Ginučiai hillfort rises in Aukštaitija National Park, between lakes Linkmenas and Ūkojas. Although it is now overgrown with forest, you can see straight away that it is one of the grandest and most impressive hillforts in Lithuania. In fact it is not one but a complex of two hillforts, separated by a small hollow. The high, steep slopes and fairly wide plateau show that an important castle, hard for enemies to take, once stood here. On top of that, its founders and rulers clearly had a certain artistic flair, as the hill offers a stunning view of the lakes shimmering all around. And indeed – King Mindaugas himself may have visited the fortress that stood on Ginučiai hillfort! Historians believe that in the mid-13th century the castle was ruled by Mindaugas's nephew, Duke Lengvenis. People settled here much earlier – remains of hand-made pottery and 9th–10th-century Arab coins have been found on the hillfort. And once Vilnius became the capital of Lithuania, Ginučiai was one of the most important castles protecting the capital from attacks from the north. President A. Smetona was so fond of this place that an oak was even planted here for his sixtieth birthday. Later, border police officers (at the time the demarcation line with the Polish-occupied Vilnius region ran nearby) set up a memorial stone next to it. During the Soviet occupation the oak was cut down and the stone rolled into Lake Linkmenas. When the national revival began, in 1989 members of the Vilnius Hikers' Club found the stone in the lake and rolled it back up onto the hillfort. Later a young oak was symbolically planted again on nearby Ladakalnis. Wooden steps will help you climb the steep slope. And if you walk a little further from the hillfort, you can visit the legendary Ladakalnis right next to it, which offers even more impressive views of the surroundings.