Kovos Lietuvos istorinėje atmintyje: piliakalniai kaip "atminties vieta"

ENThere are almost one thousand mounds in Lithuania. These objects of cultural heritage are the expressive accents of the cultural landscape, which were once significant as fortification facilities, and locations of fortified settlements, castles, and manors. The mounds are seen in this article as ‘memory locations’ representing the fights for national freedom and independence, which took place in the past, and other historical events important to the people and the state. The purpose of the article is to investigate and reveal the mounds – the natural and cultural landscape elements becoming significant historical memory locations, by paying particular attention to the change in their content and meaning, and the forms of expression of historical and cultural memory there during different historical periods. The study aims to find out how the objects of heritage, namely mounds, were used as memory locations for historical consciousness and the patriotic education of citizens (in particular – soldiers, shooters, students) of the restored state in independent Lithuania in 1918–1940 and the Revival period (1988–1990); how it was attempted to install the Soviet cultural memory using the mounds as memory locations – the expressions of the historical and cultural memory after having changed or adapted the contents of memory to new conditions; how even after the sovietisation of the contents of cultural memory of mounds, they became the place of Lithuanian cultural resistance for Lithuanian intellectuals. At the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, the mounds became not only objects of historical interest, but also symbols of searches for the ideological roots of the nation, of Lithuanian battles for freedom, and of the nation’s strength.A generalised image of mounds as monumental symbols of the nation’s history and Lithuanian battles for freedom was formed in society through publications in the press. Mounds became not only places of local historical attractions, but also collective historical memory locations. Mounds during the interwar period in Lithuania became a very important place of historical memory – as the ancestral legacy for future generations capable of being not only objects of interest and pride, but also providing strength to the new generations. Historical and cultural memory was manifested in the following forms: management of mounds and tree planting, excursions, organisation of various events on the mounds or at their base. The Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union (1920–1940), soldiers, students and members of various public organisations (in particular – the Society for the Beautification of Lithuania) took care of the mounds. In the 1920s, the romantic image of the mounds based on imagination still dominated in the media, and the specific and more scientifically based knowledge on mounds spread in the 1930s due to the increasing number of publications prepared by archaeologists and historians, and professional archaeological researches covered in the media. During the Soviet occupation, it was attempted to link the mounds, as places of Lithuanian battles with crusaders, with the struggles of World War II between the Soviet Union and Germany, by including these objects of heritage into attempted ideologies of joint fights of the Lithuanian and Russian peoples against German aggression. The mounds during the Soviet occupation were a significant location of expression of Lithuanian cultural resistance. Rasos (Saint Jonas’ Festival) celebrations and other events of hiking clubs and other organisations fostering national values, which very often provoked negative reactions by the authorities, were held on or near the mounds.During the National Revival period of Lithuania, the mounds also became locations for different events and gatherings. Currently, the mounds are a large and frequently visited cultural heritage group. Some mounds (like Veliuona, Seredžius, Kernavė, Punia, Apuolė and many others) and Alka-hills (Rambynas Hill) have become places for events that refresh and form living archaeology and other historical memory. Mounds installed centuries ago thanks to the awakening of Lithuanian national revival, which at the end of the 20th century became important points of the Lithuanian national identity and historical self-restraint, today also remain important memory locations for the Lithuanian state and the Lithuanian fights.