Today I‘m gonna tell you about one more interesting place in Lithuania – Kryžių kalnas or the Hill of Crosses. I visited it for the first time 2 years ago and it left lasting impressions on me.
The Hill of Crosses is located 12 kilometers north of a small city Siauliai. There are over 56, 000 crosses of various sizes and made of different materials. It is said that the tradition of placing crosses there started in the 14th century when a large part of Lithuania was Christianized. On the other hand, this place is mentioned for the first time in written chronicles only in the middle of 19th century, after the brutal crushing of the uprisings in 1831 and 1863. Those were the times when Lithuania was oppressed by tsarist Russia. As a result, many Lithuanian people were killed and cities destroyed.
The Hill of Crosses is located 12 kilometers north of a small city Siauliai. There are over 56, 000 crosses of various sizes and made of different materials. It is said that the tradition of placing crosses there started in the 14th century when a large part of Lithuania was Christianized. On the other hand, this place is mentioned for the first time in written chronicles only in the middle of 19th century, after the brutal crushing of the uprisings in 1831 and 1863. Those were the times when Lithuania was oppressed by tsarist Russia. As a result, many Lithuanian people were killed and cities destroyed.
The Russians kept removing Christian crosses from the hill (because they were against the religiosity of the Lithuanian people), but the Lithuanians kept putting new ones up. 
Actually, the invaders tried to abolish our written and spoken language – Lithuanian. For many decades, all Lithuanian books, newspapers and church warship were forbidden. However, there were many people who didn’t care about the prohibitions and devoted their lives to bring books secretly for others. They were called knygnešiai (“book-bringers”). There were also priests who kept holding Lithuanian mass in those difficult times. The risk they took greatly contributed to retaining Lithuanian spirit in the russified country.
But let’s go back to the Hill of Crosses.
If you look closer at the crosses, you may notice that there are names, dates, and written messages on most of them. Why? For a variety of reasons. Some crosses are for the memory of those who died while defending Lithuania from the invaders; others express their gratitude for recovery from illness or ask for healing. Many crosses symbolize the wish for peace in my country and in the rest of the world.
Actually, the invaders tried to abolish our written and spoken language – Lithuanian. For many decades, all Lithuanian books, newspapers and church warship were forbidden. However, there were many people who didn’t care about the prohibitions and devoted their lives to bring books secretly for others. They were called knygnešiai (“book-bringers”). There were also priests who kept holding Lithuanian mass in those difficult times. The risk they took greatly contributed to retaining Lithuanian spirit in the russified country.
But let’s go back to the Hill of Crosses.
If you look closer at the crosses, you may notice that there are names, dates, and written messages on most of them. Why? For a variety of reasons. Some crosses are for the memory of those who died while defending Lithuania from the invaders; others express their gratitude for recovery from illness or ask for healing. Many crosses symbolize the wish for peace in my country and in the rest of the world.
7 comments:
Amazing pictures - i've never seen anything like it - I wish I could visit it some day!
This is incredible place, I would like to visit it. We don't anything like like that in Russia, everythind were distroed by Soviet government.
This is the first time that I left some recommends on your blog. Actually, I really love your stories in your blog. Nearly every majesty has a variety of stories, which are so interesting that pilot the audiences to keep on pursuing the secrets of this majesty. I love your story about Kryžių kalnas or the Hill of Crosses, which give me some information about the hero in your country. After read your blog, I can’t wait to visit your country. By the way, your are welcome to my blog, where there are some interesting things of Chinese.
That certainly sounds like a fascinating place! If I'm ever in Lithuania, I think it would be one of the "must" places to visit.
Is this place a park or a museum right now? It looks nice, but I am afraid of going there because I think if I touch any cross then everything will full on me. Are theses crosses sticked in thier place or just hanged?
Really like the pix
It's obvious that a lot of work has been made on these statues!
Hussain~ Peace Out ;p
People in Lithunia were so religious that they did not consider about their lives. That makes the difference between believers and non-believers. I hope I will visit there one day. Nice pictures selection.
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