Šiauliai and the Hill of Crosses
Located north of Kaunas, in the heart of rural Lithuania, Šiauliai is a place of solemn reverence and pilgrimage to the Lithuanian people. Best known for its famous Kryžių Kalnas, or “the Hill of Crosses”, it is a must see destination. More then just a religious place of pilgrimage, the hill will better help you understand this hardheaded, strange but extremely worthwhile nation of people. The crosses are not simply a symbol of religious piety, but one of resistance and perseverance in the face of evil. If anything the story of Cold War Šiauliai endures to remind us not of the evils of man but of the brilliance of mankind.
More importantly this difficult to spell city is actually much easier to pronounce than one would imagine (think “Shau-lai”!).
Table of Contents
- A Stop for Pierogies, Ice Cream and Strange Music
- Exploring the Hill of Crosses
- The City of Šiauliai
A Stop for Pierogies, Ice Cream and Strange Music
Crossing the border over from Latvia with my friend John, a hilarious song came on the radio, courtesy of our driver. This In Culto “hit” about the geography (“between the Urals and the Baltic Sea”) and people of Lithuania (“Welcome to Lithuania, the land of the beautiful la-a-adys”) gave me a great laugh! I would try to explain it but you will just have to watch their strange music video below.
Our first stop in Lithuania was for beer and food! Between the wild deer pierogies and the beer I was ready to get going again. Walking around the perimeter of our pit stop I saw many garden gnome” variety statues of strange little dwarfs. Theses are area actually the old pagan gods of the nation, before it was converted to Christianity. Pagan Lithuania was a fearsome place and they made quick work of the first Christian missionaries. In pagan Lithuania there is a god for everything, and as I learned, even the drink!
If you have a change, do try Lithuania’s strawberry ice cream (or just strawberries in general!). The country is known for its fantastic berries and I would agree with that assessment!
Exploring the Hill of Crosses
My first stop in Siauliai was the Hill of Crosses, just north-east of the city. This strange attraction is one of the most revered shrines in the nation.
Lithuania is a land of flat plains (as the In Culto Hit may inform you) and it should be no surprise that the information center stands of the highway in the middle of nowhere. In all directions, nothing but pristine farmland! As such as you walk towards the attraction from the info center you will clearly see a flat bump in the dusty landscape. The closer you get to this bump the more in focus the massive masses of crosses become!
The tradition of planting crosses on this hill dates from the occupation of Lithuania after the Partition of Poland. In 1831 and 1863 uprisings against the occupying Russian army were put down violently and many families could not find the bodies of their deceased relatives. As such they installed symbolic crosses on this hill in memory of there loved ones. The uprisings were triggered by the ill treatment of Poles and Lithuanian throughout the old Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Following the First World War, Lithuania gained independence and the hill was used by locals to pray for peace as well as those lost in their quest for independence. Just your everyday garden variety shrine. Sounds rather mild so far right?
Things would start to change during the Second World War. The Baltic nations were subjugated by Stalin in 1940 but were soon taken by Nazi Germany, an equally cruel master. In 1944, Lithuania would once again again fall prey to Russia. This time the Bolchevik authorities led by “Uncle” Joe Stalin were hell bent on two things, suppressing ethnic minorities and destroying the power of the catholic church. In the case of Lithuania this was a big blow since, like Poland, the church had been key in preserving their national identity throughout their occupation by foreign powers.
In defiance of Soviet authority, Lithuanians continuing to use the shrine and began a new practice. The started to increase the number of crosses.
The peaceful act of protest was met with rage by soviet authorities who started to remove the crosses. The bulldozed the site thee times, including attempts in 1963 and 1973. Yet the Lithuanians persevered and each time returned to their cross planting ways.
For every cross they removed, it was replace with many more with the total number ballooning from four hundred in 1938 to over five-thousand destroyed in 1961. This peaceful protest was not just a show of their faith but also of their national identity, two things the Soviets couldn’t stand.
The situation continued to escalate and there were rumors rumors that a dam on the nearby Kulvė River was planed in the goal putting the site under water. Luckily this petty act never materialized.
The breakup of the soviet union brought about independence and peaceful protests were met with violence from the Soviets only reinforcing the fervor of the sites devotees. By 1990, 55000 crosses had been erected at the site and number that would only continued to grow. This culminated with a visit from Pope John Paul II in 1993 where he declared the site a major shrine. Since his visit total number of crosses has only continued to grow, and was estimated at 100,000 in 2006. There are probably much more now!
You will find an engraving near the entrance that states the following.
Thank you, Lithuanians, for this Hill of Crosses which testifies to the nations of Europe and to the whole world the faith of the people of this land.
John Paul II
What I found particularly interesting about the site was that not only are there crosses but the crosses themselves are adorned with decorations. Crucifixes and rosaries have been suspended from the larger crosses themselves. The designs and ages of the crosses very quite a bit as you will be able to tell from they worn grey crosses to the newer natural wood colored specimens. You will also find the occasional metal cross as well. In the pile I saw wooden a statue of the Virgin Mary holding her child, completely covered in rosaries as well as a white statue of her and a statue of Jesus with his crown of thorns.
I also saw a stone tomb with an Armenia cross showing how international the shrine has become. Not only has it become a shrine to the catholic faith but to democracy, genocide memorial and international solidarity.
A note to tourists! In 2019, the year of my visit, a Chinese woman removed a cross set up by a pro-democracy in Hong Kong. This absolutely disgusting (yet ironic!) act of vandalism was condemned and rightly so! Do not remove crosses from the site!
The City of Šiauliai
The city itself may be the fourth largest in the nation, and one of historical importance, yet I do not recommend spending a night here. Unfortunately it was almost completely destroyed (80%) during the events of the First World War, as such little remains of the charming old town that once existed.
If you absolutely want to go into town, I recommend a visit to Šiauliai Cathedral near the functionalist Town Hall Square. The 17th century structure is known for its massive central spire and is the most recognizable building is Kaunas. For those seeking food, the clean and modern pedestrian Vilniaus street, is a great place to stop.
Although there is little to see in town otherwise, I recommend a visit to other buildings of note include Venclauskai Palace, the Chaim Frenkel Palace and St. George’s Church. The later is a Neo-Byzantine brick church dating from 1909, once used by Tsarists troops. Lastly you should pay a visit to the beautiful (and former) Šiauliai Jewish school. There are 6 million reasons why you should learn about this building. Local Jews were unceremoniously shot in the Kužiai forest, about 12 kilometers outside of town and this is one of the only reminders of their presence, which was once a significant portion of the town population.
Other attractions include a Bicycle Museum and Sundial Square. As you can guess the later one of these is a massive sundial based around a column.
