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.

The mill has been standing on the bank of Lėvuo river since 1764. It is one of the oldest water mills in Lithuania. In those days, there were three millstones and a wool carding mill.

During the Soviet era, the mill was abandoned, the roof collapsed, and the stone masonry walls began to crumble. It was rebuilt by the Pasvalys Reclamation Construction Board in 1980s, and a ballroom was installed. The building is currently owned by a private individual. In the vicinity of the mill, there is an exposition of ancient farm equipment and ethnographic household items. The guest house, space for family festivals and other celebrations invites you to stop by.

Here, in the homestead of the former village of Stebeikėliai, the future classic of Lithuanian literature, Bernardas Brazdžionis, honorary Citizen of the city of Pasvalys, was born on 02 February 1907. The boy, who was barely a year old, left his homeland with his parents and went across the Atlantic. He will later return, attend Žadeikiai, Pasvalys elementary schools, Biržai gymnasium, and study at Vytautas Magnus University. Then long years of living abroad… The native village will often appear in the poet’s works. A narrow, dusty road leads here, and the last remaining homestead in the neighborhood reminds us of what the Brazdžioniai farm might have looked like. Today, it is reminded by a powerful hundred-year-old oak and a roofed pillar with a figure of St. Roch was erected in 1989. In the years of revival, the poet’s return to his homeland was particularly sensitive.

The first bridge in this place was very different from the current one. It was wooden, built in 1920. The adopted name of the “Freedom” bridge has been firmly established in the minds of local residents for a long time. The wooden bridge stood only for six years. The swift and watery Mūša River constantly destroyed the wooden parts, and ice jams threatened to collapse the bridge every spring. The ice flow reached the lower parts of the bridge and severely damaged the structures. The bridge buckled and it became dangerous to drive on it.

The new reinforced ­concrete bridge that connected the banks of Mūša became a symbol of Ustukiai village in 1928. This is one of the most beautiful structures in Pasvalys region.­ It was designed by Pranas Markūnas from Anykščiai. ­President Antanas Smetona took part in the ­opening ceremony of the bridge on 10 August 1928. The bridge was named after him. At the initiative of the Ustukiai community, the national flag of Lithuania is constantly flying over the bridge.

The bridge was built in 1929. It was brought in parts from Kaunas. Two steel trusses from Kaunas Panemunė bridge that collapsed in 1928 were used for the construction of the bridge, and the third was made in Lithuania.

In order to commemorate the tragic feat of the transatlantic pilots Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas, the Saločiai bridge was given the name of Darius and Girėnas in 1933.

An attempt was made to blow up the bridge during the war in 1944, but only its wooden parts burned. Later, no one looked after the bridge anymore, heavy machines and tractors destroyed the wooden pavement. The bridge was reconstructed in 1997, no authentic wooden pavement remained, but pedestrians still walk on wooden sidewalks of the bridge.

The partisans of the Green Forest set up a bunker in this place in autumn of 1944, named it “Near the path of Margiai Mountain-ash”. Jonas Tamošiūnas-Vyturys, a partisan from the village of Margiai, was killed in a battle with Russian soldiers near the bunker on 06 October 1945. At that time, another partisan was killed, whose name, unfortunately, is unknown. Others successfully retreated.

Bunker was restored in 2004 by the young riflemen of the Pasvalys rifle company, led by Algis Kalvėnas. In memory of the partisans, their comrade Juozas Tamulionis erected a wooden cross.

The bunker, built in 1948, was one of the headquarters of the partisan commander Povilas Žilis-Klevas. The fighters of his unit belonged to the Green Detachment of Vytis County.

The authentic bunker was never discovered nor destroyed by the enemy, it was destroyed by nature. Bunker was restored in 2003 by the young riflemen of the Pasvalys rifle company, led by Algis Kalvėnas.

A place that gives an authentic experience. We suggest you go to a bunker in the middle of the forest, where you will sit down on wooden deckchairs and read the underground press by candlelight, get acquainted with the partisan oath, sing partisan songs, and open a prayer book… The partisans of Pasvalys region, led by Jonas Alenčikas-Dragūnas, hid here when they were tired after the battles or when they were wounded. The actual bunker was built in 1945, but was destroyed during the battle. First rebuilt in 1997, but time and nature have taken their toll… The bunker was restored by the Pasvalys Regional Museum in 2019. After travelling in time you can go back to today again! You will see the real life of the partisans in a 3D movie when you will visit the Pasvalys Regional Museum.

