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LITHUANIA
I visited Lithuania in August of 2021 |
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Crosses first appeared here in the 14th century. They multiplied after bloody anti-tsarist uprisings to become a potent symbol of suffering and hope. During the Soviet era planting a cross was an arrestable offence but pilgrims kept coming to commemorate the thousands killed and deported. The hill was bulldozed at least three times. In 1961 the Red Army destroyed the 2000-odd crosses that stood on the mound, sealed off the tracks leading to the hill and dug ditches at its based, yet overnight more crosses appeared. By 1990 the Hill of Crosses comprised a staggering 40,000 crosses. Since independence they have multiplied at least 10 times which testifies to the faith of the people of Lithuania.*
An artist in the Theatre Square, old town Klaipeda, Lithuania.
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In true Lithuanian style, Klaipeda is studded with great sculptures, including 120-odd pieces from the late 1970s in the Martynas Mazvydas Sculpture Park, the city's main cemetery until 1977.*
Audrone is a ceramic artist in the Pho Ceramics studio in Vilnius, Lithuania.
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A traditional fishing village near Klaipedia Lithuania.
Igmer is a painter in Vilnuis, Lithuania.
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Augusta is a ceramics artist in Vilnuis, Lithuania.
Classical musicians at a festival in Klaipeda.
(Klaipeda) It's also Lithuania's only port of call for Titanic-sized cruise ships, a vital sea link for cargo and passenger ferries between Lithuania, Scandinavia and beyond.*
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Ceramic artist in Klaipeda, Lithuania.
Singer at a festival in Klaipeda.
The romantic nature of the Uzupis Republic.
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Lukas is digital video artist in Vilnuis, Lithuania.
The painstakingly restored red-brick Gothic castle probably dates from around 1400, when Grand Duke Vytautas needed stronger defences than the peninsula castle afforded.*
Knights demonstrate their skills at a festival in Klaipeda.
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*These captions are from Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania -- a Lonely Planet travel guide.