Hill of Three Crosses, Vilnius (must see)

The Hill of Three Crosses is a monument in Vilnius, created by the Polish architect Antoni Wiwulski in 1916. Three white crosses located near Gediminas Tower on a bank of Vilna river represent Lithuanians' gloom and hope. The monument stands in the place, where the three wooden crosses used to stand at least since 1636. The wooden crosses collapsed in 1869 and tsarist authorities did not allow for them to be rebuilt.

The new monument by Antoni Wiwulski was covertly erected in 1916. It was blown up under the order of the Soviet Government on 30 May 1950. Eventually the crosses were restored and consecrated on 14 June 1989. The origins of the monument are explained in a fictitious legend, written in the Bychowiec Chronicle among others, according to which seven monks, who were invited to Vilnius, were tortured to death. A chapel was erected on the spot where they died and the crosses were added later on.