PAJEVONYS

Pajevonys is mentioned as a former Prussian-Jotvingian settlement from 1524, complete with all its rituals. It is said that this place was the first administrative capital of Sudovia (Jotvingia) and the spiritual center of the priests – dukes (priests).
It is believed that there were as many as six temples here, dedicated to Perkūnas, Pergalė, Peržadė, Troice, Perpačys, and Peramžius. This place recalls the times when ancient priests gathered on the Žinyčia Hill, where today stands the Church of St. John the Baptist.
Dr. Jonas Basanavičius also speculated in his work "Descriptions of Lithuanian Castles" that there was a shrine (a temple of the old faith) on this hill in ancient times.
Pajevonys is decorated with a sculpture called "The Legend of Pajevonys," which illustrates a war between a king and a queen. The king was entrenched on the hillfort, and the queen was on the hill where the church now stands. Not wanting to shed much blood, the queen agreed to settle the dispute in a duel. During the duel, the queen killed the king with a stone thrown from her sling, and he was buried in the hillfort. In gratitude for the victory, the queen built the Pajevonys church.
The town also has a majestic monument to Vytautas the Great, near the old hillforts, where underground tunnels are said to have existed.
If you ask the locals what they can say briefly about Pajevonys, most would simply answer that Pajevonys is the center of the land. In the town square, there is a mound of earth with a partially "unearthed" boulder, chosen as an archaeological outcrop to immortalize this phrase. It is as if by uncovering part of the mound, a powerful boulder—the possible center of the land—was "discovered."
The surroundings of the town attract nature lovers – the Jevonis River meanders here, the Tadarinė Forest is green, and the Dabravolė Hillfort towers nearby. Pajevonys invites you to immerse yourself in the world of Baltic history and myths and enjoy the peace among hills and pine forests.