Dubingiai

Dubingiai stands on a narrow peninsula in Asveja, a long branching lake that is the longest in Lithuania at some thirty kilometres, and the site was a stronghold of the Radvila family, the Radziwiłłs, one of the great houses of the Grand Duchy. The castle is gone, but excavation on the mound uncovered the vault of the Protestant church the family built, containing the remains of several Radvilas including Mikalojus Radvila the Black and the Red, sixteenth-century figures central to the Reformation in Lithuania; they were reburied there in 2009 and a memorial marks the spot. The peninsula gives long views up and down the lake, and a bridge crosses the narrows. It is a quiet stop in the Molėtai lake district.

History

The settlement is first mentioned in 1334, and under Grand Duke Vytautas it became an important place in this part of Lithuania; in 1415 he ordered a new masonry castle built. The Radziwiłłs later held it and made the town one of the centres of the Reformation in Lithuania, and many members of the family are buried in the castle churchyard (Wikipedia, Dubingiai).

The main sights

• The castle mound - the site above the lake narrows.
• The Radvila vault - the excavated burial place and its memorial.
• Lake Asveja - the branching thirty-kilometre lake from the peninsula.
• The bridge and narrows - the crossing at the neck of the peninsula.

When to go

May to September for the lake and the walking; the Molėtai district is a summer destination. Autumn colour around the water is good. Winter is quiet and many facilities close.

What to expect

There is very little standing: the castle is gone and the site is a mound with a memorial. Interpretation is limited. The village has minimal facilities. It works as one stop on a lake-district drive rather than a destination.

Nearby

Molėtai lies north; Vilnius is south.

Key facts