Kepaluškalins (also known as Pilės or Kaltinėnai Mound) is a mound located in

Šilalė Šilalė (, Samogitian: ''Šėlalė'', yi, שילעל ''Shilel'', pl, Szyłele) is a town in Western Lithuania, Samogitia, Tauragė County. It is located north of Tauragė. The River Lokysta flows through the town and there is a pond in the ...

district,

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

, close to

Kaltinėnai Kaltinėnai ( Samogitian: ''Kaltinienā'', pl, Kołtyniany) is a small town in the west of Lithuania, located near Žemaičių highway in Šilalė district municipality, Tauragė County. Kaltinėnai has around 728 inhabitants (2011). The town ...

town, in Pilės village. It is thought to be founded in the beginning of

2nd millennium File:2nd millennium montage.png, From top left, clockwise: in 1492, Christopher Columbus reaches North America, opening the European colonization of the Americas; the American Revolution, one of the late 1700s Enlightenment-inspired Atlantic Rev ...

AD. The size of the mound and the dimensions of its defence

fortifications A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

show that during the wars with

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

there was one of the strongest castles in

Žemaitija Samogitia or Žemaitija ( Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five cultural regions of Lithuania and formerly one of the two core administrative divisions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuani ...

and the centre of

land defence as well as administration on Kepaluškalnis.

Remains of fortifications

The mound was founded on the edge of a highland, on a point formed by two hollows. Its hillsides are precipitous, to 20m in height. A 45 x 50m size upper ground was surrounded by bulwarks which are flattened now. Spurs, stone projectiles and other finds have been found in this ground. The north side of the mound was fortified with even 5 bulwarks and

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

s, first 3 of which also encircled the eastern and western hillsides. There was also a moat in the southern hillside, and the bulwark behind it had a 2-metre-high outer side. Nowadays, these fortifications can be seen only in the south-western part of the mound, others are destroyed. The mound was badly damaged by ploughing: most of the bulwarks and moats were flattened gradually. A homestead (now pulled down), located on the west side of the mound, also damaged the bulwarks. Cleaning works which took place in 2002-2004 were especially harmful for the mound historically: a path of stones leading to the upper ground was paved through the northern fortifications, and a

parking lot A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...

was built where the 5th moat had once been. In 1990, J. Genys researched an area of 8,5m² on the upper ground, but didn’t find any cultural layer.

Monument

In 1990, a wooden monument for

Vytautas the Great Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...

and the remembrance of Žalgiris battle was built at the foot of the mound. The place for this monument was chosen not accidentally. While fighting for power and after becoming the

Grand Duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. In status, a grand duke traditionally ranks in order of precedence below an emperor, as an approxi ...

Vytautas Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...

visited

a lot of times. It is also very likeable that he has been to

, which was one of the most important centres of

in those times.

Use of the mound nowadays

On the top of Kepaluškalnis, an altar of stones was built for the remembrance of castle protectors. Flags of

and

Tauragė Tauragė (; see other names) is an industrial city in Lithuania, and the capital of Tauragė County. In 2020, its population was 21,520. Tauragė is situated on the Jūra River, close to the border with the Kaliningrad Oblast, and not far from th ...

often wave beside this altar. St John’s Day and other festivals are celebrated on this mound. Crowds of people gather there on these days, performances are given and bonfires are burnt. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kepaluskalnis Hills of Lithuania