Even though Lithuania was the last European country to adopt Christianity as a national religion, it now has the place with the biggest number of crosses on the continent- this is The Hill of Crosses, a place of pilgrimage for Christians all over the world.
The first crosses appeared in 1831, even though it was mentioned in some chronics that they appeared only in 1850. Every person who brought a cross on the hill was supposed to have good luck and fortune in his life.
In the '60, the KGB destroyed the place and burned all the crosses, but despite their attempts, the crosses reappeared over night.
The hill was destroyed another couple of times, by enemies, but still continued to reappear over night, and in 1985, all attempts to ruin this place have stopped. It was estimated that more than 5,000 crosses have been destroyed in total.
On the 7th of September 1993, when Pope John Paul the Second visited the Hill of Crosses, it truly became renowned.
Today, the number of crosses reaches 50,000. Each visitor who passes by, brings one cross, so when you visit the place don't forget to bring one.
Contact & location
Šiauliai, Lithuania
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General
Even though Lithuania was the last European country to adopt Christianity as a national religion, it now has the place with the biggest number of crosses on the continent- this is The Hill of Crosses, a place of pilgrimage for Christians all over the world.
The first crosses appeared in 1831, even though it was mentioned in some chronics that they appeared only in 1850. Every person who brought a cross on the hill was supposed to have good luck and fortune in his life. In the '60, the KGB destroyed the place and burned all the crosses, but despite their attempts, the crosses reappeared over night. The hill was destroyed another couple of times, by enemies, but still continued to reappear over night, and in 1985, all attempts to ruin this place have stopped. It was estimated that more than 5,000 crosses have been destroyed in total.
On the 7th of September 1993, when Pope John Paul the Second visited the Hill of Crosses, it truly became renowned. Today, the number of crosses reaches 50,000. Each visitor who passes by, brings one cross, so when you visit the place don't forget to bring one.
Contact & location
Šiauliai, Lithuania
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The photos displayed on this page are the property of one of the following authors:
name_468, name_467, name_610
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This travel guide also includes text from Wikitravel articles, all available at
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This travel guide also includes text from Wikipedia articles, all available at
View full credits