The Hill of Crosses near Šiauliai in Lithuania is a hill covered with thousands of wooden crosses. During the Soviet era, these crosses were removed by the authorities, but locals continuously replaced them.

• The Hill of Crosses used to be the site of a castle, but the Teutonic Knights destroyed it and set it on fire. People started erecting crosses on the hill in the mid-1800s in remembrance of the dead, as a plea for health and long years of life. The crosses were put up by pilgrims and people who came here with their prayers and pleas, as well as artists and talented craftspeople.
• In 1795, Lithuania became part of the Russian Empire. Poles and Lithuanians unsuccessfully rebelled against Russian authorities in 1831 and 1863. These two uprisings are connected with the beginnings of the hill: as families could not locate bodies of perished rebels, they started putting up symbolic crosses at the site of a former hill fort.
• Many attempts were made to destroy and burn the Hill of Crosses, but it survived as a sign of our freedom and as a must-see place for pilgrims around the world. The site took on a special significance during the years 1944–1990, when Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union. Continuing to travel to the hill and leave their tributes, Lithuanians used it to demonstrate their allegiance to their original identity, religion and heritage. It was a venue of peaceful resistance, although the Soviets worked hard to remove new crosses, and bulldozed the site at least three times.
• The travel website Condé Nast Traveler listed this hill with its thousands of crosses among 20 scariest places in the world. Of course, most would maybe not like to spend a night on the hill, but to Lithuanians it is a place of light and hope  and something that represents their historical and cultural traditions.
• In December 2019, a tourist from China removed and tossed away a cross believed to be set up by the Hong Kong pro-democracy camp. She later condemned the protesters in a Twitter post and in an Instagram video saying, “We have done a good thing today. Our motherland is great.”