- Three Crosses
Three Crosses ( _lt. Trys kryžiai) is a monument in
Vilnius ,Lithuania , designed by a Polish architect and sculptorAntoni Wiwulski in 1916.History
It was constructed in
Kalnų Park on the Hill of Three Crosses (alternatively, the Bleak Hill _lt. Plikasis kalnas) in 1916, in the place where the three wooden crosses used to stand at least since 1636. The wooden crosses collapsed in 1869 andtsarist authorities did not allow for them to be rebuilt. The new monument byAntoni Wiwulski was covertly erected in 1916. It was blown up under the order of theSoviet Government on30 May 1950 . Eventually the crosses were restored and consecrated on14 June 1989 .The Three Crosses are constructed of
concrete , painted in white. The rebuilt crosses now are 1.8 metre higher than those of 1916. A spectacularpanorama of theVilnius Old Town can be observed from top of the hill.Legend
The origins of the monument are explained in a fictitious legend, written in the
Bychowiec Chronicle among others, according to which sevenFranciscan monks, who were invited toVilnius fromPodolia by PetrasGoštautas , weretorture d to death (crucified and thrown into theVilnia River , according to some sources) on4 March 1333 by local pagan inhabitants. [lt icon [http://users.churchserve.com/europe/domeikava/3/2sk.htm Guide to sacred places of Maria] ] The chapel was erected on the spot where they died and the crosses were added later on.The factual background of the legend is a story regarding two murdered
Franciscan friar s who came toVilnius to spread ChristianityNikžentaitis, Alvydas. "Gediminas", 55-57] , that was first presented inChronica XXIV Generalium , written before 1369. The events probably took place around 1340; therefore some eyewitnesses could still have been alive. According to the story, Franciscan friar's Ulrich's preaching angered townspeople. He and his companion Martin were seized and brought beforeGrand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas , who ordered the friars killed. Ulrich was tortured and his body tossed into the river. Martin's body was rescued by Gediminas' sister, an Orthodox nun. She buried Martin in a monastery she lived in.The true purpose of building Three Crosses on the hill is still unknown. One of the suggestions is that they were erected in the celebration of granting
Magdeburg rights to the city.ee also
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Hill of Crosses Image gallery
References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.