The story of Hill of Crosses

Nobody knows exactly how it began. The first crosses are believed to have been placed on this former hill fort, about 12 km north of Šiauliai, after the uprising of 1831. When families could not find the bodies of rebels who had died rising against Russian rule, in 1831 and again in 1863, they raised symbolic crosses here instead. Over generations pilgrims have added crucifixes, statues of the Virgin Mary, carvings of Lithuanian patriots, and thousands of tiny effigies and rosaries.

Under Soviet occupation the hill became a sign of peaceful resistance. It was bulldozed three separate times, roads were blocked and the hill was guarded, yet people kept bringing crosses by night, risking harsh punishment. Estimates put the number of crosses at about 55,000 in 1990 and 100,000 in 2006. On September 7, 1993, Pope John Paul II came here and called it a place of hope, peace, love and sacrifice.

Today anyone may raise a wooden cross under 3 metres tall without a permit.