The Hill of Crosses is an amazing site in Lithuania which you should try to visit if ever in the country. Funnily, when we had decided on our Lithuania roadtrip, we had a meeting with our bank clerk (on bank matters mind you) and turned out he’d just been to Lithuania! He went on tell us all about his visit and what was worth seeing. I think he and I would both agree that the Hill of Crosses should be on top of any visitor’s list.
You will find the hill 12km North of Šiauliai. It is easily accessed by car but taking a bus and walking a bit is also possible.
Legend says that the first crosses were brought here in the 19th Century.
It is interesting to know that during the Soviet occupation, the site was bulldozed but devotees sneaked past guards to plant the crosses again and again in a small act of rebellion.
The Soviets even tried to cover the area in waste and sewage.
It was only in 1985 that the site was left in peace.
It is very interesting to look at the different kinds of crosses there – metal, wood, ornamental, tiny, huge.. You can also see rosaries, statues, crusifixes..
The Pope John Paul II has visited the hill in 1993. He was greatly impressed and rightfully declared it a place of hope, peace, love and sacrifice.
Pilgrims flock to this sacred site.
The hill seems to be in the middle of nowhere.
As the wind blows through the area, the crosses form a twinkling sound.
The Hill of Crosses is a very important symbol of religion and nationalism for the Lithuanians.
Did you know that cross making is a traditional folk art in Lithuania?
Even the Soviets did not manage to root it out of the country.
The hill truly is a tranquil place.
You can, of course, bring you own cross too. Many do, some attached with prayers.
We saw some huge snails along the way. This one had been lucky enough to dodge a crushing tourist foot.
Have you visited the Hill of Crosses?
xx
The Life and Travels of Mrs Suvi 
I am Lithuanian but I got to go there for the first time only last summer. I’m happy you liked the visit though, these kind of places in my homecountry is something to be proud of, they are really interesting to discover and I’m happy people get to see that! Thank you for sharing it! 🙂
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Thank you for sharing, what a neat adventure.
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Thank you for reading 😊
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Awesome post! I really wanted to make it here during my Lithuania visit, but I never ended up going. Glad to see you got to experience this cool site : )
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I hope you make another trip to Lithuania one of these days! Then you must go check this out 🙂
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So much I didn’t know in this post. But when in Lithuania, that got on my “must do” list!
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Great to hear that this post was an inspiration! It really is cool 🙂
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Wow mikä paikka! Oli varmasti melko vaikuttava näky =).
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Juu, todellakin! Ei sitä aina arvaakaan miten hienoja paikkoja tulee vastaan.
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Interesting! Another sight I’d never heard of, like the prison in Estonia that you wrote about!
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This is such an awesome place but I’ve noticed not many people know about it. I’d never heard of it before we decided to go on a road trip in Latvia and Lithuania! xx
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I just don’t know what to say, really strange and weird and alo very rare. And why, has this place been special, or a cemetary?
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No, not a cemetary. People just started to leave crosses there in the 1830s – it’s uncertain why exactly.. A very rare place indeed!
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Interesting, I really would like to know why it started. Have to google :-).
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Not visited Lithuania so far, looks such an interesting place that I hadn’t heard about before.
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Marion, it’s quite an interesting country, I like the Baltics a lot! Many exiting things to discover..
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wow, what a sight to see.. very interesting indeed
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Sure is, not something you could imagine exists!
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Looks like a nice place to see. Thank you for sharing your great adventure.
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Thank you for visiting and commenting 😀
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You are very graciously welcome.
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Read about this place. You are so lucky to have visited it.
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Yes, it really was special! Thanks for reading Edwin 🙂
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Wow! Looks like I need to add this to my bucketlist
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Good idea – it’s such a unique sight!
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How impressive and interesting!!! certainly deserves a visit!
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Yes, it’s so interesting to just walk around and look at the different types of crosses there can be!
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Wow, what an amazing place! I’ve never heard of such a thing. Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you! I had never heard of it before either and was so surprised when found it when researching what to see in the area. 😀
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