Last summer I decided to visit Lithuania, one of the Baltic
states that gained the complete independence from the former Soviet Union at
the beginning of the 90's, and I must admit that I was so charmed by this country
little known by "westerners". I really loved the landscape, so green
and dotted with little picturesque farms but also so full of lakes and forests.
The cities like Vilnius, Kaunas or Klaipeda are so significant 'cause they tell
the voyager about the Lithuanian people, but also about the old kingdom of the
Poles and Lithuanians, about the prussian the tsarist empire and - of course
- about the former Soviet Union.
But I was really impressed by a place that I visited just a few kilometers northward
from the city of Siauliai, the famous Hill of the Crosses. For Lithuanians these
crosses are the most truly symbol of their nationality, a symbol of a small
nation that was able to preserve its identity despite centuries of foreign dominations.
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The hill's silhouette in the early morning |
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One of the narrow paths which enter in the deep of the forest of wooden crosses. |
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Crosses over crosses... |
| ...and one also devoted to the thousands who perished in the Shoa |  |
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Crosses from Lithuanians living abroad |
| Overview of the hill |  |
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Pilgrims praying before adding their crosses to the hill |
| The altair on the top of the hill |  |
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The national flag spreads over the crosses |