Jurbarko hillfort

Graži vieta, Tauragės apskritis

Known locally as Bišpilis, Viešpilis or Višpilis, this hillfort stands on the left bank of the Imsrė stream in the northwestern part of Jurbarkas, with slopes dropping 17 to 20 meters toward the river and a 5-meter earthen rampart guarding its 58 by 28 meter plateau. A wooden stronghold, believed to be the Kolainiai castle of the Nemunas River defense system, once stood here before Crusaders burned it down in 1291. A 1960 excavation by the Lithuanian History Institute recovered pottery and crossbow bolts dating from the 11th to 14th centuries, now held at the Vytautas the Great War Museum.