Kernavė Archaeological Site (Cultural Reserve of Kernavė) is located about 35 km north-west of Vilnius in eastern Lithuania. The Kernavė Archaeological Site is situated near the river Neris in the Pajauta Valley. Kernavė represents a testimony to 10 millennia of human settlements in the Baltic region and has preserved traces of ancient land use and the remains of five hill forts. The Kernavė hill forts were part of a large defence system. The oldest hill fort of Kernavė is Aukuras Hill. Aukuras Hill was settled in the first century BC. Along with Vilnius and Trakai, Kernavė was an important feudal town in the Middle Ages. Kernavė was the first capital of Lithuania. In the 14th century, the town was destroyed by the Teutonic Order, the remaining inhabitants settled on a nearby hill. Modern Kernavė is a tiny rural village, but it has a church and chapel next to the Kernavė Archaeological Site. The archaeological site was excavated in the 19th century. After WWII, the hill forts were excavated by the Vilnius University in 1979 and the Lithuanian Institute of History between 1980-1983. Only a small part of Kernavė has been excavated. The Kernavė Archaeological Site Museum houses artifacts discovered during the excavations, the objects tell the history of Kernavė. Kernavė Archaeological Site (Cultural Reserve of Kernavė) was declared a UNESCO World Heritage in 2004.
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Kernavė Archaeological Site (Cultural Reserve of Kernavė): Kernavė is a tiny town situated on the right bank of the Neris River. Around 500 AD, Kernavė, together with Vilnius and Trakai, was an important tribal centre in Lithuania, it was the capital city of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 13th century. In the 14th century, Kernavė was destroyed by the Teutonic Order, the remaining inhabitants settled on a nearby hill. Kernavė represents the primeval past of Lithuania.
