Hill of Crosses (Kryziu kalnas) description and photos - Lithuania: Siauliai (Topic)

Hill of Crosses (Kryziu kalnas) description and photo - Lithuania: Siauliai. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The name in English is Kryziu kalnas.

Photo and description

The Hill of Crosses is one of the sights of Siauliai. Approximately 12 kilometers from the city, near the village of Yurgiaichiai, there is this famous place and historical monument throughout Lithuania. The first mentions of this unusual place appear in the 16th century, although a settlement near it existed in the 13th century. According to the legend, there was a castle here in the 11-14 centuries, which burned down in 1348 and was not restored.

There are many legends about how the first cross appeared here. According to one legend, a father who lost his daughter and was heartbroken, made a cross from wood with his own hands and brought it to the Mountain. When he returned home, he saw his beloved daughter alive. Having learned about this miracle, the inhabitants of neighboring villages began to bring their crosses to the Mountain. According to another legend, in 1831 there was an uprising and after it the families of the victims brought crosses here. The third legend says that in the 19th century in the 70s, the Holy Virgin Mary appeared here with the baby Jesus and prompted the installation of crosses here. By the end of the 19th century, the tradition of visiting and installing crosses on the Mountain was formed. There were more and more crosses on the Mountain, according to historical sources in 1895 there were one hundred and eighty, at the beginning of the 20th century - more than 400, and in the middle of the 20th century more than 3000.

By the beginning of the 20th century, this place it was already known outside Lithuania, many people visited the Hill of Crosses, bringing and leaving their cross with an inscription. By 1961, there were already more than 5,000 crosses on the Mountain; it was at this time that it was decided to demolish the Hill of Crosses. Bulldozers came here, metal crosses were scrapped, wooden ones were burned, and the stone ones were thrown into the river. Due to the announcement of a plague epidemic in the area, the roads to the Hill of Crosses were closed, and it was forbidden to enter the territory. But, in spite of everything, the crosses began to reappear on the Mountain, the inhabitants brought them at night. In 1988, this wonderful place began to revive.

Nowadays there are more than one hundred thousand crosses of various sizes and from all kinds of materials on the Mountain. Some crosses are more than a meter high and are hung with small crosses on the neck. There are crosses made of wood, ceramics, clay, glass, there are even crosses made of scraps and threads, etc. Together with the crosses, people leave photographs, rosary beads, and notes with requests. In 1993, the Pope visited the Hill of Crosses and celebrated a solemn mass there. Back in Italy, the Pope went to a Franciscan monastery and spoke about his journey. After that, the servants of the monastery went to the mountain and offered the Lithuanians help in founding the monastery. In 2000, a Franciscan monastery was built next to the mountain. There is a small chapel opposite the Hill of Crosses, and every summer at the end of July there is a celebration of the Day of the Hill of Crosses.

While in Lithuania, be sure to devote time to visiting the Hill of Crosses, this day will remain in your memory for a long time. Do not forget to bring a cross with you to leave it on the Mountain.

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Topic: Hill of Crosses (Kryziu kalnas) description and photos - Lithuania: Siauliai.