Lithuania’s Hill of Crosses

| February 7, 2011 | 2 Comments

The Hill of Crosses is situated in northern Lithuania, near the city of Šiauliai. It represents spiritual devotion and acts a memorial to Lithuanian national identity.

Situated 12km north of the city of Šiauliai, in Lithuania, is the legendary Hill of Crosses. This place has become one of the country’s most visited sites. 

It is believed that crosses were first placed on this hill  by the relatives of the victims of the rebellion in 1831 as the tsarist government did not allow the families to honor their dead properly. Over the centuries, not only crosses, but giant crucifixes, carvings of Lithuanian patriots, statues of the Virgin Mary and thousands of tiny effigies and rosaries have been brought here by pilgrims. 

During the Soviet era, the Hill of Crosses became an expression of Lithuanian nationalism. The Soviets repeatedly removed the crosses placed on the hill by many nationalistic and Christian Lithuanians. On three occasions throughout the 1960′s and 1970′s, the crosses were burned or turned into scrap metal, and the area was covered with waste and sewage. Following each of these desecration’s local inhabitants continued to replaced crosses upon the hill, often risking their lives to do so. Today, the Hill of Crosses is a place of national pilgrimage.

In 1993 the site was visited by Pope John-Paul II who declared it “a place for hope, peace, love and sacrifice”.

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Category: Travel

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Suzanne Urpecz, creator and editor of The Hungarian Girl. Click on my About page for more info.

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  1. Alina says:
    March 16, 2011 at 6:06 pm

    Oh, I’ve been there! It’s such a unique tourist spot, we’re thinking of re-visiting it this summer!

    Reply

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