Lithuania’s Kryžių kalnas [The Hill of Crosses]: Investigating the Layered Histories, Meanings, and Tensions that Chronicle a Nation’s Life

Lithuania’s Kryžių kalnas [Hill of Crosses] is a hauntingly beautiful and chaotic site in the northern part of the country, attracting tourists and locals alike. With vague beginnings as a defensive mound in the ninth to fourteenth centuries, to a place of rebellion against the Soviet occupation, and finally, as an official national heritage site recognized by Pope John Paul II, the Hill of Crosses holds historical, religious, cultural, and aesthetic significance within the nation. Throughout its history, the Hill has suffered constant devastation due to abandonment and oppressive regimes, but since Lithuania’s independence in 1990, crosses have accumulated continuously. Hundreds of thousands of crosses cover the site today, mainly thanks to a small market selling religious paraphernalia to visitors. A parking lot, tourism center, and market were constructed near the Hill to accommodate the increase in visitors since the pope’s 1993 visit. These additions have been a topic of debate due to how they facilitate visits as well as concerns over mass-produced crosses overwhelming larger crosses of national cultural heritage significance. In this article, I examine the histories of the Hill and the tensions in maintaining it while also reflecting on the meaning of the chaotic beauty of the Hill as a spontaneous shrine and site of assemblage.