The Crosses of the Hill of Crosses stand as silent symbols of Lithuanian faith, hope, and love. For over 200 years, both Catholic and Orthodox pilgrims have placed crosses on the site like this cross from Taiwan, which is now home to over 200,000 crosses. The Hill of Crosses is a unique site that truly represents the Lithuanian spirit. Despite its many attackers, this unusual pilgrimage site, with its dangling rosaries chiming in the blowing wind and providing a rolling soundtrack for icons of saints and photographs of revered local patriots, endures as a powerful testament to devotion. Many of the rebels’ families have not been able to find their bodies after battles, so they erected crosses on the site of a former military fort located on a hill in the area. After the old political leadership of Eastern Europe fell in 1918, Lithuania declared its independence for the second time. The Hill of Crosses, which was already famous as a place of prayer for the peace of the country and for the remembrance of heroes in the struggle for independence, became even more significant.
