Hill of Crosses

Culture and History tour in Siauliai

Tour Price : €50 Duration : 2 hours Languages: English, German, Russian

Hill of Crosses

The Hill of Crosses has about  200 000 crosses. The Hill of Crosses is an historical architectural monument, it is a unique composition of folk art. The Hill of crosses atract’s people with it’s peace, spirituality, authenticity and sacred nature. The hill of crosses was visited by Pope John Paul II in year 1993.

Over the generations, the place has come to signify the peaceful endurance of Lithuanian Catholicism despite the threats it faced throughout history. After the 3rd partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, Lithuania became part of the Russian Empire. Poles and Lithuanians unsuccessfully rebelled against Russian authorities in 1831 and 1863. These two uprisings are connected with the beginnings of the hill: as families could not locate bodies of perished rebels, they started putting up symbolic crosses in place of a former hill fort.

When the old political structure of Eastern Europe fell apart in 1918, Lithuania once againdeclared its independence. Throughout this time, the Hill of Crosses was used as a place for Lithuanians to pray for peace, for their country, and for the loved ones they had lost during theWars of Independence.

Most recently, the site took on a special significance during the years 1944–1990, when Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union

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