In Aukštieji Šančiai, not far from the centre of Kaunas, is a hill fort known as both Šančiai Hill fort and Aukštapilis. The Aukštieji Šančiai oakwood that covers the hill fort and that’s located on the upper terrace of the right bank of the Nemunas, is a smaller remaining part of an oak forest that once surrounded the city. You can find the hill fort when driving from K. Baršausko Street before you reach the cemetery. Like many other hill forts in Kaunas and Lithuania, there are many legends concerning this one. One says the hill is haunted. Someone here has even seen white horses.
Members of the ancient religious community Romuva, the so-called Romuvians, established a sanctuary next to the hill fort. In 2013, a fire altar was built on a platform next to it. Here, people celebrate Baltic holidays and perform different rituals. If you were to go deep into the oakwood, you’d find an oak tree marked by the god of thunder, Perkūnas. The members of the Romuva community formed a paleoastronomic calendar around it, a circle made of stone that’s 14 metres in diameter and made of 12 different sections.
