Hill of Crosses
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Hill of Crosses |
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Path up the hill |
From there, the tradition of believers coming to the hill to leave a memorial cross for loved ones grew. The Lithuanian people prayed for peace, for their country, and for their loved ones as they planted these crosses.
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Too many crosses to count |
Today there are estimated to be more than 200,000 crosses of every size imaginable on the hill. Rosaries are hung by the handful on some of the crosses.
During the Soviet occupation from 1944 to 1990, this small hill drew the ire of the USSR rulers. On at least three occasions, the Soviets took bulldozers up the small hill and pushed down every single cross. They wanted to rid the country of the display because the Lithuanian people couldn't practice any religion under Communism.


Besides all the crosses placed by people from the Baltic States, we saw crosses from many other countries brought to the hill by soldiers serving at the nearby NATO military base. We located many from the US.
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Site of worship by the pope in 1993 |
It's hard to imagine that more crosses can be added to this hill, but crosses are seeping farther and farther away from the base of the hill. It will be interesting to see how large it gets in the next couple years.
We won't forget this experience any time soon.
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