The Hill of Crosses
On a small hill in Lithuania stand more than 100,000 crosses. The Soviet government bulldozed it three times. Each time, the crosses came back overnight.
What was reported
Near the city of Šiauliai, a low mound is covered in crosses: huge wooden ones, small ones, crucifixes and rosaries, hung so thickly they rattle in the wind. Nobody knows exactly when people began putting them there; one story says it began after the uprisings of 1831 and 1863, by families who couldn't find the bodies of their dead.
Under Soviet rule the hill became a quiet protest. Authorities bulldozed it in 1961, 1973 and 1975, and each time people crept back at night to plant new crosses. Pope John Paul II visited in 1993.
Explanations offered
Some legends say a vision of the Virgin Mary told a man to put a cross there; others say the hill was an ancient pagan site. Whatever its beginning, it has become a national symbol of faith and resistance, and visitors still add crosses today.
- When
- Since the 19th century
- Where
- Near Šiauliai, Lithuania
- Witnesses
- Pilgrims and visitors
- Status
- Origin unknown
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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