Today I want to tell you about a very beautiful gem not far away from Vilnius (about 30 kilometers or 19 miles). This place is called Kernave. Last summer I got there by bike for one day and I had a wonderful time. And I made some nice pictures too.
When I was on my way to Kernave and back to Vilnius it surprised me that I haven’t seen any buses of tourists going to Kernave. I think this gem is wantonly forgotten. I hope this blog post will encourage you to visit Kernave.
Kernave Archeological site is Unesco World Heritage object. Since 9th-8th millennium BC untill the Middle Ages Kernave was continuously settled by people who left their traces. There is a unique complex of 5 hillforts in Kernave. Lithuania has many hillforts, but Kernave is the only place in the Baltic States where so many hillforts are near each other. The area between those 5 hillforts and the river Neris in 13th century was a town of craftsmen and tradepeople. The central hillfort was the duke’s estate, the remaining 4 carried out the functions of defense. In 1390 wooden town Kernave was burnt in an attack of Crusaders. It was never rebuilt. Now Kernave is one of the most important and the most interesting monuments in Central and Eastern Europe from archeological point of view.
Archeological and Historical Museum of Kernave now is closed because the building of museum is under the reconstruction. Renovated exposition will be open in May 2011. But even when museum is closed it is worth to visit Kernave, because hillforts are never closed, you can climb up and see the wonderful panorama of hills, river, valleys and forests.
In summer two big events will take place in Kernave. It’s the Feast of St. John on 23 June and Festival of Experimental Archeology “Days of Live Archeology in Kernave” on 8-10 of July 2011.
More information on a website of State Cultural Reserve of Kernave.
1 comment:
The Kernave Archeological site looks interesting. It will be great to go here and get a glimpse of the history of this area.
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