Description of the attraction
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 in the whole of 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 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 grief-stricken, 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 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 the decision was made to demolish the Hill of Crosses. Bulldozers came here, metal crosses were scrapped, wooden ones were burned, and stone crosses 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, on the Mountain there are more than one hundred thousand crosses of various sizes and from all kinds of materials. Some of the crosses are more than a meter high and are hung with small crosses underneath. 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, 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 told 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 mountain of crosses and every summer at the end of July there is a celebration of the day of the mountain 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.
Description added:
Kerkovladim123 2014-23-06
Previously, there were problems with parking cars and there was no infrastructure. Now there is a spacious parking lot. There is a gift shop and a small souvenir market.
