HAUNTING photographs show a mountain of over 100,000 crosses – the origins of which remain a shrouded in mystery.
Eerie images capture Lithuania’s epic Kryžių Kalnas (Hill of Crosses) including a dramatic shot of countless wooden and metal crucifixes
They also show a panoramic shot showing the scale of the remarkable national monument as wll as a woodcarving of Jesus, draped in rosary beads.
The tale of the Hill of Crosses dates back to early stages of the 19th century.
Located just outside Lithuania’s fourth largest city Šiauliai, the mound attracts thousands of pilgrims every year who visit the site to pay their respects to the dead, pray, or to leave a set of rosary beads or another cross to the ever-massing collection of religious icons.
Dutch photographer Anne-Marie Vermaat was fascinated by the bizarre collection where, according to local legend, an apparition of the Virgin Mary once held the baby Jesus aloft whilst surrounded by crosses.
“There is a heavy atmosphere at the Hill of Crosses, but also a sense of persistence and hope,” said Vermaat, 52.
“You can feel the history of this special site.”
She explained the origins of the site are unclear but it’s generally assumed that the first crosses were placed on the hill after the November Uprising of 1830-1831 when it was used as a defensive post.
This has been and continues to be done by Catholic pilgrims today.
Mention of the Hill of Crosses dates back to approximately 1850, but it appears that the crosses were left by mourning relatives of the victims of revolts against the Russian regime in 1831, and later in 1863.
Crosses vary in size and material, some fitting in your hand whilst others soar to over three metres tall.
Vermaat believes that her photos of the thought-provoking Lithuanian monument will be viewed differently by everyone who sees them.
“I hope that everyone can get their own story out of it,” she said.
During the Soviet era, religion remained banned and the Hill of Crosses off limits and in April 1961, the entire site was bulldozed and burned down by the authorities.
Even though the Hill of Crosses was destroyed four more times, each time locals risked their lives to rebuild the site in secret, usually under the cover of darkness.
When crosses continued to appear the soviet authorities stationed KGB agents around the site to stop people sneaking through the forest to add to the collection – yet still the tradition continued.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Catholicism has been practiced openly in Lithuania and the Hill of Crosses has become a tribute to the country’s turbulent past, its steadfast beliefs, and those who died in the fight for Lithuanian freedom.
In 1993, Pope John Paul II visited the hill and called it “a place for hope, peace, love, and sacrifice”.
