PLACES TO VISIT

Joskaudai Hillfort

Joskaudai hillfort or Joskaudai shrine hill which is also known as the Castle, Alka, Sacrifice hill is built in the valley of the rivulet Tenžė. Legends about the hillfort have been recorded. It is believed that ancient Curonians sacrificed to Gods on the hillfort or shrine hill. Sacrifices were burnt on the Altar stone. The stone which was on the top of the hill disappeared after 1940, when gravel excavation works started in the southeastern part of the hillfort. It is told that a very nice manor sank in the hill and a depression has remained in the place of the manor; shepherds would see devils leaving it. Once one farmer was passing the hill and a large group of children appeared at his carriage. They started to scramble over the carriage and the horses could not pull the carriage. Then the man became ill out of great fear and died. In 1941, 510 women and children of Skuodas Jewish of Skuodas town imprisoned in Dimitravas forced labour camp were shooted on Joskaudai hillfort and at the foot of the hill. The graves of the Holocaust victims are marked by monumental stones.