Kalnai Park ( lt, Kalnų parkas, literally: ''Park of Hills'') is a park between the left bank of the

Neris River The river Neris () or Viliya ( be, Ві́лія, pl, Wilia ) rises in northern Belarus. It flows westward, passing through Vilnius (Lithuania's capital) and in the south-centre of that country it flows into the Nemunas (Neman), at Kaunas, a ...

and right bank of the Vilnia River in

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 ...

, Lithuania. It lies within the

Vilnius Old Town The Old Town of Vilnius ( lt, Vilniaus senamiestis, pl, Stare Miasto w Wilnie, be, Стары горад у Вільнюсе, russian: Старый город в Вильнюсe), one of the largest surviving medieval old towns in both Norther ...

elderate A ''seniūnija'' (in English: eldership, elderate, ward, parish, or subdistrict) is the smallest Subdivisions of Lithuania, administrative division of Lithuania. An eldership may comprise a very small region consisting of few villages, one ...

near Gediminas Hill and Gediminas Tower, and is part of the State Cultural Reserve of Vilnius Castles, established in 1997. The park hosts various events, including concerts, political rallies, and sporting competitions. Its name reflects the presence of four prominent hills (''kalnai''): Crooked Hill, Table Hill, Bekes Hill, and the Hill of

Gediminas Gediminas ( la, Gedeminne, ; – December 1341) was the king or Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1315 or 1316 until his death. He is credited with founding this political entity and expanding its territory which later spanned the area ranging from t ...

's Grave.

History

Archeologists have hypothesized that the Crooked Hill (also known as Bleak Hill and Three Crosses Hill) housed the wooden Crooked Castle, which was destroyed during the

Lithuanian Civil War (1389–1392) The Lithuanian Civil War of 1389–1392 was the second civil conflict between Jogaila, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his cousin Vytautas. At issue was control of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, then the largest state in Europe. J ...

and never rebuilt. This

hill fort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

was damaged by erosion and by construction of fortifications during the 17th and 18th centuries. According to a legend, seven

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

friars attempting to convert Lithuania to Christianity were murdered there during the reign of Duke Algirdas. In some versions of the legend, three of the monks were crucified. Wooden memorial crosses and a chapel were erected at the site; the concrete Three Crosses were built in 1916. The crosses were torn down in 1950 by order of the

Soviet government The Government of the Soviet Union ( rus, Прави́тельство СССР, p=prɐˈvʲitʲɪlʲstvə ɛs ɛs ɛs ˈɛr, r=Pravítelstvo SSSR, lang=no), formally the All-Union Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, commonly ab ...

and replaced by the current monument in 1989. Table Hill is not well researched; in 1955 its top was bulldozed to make it perfectly flat. Bekes Hill was destroyed by erosion and was washed away by the Vilnia in 1838 and 1843. It was named after

Gáspár Bekes Gáspár Bekes de Kornyát (also ''Gáspár de Corniath Bekes'', ''Kornyáti Bekes Gáspár'', or ''Kaspar Bekes'', ''Caspar Bekesh''; 1520 – 7 November 1579) was a Hungarian nobleman who fought Stephen Báthory for the throne of Transylvania af ...

from Hungary (1520–1579), a military commander under Stephen Báthory of Poland, who was buried on the hill (he was of Arianism faith and therefore refused admittance to other city's cemeteries). His grave was marked by an octagonal tower, in height and in diameter. Lithuanians plan to cooperate with the Embassy of Hungary to restore his memory in the park. The Hill of Gediminas' Grave is used by the reconstructionist-pagan Romuva church as a ritual site. According to legend,

Grand Duke of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Kingdom of Lithuania, Lithuania, which was established as an Absolute monarchy, absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three Duke, ducal D ...

, was buried on the hill. While the territory may hold the key to the earliest history of Vilnius, no comprehensive archaeological research has been undertaken. Several small and isolated studies were conducted during various construction works in the park. In summer 2008, archeological excavations began in the so-called Valley of Songs, where a small settlement existed in the 13th and 14th centuries and where the Soviets built a stage for concerts in 1955–1956. The scientists uncovered the bodies of several German

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

prisoners.

References

External links

Kalnų Park

{{in lang, lt
Tourist brochure in four languages
(PDF) Parks in Vilnius