Topography of Legend: Where did Grand Duke Gediminas Hunt the Tauras?

Abstract

This publication examines the topography of the founding legend of Vilnius in order to address the question of where the legendary Tauras Hill may have been located – which is the place where, according to 16th-century narrative chronicles, Grand Duke Gediminas of Lithuania hunted a wild aurochs (lt. tauras) before dreaming of the Iron Wolf. The study is based on an analysis of archaeological, historical, and narrative sources, as well as on the interpretation of two late-19th-century photographs by Wilhelm Józef Zacharczyk and on hypothetical spatial modelling. Particular attention is paid to the topographical information contained in the Bychowiec Chronicle.
The publication reiterates the conclusion reached by earlier researchers that the present-day Tauras Hill in the Pamėnkalno Street area lacks a historical basis for an association with the Vilnius founding legend, and that the establishment of this toponym is relatively late, linked to the mid-20th-century process of ‘Lithuanianisation’ of place names. An analysis of early-16th-century narrative chronicles demonstrates that Tauras Hill was perceived as a distinct, landscape-dominant feature located near the Vilnia River, but was not identified with either Gediminas Hill or the Hill of Three Crosses (also known as the Crooked/Bare Hill).
A substantial part of the study is devoted to the analysis of the 1390 siege of the Crooked Castle (lt. Kreivoji pilis), carried out by the future Grand Duke Vytautas together with the Teutonic Order. By using reconstructed terrain data and GIS-based modelling of pedestrian movement costs and visibility, the study evaluates possible locations of artillery deployment in 1390 and the most likely directions of the assault. The results indicate that Tauras Hill should be sought not within the inner space of the Crooked Castle, but, rather, beyond its first defensive lines. By integrating archaeological, historical, and modelling data, the publication proposes two possible locations for Tauras Hill: Stalas Hill, as suggested in 2010 by the archaeologist Gediminas Vaitkevičius, or Bevardis (Nameless) Hill near the present-day Olandų Street, on the eastern edge of Kalnų Park.