The Hill Of Crosses in northern Lithuania has been a site of pilgrimage for hundreds of years. Consisting
of a hill bristling with hundreds of thousands of crosses of every size
and design, it is a powerful testament to religious devotion - where
pilgrims descend to plead with Jesus for miracles.
The tradition of leaving crosses began after an uprising against the Russian tsar was put down in 1831. Relatives of the dead rebels, with no bodies to bury, instead left crosses on this hill to commemorate their fallen.
When the Russians again occupied Lithuania, during the soviet period, religion was forbidden.
Today there are an estimated 200,000 crosses, carvings and shrines at the site made out of everything from wood to metal.
Some stand as much as three meters tall, while there are also countless tiny examples hanging upon the larger crosses. Rosaries, pictures of Jesus and the saints, and photographs of Lithuanian patriots also decorate the area.
Source: Daily Mail
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