The homestead of the Vileišiai family of farmers stood in this place, where a group of people, who distinguished themselves for Lithuania, were born and grew up. Vileišiai – fighters for the freedom of the Lithuanian press, educators, entrepreneurs, revivalists of Lithuanian spirit, supporters of culture and art, statesmen, creators of self-government, builders of a reborn Lithuania… A roofed pole for the Vileišiai family was unveiled in the homestead on 16 February 1991 (sculptor Arūnas Grušas). It depicts five brothers: Petras, the engineer, Jonas, the lawyer and the signatory of the Act of Independence of 16 February 1918, Antanas, the doctor, Juozas, the priest, and Kazimieras, the farmer. The creation of Vileišiai Park began in 2001. Oak trees rustle here for the six brothers, and the two sisters are symbolized by fir trees. Trees are planted in the park on various occasions significant for the region of Pasvalys.

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.

Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė (1861–1943), writer, publicist, and educator, spent almost 40 years of her life in Joniškėlis. It was the period of the town’s cultural rise, the prosperity of Lithuania, when the most prominent personalities of the Lithuanian nation of that time arrived to town.

G. Petkevičaitė was born in Puziniškis manor (Panevėžys District), in a family of intelligentsia nobles. The writer’s father, Jonas Leonas Petkevičius, practiced as a doctor, and her mother, Malvina Chodakauskaitė, graduated from the Vilnius ­Gymnasium. Petkevičius was appointed head of the Joniškėlis hospital in 1865 and moved here with his large family. Gabrielė was taught by the famous Lithuanian linguist and journalist Laurynas Ivinskis for two years (1866–1868).

G. Petkevičaitė was elected to the Constituent Seimas of Lithuania in 1920. As the oldest member of the Seimas, she had the honor of presiding over the first session. She even took part in the Lithuanian presidential elections, being the first female candidate. Joniškėlis gymnasium is named after her.

A windmill was built in the town of Pumpėnai in 1925. Jonas Kulalis invested here his capital that he earned in America. The investments were considerable, the body of the building is made of red bricks, the foundations are made of broken field stones. The Soviets, who occupied Lithuania, nationalized the mill and exiled the owner to Siberia. In the days of the collective farm, the mill was already powered by electricity, so the wings rotted and fell off. An attempt was made to restore the building in the 1980s, adapt it for festivals and a museum, but due to a change in the political system, it was not possible to do so. The privatized mill housed a cafe for several years, then stood empty for two decades.

The mill, which has the status of a state-protected object, was once again made famous by its new owners – “Būk geresnis” PE. The proactive youth organization successfully collected the funds needed for the preparation of the project of maintenance works. Institutions, organizations, communities and individuals bought the symbolic bricks and thus supported the mill. The prepared project was favorably received by the public, it was evaluated by specialists and recommended for state funding. If all goes well, the restoration of the mill should be completed in time for the centenary of its history.

The water mill in the village of Rauboniai was first mentioned in 1775. The wooden mill stood by Tatula River and belonged to the Raudonpamūšė estate managed by Baron Ulrich Saken, a general of the Tsarist Russian army. The Rauboniai mill was controlled by Baron Ludvik von Rop in the second half of the 19th century. He was probably the one, who built the current red brick building. Latvian Jonas Ribė bought and built wool carding and spinning facilities in 1907, thus expanding the company’s services. There was no other such company in a wide area around Rauboniai. Later, the Jew Chackelis Zivas installed new powerful English and Swedish equipment: carding machines and spinning machine. These authentic mechanisms operated daily until 1997. The building is a state-protected historical, technical, and architectural monument. Its greatest value is the preserved old technological wool processing equipment. Today, her work can be observed in the restored spaces of the mill. Educational sessions on wool processing are organized. The traditional craft festival “Vilnonės dienos” is held every year.

The narrow gauge railway line from Joniškėlis to Žeimelis used to run in this place. The bridge over Mūša was built during the Second World War, it was built by Soviet soldiers who were prisoners of the Germans. A camp for prisoners of war was even built in Svobiškis. The length of the bridge is 70 m, width – 2.6 m, height – 9.6 m. It is the only reinforced concrete arch bridge in Lithuania in a narrow gauge railway section. Materials of exceptional quality were used for the structure. In the Soviet era, the railway line was abolished, a road was built in its place, and the bridge was adapted for car traffic.

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.