Anyway, after the train, a bus, and a 2km hike I finally arrived at this palpably mysterious site. The hill, like others dotting the countryside, has been around since pagan pre-Christian times. It's not a natural formation, but a mound of countless layers of decomposing memorials placed throughout the centuries.In modern times Lithuanians needed a place to commemorate those who fell in the many conflicts with the Russian Tsars of the 19 century. Such an open display of national sentiment would not have been tolerated in the cities, so this hill became increasingly popular due to its remote location.
More recently, the site was bulldozed repeatedly by the Soviets in the 1960s because Lithuanians were using it to remember those lost during two mass deportations to Siberia (part of the USSR's effort to "Russify" the region). Each time, however, the hill only grew taller as more crosses sprang up.
John Paul II visited in 1993 and ever since then this site has received a constant flow of pilgrims. Today the hill is surrounded by a sprawling sea of crosses with a network of pathways and elaborate shrines to various saints.Kryžų Kalnas has to be one of the most moving monuments I have ever visited. The small but unique Lithuanian culture used religion as one of several modes of survival while under centuries of oppressive occupation. This site is a physical byproduct of that struggle, with roots reaching back to the very beginning. And so today it is much more than just another religious pilgrimmage site--it's a living monument to victory of the now (finally} flourishing Lithuanian culture.
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