Kernave Archaeological Site and Museum
UNESCO-listed hill forts above the Neris valley, with a museum of finds from Lithuania's medieval capital.
Kernave lies on a terrace above the Neris some 35 kilometres north-west of Vilnius. Five hill forts rise in a row over the Pajauta valley, the remains of a fortified complex that served as an early capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and was burned by the Teutonic Order in 1390. The reserve covers about 194 hectares and preserves settlement traces from the late Palaeolithic through to the Middle Ages. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2004.
Systematic excavation began in 1979 and has produced tens of thousands of finds, among them craft workshops, jewellery, coins and a medieval town layer sealed beneath river silt. The Archaeological Site Museum, opened in its present building in 2012, presents these in an interactive display covering the work of archaeologists as well as the objects themselves. An open-air section reconstructs timber dwellings and craft techniques, and paths climb the mounds from the valley floor.
Highlights
- Five medieval hill forts above the Pajauta valley
- UNESCO World Heritage listing granted in 2004
- Museum display of finds excavated since 1979
- Open-air reconstructions of timber dwellings and crafts
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