The Republic of Angels: Užupio

"A dog has the right to be a dog"

Tucked away in a bohemian enclave of Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, is a wonderland where fools are kings and death is a right but not a duty. The Republic of Užupio, affectionately known as "The Republic of Angels", was established by a bunch of glorious freaks on April 1, 1997. One of its first acts was to raise a statue in honour of Frank Zappa and invite former Czech president Vaclav Havel to the unveiling.


Who cares if Frank had absolutely nada to do with Užupio or Lithuania - he was the freaks' freak and their own patron saint. The next thing to do was to make up a Constitution:

The Constitution of Užupio

Everyone has the right to live by the River Vilnelė, while the River Vilnelė has the right to flow by everyone
Everyone has the right to hot water, heating in winter and a tiled roof
Everyone has the right to die, but it is not a duty
Everyone has the right to make mistakes
Everyone has the right to individuality
Everyone has the right to love
Everyone has the right to be not loved, but not necessarily
Everyone has the right not to be distinguished and famous
Everyone has the right to be idle
Everyone has the right to love and take care of a cat
Everyone has the right to look after a dog till one or the other dies
A dog has the right to be a dog
A cat is not obliged to love its master, but it must help him in difficult times

Everyone has the right to sometimes be unaware of his duties
Everyone has the right to be in doubt, but this is not a duty
Everyone has the right to be happy
Everyone has the right to be unhappy
Everyone has the right to be silent
Everyone has the right to have faith
No one has the right to use violence
Everyone has the right to realize his negligibility and magnificence
Everyone has the right to encroach upon eternity
Everyone has the right to understand
Everyone has the right to understand nothing
Everyone has the right to be of various nationalities
Everyone has the right to celebrate or not to celebrate his birthday
Everyone shall remember his name

Everyone may share what he possesses
No-one can share what he does not possess
Everyone has the right to have brothers, sisters and parents
Everyone is capable of independence
Everyone is responsible for his freedom
Everyone has the right to cry
Everyone has the right to be misunderstood
No-one has the right to make another person guilty
Everyone has the right to be personal
Everyone has the right to have no rights
Everyone has the right to not be afraid
Do not defeat
Do not fight back
Do not surrender

Šiauliai: Hill Of Crosses

In the early 19th century, on a hill in the north of Lithuania outside of the town of Šiauliai (pronounced shau-lay), a simple act of faith was transformed into a defiant protest. People started placing crosses in memory of departed loved ones. During the 1831 Uprising against the Russian Empire, rebels would disappear and in place of a grave a cross would be erected to commemorate family members who had perished.

Over time it grew to include crucifixes and icons from anyone who wished for a simple blessing or good luck like obtaining high marks in school exams. They multiplied like grain, sprouting from the bald hill until they grew into a forest. When the Soviets occupied Lithuania from 1944-1990, they recognized the hill as a threat and tried banning people from placing anything here.

Under the cover of darkness, people kept coming. Then the Soviets attempted to bulldoze the hill, flatten it into plain of nothing, but the people returned to put up more. When the Soviets disappeared, the crosses flourished again and now it’s a booming forest called Kryžių Kalnas in Lithuanian or "Hill of Crosses", attracting people like us from all over the world.

Most are from Catholics (Pope John Paul II visited in 1993), but we saw a few Jewish Stars of David, and even an advert from a car dealership.