Nine miles outside the small northern Lithuanian city of Siauliai, the countryside is suddenly interrupted by something quite astonishing. Thousands upon thousands of crosses have been placed upon this low rise of land.
As well as symbolizing the deep Christian devotion of many Lithuanians they are also a testament to the Baltic nation’s struggle against oppression.
It is thought that crosses first began to appear at this spot in the thirteenth century, shortly after the city was founded. Since then there have been varying numbers of crosses at the site. It was in the 1831 uprising against Russia that the Hill of Crosses became political as well as purely religious. Crosses were placed here to commemorate the dead and missing rebels of this period and by the beginning of the twentieth century there were 150 crosses. By 1940 there were 400. Today there are over 100,000.
