The Story of the Stones

I think we all spotted that outside most houses in the Utena district, rocks/boulders were placed, some were huge.  I was told that Utena/Lithuania is mostly forest, lakes, marshes and has little or no stone, so they go out and find some and bring it back.  Also I heard that in the 14C you had by law to feed anyone turning up on your doorstep, so people would block the road off leading to their farm to keep the rich off their land in their wheeled carriages.

If you have any photos like this can you please upload them.


thanks C

This is the entrance to the woodcarvers house.. it was build over a stone.

Hillforts in Lithuania

The Lithuanian word for hill fort is piliakalnis (plural piliakalniai), from pilis (=castle) and kalnas (=mountain, hill).
Lithuania has hill forts dating from the Bronze Age in the 1st millennium BC. The earliest examples in present day Lithuania are found in the east of the country. Most of these forts were built or expanded between the fifth and fifteenth centuries, when they were used in the Dukes' Wars, and against the invasion of Teutonic Knights from the west. Most forts were located on the banks of a river, or a confluence where two rivers met. These fortifications were typically wooden, although some had additional stone or brick walls. The hill was usually sculpted for defensive purposes, with the top flattened and the natural slopes made steeper for defense.
During the early years of Grand Duchy of Lithuania piliakalniai played a major role in conflicts with the Livonian Order and the Teutonic Knights. During this period the number of piliakalniai decreased, but those that remained had stronger fortifications. Two main defense lines developed: one along the Neman River (against the Teutonic Order) and another along the border with Livonia. Two other lines started to form, but did not fully develop. One was to protect Vilnius, the capital, and the other line in Samogitia, was a major target for both orders. This territory separated the two Orders and prevented joint action between them and Pagan Lithuania.
Most of the forts were constructed of wood and were quite easy to burn. As firearms and artillery developed, piliakalnis and their castles became ineffective. Also, the Livonian Order was defeated in 1236 in the Battle of Saule. The Teutonic Knights suffered a major defeat in 1410 in the Battle of Grunwald and did not pose any further major threat.
According to the Lietuvos piliakalnių atlasas (English: Atlas of Piliakalniai in Lithuania), there were 826 piliakalniai in Lithuania. Some researchers present a total number of 840 known piliakalnis in 2007; the number is likely to increase as even more of them are discovered every year. Most piliakalniai are located near rivers and are endangered by erosion: many have partly collapsed as the flooded river has washed out the base of the hill. Now around 80 percent of piliakalniai are covered by forests and are hardly accessible to visitors.

Landed

the winning ticket

Caroline tries to find the blog on her Kindle

Laura tries the Ice milky machine

the Zeppelins !!

 

an interesting local dish... about 10cm long.... with mincemeat in the center... the rest being a white suet type thingy... i was lucky and had pork!

Feast

Poets Hill

 

It was interesting to see that our hosts often took as many pictures of us as we did of them.

3rd time lucky

 

Our 3rd hotel was just fantastic.... heat... breakfast... location

Frog lake

Carvings

at the Blacksmiths

Local arts and craft

Paper cutting

Phil leads the dance

Food from round europe

Evening presentation

Lunch

Dave demonstrates some Widness moves

Local music evening

Phil show the locals how to dance?

Beverley tries her hand at papercutting

The woodcarvers house

All meet up by Bob the builder

The world at 4am

Utena - a bit of history

Utena, one of the oldest cities in Lithuania, is related to the Narkunai castle-mound that is often mentioned in the chronicles of swordsmen. A letter of king Mindaugas in 1261, first mentioned a wooden castle by the Utenele river. According to the story, that castle was built by the Duke Utenis. Utena residents named the city's central square and a regional newspaper after this duke.

Utena was established along the Utenele river in the 14th century. By 1416 the first church had been built and merchants and tradesmen had settled here to live. During the crusades, Utena and its surroundings were terribly ravaged and in 1433 the castle of Utena was destroyed.
The Warsaw-St. Petersburg highway built in 1835 was of major importance to the town and a large post-office station established. In 1889 the narrow gauge railway Svencioneliai-Panevezys was built changing the face of the town. The town developed and grew very fast. Houses were built very close together and in 1879 there was a fire in which, ¾ of the town was burned.  Until the 1st world war, Utena was the regional center for northeastern Lithuania. In 1924, Utena was designated as a secondary town with its own Burgomaster.

