Roofed pole or roofed pillar (, plural: ''stogastulpiai'', from ''stogas'' – 'roof' and ''stulpas'' – 'pole, pillar') is a traditional Lithuanian wooden

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

. They may have anywhere between one and three layers of stylized roofs. Roofed poles can be simple, or richly decorated. Nowadays the most common ornamentation are a distinctive blend of

Christian symbolism Christian symbolism is the use of symbols, including archetypes, acts, artwork or events, by Christianity. It invests objects or actions with an inner meaning expressing Christian ideas. The symbolism of the early Church was characterized by be ...

and traditional solar, celestial, and nature motifs.Algirdo Šalkausko stebuklai iš medžio
/ref> Stogastulpiai, together with Lithuanian crosses, are common throughout

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, and can be found in churchyards, village/town squares, cemeteries, farms, parks, in fields and woods, at cross-roads, and as

wayside shrine A wayside shrine is a religious image, usually in some sort of small shelter, placed by a road or pathway, sometimes in a settlement or at a crossroads, but often in the middle of an empty stretch of country road, or at the top of a hill or mount ...

s. File:Sveksnastogastulpis.jpg, A roofed pole in the Švėkšna town center File:Angiriai002.JPG, A roofed pole tipped with an ornate iron cross with floral motif. Angiras village, northwest of

Josvainiai Josvainiai is a small town in Kėdainiai district, central Lithuania. It is located on the Šušvė River 10 km southwest from Kėdainiai. The town comprises the Catholic All Saints Church, a gymnasium, a post office, a public library, a st ...

. File:Alka stogastulpis 20060425.jpg, A roofed pole near Alkas,

Kretinga Kretinga (Yiddish: קרעטינגע) is a List of cities in Lithuania, city in Klaipėda County, in north-western Lithuania. It is the capital of the Kretinga District Municipality. It is located east of the popular Baltic Sea resort town of Pala ...

district, Lithuania. File:Savarina resize resize.JPG, A roofed pole near Savarina village,

Mažeikiai Mažeikiai (; Samogitian: ''Mažeikē''; ; ) is a city in northwestern Lithuania, on the Venta River. It has a population of around 32,000, making it the eighth largest city in Lithuania and eighteenth largest city in the Baltic States. Th ...

district, Lithuania. Note snake motif of roof "supports."

References

Architectural elements Architecture in Lithuania Lithuanian folk art {{lithuania-stub

See also

References