Hill of Crosses, Lithuania

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My main goal for today was to get to Riga, Latvia.  On the main roads -- it's a little under a 4 hour drive (193 miles / 310 km).  I made a slight detour to check out the Hill of Crosses in northern Lithuania.

The Hill of Crosses has been a site of pilgrimage for hundreds of years.  Consisting of a hill bristling with hundreds of thousands of crosses of every size and design, it is a powerful testament to religious devotion.  The tradition of leaving crosses began after an uprising against the Russian czar was put down in 1831.  Relatives of the dead rebels, with no bodies to bury, instead left crosses on this hill to commemorate their fallen.  When the Soviets again occupied Lithuania after WWI, religion was forbidden.  Crosses appearing on the hill became a symbol of resistance to the communist regime -- and in response, the KGB twice bulldozed the hill.  When crosses continued to appear, the Soviet authorities stationed KGB agents around the site to stop people sneaking through the forest to plant crosses.

In 1991, when Lithuania gained independence, the hill became a dual symbol of Lithuania's Catholic faith and of its national identity.  Today there are an estimated 200,000 crosses, carvings, and shrines at the site made out of everything from wood to metal.  Some stand as much as 9 feet tall, while there are also countless tiny examples hanging upon the larger crosses.


There are many legends surrounding the area:
  • According to folklore, there was once a church where the hill now stands.  During a terrible storm, lightning struck the church and the tempest buried it under sand and rock with everyone still inside.  Locals say that you can glimpse a ghost procession of monks at the foot of the hill at sunrise.
  • Another legend says that in the early 1300s, the hill served as a platform for a wooden castle manned by the pagan barons of Samogita, once a state in the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania.  In 1348, the castle was destroyed by the Order of the Brothers of the Sword, German warrior-monks tasked with the Christianization of Livonia (what is now Latvia & Estonia).  Many believe the Samogitians who survived the battle piled their slain comrades' bodies together and buried them, thus forming the mound.  The souls of the fallen pagan warriors are said to still haunt the hill at night.
  • The most renowned story of the hill's creation is the tale of a desperate father whose daughter suddenly fell deathly ill.  The father had a vision of a woman who told him to make a wooden cross and place it on a nearby hill -- if he did so, she said, his daughter would recover.  In the morning, the man hurriedly carved a wooden cross and rushed to the hill.  When he returned home, his daughter greeted him at the door, perfectly well again.  Ever since, people have been leaving crosses in hope their prayers will be answered.  

Breakfast at the hotel was my last meal in Lithuania.  I tried another local favorite - Varškės Blynai (cheese curd pancakes) -- light & fluffy -- just delicious!


Location: Jurgaičiai 81439, Lithuania

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