Now Utena town is the the center of Utena district and Utena county. We have two lakes, Dauniškis and Vyžuonaitis, and the streams of Utenele, Krasuona, Viesa, Rase wind their ways through our town.
The area of Utena region is 1229 sq. km, 368,7 sq. km of which, is covered by forest . The region is located mostly in the Aukstaiciu hills, the northwestern part of the region on the Aukštaičių plateau. The land of Utena attracts people by the natural beauty of its hills, hollows and forests and clarity of its lakes. There are 186 lakes of various sizes throughout the region including, the deepest in Lithuania, lake Tauragnas (60,5m), one of the longest in the country, lake Aisetas (16 km) and beautiful lake Alaušas so loved by holidaymakers (10,73 km² ).
It doesn’t matter which route you take, whether from Vilnius, Kaunas or Kupiškis, the closer you come to Utena, the more the land seems to be moving with joy and the hills and fields rolling like waves. Each little hill gives way to another, the wetlands are full of flowers and birds and groves of of oak and birch trees whisper to one another in the breeze.

Utena is a center of Utena district which seizes territory of 1229 sq. km. More than 32000 citizens live there in Utena city while in all district there are approximately 47700 inhabitants. Utena is famous for its hosiery products, brewery and horse sports. Nowadays Utena is titled as a capital of Eastern Higher Lithuania. A golden horseshoe in its blazon symbolizes the luck and harmony of the city.

History

Utena is one of the oldest Lithuanian cities. It was first mentioned in a letter of the King of Lithuania Mindaugas in 1261. Then the wooden castle on the river Utenėlė shore was described. According to a legend, Utena castle was built by a duke Utenis. 1373 – 1375 Utena region was wasted in cold blood by the Teutonic Order . In  1433 Utena castle was destroyed and the city was moved to another location which was suitable for economical works better. In 1416 the Utena church was built and the city became a district. As soon as Utena got privilege of trade, city expanded a lot. In the 16th -17th century an alteration of the city was made. Utena was modified under plan of right-angled plan with a square market place in the center. A very bad influence for the city expansion the North war made. In 1700-1721 Utena was demolished by Swedes. It began regenerating only when the highway Peterburg – Warsaw was grounded. That was the first highway in Lithuania built in 1830-1836 which connected Kaunas and Zarasai. The city was capacitated to develop significantly then. In 1899 the narrow railway was stretched along the Utena region. In 1918 the first telephone station was established in local post office. In 1924 Utena got the ciy rights. Till nowadays the city climbed over its historical walls and occupied territory of lakes Dauniškis and Vyžuonaitis, reached the channel of Vyžuona river.

Nowadays

Utena nowadays is a city including many cultural, nature and historic monuments. Some of important heritage objects were destroyed during wars, but those survived all the hardships now are even more valuable as symbolize the unique ethnographic history of the region. In Utena there stands a marvelous Church of Christus Entering Heaven near the old cemetery, a brand new Utena Church of God Divine, a few orthodox churches. A cultural and social life is developed in local Culture center and in a Center of Children Social Support and Education. There are 2 post offices, a Museum of Regional Studies and a nice park attracting people every sunny day. In a Rašė hippodrome in Utena a trotter racing is organized every summer. The event attracts people from all over Lithuania as it is a unique and very exciting annual occasion. In Utena there also overlooks a remarkable Utena stone which distinguishes in its bowl formed by nature. The Utena stone is accredited to be an archeological monument. All in all, Utena district is full of places worth visiting scattered around its center like regional parks, reserves, mounds, folk art objects, beautiful old estates and many more. Beautiful natural surroundings including lakes, rivers, forests and mounds create a very harmonious atmosphere in the city so once came here everyone want to stay as long as it is possible.

Phil paints the picture

you can only have a bag this size!

First meeting

 

2nd October 2010 - Phil get the group together to discuss arrangements for the forthcoming trip to Lithuania. Great debate on luggage!