The Hill of Crosses

A unique film location, the Hill of Crosses is a site of pilgrimage about 12km north of the city of Šiauliai, in northern Lithuania. It is believed that the crosses were first placed at the site after a peasant uprising in 1831. During Soviet occupation the Hill of Crosses became a symbol of Lithuanian nationalism. Despite repeated Soviet attempts to destroy the location, locals and pilgrims would always rebuild. Today the location is a pilgrimage site where visitors come to pay their respects and leave their own crosses.

The exact number of crosses is unknown, but some estimates put it at around 100,000. The hill is 60 meters long and 40-50 meters wide.

The Hill of Crosses is open to documentary and film shoots providing they are respectful of the historic and religious nature of the location. Permission is required from relevant Catholic Church authorities and possibly other government departments, depending on the specifics of the shoot.

The Hill of Crosses is a 2.5hr drive from Vilnius, Lithuania, and a less than 2hr drive from Riga, Latvia. Vilnius and Riga are the closest major production centres where production support and film / photography crews are based.

Baltic Film Support and Crew

Contact us if you are looking for a shooting crew or production service support in the Baltic states. We have fixers, service producers, directors, videographers and photographers in Lithuania and Latvia.

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