There are several sites throughout the country which commemorate those lost in the rebellions, but none are as well known or as celebrated as the Hill of Crosses just outside Siauliai.
I have visited this site twice myself and have laid two of my own crosses, one to my wonderful Omi and another to my beautiful Fiancée Donna, which I am pleased to say still stand proudly on the Hill.
Image © Copyright Daniel Herrick 2014
Whilst talking to my colleagues out here, there doesn't seem to be much interest in visiting the fascinating site, believing it to be "too religious" or "just a mound with some crosses on", but it is oh so much more than that. I am by no means religious and see myself as an atheist, believing in science however, I do not begrudge anyone the right to religion and like to visit religious sites for their historical value and churches for their beautiful architecture, so when the oppourtunity arose for me to visit the Hill of Crosses, I took it with open arms! I had seen the sight from the air before on a flight back from Naujoji Akmene and it looked very sparse, so when I turned up at the sight and saw the sheer number of crosses, it blew me away! It is believed to hold some 200,000 plus crosses, but it seems so many more with smaller ones being hung on larger ones and every space filled with small wooden crosses that have either been lovingly crafted, or purchased from the shop on site. I was instantly hit with a sense of awe and couldn't help, but feel that if this was to be in the UK, it would be vandalised on a regular basis.
I began reading some of the plaques and scriptures around and quickly realised, that although this is a place of pilgrimmage for Roman Catholics, this wasn't just a site of religion, it was a place of defiance. During the 19th Century, Lithuania was under Tsarist rule and in 1863 the rebellion uprising was quashed, leading to many deaths. No one knows exactly why crosses were first placed here, some think that they were prayers for health, but the common consensus was that crosses were placed to remember the dead from the rebliion uprising.
Image © Copyright Daniel Herrick 2014
Tsar rule decreed that croses were not to be placed on homesteads or farmlands and any that were, were torn down, so the hill became a place of rebellion where people came overnight to build and place crosses. It stood like a huge middle finger to their occupiers, showing unity amongst the people and in a day and age of violence, is a perfect example of a peacful, but meaningful protest. When the Russians returned during World War II, they bulldozed the hill removing all crosses and digging deep trenches all around so peope could not access it at all, but once again, almost overnight crosses appeared as an act of defiance.
That is why this place is so significant to not only me, but also to the RAF and my collegues. We should all want to visit here! The RAFs role here is to police the air space above the Baltic regions and with the rising tensions in Ukraine, we are often approached by locals asking us to keep out the Russians. They don't want to fall under Russian rule again and visiting the Hill of Crosses both brings home why they don't, but also makes being here feel worthwhile.
So me and a collegue have decided to organise an RAF ceremony, placing two crosses here from the Royal Air Force contigent based at Siauliai. We don't want it to be a flag placing ceremony and by no means want our crosses to be the biggest there, but we feel that it is important to leave a lasting reminder of our time here, as well as leave a thank you to the people of Siauliai and Lithuania for having us. Hopefully it will spark peoples interest in the place and they will see it not only as a sight of religion, but also a place of unity and defiance.
Image © Copyright Daniel Herrick 2014
As a nation the United Kingdom is extremely lucky. We have been able to defend ourselves and haven't suffered real occupation since the Romans. The people of Lithuania have not been so fortunate, to see something like this fascinates me and gives me hope in the strength of the human spirit. Whether I agree with it or not, people should always stand up for their beliefs otherwise we will fall to others who force theirs upon us and I for one believe that this Unesco Heritage site is a must visit for all.
I shall post some pictures from our ceremony taking place on July 10th and let you all know how it went, so keep up to date on facebook, twitter or instagram.
Dan
