A place of hope, peace and love
A lot of you probably heard about the
Hill of Crosses, which lies in Lithuania and is one of the biggest pilgrimage centres and one of the biggest recognisability of the country. There are more than 150,000 different crosses on the hill.
I organized the trip to Lithuania by myself. I flew from Memmingen, Germany and back for only 30 euros. The Hill of Crosses lies 12 kilometres outside of the city Šiauliai and is easily accessible by car. Because I travelled on public transport, I chose a regional bus, which drives from Šiauliai to the city Joniškis.
Bad weather, snow and wind didn’t stop me from visiting this pilgrimage centre by the Baltic sea. I was very cold, but in 20 minutes of fast walk, I arrived on the hill. The story says that a father was sitting up late by his deadly sick daughter and God said that he has to carry a cross to a hill, 13 kilometres away. The father did that and his daughter was healed. People are bringing crosses to this hill since then.
In time of Soviet Union occupation, the communist regime tried to destroy the Hill of Crosses but the believers kept bringing crosses to the hill. Soviet leader Nikita Hruščov tried to bulldoze the hill in 1961 but didn’t make it since people kept bringing the crosses at night. The last order of demolition was in 1975 but Mihail Gorbačov calmed the events and announced the hill as national cultural heritage.
Today people are bringing crosses from all over the world. There are wooden, metal, plastic, big and small crosses on the hill. I was the only visitor that time and it was a little creepy, bad weather and so many crosses around me. Pope John Paul II visited this hill on 7th of September 1993 and pronounced it a hill of hope, peace, love and sacrifice. Most visitors leave at least a tiny trace in this place which also makes it one of the most unusual tourist sights in the country. If you ever travel by the Baltic sea, take your time and visit the unusual tourist sight.
