When walking around one of the most beautiful places in Palanga – Birutė Park – be sure to visit Birutė Hill. Here, on the former lands of the Tyszkiewicz manor, the century-old Birutė pine forest, once considered sacred, has survived intact. It surrounds the legend-shrouded Birutė Hill, which rises 21 metres above sea level and offers a beautiful view of the roaring sea. Surrounded by nature, you will not only have a great time but also be transported in your thoughts to the distant past – people lived here a very long time ago, as confirmed by the 1st-millennium pottery found on the hill. A Curonian settlement complex usually consisted of a castle, one or more settlements and a sacred grove. On Birutė Hill there was a castle and a sacred site as early as the 10th–13th centuries, with a small village at the foot of the hill. In the late 14th – early 15th century a defensive wall was built on the hill, which was probably burned down during the wars with the Teutonic Knights. Later a pagan sanctuary with a palaeoastronomical observatory was set up here. This sanctuary is associated with the name of the vestal Birutė, wife of Duke Kęstutis and mother of Vytautas. It is said that she lived here, tended the sacred fire and was buried here after her death. In 1898 a neo-Gothic chapel designed by the architect K. Mayer was built on the summit of Birutė Hill. In 1976 the chapel was decorated with stained-glass windows by the artist L. Pocius.