Šiauliai is a city in northern Lithuania, east of Klaipėda. It is the most populous city in Samogitia, with an area of 81 km², a population of 113,100 in 2011 (the fourth largest in the country), and the capital of Šiauliai County. It is an industrial, cultural, and scientific center. The city boasts a Renaissance church – since 1997, the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul – one of the largest religious buildings in Lithuania. In the 1980s, the 21-meter-high Archer (Sagittarius) Monument was erected to commemorate the 750th anniversary of the Samogitian victory over the Livonian Knights of the Sword at the Battle of Šiauliai in 1236. It also serves as a sundial.
- A bit of history. The name Šiauliai is derived from the Lithuanian word šaulys, meaning “shot.” Legend has it that in ancient times, on the shores of nearby Lake Talšos, there was a settlement of hunters who hunted wild animals and birds in the surrounding forests. The name Šiauliai reappeared during the aforementioned battle in 1286, and was mentioned again in 1524. From 1413 to 1795, Šiauliai was the capital of one of the tracts of the Duchy of Samogitia.
- The Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Šiauliai. A Roman Catholic church located at Aušros Takas 3 in Šiauliai. Built in the first half of the 17th century in the Mannerist style, it underwent minor reconstruction at the turn of the 20th century. It was elevated to the status of a cathedral in 1997.
- The Hill of Crosses. A hill located a dozen or so kilometers north of Šiauliai, near the town of Meszkucie (Lithuania). A chapel commemorating the baptism of the Samogitians was erected here in 1430. A large cross dominated the chapel. After the fall of the November Uprising in 1831, more crosses began to be brought and placed there en masse, and since then, their number has steadily increased. They are erected or hung on existing ones, varying in size, from enormous ones several meters high to quite miniature ones, intended to symbolize hope and the future, as symbols of reflection, faith, or as votive offerings. During the period of Soviet rule from 1941 to 1990, numerous attempts were made to force residents to cease pilgrimage to this site, and in 1961, an attempt was made to completely eradicate it using saws, axes, and bulldozers. In 1965, approximately 5,000 crosses and the chapel were destroyed, and by 1975, another 1,200. In 1978–1979, plans were made to flood the area on which the hill is located. Despite this, crosses continued to be erected. The number of crosses is estimated at approximately 200,000. During his pilgrimage to Lithuania on September 7, 1993, Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass on the Hill of Crosses, during which he consecrated the chapel built on it the same year. In 2006, a cross of Pope Benedict XVI was erected on the hill.
- The Šiauliai Synagogue. The Jewish synagogue located in Šiauliai, Samogitia, at Wileńska Street. It is a single-story building constructed of clinker brick with tall windows.
- St. George’s Church in Šiauliai. A Roman Catholic church located in Šiauliai, it was built in the early 20th century as an Orthodox church. The church was built in 1909 as a military church. It represents the Neo-Byzantine style. During World War I, the church was taken over by German troops, turning it into a warehouse. Then, in 1919, the Lithuanian state took over the building and transferred it to the Catholic Church. Some of the church’s furnishings, except for the oak iconostasis, were returned to the Orthodox.
- The Church of Saints Peter and Paul is an Orthodox church in Šiauliai. A parish church. The church is built on a rectangular plan. Entrance to the building is through a doorway with a portal, above which is a round window with a Greek cross motif. Above the gable, in the form of an ogee arch, is an Orthodox cross. Small domes with crosses are located in the corners of the building, while a larger dome rests on a drum at the center of the roof and is also topped with a cross. The interior features a double-row iconostasis and a dozen icons from various periods.
- The Dormition of the Mother of God Molenka in Šiauliai is a church of the Bezpopovtsy Old Believers in Šiauliai. The Old Believer community has existed in Šiauliai since 1993 and numbers approximately 800 families. That same year, the city authorities transferred the building of a former canteen in a complex of disused military buildings to the Old Believers. The brick building was adapted for worship purposes; in particular, two bell towers with crosses on onion-shaped domes were erected. On August 28, 1995, the molenka was consecrated.
