Lake Svetloyar and the city of Kitezh - legends, traditions, historical facts. Lake Svetloyar and the city of Kitezh - legends, traditions, historical facts Wonderful city near Lake Svetloyar 5 letters

One of the most amazing places on the planet, Lake Svetloyar, is located near Nizhny Novgorod, near the village of Vladimirskoye. It is famous thanks to the ancient legend of the city of Kitezh, which, according to legend, was located at the bottom of a spring. The name Svetloyar is translated from ancient Slavic as “bright” or “righteous”, and the particle “Yar” is part of the name of the ancient Slavic god Yarila. Natural monument They plan to make it one of the cultural sites in the future.

Lake Svetloyar – a legend

The legend about the city of Kitezh is somewhat reminiscent ancient legend about Atlantis. An ancient myth about Lake Svetloyar tells that under its waters there still lies mystical city, built by Grand Duke George, which sank during Khan Batu's invasion of Rus' in the 13th century. The legend says that the cruel ruler, who had already conquered many settlements, heard about the rich and beautiful ancient region, the fame of which spread throughout the world, and immediately wanted to conquer Kitezh.

For a long time, the horde could not find the mysterious city, but one of the prisoners of war, a former resident of Kitezh, let it slip to the enemies that there was a secret path along which one could get to the settlement. When the Tatar-Mongol army finally approached Kitezh-grad, the khan and his warriors were surprised that there were no fortifications or walls in front of him. Batu was delighted, believing that the victory would be easy, but it was not to be: as soon as the army came close to the city, many high-water springs gushed out from under the ground, the Tatars got scared, they had to retreat, and the water still continued to flow in huge fountains. Finally, its streams dried up, and it became clear that the city had almost completely disappeared under water. Tradition says that there was no water in Kitezh itself, and it only helped the settlement escape from enemy attack, and none of the townspeople were harmed. God saved the inhabitants of Kitezh-grad for their pious life and faith, and the place where it was located ancient settlement, began to be considered sacred.

Nowadays, many people still believe in this ancient legend about the lake. Every year, dozens of Orthodox tourists specially come to the place where the ancient city went under water to hear the ghostly ringing of its bells, which, they say, still sometimes sounds near the lake. Local residents living near this mysterious place seriously tell pilgrims and visiting journalists that they often witness all sorts of strange incidents and inexplicable phenomena. Some see people in old-fashioned clothes making purchases and paying not with modern currency, but with ancient coins made of copper. On the lake you can also see the outlines of the walls of sunken temples and the transparent walls of monasteries. All these unusual phenomena suggest that Lake Svetloyar is a kind of portal that opens the way to a parallel world.

There is an opinion that the city that sank to the bottom of Lake Svetloyar was not in vain built on this place, because our ancestors have long built temples and settled where there was a powerful source of positive, bright energy. Pilgrims who traveled to this wonderful place claim that they were completely freed from headaches, high blood pressure, rheumatism and other diseases that tormented them. Local youth have a belief that if you walk around Svetloyar three times and make a wish, it has every chance of coming true in the near future.

Natural features of the lake

Lake Svetloyar – a legend , dating back to antiquity, and one of the most unique nature reserves on the territory of our country. This legendary reservoir has one extraordinary property: although the lake is very deep, its waters always remain clean, and the bottom is never overgrown with mud and algae. The water collected in the lake can be stored for many years in any container, while it remains transparent and clean.

Excursions to the lake

The reserve houses the Kitezh Historical and Art Museum, where master classes on ancient crafts are held for everyone, a ceramics museum and the ancient Church of the Vladimir Icon of the Virgin Mary, made entirely of wood. You can get to Svetloyar by bus; the lake is open for excursions every day.

Lake Svetloyar and the city of Kitezh are covered with various legends and myths. What is historical fact and what is fiction. Not far from Nizhny Novgorod there is a small, but unique lake Svetloyar.

The lake is called by a beautiful name, in which two words are connected: “light” and “yarilo”. The first word means purity, righteousness, and the second is the name of the sun deity, who was worshiped during pagan times.

There are many different legends, mysterious stories and fairy tales about Lake Svetloyar that are told from generation to generation. And here – read about the sights of St. Petersburg.

Lake Svetloyar in legends and history

The city of Kitezh is mentioned on the pages of the sacred book about the faith of the ancient Russians, “The Star Book of Kolyada.” The Svetloyarsk city of Kitezh, called the Russian Atlantis, is the hero of many legends and mysterious stories.

Legends tell about the underwater city of Kitezh, which exists at the bottom of Lake Svetloyar among the Vetluzhsky forests. They say that blue and clear waters The lakes, like a mirror, reflect the passing clouds, since no one disturbs the surface of the water and only occasionally a slight swell runs over its surface.

And sometimes the ringing of a bell reaches the wanderer from the motionless lake. If you look into the water of the lake for a long time, you can see the walls of snow-white monasteries and the shine of the domes of the lost Kitezh.

The legend, in which the events of history, dating back almost a dozen centuries, are mixed with the inventions of people, still lives. It is assumed that the city of Kitezh disappeared during the Mongol-Tatar invasion of Russian soil. It was not difficult for the enemies to conquer the fragmented lands of the Russian princes, who were weakening their power in internecine wars.

