Voruta may have been the

capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city ...

of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...

and the

Kingdom of Lithuania The Kingdom of Lithuania was a Lithuanian state, which existed roughly from 1251 to 1263. King Mindaugas was the first and only Lithuanian monarch crowned King of Lithuania with the assent of the Pope. The formation of the Kingdom of Lithuania ...

during the reign of king

Mindaugas Mindaugas (german: Myndowen, la, Mindowe, orv, Мендог, be, Міндоўг, pl, Mendog, c. 1203–1263) is the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or r ...

in the 13th century. Voruta is mentioned briefly in a written source only once and its exact location is unknown. Despite all the uncertainties, the concept of Voruta is well-known and popular in Lithuania.

Historiography

Mindaugas, the first and the only crowned Lithuanian king, defended himself in Voruta during an internal war against his nephews

Tautvilas Tautvilas (or Tautvila; died 1263) was Duke of Polotsk and one of Dausprungas' sons and nephews of King of Lithuania Mindaugas. Tautvilas together with his brother Gedvydas and uncle Vykintas waged a civil war against Mindaugas. The war resulted ...

and

Edivydas Gedvydas (or Edivid) (believed to have died ca. 1253) was one of the sons of Dausprungas and nephews of King of Lithuania Mindaugas. Gedvydas together with his brother Tautvilas and uncle Vykintas waged a civil war against Mindaugas. Gedvydas' broth ...

and Duke of

Samogitia 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 Lithuania ...

Vykintas 200 px, Monument to Duke Vykintas in Tverai Vykintas (died ) was Duke of Samogitia and a rival to the future King of Lithuania, Mindaugas. In 1236 he probably led the Samogitian forces in the Battle of Saule against the Livonian Order. The Order ...

in 1251. This information, taken from the

Hypatian Chronicle The Hypatian Codex (also known as Hypatian Letopis or Ipatiev Letopis; be, Іпацьеўскі летапіс; russian: Ипатьевская летопись; uk, Іпатіївський літопис) is a ''svod'' (compendium) of three ''l ...

, is the only recorded message about Voruta. A castle of Mindaugas was mentioned on two more occasions, but neither its name nor location was specified. It is unclear whether these brief mentions referred to the same location. Nevertheless, some historians in 19th and 20th centuries called it "the first capital of Lithuania" and attempted to identify its location. In total there were about fifteen suggested locations of Voruta. Others argue that Voruta was not an actual city, but just a misinterpretation of a word that means ''capital''. In the opinion of

Kazimieras Būga Kazimieras Būga (; November 6, 1879 – December 2, 1924) was a Lithuanian linguist and philologist. He was a professor of linguistics, who mainly worked on the Lithuanian language. He was born at Pažiegė, near Dusetos, then part of the Russia ...

, one of the prominent Lithuanian

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

s, the word ''voruta'' simply means ''castle''.

List of suggested locations

These sites were suggested by various historians in various times: # Berzgainiai in

Ukmergė district Ukmergė (; previously ''Vilkmergė''; pl, Wiłkomierz) is a city in Vilnius County, Lithuania, located northwest of Vilnius, with a population of about 20,000. Etymology and variant names The city took its original name ''Vilkmergė'' from th ...

by Petras Tarasenka # Buteikiai in

Anykščiai district Anykščiai (; see other names) is a ski resort town in Lithuania, west of Utena. The Roman Catholic Church of St. Matthias in Anykščiai is the tallest church in Lithuania, with spires measuring in height. Anykščiai has a resort status i ...

by Kazimieras Žebrys # Gorodishche near

Navahrudak Novogrudok ( be, Навагрудак, Navahrudak; lt, Naugardukas; pl, Nowogródek; russian: Новогрудок, Novogrudok; yi, נאַוואַראַדאָק, Novhardok, Navaradok) is a town in the Grodno Region, Belarus. In the Middle A ...

Teodor Narbutt Teodor Narbutt ( lt, Teodoras Narbutas; 8 November 1784 – 27 November 1864) was a Polish–Lithuanian romantic historian and military engineer in service of the Russian Empire. He is best remembered as the author of a nine-volume Polish-langu ...

Halshany Halshany ( be, Гальшáны, lt, Alšėnai or Galšia, russian: Гольшáны, pl, Holszany, yi, אלשאן ''Olshan'') is a village and former town in the Grodno Region of Belarus. It is known as the former seat of the Olshanski pri ...

