Places to visit in Pasval district

The mound is located at the confluence of two rivers. It is surrounded by Tatula river from the north, and the Ūgė river from the south and southwest. The mound site is triangular, about 60 m long, the site is surrounded by the remains of defensive ramparts. Side slopes about 9 m high, almost perpendicular, eroded by river flows.  The mound was built and inhabited in the 9th-11th centuries. The wooden castle of the Žimegaliai that stood here was part of the defense system of Northern Lithuania. Archaeological research has shown that the buildings had stone ovens, a sand layer floor, and a stone-paved courtyard. The sources of the 13th century do not mention Ąžuolpamūšė mound, but people still lived here, as there is a cemetery nearby. After the German order conquered Žiemgala in the late 13th century, the last inhabitants abandoned this land and the life in Ąžuolpamūšė came to an end. 

Legends. One legend tells that there was a mansion on the hill, which vanished beneath the surface of the earth. On the first Easter day, the nobleman who lived here kicked his serfs to plow the land. After they returned from work, they the mansion was not there. Now two girls come out every night, going down the stairs to the water and rinse napkins and plates. Once the roosters crow, they would disappear right away. As they pass the mountain, people listen uneasily when they hear roosters crowing, scythes beating, and bells ringing underground.

Another legend testifies that once upon a time men were herding horses in during night grazing and sitting by a fire next to the mound. Suddenly, a handsome gentleman with a cane came down from the mountain, said hello and sat down to warm himself. One man offered him snuff tobacco. The man took it, but he didn’t sniff it through his nose, but took it in his mouth. Then the men saw that his nose was without nostrils. When the roosters crowed, the gentleman got up and walked back up the hill. Soon there was a crash and the men were suddenly doused with water. In this way, the mound defended itself from the vandals and protected its secrets with various intimidating things.

A memorial site that honors the people of Joniškėlis of the 20th century, who died for the freedom of Lithuania. Men from this region assembled into the Joniškėlis death battalion and defended Northern Lithuania from the Soviet Russian army in 1919. An impressive monument depicting an artillery gun was erected in 1935 on the grave of the officer Jonas Stapulionis, who died in the struggle. The names of the volunteers of Joniškėlis village are inscribed on memorial tablets.

Partisans from the Joniškėlis region, who fell for the freedom of Lithuania during the period of armed resistance to the Soviet Union in 1944-1953, are also buried in the memorial. Many died in the battle of Uniūnai Village with NKVD troops in on 23 February 1946.

1,349 people of Jewish nationality from Pasvalys, Vabalnikas, Joniškėlis, Saločiai, Vaškai, and Daujėnai were killed in this place and buried in two mass graves at the end of August of 1941. The execution was carried out by the executioners of the 3rd company of the 1st Lithuanian police battalion.

The exact number of Jews killed is known from SS Colonel Karl Jäger’s report on completed tasks of 1941. In one grave, there are remains of 402 men, in the other – remains of 738 women and 209 children. In the practice of killing, this was done to avoid unwanted emotions and unrest. There are memorials in both places.

The mound stands near the old road from Pasvalys to Joniškėlis, on the right bank of the Mūša River, at the confluence with the Pušynė Stream. Located on a hill, the slopes are steep, 7-10 meters high, at the top there is a site with a diameter of about 30 meters, surrounded by a well-preserved embankment. Pušynės stream is visible today only in early spring, then it hides in the grass. But the deep valley through which it flows into the Mūša testifies to the existence of a watery river that was present in the past. Water surrounded the mound on three sides and was a natural natural obstacle for the enemy. And the western part was protected by a defensive ditch, it remained about 90 meters long. In the past, the mountain was undoubtedly higher, eroded by plowing and nature, but it has retained its original shape quite well.

It is believed that the mound was built in the 9th century, a wooden castle was built to protect the Žimegali settlement, and later it was part of the defense system of northern Lithuania. As the pressure of the German order intensified in the second half of the 13th century, Žiemgaliai abandoned their lands. It was probably then that life in the vicinity and the mound of Šimoniai finally collapsed. In the 1930s, farmers accidentally found two treasures while working the land near Migoniai mound: brass and silver items of 6th-7th centuries.

Legends. There used to be a pit on the site of the Migonys mound. While retreating, the Swedes hid their weapons there and covered it with soil. The top of the mountain used to be a peak, and on the west side there was an exit, of which, unfortunately, there are no signs anymore. It is also said that Swedes defeated by Lithuanians or even the Swedish king himself with his crown are buried on the mountain. Swedish soldiers poured this mountain with their hats as a tribute to the king.

The legend testifies that a cruel lord built a palace on the mountain. The serfs worked on his estate all day, while the children and elders who stayed at home had to weave sieves and twist ropes for the master. He tortured the disobedient or exchanged them for a horse or a dog. The gentleman died, but it did not get any easier for people. For three years, they fulfilled the last wish of the deceased: they poured a high mountain on his grave with hats. Eventually they placed a red-brimmed gentleman’s hat, a sign of power and honor, at the top. Over the years, the hat has disappeared under the soil. The lord’s manor also collapsed, a lake appeared in its place, which later dried up and gave start to the Sindriūnai Village.

The chapel-shaped wooden composition is dedicated to the book smugglers of the Saločiai region – Steponas Pavilionis, Juozas Steponavičius, Antanas Krasinskas-Voverys, and Jonas Burkus. Unveiled in 1993.

Lithuanians defeated the forces of West Russian Volunteer Army on 12 November 1919 in Saločiai. In order to commemorate this victory and honor the fallen soldiers a seven-meter obelisk was erected in the market square of the town in 1928. At its top was a globe pierced by a sword, as a bold statement that Lithuania had won a place for itself among the rest of the world. In the post-war years, the enemies desecrated the bodies of the fallen partisans at its foot. The monument was demolished in circa 1964. The wreckage was taken away and buried somewhere in gravel pits…

Saločiai obelisk was erected again in June 1989, on the initiative of the town’s Sąjūdis group.

Soldiers of the Pušalotas company of the Joniškėlis partisan battalion who died  in the spring battle with the Bolsheviks in 1919 near the village of Bernatoniai (now Panevėžys District) are buried here.

A monument depicting a stepped pyramid was erected on the grave of the soldiers in 1928 with the care of the members of the spring movement and former comrades. President Antanas Smetona participated in the ceremony of consecration of the monument. The monument was created by the architect Vladas Švipas. His model was exhibited at the Paris World Fair in 1937.

During the Soviet occupation, the monument stood abandoned, state symbols and names of fallen soldiers were torn from it.