The city of Kitezh - history and legends

Ancient legends speak of Kitovras, who was born on the banks of Svetloyar. It was a half-horse, half-man creature, powerful and magical. He spent his energy helping people build the city, monasteries and fortress walls.

In those distant times, the Berendei lived in the forests near the lake. The surviving legends about the life of the Berendey tribe say that they worshiped Yarila, the sun god. And Kitezh was a city into which only righteous people were allowed.

After the Baptism of Rus' they began to build here Orthodox churches, being in which brought people relief from illnesses and troubles.

The images of pagan deities were gradually replaced by the faces of saints, but the place of special veneration of higher powers remained the same. The inexplicable positive energy of the lands near Lake Svetloyar became more and more mystical stories and legends that have reached modern man.

Historical events

The ruling princes on these lands were the descendants of Yuri Dolgoruky. At the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries, Grand Duke Yuri of Vladimir built two cities on the lands of Svetloyarsk: Big and Small Kitezh. It is assumed that Maly Kitezh later became a modern town called Gorodets.

And Greater Kitezh, according to historians, was built with strong walls. Also, those scientists who studied the history of the city of Kitezh suggest that the legends unite these two small settlements into Kitezh-grad.

According to historians, the Vladimir-Suzdal principality was attacked by Batu Khan in the mid-13th century. The chronicle and legends formed a single story. The principality at that time owned an army that was capable of resisting Batu. Unable to hold Small Kitezh, the Russian army decided to hold its defenses behind the walls of Bolshoi, which was protected by nature itself - impenetrable forests and swamps.

The khan bribed one resident who knew the paths in the swamps, who was afraid of torment from the formidable khan, and led the enemies to Kitezh. At the sight of the enemy troops, fountains began to flow in the city, water appeared from everywhere, covered the city and sank it to the bottom of the lake. The city was not drowned, but saved, hidden from the enemy. Khan Batu was able to conquer, ruin and burn many Russian lands of scattered principalities, but the glorious city of Kitezh did not surrender. The salvation of a pious and praying people took place through the pain of God. This only confirmed the sanctity of these places.

The mystery of Lake Svetloyar through the eyes of modern researchers and pilgrims

The life of the lake is shrouded in secrets and stories local residents, allegedly confirming the reality of events from almost a thousand years ago. Even researchers, archaeologists and geologists, can neither confirm nor deny the existence of the city under water.

Many strive to unravel the Svetloyarsk mystery, which, as usual, in such cases, when unraveled, reveals more questions than answers.

And today people come here to pray to the lake - a holy place. Many people believe that a handful of earth taken from the shore cures ailments, and water from the lake never spoils. Pilgrims walk around the lake three times to make all their secret dreams come true.

It is also assumed by those who believe in mysticism that Lake Svetloyar has a connection with Shambhala, that there is a passage here that leads to dimensions unknown to mankind. The publication “Kitezh Chronicler”, published in the 17th century, also contains information about Kitezh that went under water.

Of course, scientists who want to uncover the secret are engaged in exploring the depths of the reservoir. No anomalies as such were found, but the scuba divers were surprised by the stepped bottom of the lake. An interesting fact is that steep cliffs sometimes turn sharply into horizontal platforms.

Scientists have suggested that the lake was formed in several stages: at a depth of about 30 m, the “first bottom” was discovered, and higher up – the second, presumably formed in the 13th century. And the shallowest bottom terrace was deposited in the most recent centuries.

On the middle level, metal and woodwork from the 13th century were discovered. Based on their research, scientists suggested that the village, which was located on the very shore of the lake, could still go under water as a result of the activity earth's surface in those times.

And studying the bottom using an echo sounder gave the outline of a pattern reminiscent of fortress walls. People are still looking for an answer to the question: does Russian Atlantis exist?

In this article we will talk about the legendary city of Kitezh, which hid from enemies at the bottom of Lake Svetloyar ( Nizhny Novgorod Region). Scientists around the world have been trying to solve its mystery for several decades.

An ancient chronicle from 1251, created 13 years after the events described in it, tells how the city of Kitezh disappeared under water.

According to this literary source, in 1238, Batu Khan, having conquered almost all the Russian principalities, fought on the City River with the ruler of the Vladimir-Suzdal land, Georgy Vsevolodovich. In a hot battle, the Mongol-Tatar invaders crushed the few Russian regiments, and the prince, along with the rest of the army, took refuge in small town Kitezh, which he founded several decades ago on the shores of Lake Svetloyar.

It must be said that the approaches to the city were reliably hidden by the Vetluga forests and impassable swamps, and only a few knew the way there. Wanting to get to Prince George at any cost, Batu ordered the prisoners to be tortured in order to find out from them the way to Kitezh. Even the most terrible tortures could not break the captives, but one of them - Grishka Kuterma - still showed the invaders the way to the city, which became a refuge for the prince.

Having walked along a secret path, the Tatar hordes saw before them the beautiful Kitezh, practically devoid of military fortifications. Its inhabitants, instead of preparing for battle, fell to their knees and prayed earnestly. Anticipating an easy victory, the invaders rushed towards the city, but then streams of water gushed out from under the ground, forcing the enemy to retreat ingloriously.

