Siauliai is considered to be the cultural and business center of Northern Lithuania. For comparison, it can be said that this small Lithuanian city for a hundred years older than Vilnius and a year older Berlin. Shauluya for more than 770 years. According to one of the legends, the name of the city means the city of the Sun. And actually getting there, the feeling of joy and something good does not leave you. This is the fourth city of Lithuania in terms of population. Of course, according to our standards, this is not much, its population is just over 135,000.From Moscow, it is possible to get to it by train or by plane Moscow - Kaunas, and then a flight bus Kaunas - Shauliy.
Despite the fact that people already lived in this place already in the 13th century, the first mentions in historical documents reached us only since the 16th century. But the real impetus to the development of Shauliai received only in the 19th century. It was then that the Riga road was built - Tilsit. Now it is already called Soviet. And the railway Liepaja is laid - Warsaw. At the same time, industrial enterprises appeared in Shauliai. The most famous of them became a leather enterprise Frankelis.
This city, though small, but he is rich in its attractions and tourists in it will be very interesting. In this city, 16 parks occupy a large territory in 1177 hectares.
[H] Summer Square [H]
In 1981, in honor of the 750-year-old anniversary of the city, a competition was announced for the construction of the original Square Square.
And they won three Lithuanian architects. In the center of the square there is a sculptural composition called "Sagittarius". And the townspeople died her "Golden Boy." This boy reaches a height of 4 meters. He stands with a bow and quiver on a bowl, which himself is on the 18-meter arrows. These are the highest sundial in Lithuania. And the meaning of this building can be understood by learning the translation of the name. "Sagittarius" translates as "Šiaul", which means this composition is a symbol of the city. On the pavement area there are sundials, on the dial of which the figures 3, 6 and 12 are depicted. They symbolically designate 1236, when Shauliy was first mentioned in historical chronicles.
Mount Crosses
This attraction is 12 kilometers from Shaulia and attracts many tourists.
In Lithuanian, this mountain sounds like "Krigia Kalnas". The first mentions about this place belong to the 16th century. For what purpose on the mountain was erected the first cross there are many legends. According to one of them, the father killed by grief, whose daughter died, made a cross and brought him to this mountain. There he prayed, and when he came home, he saw his daughter in a living house. According to another version, in the 19th century, an uprising happened at this place, during which many people died. And local residents who want to perpetuate this event began to bring crosses there.
Therefore, it is not known for sure how and for which this mountain was erected. But for some estimates in the middle of the last century there were already more than 5,000 crosses. In 1961, Lithuanian authorities decided to close this place, the bulldozers arrived there and dismantled the crosses, the land of overheated. And after that, the plague epidemic began in this area. The authorities have imposed a ban on the mountains, but the locals secretly at night brought their crosses there. The official revival of the mountain began in 1988. Nearby chapels and monastery were erected. And in the summer they even began to arrange a holiday in honor of this amazing place.
But many tourists still think that this is a cemetery. And in fact the burial there has never been there. The mountain of the crosses can also be called a kind of open-air temple, but there are no clergy. Not any worship services. Each cross personifies a concrete person who asks for something or thanks God. Crosses put in memory of the deceased relative, in honor of the birth of a child, to protect against any trouble. Crosses there are completely different, there are wooden and metal and stone and plastic. There is even the original crosses from the chambers with car numbers.
For inscriptions on the crosses, you can see a kind of geography of residence of people who put them. There are inscriptions in Russian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, English, German and many other languages on the mountain of crosses. In, mostly, there are Catholic crosses, but others meet. According to the latest data, more than 60,000 crosses are now on this grief. To the left of the mountain is the platform, where in 1993 John Paul II prayed for the well-being of Europe and installed his cross.
This place fascinates, but all makes a different impression. I was terrible there, but I do not regret visiting this amazing mountain.
Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul
All the road Šiauliai lead to this cator. On the square before this temple, the citizens are appointed meetings and dates. At this place in 1445 a wooden church was built. And later the stone temple was erected. It is believed that this happened in the 17th century, although the exact date of construction is unknown. The facade of the walls are bright white, and the height of the temple towers is 70 meters. The cathedral was built in an old architectural European style. It looks very nice on the cathedral. Despite the fact that there were many devastating wars in Lithuania, we can see this cathedral in his original form. And this is due to citizens who, after each destruction, gathered money and restored the cathedral. On one of the walls of the cathedral there is an ancient sundial, which now work regularly and show the exact time.Villa Khaima Frankel
The founder of the leather factory Khaim Frnekel in 1908 decided to build a villa.
He assumed that this villa would be a house where many generations of his family would live. However, from 1920 to 1940, a private Jewish gymnasium was functioning in this villa. And after the beginning of the Second World War, a German hospital is located in the villa. And later there was an ordinary Soviet hospital. And only in 1994, the Museum was opened at the villa. Currently, two expositions are constantly open in it. One of them is devoted to the provincial life of 19-20 centuries,And the second - the Jewish cultural life of Shauliy.
This is not all the sights of this small, but an old Lithuanian town that is very interested to see.