( lt, Alšėnai) by #

Kernavė Kernavė was a medieval capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and today is a tourist attraction and an archeological site (population 272, 2011). It is located in the Širvintos district municipality located in southeast Lithuania. A Lithuanian ...

by Fryderyk Papée #

Karelichy Karelichy ( be, Карэлічы, Kareličy; russian: Коре́личи, ; lt, Koreličiai; pl, Korelicze; yi, קארעליץ, ''Korelitz'') is a town in the Grodno Region of Belarus and the administrative centre of Karelichy District. The t ...

( lt, Koreličiai) by

Mikola Yermalovich Mikola Yermalovich ( be, Ермало́віч Міко́ла Іва́навіч, Mikoła Jermałovič) (April 29, 1921 in Dzyarzhynsk Raion, Minsk Voblast – March 5, 2000) was a Belarusian writer and historian. Biography Ermalovich was ...

# Liškiava by

Jonas Totoraitis Jonas Totoraitis (24 December 1872 – 21 June 1941) was a Roman Catholic priest and historian. Education Totoraitis studied at the Theological Seminary of Sejny. He went on to Freiburg University in Switzerland, where he published his doctora ...

Medininkai Medininkai (; be, Меднікі) is a village in Lithuania, located east of Vilnius city municipality and from the Lithuanian–Belarusian border. The village is situated on the Medininkai Highland, near the highest points of Lithuania � ...

by Evaldas Gečiauskas # Ročiškė in

Raseiniai district Raseiniai District Municipality is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania. Symbols Coat of arms: ''A traditional Iberic shield Argent, resting on a base Vert a lynx salient Proper.'' References

Raseiniai District Municipality, Muni ...

Ludwik Krzywicki Ludwik Joachim Franciszek Krzywicki (21 August 1859 – 10 June 1941) was a Polish Marxist anthropologist, economist and sociologist. One of the early champions of sociology in Poland, he approached historical materialism from a sociological viewpo ...

# Šeimyniškėliai in Anykščiai district by

Eduards Volters Eduards Volters (1856–1941) was a linguist, ethnographer, archaeologist who studied the Baltic languages and culture. He was a long-time professor at the Saint Petersburg University (1886–1918) and Vytautas Magnus University (1922–1934). V ...

(supported by

Tomas Baranauskas Tomas Baranauskas (born 12 September 1973 in Kaunas) is a Lithuanian historian specializing in the history of medieval Lithuania. He is the author of the book ''The Formation of the Lithuanian State''. Baranauskas spent his youth in Žeimelis a ...

) # Ūturiai in Raseiniai district by

Wojciech Kętrzyński Wojciech Kętrzyński (born Adalbert von Winkler; 11 July 1838 – 15 January 1918), was a Polish historian and the director of the Ossolineum Library in Lemberg, then the capital of Galicia, Austrian Empire. He focused on Polish history at a ...

# Varniany ( lt, Varnionys) in

Hrodna Voblast Grodno Region ( pl, Grodzieńszczyzna) or Grodno Oblast or Hrodna Voblasts ( be, Гродзенская вобласць, ''Hrodzienskaja vobłasć'', , ''Haradzienščyna''; russian: Гродненская область, ''Grodnenskaya oblast' ...

, Belarus by Juliusz Latkowski #

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

by Romas Batūra # Area of Daugai–

Varėna Varėna (; pl, Orany; yi, אוראַן ''Oran'') is a city in Dzūkija, Lithuania. History The town was founded in 1862 near the Warsaw – Saint Petersburg Railway, south of Sena Varėna (Old Varėna). At that time it was a small settleme ...

Henryk Łowmiański Henryk Łowmiański (August 22, 1898 near Ukmergė - September 4, 1984 in Poznań) was a Polish historian and academic who was an authority on the early history of the Slavic and Baltic people. A researcher of the ancient history of Poland, Lithu ...

# Area of Medvėgalis–

Varniai Varniai (; Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Varnē''; pl, Wornie) is a city in the Telšiai County, western Lithuania. In the Middle Ages the city was known as Medininkai (Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Medėninkā''). It was established ...

by Antanas Steponaitis Since publication, some of the theories have been largely discredited.

References

{{reflist Castles in Lithuania Hill forts in Lithuania Former populated places in Eastern Europe