But even when the Tatar-Mongols retreated, the underground sources did not dry up. The water rose around the walls of the city, reliably covering houses, temples and residents of Kitezh. Soon, in place of the blooming city, only the surface of the lake glittered in the sun, which to this day is a silent witness to the cataclysm of bygone centuries.

Reserved place

Today, many researchers of the events of those years have a question: why did Batu, who had practically conquered the entire Russian land, need to look for Small town, lost in forests and swamps, which can hardly be called a tasty prey? Did the khan really waste time and energy searching for the treasured path to Kitezh only in order to destroy the already defeated prince?

The answer to this question is given in one of his works by the writer and historian Alexander Asov. In his opinion, Kitezh is one of ancient cities Russian land, although its official history goes back only a few decades. And it was founded in pre-Christian times in a difficult, reserved place.

From time immemorial, Slavic tribes believed that Lake Svetloyar was endowed with an unknown power. That is why the Berendeys living on its shores built sanctuaries to the bright god Yaril, whose name gave the name to the lake.

In addition, according to Slavic legends, the powerful god Kitovras, who had the appearance of a half-man, half-horse, was born on this reserved land. He was a temple builder who knew all the secrets of the Universe. Here the god of wisdom and hops Kvasura was born, giving people joy and fun.

Kitezh-grad itself was first mentioned in the “Star Book of Kolyada” - the sacred chronicle of our distant ancestors. This city was patronized by many gods, and even when the Russian land became Orthodox, Christian churches were erected in places of power - the sanctuaries of Slavic deities.

The rulers of all the principalities revered Kitezh and took care of the holy city, as evidenced by the six (!) white stone churches erected here in record time. White stone in the Middle Ages it was very expensive, and builders spent it very carefully.

Therefore, it can be assumed that, having heard about the unusual city, Batu decided to take possession of its great power in order to conquer the whole world with its help. (True, it is not clear why the great power of the city did not help Georgy Vsevolodovich defeat Batu.) However, higher powers decided otherwise, hiding the sacred Kitezh under water from both enemies and friends.

What's at the bottom?!

The city of Kitezh still reminds people of itself from time to time. Many eyewitnesses claim that in clear weather at sunrise and on the eve of major Orthodox holidays, the ringing of bells and melodious singing can be heard from under the water. In addition, sometimes here you can see snow-white walls, crosses and golden domes of sunken temples under the surface of the lake.

Of course, the depths of Svetloyar were repeatedly studied by both archaeological scientists and amateur scuba divers, but traces of the drowned city were never found. The researchers came to the conclusion that the bottom of the lake can be called three-layered - consisting of three levels of underwater terraces dating back to different eras.

These terraces go deep into the lake from the shore like the steps of a giant staircase, alternating with flat areas of the bottom. On the “step”, which can be attributed to the century when the cataclysm occurred that destroyed the reserved city, located at a depth of 20 meters, shards of dishes, coins, jewelry of the 13th century were found - and nothing more significant.

However, when exploring the depths of the lake with a geolocator, it was discovered at the bottom of Svetloyar anomalous zone in the form of an oval, covered with a multi-meter sedimentary layer. The signals from the device were rather muffled, as if something was interfering with the free passage of sound. This fact allowed researchers to suggest that there may well be ruins in this area ancient city, however, more significant evidence of this has not yet been obtained.

Gateway to another world

Esotericists, who have also been studying the phenomenon of the disappearance of Kitezh for a long time, have their own version of its current location.

In their opinion, the city, located in a place of power, such as the Svetloyar region, could be transported to a parallel dimension, which was facilitated by the fervent sincere prayer of its inhabitants at the time of mortal danger. Moreover, the gates to another world still open slightly from time to time, for which there is also evidence.

The fact is that strange people in ancient clothes sometimes come to the village of Vladimirskoye, which is located not far from Svetloyar. These newcomers often try to buy goods in the local village store and pay for them with coins... from the 13th century - new and shiny, as if minted a couple of years ago.

In addition, in the area of ​​Lake Svetloyar, repeated disappearances of people who decided to relax in nature in these protected areas were recorded. As a rule, these “hostages of circumstances” are absent from several hours to two or three days, and when they return, they rarely remember what happened to them.

However, there are exceptions. Thus, one man from Nizhny Novgorod, who was picking mushrooms near Lake Svetloyar, disappeared in the forest for three days, and when he returned, he told his relatives that he had visited the mysterious city of Kitezh, and, to prove his words, showed a piece of bread that the “underwater inhabitants” treated the guest to. . But as soon as he took out “his proof,” the “otherworldly” bread turned into stone before the eyes of witnesses.

And yet, every year many pilgrims come to the treasured lake, of various religions. Fame also draws them here. mysterious place strength, and healing water, and earth from the shores of Svetloyar, which can cope with even the most severe diseases.

In addition, it is believed that if you walk around the lake three times clockwise, it will fulfill any wish. True, this is not so easy to do, because the total area of ​​Svetloyar is 12 hectares.