Places to visit in Pasval district

The old Toliūnai water mill is mentioned already in 1857. It belonged to Toliūnai Manor, it had only one millstone. The mill burned down in 1905. The fire could have been caused by oil leaking from old equipment. The new owners of the manor built a new field stone masonry mill in 1909 that still stands today.

The mill has three floors. In the upper one there were two millstones. In the lower part – devices for pouring flour and groats into sacks. In the western part there were living quarters – three rooms and a kitchen.

During the First World War, the Toliūnai manor and the mill were under the control of Germans. Later, it was bought by the Jews of Pakruojis region, who did not live here, but hired local workers. The building was purchased in 1927 by Mrs. Agnieška Jasukevičienė, who came from the USA, thanks to whom the wool processing equipment was installed in the mill. The mill was famous throughout the region, customers came here even from Panevėžys. In the Soviet era, the mill was turned by an electric motor. Then the mill stopped operating. Today it is a private property, but it stands abandoned.

The date of its construction is commemorated on the wall of the mill – 1899. The mill was built by Baron Han, the landowner of Plonėnai. The powerful, 4-story, 18-meter-high building is made of local clay bricks. Foundations from field stones. The mill had four wings and a modern drawbar, a device for turning the cap against the wind. Four millstone were turning: two for grinding of feed grains, one for bread, and one for fine grinding and sorting. In the days of independent Lithuania, the mill was rented by the Jew Moderniekas, but he was kicked out due to disagreements. The new owner built a steam engine and set up a sawmill. The Soviets, who occupied Lithuania, nationalized the mill and exiled the owner to Siberia. The mill was restored in the 1980s, adapted for festivals, and an extension was built next to it. However, the work was not completed after the change in the political establishment. The privatized building housed a cafe-bar, later a second-hand clothing store. The mill no longer received the attention it needed, it lost its face, its wings fell off, and its walls began to crumble.

Velniakalnis is an archaeological site of the Iron Age. It is believed that in the times of paganism, there was a place of religious rites here – a site of alkas. Only isolated archaeological finds are known.

A sundial is installed on Velniakalnis, the highest hill in the Pasvalys Region. The height of Velniakalnis is 75.2 m. above sea level. The sky luminary observatory in Velniakalnis was created based on the old tradition of Balts. Back then, large stones marked important places: crossroads, burial places, land borders, celestial observation points. The sky luminaries observatory and the sundial were created by folk artist Arūnas Grušas (Pasvalys). The sundial was opened on 22 September 2019, commemorating the Day of Unity of Balts. Velniakalnis sundial is unique in its form, it is included in the virtual world sundial atlas www.sundialatlas.net.

St. John’s Day, 6th of July – State Day, 22nd of September are celebrated at Velniakalnis, the fire of Balts’ unity is lit here.

In the middle of the 19th century, the family of the landowner Aleksandaras Chodakauskas bought the Vytartai manor. On the side of Pasvalys, on the picturesque bend of Mūša River, the mansion was once haunted by the silhouettes of famous women. Sofija Smetonienė, the wife of Antanas Smetona, the first president of Lithuania, often visited here, at the house of her grandmother Šarlotė Osten Saken Chodakauskienė. Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė, godmother of S. Smetonienė, also from the Chodakauskai family, was a frequent guest in Vytartai. Grandfather of S. Smetonienė and father of G. Petkevičaitė-Bitė were brothers.

On the road to the manor an arched bridge was built over Mūša River in 1928. President A. Smetona himself participated in the opening of the bridge. There was a school in the Vytartai manor from 1931 to 1968. Currently, the manor belongs to private individuals.

A hydrological natural monument of national significance. The Spring is unique in its pungent smell and yucky taste. The pebbles of the bottom of the stream and the grass on the edges are so white that the spring is nicknamed White. Its water is clear, colorless, has a sharp smell of hydrogen sulphide, unpleasant taste, because it contains a lot of sulphates (gypsum) and other chemical compounds. With the help of a lever, water can be drawn from the tank.