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One of the most famous sights of Lithuania is Mount of Crosses, located twelve kilometers from the city Siauliai, on the road Kaliningrad – Riga. This is actually a hill moreover, a small one, which is covered with many crosses (there are more 50 thousand) and therefore somewhat resembles a cemetery. However no there are no graves here, and the installation on the hill of crosses is a tribute to the ancient traditions.
Once upon a time there was an ancient settlement. According to By belief, in order to find luck, a person must leave a cross here. It is not known when such a tradition was born, however, thousands of people annually make a pilgrimage to the Mountain of Crosses.
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There is a legend that in ancient times the hill was a monastery that suddenly mysteriously went underground. Some time has passed, and it is hard for one of the local peasant the daughter fell ill. Local healers could not help the girl, and a desperate father erected a cross on the site of the former monastery, praying Almighty for help. A miracle happened – the child recovered. With that the time the installation of crosses in a miraculous place has become tradition.
The hill was overgrown with crosses very quickly, less and less remained on free space there. When the whole space (except for narrow paths) was occupied, new large crosses began to dig between old, but the same – to stick to high.
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Some researchers believe that in the 15th century (even before baptism of Lithuania) on the hill was a pagan temple. Tradition Crossing appeared here as a relic of those ancient beliefs, somehow transformed into a kind of “folk religion, “which is intertwined with Catholicism. It is for this the reason is even the opinion that the Hill of Crosses is the same age as Lithuanian Catholicism.
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And indeed, on this hill there are more crosses with classical Lithuanian symbols, very similar to the symbols of the pagan cult, but there are very few that have something in common with symbols Orthodox church. It is no coincidence that in 1993 Lithuania’s unique hill even visited Pope John Paul II, who established here crucifixion. Due to this, the Mountain of Crosses soon became world-famous, and suffering people from all over came here ends of the planet.
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By the way, we note that in the last century the leadership of the Soviet Union made several attempts to destroy an unconventional place pagan pilgrimage mercilessly demolishing crosses from a Lithuanian hill. However, soon new crosses appeared on it. Today what only crosses are not here: some huge wooden ones, in several meters high, others very small, wearable, bunches of which are hung on large; some are very beautiful, handmade works and decorated with almost precious stones, the second completely simple koi can be bought in every church for a penny.
People come here for happiness and health, and since both another can be acquired by putting a cross on a hill, then flock here pilgrims regardless of age, nationality and even religious views …
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