Description of the attraction
Mount Mindovga is a mysterious monument of deep antiquity. An old legend is associated with this mountain. At the beginning of the 13th century, the city of Novogrudok was the capital of a small Slavic state bordering Lithuania. Prince Mindovg became the elective ruler of Novogrudok. According to one version of the legend, in order to become a Slavic prince, he was baptized into Orthodox Christianity. According to others, he remained a pagan.
In 1252, Prince Mindaugas entered into an agreement with Livonia. The condition of the agreement was the adoption of Catholic Christianity. The new baptism took place at the residence of the Livonian princes in the city of Kernovo, and the coronation took place in Novogrudok. Pope Innocent IV crowned Mindaugas as King of Lithuania. It is believed that Mindaugas became the founder of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Legend has it that later Prince Mindovg abandoned Catholicism and returned to the pagan faith. For this he was stripped of his royal title by the Pope.
When Mindaugas died, he was buried according to a pagan rite. Over the course of one night, his friends, associates, warriors of his squad - all those who remembered and loved their ruler and commander, poured a huge mound of pure Neman sand. The first and last king of Lithuania is buried under this mound.
In the following centuries, Christians began to be buried on Mount Mindauga, and the pagan mound turned into a Christian cemetery. Several ancient gravestones left over from the old cemetery have survived to this day.
In 1993, the 740th anniversary of the coronation of Mindaugas was celebrated in Novogrudok, in connection with which a memorial plate was installed.
