Napoleon's hill, actually Jiesia (Pajesys)

hill fort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

mound is located in

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, on the left bank of the

Nemunas Neman, Nemunas or Niemen is a river in Europe that rises in central Belarus and flows through Lithuania then forms the northern border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia's western exclave, which specifically follows its southern channel. It drains ...

, between the Panemunė and

Railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

bridges. It is 63.3 meters high. Since the 19th century, it has been named ''Napoleon's hill''. From this hill,

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

watched his

Grande Armée The (; ) was the primary field army of the French Imperial Army (1804–1815), French Imperial Army during the Napoleonic Wars. Commanded by Napoleon, from 1804 to 1808 it won a series of military victories that allowed the First French Empi ...

crossing the Neman during the

French invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign (), the Second Polish War, and in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 (), was initiated by Napoleon with the aim of compelling the Russian Empire to comply with the Continenta ...

on 24/25 June 1812; according to his orders two bridges were built to the left of the Jiesia and one in front of the hill, each 300 m apart.Philippe Paul comte de Segur (1842) HISTOIRE DE NAPOLEON ET DE LA GRANDE ARMEE PENDANT L'ANNEE 1812, p. 126
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Sources

* {{cite web, url=http://www.piliakalniai.lt/piliakalnis.php?piliakalnis_id=157 , title=Napoleono kalnas , accessdate=2009-05-09, language=Lithuanian * https://keturiossostines.lt/en/objektas/jiesios-piliakalnis-su-gyvenviete-vadinamas-napoleono-kalnu Geography of Kaunas Hill forts in Lithuania Buildings and structures in Kaunas

See also

References

Sources