Hill of Crosses in Šiauliai

The Hill of Crosses in Šiauliai is one of Lithuania’s most important pilgrimage sites, yet it has not been declared blessed, let alone holy. The story of the Hill of Crosses in Šiauliai begins somewhere between myth, legend and the search for truth. The biggest question one can ask about the Hill of Crosses in Šiauliai—and one that is not so easily answered—is why the crosses stand here and not somewhere else in the middle of Lithuania.

The fourth-largest city in Lithuania, Šiauliai, lies right next to the Hill of Crosses. With its holiday apartments and hotels, Šiauliai also serves as a base for visiting this very unusual pilgrimage site in Lithuania. The small industrial city is delighted to welcome every guest to its holiday apartments. The gratitude and steadfast faith of the people of Šiauliai are reflected, among other things, in this hill, which is not even 10 metres high, with its crosses. Anyone looking for a signpost will find little more than a few wooden signs reading “Kryžių kalnas.” Yet the Hill of Crosses is impossible to miss. The hill radiates an almost divine sense of devotion and reverence, making it impossible to overlook. Several times during the history of the Soviet Union, attempts were made to level the hill with the crosses. But the more often this was attempted, the more crosses appeared at the site. According to one legend, the story began when a sick man sentenced to death asked that, if he survived, he be allowed to erect a cross here in gratitude. It is also believed that during the wars of 1831 to 1836, the dead were secretly buried here. However, scientists and archaeologists found only the remains of an old castle, a fire pit and many objects pointing to a medieval settlement in Šiauliai. Nevertheless, Šiauliai was first mentioned in written records only in 1524. What is considered certain and plausible, however, is that between 1941 and 1952 the Hill of Crosses became a place of hope, prayer and faith, as many people from the region were deported to Siberia. Only after the end of the so-called “Iron Curtain” and the end of socialism did Mikhail Gorbachev declare the Hill of Crosses a national heritage site of Lithuania. The Pope also honoured the Hill of Crosses and, during a Mass attended by around 100,000 worshippers, erected a cross approximately seven metres high.

The idea of erecting a cross on this hill has changed somewhat over time. Today, vendors have set up shop on the hill and try to sell the handiwork of Šiauliai’s cross carvers. But, in my view, faith in hope and in love—for God, for oneself or for others—should be awakened within each of us; only through sincere devotion can wishes or prayers become part of their fulfilment. More than 40,000 crosses, Madonnas, rosaries, pleas, wishes, photographs and invisible tears, dried by the wind, bear witness to this unique power of faith alone, embodied in the Hill of Crosses in Šiauliai.