The site has become a symbol of Lithuanian independence and peace, so despite looking pretty creepy, as far as Lithuanians are concerned it’s got a hugely positive and defiant vibe about it.
From 1944-1990 Lithuania was once again taken over by the Soviets. The hill became a shrine to silent, peaceful rebellion. People continued to make pilgrimages there to quietly pray that the Russian’s would bugger off once and for all.
The Russians didn’t like the hill one bit, they knew how important it was and what it meant to Lithuania. So they removed any new crosses that were placed there to try to trim down the number of visitors and keep its size down. That didn’t really work, so they completely bulldozed the lot at least three times. But the people just started bringing the crosses back again, despite the dangers.
There were even rumours that the Soviets were considering damning a river so that the entire Hill of Crosses would be submerged. That’s how much they hated this simple symbol of resistance.
Nowadays the hill is officially under no one’s jurisdiction, so people are free to plonk their crosses or whatever they fancy there whenever they like. On September 7, 1993, Pope John Paul II even graced the hillock with his presence. I bet he loved it. He’s well into all that religion stuff apparently.
When I started out writing these short words on the Hill of Crosses I thought it was going to be a spooky tale, but it wasn’t at all was it? The hill was a massive middle finger to the Soviet interlopers and a place to mourn their dead. On top of all that it looks pretty cool and would be the perfect venue for the most epic game of hide and seek of all time.
I might not rock up there after dark though.
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