Aleteia logoAleteia logoAleteia
Friday 29 March |
Good Friday
Aleteia logo
Travel
separateurCreated with Sketch.

The “Hill of Crosses”: A symbol of anti-totalitarian resistance

HILL OF CROSSES

Joe Klamar | AFP

Daniel Esparza - published on 12/11/17

A 19th-century tradition, renewed during the Soviet occupation, became a symbol of national identity.

Please consider a gift for Aleteia!
Help us spread the joy of Christ's victory.
Aleteia depends on your support.

Join our Lenten Campaign 2024.

DONATE NOW

The hill does not belong to anyone. Nobody claims possession of the lot, no municipality seems to be in charge of its maintenance, nor is the initiative attributed to any particular group. And yet, the Lithuanian “Hill of Crosses,” 12 kilometers north of the city of Siauliai, today a place of pilgrimage, was born, grew, remained and resisted the onslaught of more than one invasion.

The tradition of planting crosses on the hill was born in the mid-19th century, when Lithuanians rebelled against the Russian occupation of their territory: as a result of the third partition of the Lithuanian-Polish community, in 1795, Lithuania became part of the Russian Empire. Both Polish and Lithuanian rebellions against the imperial power of Moscow ended with hundreds of dead Lithuanian rebels, whose bodies could never recover.

Thus, crosses began to appear on the hill: one for each missing body. By then, one could already count around 3,000 crosses. And although at the beginning of the 20th century the number of crosses decreased, during the Soviet occupation the hill took on a new meaning: it became a place of religious and cultural resistance in which the Lithuanian Catholics symbolically faced the obligatory atheism of the Soviet Union.

The Moscow government did not hesitate to demolish the site. In fact, they did. Three times. And all three times, Lithuanians returned to plant their crosses. By the time the Berlin Wall fell, the hill was filled with tens of thousands of crucifixes, images, rosaries and votive offerings.

In the year 2000, seven years after the visit of the then Pope St. John Paul II, a Franciscan hermitage was built near the site, to serve the hundreds of Catholic pilgrims who visit the place today.

Tags:
HistoryTravel
Support Aleteia!

Enjoying your time on Aleteia?

Articles like these are sponsored free for every Catholic through the support of generous readers just like you.

Thanks to their partnership in our mission, we reach more than 20 million unique users per month!

Help us continue to bring the Gospel to people everywhere through uplifting and transformative Catholic news, stories, spirituality, and more.

Support Aleteia with a gift today!

jour1_V2.gif
Daily prayer
And today we celebrate...




Top 10
See More
Newsletter
Get Aleteia delivered to your inbox. Subscribe here.