up a little earlier than others and I did a morning walk through the Vilnius. After the breakfast we were on the road again. First we hiked to two highest mountains in Lithuania, Aukštojas Hill and Juozapinė Hill. Soon we explored the area around the Dubingiai Castle following the lunch in a village Labanoras. The Lithuanian Museum of Ancient Beekeeping was unfortunately closed, so we just quickly sneaked inside and made a few photos. Gravel roads led us out of the regional park to the treetop adventure in Anyksciai. After the walk above the trees and next to the nearby Šventoji river we parked our van in Kaunas.

Previous day of our road trip to Lithuania: Day 4, Day 3, Day 2, Day 1.

Our previous road trips: Romania 2017, Ukraine 2018, Bulgaria 2019.

St. Anne's Church (Šv. Onos bažnyčia) was established established between circa 1495–1500, while The Cathedral of the Theotokos (Vilniaus Dievo Motinos Ėmimo į Dangų katedra) was built during the reign of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Algirdas for his Orthodox second wife Uliana of Tver in 1346.

Leaving the narrow garage.

Strategic decisions, how to conquer the highest point of Lithuania.

And we made it with the special gear, helmet, drill and an angle grinder. Without them, the summit of Aukštojas Hill would remain unconquered.

Aukštojas Hill is the highest point in all of Lithuania. It is located in the Medininkai Highlands.

About 10000-15000 years ago, the entire territory of the country was covered by a glacier. Various moraine sediments accumulated around its edges including boulders, gravel, sand and pebble. Powerful glacier waters polished the surface of the Medininkai Highlands making it fairly flat and clear of any hills or gullies. This is why the view that opens up from the observation tower located at the top of the 300-metre high Aukštojas Hill still leaves you wondering whether you are really looking at the landscape from the highest point in Lithuania.

The Balts' Sun Circle symbolises an ancient altar. Its centre contains an image of a crown that is, it seems, elevated above Lithuania. The crown is surrounded by the granite heads of four horses. The Žemaitukas breed of horses look at different sides of the world, protect the crown and spread the news about Lithuania to all corners of the globe.

View to the tower and 293.84 m high Aukštojas Hill.

Expedition members: Tuši, Nada, Rok, Ana, Tadej and Maja.

Our 7th member did come nice aerial photos.

Aukštojas in Baltic Mythology: Aukštojas is the name of the chief deity of the Balts mentioned in written sources from the 14thcentury as the supreme heavenly deity, the creator of the world and the protector of the principles of morality and justice. The supreme God is the first, eternal and has no beginning. Ancient Lithuanians gave him different names such as Praamžius, Sutvaras, Vaisgamtis, Labdarys, Gyveleidis, Ūkopirmas among others. Aukštojas existed before the creation of the world, when darkness still prevailed. He was believed to take on the image of a pigeon and fly around the world dividing it into parts. He scattered the darkness with light and opened up a path. While walking on it he spat to his left side and saw a human-like creature appear from the water. God commanded the creature to dive into the water and bring him the seeds of the earth. On the third dive the man came back, his mouth and ears filled with seeds. Aukštojas scolded him for being so greedy, sowed the seeds and soon saw growth on the land.

Maybe we should name him Aukštojas?

Farm near the summit.

Since the 3rd highest hill was nearby, we didn't want to miss it. Rok quickly took an opportunity and he made a photo with King Mindaugas.

Geocaching on high altitudes.

Juozapinė Hill used to be regarded as the highest point in Lithuania. Its elevation is 292.7 metres and is now the third highest summit after the nearby Aukštojas Hill (293.84 m) and Kruopinė (Žybartonys) Hill (293.65 m), situated approximately 10 km west of Juozapinė Hill.

After some driving we stopped by the Lake Asveja and then we climbed to the Dubingiai Castle Hill.

We did a walk on the cognitive trail on the former island, now a peninsula. There is not much left from the Dubingiai Castle, only the foundations.

The first masonry castle was constructed by Vytautas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, in 1412-1413 in order to secure the capital Vilnius from attacks from Livonia.

