"The town of Darsūniškis was built between gates so that, under the saints' protection, the morning would dawn without fire." These simple lines have a special meaning for a town that has been partly or completely burned down at least eight times. The three gates are chapels dedicated to St. George, St. Casimir and St. Agatha (who protects believers' homes from fire), built at the main entrances to Darsūniškis from Kruonis, Kaišiadorys and Jieznas. Today Darsūniškis is a small town popular with anglers on the right bank of the Nemunas. Visitors come to see the former castle site, the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Darsūniškis stone, and drink from the Liutika mineral spring. At the beginning of the Second World War there was a Jewish ghetto in Darsūniškis, and some of its inmates were shot at the Darsūniškis Jewish cemetery. Few people know, however, that the town's history is as eventful and significant as that of a big city. Two Stone Age settlements have been found within the town. Darsūniškis was first mentioned in 1372 in the chronicle of Wigand, when the Komtur of Insterburg made a surprise attack on Darsūniškis (Dirsunen) castle, burned it and took 400 captives. Ten years later the castle was ablaze again as the Lithuanians defended themselves against artillery (bombards), used by the Teutonic Knights in Lithuania for the first time. From the mid-17th century until the end of the Second World War, Darsūniškis was completely burned down at least six more times. Grand Dukes Vytautas and Jogaila visited Darsūniškis castle. The town was ruled by the most influential nobles of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: Jonas Goštautas and the Ogiński dynasty. In 1486 Darsūniškis was called a town in written sources; it received Magdeburg rights twice – under Grand Duke Casimir in the 16th century and again in 1791. It was then that two gates were built on the main roads – those of St. Agatha and St. Casimir. The third, St. George's Gate, was built in 1910. All of them were demolished in 1963 and their remains dumped into the Nemunas. The gates were rebuilt on 11 August 1990. The sculptures and painting, unexpectedly found in the then Museum of Atheism of the Lithuanian SSR in Vilnius, were returned to them.