| Authors |
Grigelis, Algimantas ; Satkūnas, Jonas ; Vaitkevičius, Gediminas ; Dobrotin, Nikita ; Liugas, Jonas ; Michelevičius, Dainius ; Juozapavičius, Ginutis ; Azaravičius, Edgaras ; Skuodis, Šarūnas ; Daugevičius, Mykolas ; Grigas, Rimas ; Kaušpėdas, Algirdas |
| Abstract [eng] |
The monograph was prepared by highly qualified scientists from various fields — professionals in their respective disciplines — whose goal was to summarise the latest scientific and engineering research data from the past decade concerning the Vilnius castle site, known as Gediminas Hill, Castle Hill, and the Upper and Lower Castles. It explores the natural environment, engineering–geological and geotechnical conditions, architecture, and both the historical past and present of the site. The publication authors share their extensive knowledge about the “life” of Gediminas Castle Hill. The monograph is dedicated to the memory of the renowned engineer–geologist Kazimieras Monstvilas, a long-time researcher of the geological environment of Vilnius castles. The initial scientific research of the last decade began with the formation of a working group by the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences to evaluate the “Condition of the Slopes of Gediminas Castle Hill and the Programme for Their Management” (October 18, 2016). This initiative spurred further investigations, which yielded new, additional, and comprehensive results, summarised in this monograph. The first chapters present encyclopaedic data on Gediminas Castle Hill and professional life and contributions of Monstvilas to the study of the Hill. Subsequent chapters delve into the history of Vilnius’ development from an engineering–geological perspective, describing the city’s formation from the glacial period to the present day. Once the reader is familiar with Vilnius’ geological conditions, the historical section follows, detailing how Gediminas Castle was used for defence purposes from the 14th century onward, when Vilnius became the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The monograph includes a compelling chapter on modern engineering–geological research that summarises the latest findings. This section is linked to topography, and the following chapter describes nearly all surface dynamics of Gediminas Hill’s slopes over the past decade using 2.5D aerial photography data. All this information is applied in the chapter on digital modelling of Gediminas Hill, which presents a predictive model of slope behaviour. The results have been used in the maintenance and restoration work of the Hill’s structures and slopes, detailed in the penultimate chapter. The final chapter concludes the monograph with a vision for restoring the Upper Castle located atop Gediminas Hill. |
