Kryžių kalnas

A monument to seven Franciscan friars supposedly beheaded here by pagans, while seven more were crucified then thrown in the river. The story is nonsense, but Lithuania was the last European country to convert to Christianity, and there was indeed conflict. King Mindaugas was baptised in 1250 but the country as a whole didn't convert until 1485 when the Duchy united with Poland. Wooden crosses have been erected on the hill since the early 17th century. They needed periodic replacement, until the Tsarists stamped out the practice in 1869. Concrete crosses were built in 1916, got rid of by the Soviets in 1950, and re-built in 1989.

Crooked Hill