Klaipeda District Tourism Information Center

Veiviržėnai Hillfort

Mounds

The hillfort standing on the left bank of the Veivirža River, right in front of the Veiviržėnai, is usually considered to mark the beginnings of today’s township of Veiviržėnai. It is the only one of the hillforts in the district to have a fortified lower ward installed to the east of the hillfort. The top site of the hillfort is trapezoidal, 37 metres long and 34 metres wide at the eastern end, where a 3-metre-high and 20-metre-wide bank rises, with a 5-metre-high outer slope descending into the aforementioned lower ward. Its quadrangular site is surrounded by a moat on the high side, and, on the southern side, there are also the remains of banks. The slopes of the hillfort facing the Veivirža River valley are steep, up to 15 metres high. The old oaks growing there and the legends about the hillfort as a place of pagan worship with the eternal fire burning and sacrifices made in honour of the goddess Milda give the hillfort a touch of glamour. The Veiviržėnai Hillfort, like the majority of other hillforts in Lithuania, has not been explored yet, although as early as 1905, Ludvikas Kšivickis (1859–1941) recorded a 45-centimetre-thick cultural layer on the site. Thus, the earliest history of the Veiviržėnai settlement has not been written yet, and it should date back to the first millennium to the 13th century period at the latest.

Reviews

Comment