An important place of pilgrimage near the Lithuanian city of Šiauliai.
The Mountain of Crosses is an artificial hill on which thousands of crosses of all kinds are set.
Kryžių kalnas - Mountain of Crosses
The first crosses were erected on the site in the first half of the 19th century to commemorate the victims of the Polish November Uprising of 1831. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were approximately 100 crosses on site and their number grew steadily thanks to domestic and foreign pilgrims.
Kryžių kalnas - Mountain of Crosses
At the time when Lithuania was part of the Soviet Union, the ruling regime tried to liquidate the place several times as an undesirable religious and national symbol. The crosses were destroyed several times and the hill was leveled with bulldozers. But the locals always erected the cross again.
Kryžių kalnas - Mountain of Crosses
The place is a Christian place of pilgrimage, a symbol of the suffering of Christ and ordinary Lithuanians, and also a symbol of Lithuanian resistance to the occupying Soviet regime.
Kryžių kalnas - Mountain of Crosses
In 1993, Pope John Paul II visited the Mountain of Crosses, donating a wooden statue of Christ to the site.
Kryžių kalnas - Mountain of Crosses
Today, the Mountain of Crosses is the destination of many tourists and pilgrims from all over the world, who are constantly bringing new crosses to it. Most of the crosses are made of wood, some are made of metal, plastic or stone.
Kryžių kalnas - Mountain of Crosses
Next to the „mountain“ stands the monastery of the Order of the Little Brothers at the Mountain of Crosses.
Kryžių kalnas - Mountain of Crosses
A place of pilgrimage and a symbol of resistance to the occupation.
Kryžių kalnas - Mountain of Crosses
A place of pilgrimage and a symbol of resistance to the occupation.