The Hill of Crosses in Lithuania basically looks like what it was named, a hill filled with variations of crosses. Found approximately 12 kilometers from Siauliai City, buses are available on a day to day basis. With just one glimpse, you will take in the peace, serenity and endurance of the hill. All of that while taking into account everything that it, the people, and the believers had to face in the past.
Credit: trip.ee
Nobody knows who planted the first cross and how it started, but now it displays more than 100,000 crosses. Everything from the tiniest of crosses, to bigger than life crucifixes, rosaries and even statues of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. Some are made of the cheapest wood while others made from good metal. Each and every one bear with them the suffering, belief and devotion of the people during the hardest and joyous of times.
Lithuanian Catholicism has had many threats in the past against invaders. Multiple uprisings lead to the deaths of family and loved ones, many could not retrieve the bodies so they started putting and adding crosses to the hill. The Hill of Crosses provided a place for them to pray for their perished loved ones, for peace and for freedom. It became a significant place, one which the Soviets tried to get rid of by removing the latest crosses and bulldozing it at least three times.
Now the Hill of Crosses stand as a proof of the Lithuanian’s unwavering faith. Even calling the attention of Pope John Paul II, it had made a deep impression on him. Not only has it gained worldwide fame but it’s now a place of devotion where anyone can add their own cross as a sign of peace, love and faith.
