Hundreds of years ago, the surroundings of Vilnius were covered with lush green forests. The city of Vilnius didn't exist back then. Among the high hills of Paneriai, the highest Castle Hill was piled up and the highest castle in Lithuania was built there. The king of giants Vilnius, the most powerful giant and his wife Neris lived in that castle.
Once the giant Vilnius realized that his country was being attacked by predatory neighbours the innocent residents were being killed and their property was being destroyed. The mighty giant got furious and decided to punish the wicked enemies. One fine morning, the giant gathered all the boys and young horse riders of the Dainava land into an army and rode off to distant countries to teach a lesson to the evil neighbours who were attacking his peaceful land. The giant's wife stayed at home to guard the Hearth of the castle and substitute her husband in ruling the land. The giant fought with the whole army for a long time in distant countries, conquered many lands, killed hundreds of enemies and seized a lot of wealth. when he came back to his land, he saw traces of a terrible enemy. Everywhere he looked, he couldn’t recognize it: everything had been destroyed, burned and looted. The frightened giant rushed straight to his castle hoping to find his wife, but the palace was razed to the ground and the castle hill was covered with the bodies of his enemies and his soldiers. The giant's beautiful wife Neris was killed too. The giant Vilnius and his soldiers collected all the bodies of the dead and buried them honourably on the high Castle Hill, piling up a higher mound. That hill is the current Gediminas hill at the confluence of the Neris and Vilnia rivers. The giant Vilnius, who had lost everything, was grieving, and cried bitterly for a long time. The giant's tears filled the river, which was named after his dead wife Neris, and the place where the giant wept became Verkiai.
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