Lithuania
Blame it on the Baltic sea breeze or the almost-endless midsummer days: Lithuania has an otherworldly quality. In the southernmost of the Baltic states, beaches are spangled with amber and woodlands are alive with demonic statues. Medieval-style mead and traditional wood-carving never went out of style.
Offsetting Lithuania's reverence of tradition is a spirited counterculture, particularly in compact capital Vilnius. A city of churches and baroque finery, Vilnius’ cobblestoned charms haven’t gone unnoticed by tourists. Less visited are second city Kaunas and spa resort Druskininkai, where 19th-century architecture nudges against brooding Soviet buildings.
As Europe's last country to be Christianised, pagan history still soaks the land. Curonian Spit, splintering from the Baltic coast, is awash in folklore. Cyclists, hikers and beach-goers eagerly board ferries to its voluptuous dunes. Cloaking the rest of Lithuania are lakes, forests of birch and pine, and pancake-flat farmland; in Lithuania, there's ample space to breathe.
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Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Lithuania.
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Hill of Crosses
Lithuania's fabled Hill of Crosses is a symbol of defiance as much as a pilgrimage site. More than 100,000 crosses have been planted on this low hill, many of them strung with rosary beads that rattle softly in the breeze. The tradition began during the 1831 Uprising and reached its height in the 1960s, in defiance of anti-religious Soviet rule. At night locals crept here to lay crosses, infuriating their oppressors. It's 12km north of Šiauliai (2km off Hwy A12) near Jurgaičiai. Repeated efforts to bulldoze the hill during the 1960s and '70s didn't deter locals from placing crosses here, despite the harsh punishments for being caught. Today it is forbidden to remove a cross from the site, and any visitor may plant a cross (up to a certain size). Enterprising vendors sell simple wooden crucifixes near the visitor centre; they loan marker pens for devotees to write a family name, prayer or wish onto the cross before placing it in the soil. Large and tiny, expensive and cheap, wood and metal, the crosses are devotional, to accompany prayers, or finely carved folk-art masterpieces. Others are memorials tagged with flowers, a photograph or other mementos of the deceased, and inscribed with a sweet or sacred message. Traditional Lithuanian koplytstulpis (wooden sculptures of a figure topped with a little roof) intersperse the crosses, as do magnificent sculptures of the Sorrowful Christ (Rūpintojėlis). If you wish to add your own, souvenir traders in the car park sell crosses big and small. Some of the crosses are devotional, others are memorials (many for people deported to Siberia). They vary greatly in size and some are accompanied by mournful statues of the Virgin Mary. The devout come from far and wide; you may spot a memorial to 9/11 victims and another to Ukrainians killed in ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. A pathway leads from the hill to a modern chapel; it's worth looking inside to see a view of the Hill of Crosses perfectly framed in the large window at the altar. Legends swirl around the Hill of Crosses. Some locals claim that the mound conceals the bodies of 14th-century warriors, others swear that it's haunted by monks. It's more than likely that the hill was a pre-Christian worship site. An alternative view of the cross-swamped hill is from inside the chapel of the modern brick monastery. Now home to around a dozen Franciscan monks, it was built behind the hill from 1997 to 2000. The monastery was allegedly the idea of the late Pope John Paul II, who said after visiting the hill in 1993 he would like to see a place of prayer here. Behind the altar in the church, the striking backdrop seen through the ceiling-to-floor window of the Hill of Crosses is very moving; Italian architect Angelo Polesello designed it. From the Hwy A12, it's another 2km east from a well-marked turn-off ('Kryžių kalnas 2'). From Šiauliai, take a Joniškis-bound bus (€1.50, 10 minutes, up to seven daily) to the 'Domantai' stop and walk for 20 minutes, or grab a taxi (around €20). By bicycle, the Hill of Crosses makes for a gentle three-hour trip out and back, mostly along paved bicycle paths that lie to the side of the main road. The tourist office hires out bikes (€1.50 per hour) and can show the route (mostly straight along the main road in the direction of Rīga, turning right at the sign for the last 2km.
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Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania
If you only see one museum in Vilnius, make it this one. On a site that has been settled since the 4th century AD stands the latest in a procession of fortified palaces, repeatedly remodelled, destroyed and rebuilt. The baroque palace, built for the 17th-century grand dukes, has been faithfully revamped to house an atmospheric museum of art and history. Visitors with several hours can opt for full admission, accessing four 'routes' through Lithuanian history; otherwise choose one or two. Route I walks you through two millennia of Lithuanian history. Guided through the strata of the palace's foundations, visitors can see the bones of successive episodes in the history of the building and the nation. A second route explores the splendidly reconstructed ceremonial halls of the grand duchy, complete with the crimson velvet of the throne room and remarkable wooden ceilings, while routes three and four take you through a thicket of halberds and swords dating back to the time of the grand dukes. This gleaming white complex is a potent symbol of revitalised, independent Lithuania.
