New York Times Travel Show
In March 2-4, 2012, Baltic Balkan Group will participate in the New York Times Travel Show in New York, USA.Read more
Accommodation reservation in Croatia for different tastes at various prices
Book accommodation online - best price guaranteed!Read more
Baltic Balkan Group visited eco-friendly farms in Northern Latvia and Southern Estonia
On June 28 Baltic Balkan Group visited several farms in Northern Latvia and Southern Estonia that are engaged in environmentally friendly entrepreneurship.Read more
Romania – Predeal Spring & Summer fun
The Spring has already come and you haven’t decided how to spend your holiday? We propose you a special offer for your active vacation in the mountains of Romania.Read more
Is Latvia safe for travelers? If this question is preoccupying your mind, here is the answer.
New!Read moreReligious Sights
While travelling throughout the country one can find particularly many crosses near the roads and homesteads of Žemaitija, Aukštaitija, and Dzūkija… but near Šiauliai, discover a unique historic place - the Hill of Crosses, where the crosses have been discontinuously put up to plead for grace or to express gratitude...
Particularly many crosses could be found near the roads and homesteads of Žemaitija, Aukštaitija, and Dzūkija. Some of them were slim and slender with decorating carvings that seemed like wooden laces; others had a thick trunk with numerous entwined figures that looked rather like sculptures than crosses.
Even when building crosses was prohibited or restricted by the occupants, the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, they were being tenaciously erected all over Lithuania. Due to that reason, as early as the end of the 19th century those monuments of various forms became one of the expression forms of the national identity and along with the religious and conventional implication they also gained the status of a national symbol.
The Hill of Crosses is a precious place for people of this area and all of Lithuania since it is a monument to suffering, love and hope. The first crosses were erected after the insurrections of 1831 and 1863. At the end of the 19th century 150 crosses were on the hill. In 1940 the number had grown to 400 large and small crosses. The Soviet government intended to eliminate this unique monument. Every time a cross was taken down people replaced it overnight with several more. Even now there is a tradition to leave crosses there to commemorate ones` close relatives and friends.
In 1993 Pope John Paul II visited this monument and made a gift of a cross to Lithuania.
Today there are about 3 million crosses of different size on the hill.
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