Hill of Witches

One of the most beautiful old parabolic dunes of Juodkrantė is the so-called Hill of Witches. The slopes of the hill are covered with century-old pines, and a winding path through the shade leads to the 42-metre summit. From here you can see the sparkling sea, while the lagoon gleams through the pine trunks and spruce boughs. In the past the southern and eastern slopes of the dune were not forested, and the summit offered an extraordinary view of sands and waters. In the 19th and early 20th centuries the Lietuvininkai (Lithuanians of Lithuania Minor) liked to celebrate Rasos, or St John's Eve, here. Choir members and musicians arrived across the Curonian Lagoon by sailing boat and even by several steamships from Tilsit, Rusnė and Klaipėda, and celebrated all through the shortest night of the year until sunrise, searching for the fern flower. The tradition of the festival was ended by the First World War. It was not only people who loved the Hill of Witches – it is said that since time immemorial devils and witches held feasts here. Even Ragė, the goddess of witches, herself is said to have come to the annual gatherings on the short summer nights. This place is special – it is the borderland between the mystical and the real world, where imagination comes alive and creative powers awaken. Sensing this atmosphere, the Juodkrantė forester Jonas Stanius came up with the idea that craftsmen could carve characters from the legends and fairy tales that had lived in the wider area for centuries, so that the Hill of Witches would come alive with such extraordinary inhabitants. The first creative camp was held in 1979. Folk craftsmen – woodcarvers and blacksmiths – came from all over Lithuania and created 25 sculptures. The second camp took place the following year, and the third a year later… And even now, craftsmen come almost every year to restore old sculptures and carve new ones. This whole huge ensemble – more than 80 oak sculptures with wrought-iron decorations – is a gift from folk craftsmen to Juodkrantė, to Lithuania and to everyone who comes here.