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Vilnius Cathedral
Stately Vilnius Cathedral, divorced from its freestanding belfry, is a national symbol and the city's most instantly recognisable building. Known in full as the Cathedral of St Stanislav and St Vladislav, this columned neoclassical cathedral occupies a spot originally used for the worship of Perkūnas, the Lithuanian thunder god. Register in advance to tour the crypts, the final resting place of many prominent Lithuanians including Vytautas the Great (1350–1430). The first wooden cathedral was built here between 1387 and 1388; after several episodes of destruction and reconstruction, the present edifice was erected in the late 18th century. Note the greyish stone on the exterior, showing the older parts of the building. The reconstruction followed the original Gothic floor plan and incorporated St Casimir's and the Valavičius family chapels in the late 18th century. St Casimir’s Chapel, with its baroque cupola, coloured marble and frescoes of the saint's life, is the cathedral's showpiece. From 1950 the Soviets used the cathedral as a warehouse, gallery and concert venue, before its reconsecration in 1989.
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Vilnius University
Founded in 1579 during the Catholic Counter Reformation, Vilnius University was run by Jesuits for two centuries. During the 19th century it became one of Europe's greatest centres of learning, and the university survived shutdown by Tsar Nicholas I, rebranding under Soviet rule and closure by the Nazis. Its spectacular architectural ensemble includes a 64m bell tower, baroque church, courtyard and fresco-laden hall, all of which are open to visitors. Today it has more than 20,000 students and Lithuania’s oldest library, shelving five million books (including one of two originals of The Catechism by Martynas Mažvydas, the first book ever published in Lithuanian). Don't miss the Grand Courtyard with its melange of Baroque, Classical and neoclassical architecture, or the Littera bookstore with its wonderful ceiling frescoes.
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Museum of Genocide Victims
This former headquarters of the KGB (and before them the Gestapo, Polish occupiers and Tsarist judiciary) houses a museum dedicated to thousands of members of the Lithuanian resistance who were murdered, imprisoned or deported by the Soviet Union from WWII until the 1960s. Backlit photographs, wooden annexes and a disorienting layout sharpen the impact of past horrors outlined in graphic detail. Most unsettling is the descent to the prison cells, and one especially padded to muffle sounds coming from within. Between 1944 and the 1960s, more than 1000 prisoners were shot or stabbed in the skull here. Messages of despair and defiance from those awaiting execution remain etched into cell walls. Memorial plaques honouring the dead tile the outside of the building.
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Ninth Fort
Lithuania's dark 20th-century history is poignantly told here, 7km north of Kaunas. Begin in the sombre, church-like gallery with striking stained glass and exhibits detailing Lithuania's suffering under the Soviets and the Nazis. Then continue uphill to the Holocaust memorial and the WWI-era fort – a hard-labour prison in the early 20th century and a centre of torture and mass killings during WWII. Take bus 23 from Jonavos gatvė to the 9-ojo Forto Muziejus stop, then cross under the motorway. The spot next to the vast stone Holocaust memorial is where 50,000 people – 30,000 of them Lithuanian Jews – were murdered by the Nazis, alongside Jews from other parts of Europe, plus dissident Lithuanians and Russian prisoners of war. The fort was built in the late 19th century and was occupied by German troops during WWI. When WWI ended, it became a prison; exhibitions detail the brutality with which inmates were treated. During WWII, the fort was used as a holding pen for political prisoners before they were deported to distant parts of the Soviet Union, plus a brief stopover for Jews before they were killed en masse. Heart-wrenching displays pay tribute to individual victims of the Holocaust, detail the privations and horrors of the Kaunas ghetto and honour the Righteous Among the Nations – the Lithuanians who risked their lives to save Jews. Enquire ahead for guided tours of different aspects of the site, including the early history of the fort and the Holocaust in Lithuania (extra charges apply, usually €5).
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Cathedral Bell Tower
Climb the creaky stairs into the free-standing belfry of Vilnius Cathedral, once part of the city's 13th-century defences. Towering 57m high, it's one of the city's oldest brick buildings as well as Vilnius' most recognisable landmark. Bells dating back to the 15th century dangle in the small exhibition space, but the primary reasons to navigate the narrow ladders and stairwells are the priceless views across the city. At 5pm, listen to the bells ring for several minutes.
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Nemunas Delta Regional Park
Where the Nemunas, Lithuania's largest river, spills into the Curonian lagoon, it splits into four distributaries: the Skirvytė, the Atmata, the Pakalnė and the Gilija. The result is a wetland delta of surpassing beauty, teeming with birds and bristling with rushes, lilies and small patches of forest. If you're in Nida, or Šilutė, or really anywhere nearby, and have the chance to visit this incredible place, take it. The park administration is on Rusnė, the delta's largest island. The delta should have twitchers in spasms. Its 240 sq km are dotted with islands, marshes and flooded meadows, creating the perfect environment for the 294 different species of bird noted here. It's located on a migration route running from the Arctic, through Europe to Eastern Africa, so many birds stop here to breed.
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Parnidis Dune
The 52m-high Parnidis Dune is simultaneously mighty and fragile. Past settlements around Nida have been engulfed by the moving sand dune but this is a delicate landscape of mountain pines, meadows and fine blonde sand speckled with purple searocket flowers. A 1700m-long path picks its way to a grand panorama at the height of the dune, where you'll find a sundial with a granite obelisk (constructed in 1995). Don't stray from the path, and take all rubbish with you. Dunes began to move ever-closer to the lagoon after deforestation in the 16th century, which removed the natural barrier of trees. The sands continue to shift: in the space of 30 years, Parnidis Dune has decreased by 10m and it's thought that footfall on the dunes continues the erosion – all the more reason to stick to the path.
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