Dubingiai Castle was the main seat of the Biržai-Dubingiai line of the Radziwiłł family until the second half of the 17th century, when it was transferred to Biržai Castle.

During the Polish-Swedish wars, the castle was pillaged by armies loyal to the King of Poland and was confiscated from Bogusław Radziwiłł. It returned to the family in the second half of the 17th century. The neglected castle and church gradually fell into ruins. It was sold to Michał Tyszkiewicz in 1808. Today only the foundations and several cellars of the castle and church remain and are being researched.

Getting ready for the picture with the drone.

Dubingiai bridge, located along Lake Asveja, is one of the few wooden bridges that remain in Lithuania. Before the bridge was erected by the President of Lithuania Antanas Smetona in 1934, a ferry and a ferryman's house, built by Count Tiškevičius, were erected along the lake. On the bottom of the lake, the piers of the bridge show that the bridge already existed in the Middle Ages.

Lake Asveja is the longest lake in Lithuania (length: 21.9 km or 29.7 km counting the Žalktynė, Vyriogala and Dubingiai bights). It covers 9.78 km2 area and reaches a depth of 50.2 m which makes it the third deepest lake in the country.

After some more driving we stopped in a small town Labanoras, where we had lunch. The village is surrounded by the Labanoras Regional Park, the largest regional park in Lithuania.

Almost 500 years ago, in 1522, Labanoras Church was mentioned for the first time. In 1675, the bishop's protocol mentioned the already old, collapsing church of Labanoras, and referenced its miraculous painting of Mary on the wall. It burned down in 1798 and 2009 and after 2011 it is fully restored again.

After the short walk around the church we moved on.

Driving through the countryside to the Lithuanian Museum of Ancient Beekeeping.

The beekeeping in Lithuania started to thrive from the 16th century and began with the beekeeping in the natural tree hollows. Later on, the beginning of the 20th century brought innovation, and people started using beehives.

The museum, part of Aukštaitija National Park, was founded by the beekeeper Bronius Kazlas.

As of 2006, the museum consisted of six buildings, about 500 displays, and 25 sculptures. In addition to illustrating the history of beekeeping in Lithuania, some of the museum's wooden sculptures themselves contain beehives. The sculptures pay homage to the honeybee's place in worldwide mythology and folklore, including Egyptian and Native American figures as well as the Lithuanian god Babilas and goddess Austėja. They were carved by Teofilis Patiejūnas and Ipolitas Užkurnis.

Hard life.

The museum was closes and since we sneaked in, we couldn't stay long.

The Beekeeping Museum is located in the north-western part of Aukštaitija National Park, on the edge of the Thought Forest, in the oldest village of the park, Stripeikiai, which was first mentioned in the Livonian Chronicles in 1357.

Interesting oak sculptures.

Our van got the name - Dizlca.

Through the Aukštaitija National Park, established in 1974 and thus the oldest one in Lithuania.

More than 70 percent of park's area is covered by woods. 80 percent of woods are pine stands, some reaching 200 years old.

Good gravel roads were percfet for rental car.

Our last stop was the second-largest boulder in Lithuania, Puntukas. It measures 6.9 metres in length, 6.7 m in width, and 5.7 m in depth (including 1.5 m underground). It weighs about 265 tons and is made of Rapakivi granite. In 1943, sculptor Bronius Pundzius engraved portraits and quotes from last wills of Lithuanian pilots Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas for the 10th anniversary of their deaths during the transatlantic flight with Lituanica.

Passing the boulder we entered the treetop walkway.

Anyksciai Treetop Walking Path is a short, but enjoyable 300-meter walk above the trees, ending with a panoramic views of the forest.

The Treetop Walking Path is 300 meters long and gradually rises to 21 meters above the ground.

We were here.

The watchtower at the end of the path is 34 meters high and enables visitors to observe the praised Anykščiai Pinewood, admire the winding Šventoji River, and see the towers of St. Matthew Church, which is the tallest church in Lithuania.