Walking time: 1 hour.
Length of the route: 1.30 km
On the 11th of December 2014 a newly installed hiking trail “Mythology” has been opened in Sirvėta Regional Park. The length of the trail is about 1 km. Visitors hiking in this section meet 17 sculptures that embody the old Lithuanian Gods and mythological creatures.
The beginning of the trail is near the Sirvėta Regional Park Visitor Center, where there is an internal exposition – Mythology, so this mythological trail is like a continuation of the indoor exposition outside. The visitor is greeted here by two sculptures: the Supreme God and the Thunder-Velin (devil). The Supreme took care of the priests and commanders, soldiers sacrificed and prayed to Thunder, and Velin, the patron of farmers. In the cold season of the year, Velin puts Nature to sleep and slows down the processes of nature. With the arrival of spring, the first thunder is heard – the Thunder frees the earth from stagnation and begins a new life cycle. Velino’s eternal fight with Thunder is what makes the circle of nature go round – winter, spring, summer, autumn… The symbol of Thunder is lightning, a stone ax, and Velino’s is the key that “locks” and “unlocks” the earth again. The author of this sculpture is a sculptor, Professor Dalia Matulaitė.
We meet the sculpture of Laima, the Goddess of Destiny, next to the state-protected natural object “Lime tree arbour”. It was believed that when the Goddess landed on Earth, she embodied nowhere else but Lime trees. In the story, Laima spins a thread of destiny at the baby’s crib. The success or failure of human life depended on it. The cuckoo, the duck, the swan are Laima’s messengers. Valdas Bubelevičius expressed this transformation of the Goddess into a bird in a stone sculpture.
The trail continues to the forest of Šventa, where one can see the surviving pond of the manor. Traveling in a circle in the woods a person goes to the next, lower level. Sculptures of Gods that are closer to man can always be found here: Lazdona, Kelukis, Žemyna, Javinė, Upinis, Kremata, Aušlavis, Žvėrūna (Medeina) and Zuikiai god, Žemėpatis, Girinis, Gabija, Ežerinis, Veliona…
Gods are nothing but nature itself, the personalization of the environment around us and its elements. In the past, people lived differently – closer to nature, and its various phenomena were important on a daily basis. Man lived in these lands surrounded and under the protection of the higher forces, the Gods. The Gods were believed to warn of dangers, to protect and defend, to teach wisdom. This reveals the worldview and environmental perception of our ancestors.
Walking along this path brings a person closer to nature, helps to feel the spirit of the past and to understand how important and inexplicable nature was for the ancient Lithuanians, where they discovered their Gods.
For the convenience of visitors, benches and information stands have been installed on the path.
How to get there?
The cognitive mythological trail is located near the Sirvėta Regional Park Visitor Center in Šventa village, Švenčionys district.
Protected Areas:
Sirvėtai Regional Park
Additional information:
Recommended / suitable for visits with children, visits with animals are possible.
Reference: