The Hill of Crosses (Lithuanian: Kryziu Kalnas ), is a sanctuary in Lithuania 12 kilometers from the city of Šiauliai , on the road from Kaliningrad to Riga . It is a hill on which a large number of crosses have been placed over time by believing Catholics . The number of crosses was around one hundred thousand crosses in 2006.
Today, on the Hill of Crosses you can find
different types of crosses: from huge wooden crosses to several
meters, even pectoral crucifixes, as well as images of saints and
effigies of the Virgin Mary.
The precise start of placement of these is not known.
crosses. Some researchers believe that before the Christianization of
Lithuania (14th century) the hill was a place of pagan worship. After the
conversion of Lithuanians to Catholicism, continued for a long time
vestiges of paganism in local culture, often merging with
Catholic precepts. An example of this mix would be the installation of
Christian crosses at an ancient site of pagan rituals.
If this version is true, the Hill of Crosses is as old as
Lithuanian Catholicism.
According to another version, the Hill of Crosses arose when
They established crosses in honor of the Lithuanians killed during the
repression of the tsarist authorities of the Russian Empire after the
insurrection of 1831. When the relatives of the patriots could not
recover his body, they placed a cross on the hill where there had been
a fort at the top.
| Country |
Lithuania |
| Year
|
2020 |
| Face value
|
2 euros |
| Weight
|
8.50 grams |
| Diameter
|
25.75mm
|
| Quality
|
Uncirculated |
| Reason
|
Hill of Crosses
|
