Country: Lithuania – City: Vilnius – Address: T. Kosciuškos g. 1B, Vilnius, Park of Hills, Territory of the Vilnius Castles

On the Edge of the Glacier: From Northern Ice to the Hills of Vilnius Castles

Description:

This outdoor guided walk through the Vilnius Castle Territory invites participants to imagine a time when Vilnius looked more like Greenland than the city we know today. Around 20,000 years ago, this landscape lay at the edge of a massive Scandinavian ice sheet. Where the Hills of the Three Crosses and Gediminas Hill rise today, there was once the margin of a glacier stretching far to the north toward the Scandinavian mountains.

As the climate slowly warmed about 16,000 years ago, the retreating ice released enormous amounts of meltwater. Temporary glacial lakes formed, the waters rose and reshaped the terrain, and the emerging valleys of the Neris and the Vilnia began to take shape. Sand, gravel, clay, pebbles, and large boulders were left behind like northern “souvenirs,” forming the steep hills that would later become the foundation of the medieval Vilnius Castles.

Together with a scientist, participants will explore how ice, water, and time created the dramatic relief of Vilnius. The tour combines geological storytelling, landscape observation, and local history to reveal how northern ice ultimately shaped not only the hills, but the very beginnings of the city itself.

Main objectives:

To help participants understand how glacial processes shaped the hills and river valleys of Vilnius;
To connect Earth science with the historical development of the Vilnius Castle Territory;
To encourage public curiosity about landscape, geology, and natural heritage through direct observation in the field.

Event language: Lithuanian

The event will be: Only in presence

Link (for online events):

Reference person: Enrika Trofimoviene – Role or function: Contact person, cultural educator/tour guide – Reference organization: The Directorate of Vilnius Castles State Cultural Reserve

Those who organize are: The Directorate of Vilnius Castles State Cultural Reserve (event organizer)

Estimated starting time (local time): 6:30:00 PM

Expected duration: around 2 hours

Event program: it will be displayed here as soon as possible

GeoNight code: 2026162