Hill of Crosses, Lithuania

Making crosses out of oak (often with iron in the design) is an ancient Lituanian tradition. The crosses are very beautiful and detailed; they are put along roadsides, in cemeteries, near houses and in churches. These Lithuanian crosses can be anything from one metre to five metres high and can include flowers, statues, or other symbols. People put up these crosses for many different reasons - as a sign of thanks to God - as a prayer request - in memory of the dead. The largest collection of these crosses can be found at the Hill of Crosses (Kryziu Kalnas) near Siauliai which is now a major European pilgrimage centre.

The Hill of Crosses is a sign of peaceful resistance to foreign invasion. It is said that Lithuanians first started putting crosses there as a protest after the country was invaded by the Teutonic Knights in the 14th century. We know that after 1795 (when Lithuania was taken over by Russia) over a hundred large Lithuanian crosses were placed there, as well as hundreds of smaller ones. Lithuania was captured by Germany in World War Two, then after the war once again came under the control of Russia - by 1940 there were 400 large symbolic crosses on the hill surrounded by thousands of smaller ones. Three times, during 1961, 1973 and 1975, the Soviet government ordered the hill to be leveled by bulldozers. The crosses were burned or turned into scrap metal, and the area was covered with waste and sewage. Each time the local Lithuanians came back at night, cleared the site and rebuilt the hill. They started to put crosses back. Since 1985 the Hill of Crosses has been left in peace. It is now famous all over the world and thousands of pilgrims visit it every year. Pope John Paul II visited the Hill of Crosses in September 1993 and declared it a special place for hope, peace, love and sacrifice.

There are now over 50,000 crosses on the hill. If you visit it, you will see there are hundreds of the large Lithuanian crosses, all at least three metres tall, then hanging from the larger crosses are many hundreds of smaller ones. Christian pilgrims bring crosses from all over the world (or buy them there), they also bring rosaries, pictures of Jesus and of the saints, and leave them there as an act of devotion.