affairs attended by many dignitaries. For example, in 1929, the celebrations were attended by a delegation from the League of Nations; its head even swore an improvised oath in the name of pagan thunder god Perkūnas. In 1928, Martynas Jankus built an altar and started keeping a guestbook, which is known as the Eternal Book of Rambynas. After World War II, authorities of the Lithuanian SSR allowed to resume the celebration of the Saint Jonas' Festivals in 1957. They even built a cement stage for events (it was demolished in 2010). German writer Johannes Bobrowski described old time celebrations on Rambynas in his 1966 novel Litauische Claviere. Protected area The first preserves in Lithuania were established in September 1960. Among the 89 preserves established on that date, there was a landscape preserve of Rambynas covering . In September 1992, Lithuania established 30 regional parks, including the Rambynas Regional Park with initial area of . The landscape preserve was reduced to and became an integral part of the park. However, the directory of the park was established only in 2001. The same year, Rambynas (area of ) was added to the cultural object registry as a mythological object. The new directory with funding from Phare strengthened the eroded slopes, installed paths and staircases for visitors, conducted environmental and archaeological research. In 2007–2013, the park built further paths, viewing platforms, information stands, etc. A barn of a pre-war restaurant, owned by Gustavas Volbergas, was reconstructed into a visitor center. Altar At the top of the hill, there was a large stone known as the altar stone. It was first mentioned by Georg Christoph Pisanski in 1769. According to an 1867 description by Otto Glagau, the stone had a flat top and measured about 15 cubits (approximately ) in diameter. The taller side measured and the lower . According to Eduard Gisevius, the stone had carvings of a sword, human hand and feet, animal footprints, and something that resembled a Greek temple. This information is dubious as Gisevius wrote many years after the destruction of the stone and no other account mentioned the markings. The stone was broken up in 1811 by a German miller named Schwartz from the Bardehnen (Bardinai) village to make a millstone. As he could not find local help, he had to hire three German workers from Tilsit (Sovetsk). According to local legends, the workers were injured and the