Places to visit in the city of Pasvaly

From the very beginning, the city center was bustling with life – there was a market square and shops. Over the centuries, the streets running into the square have formed a unique urban plan, which today is recognized as an urban heritage. On the outskirts of the square, there are preserved buildings from the early 20th century  and a narrow stone-paved street leading past the red-brick hospital to the site of the old wooden bridge.

People of Jewish nationality who lived in the city of Pasvalys and its vicinity were buried in this place for several centuries. After the destruction of the Jewish community during the Holocaust in 1941, the use of cemetery stopped. During the Soviet era, they were destroyed, only a few fragments of the former tombstones remained. After the restoration of Lithuania’s independence, a monument was built at the site of the cemetery. Today, it is the territory of the Svalia Valley Park.

“For this day to be immortalized, everyone will bring something for the roadside monuments. Stone by stone, same as our captivity, we will pile them up to build an altar… Maybe a bag of soil – to build the mound according to the ancient custom… Maybe a cross…” (Writer Kazys Saja, 17 August 1989).

The first crosses were erected here by the people of Pasvalys, Joniškėlis, neighbors from Pakruojis, guests from Kretinga, Akmenė, and Mosėdis on 23 August 1989, the day of the Baltic Road campaign. This is how they gave meaning to their determination to seek freedom. Later crosses were erected here to commemorate various important occasions. 14 crosses stand in the valley today.