Where is the city of Kitezh grad. Kitezh-grad

On the Volga River, not far from the city of Nizhny Novgorod, there is one of the deepest lakes in this region - Svetloyar. The dimensions of the lake are not large - half a kilometer in length and a little more in width. The depth of Svetloyar is 39 meters, which is a record in the region. Water enters the lake from a deep fissure in its bottom. It is crystal clear and cold.

Svetloyar is sometimes called the Russian Atlantis for its legendary history. People say that sometimes the barely audible ringing of bells can be heard from under its waters, and in the depths you can see the ghostly walls of monasteries and church domes.
This is the city of Kitezh, which, as legend has it, disappeared between 1,236 and 1,242 during the first Mongol Tatar invasion of Russia. At the border of the third and fourth decades of the 13th century, ancient Russian state was fragmented into dozens of principalities. The princes fought among themselves for power and new lands, and entered into military alliances.

The name of Lake Svetloyar comes from a combination of ancient Russian words: “bright”, also meaning pure and righteous, and “yar” - not only known to everyone as a ravine, or beam, but in this case being the root on behalf of the ancient Russian solar deity Yarila, who in pre-Christian Rus' worshiped by the ancient tribes of the Slavs. Many legends of the pre-Christian period of Rus' are also associated with Lake Svetloyar. The city of Kitezh is also mentioned in the sacred book of the ancient Russian faith - the “Star Book of Kolyada”.

In the area of ​​Lake Svetloyar, as an ancient Russian legend tells, Kitovras, a magical half-horse, half-man, was born. He was a powerful wizard and helped the Slavs build cities and temples. Kvasura lived there - ancient god wisdom and hops. It is believed that their names gave the name to the city of Kitezh.

In ancient times, a Slavic tribe of Berendeys lived near Lake Svetloyar. To this day, their descendants have preserved the legends about the city of Kitezh and the religious center of worship of the god Yaril located in it. In ancient times, during the pre-Christian period of Rus', Kitezh was considered a sacred place among the Slavs.

After the baptism of Rus', the Slavic faith with its temples and wise men gave way to Christianity, but places sacred to people remained. According to tradition, they began to build on the site of the temples Orthodox churches, since these places were believed to be special and strong sources of positive energy. The names of the ancient Slavic gods gradually changed to the names of saints, but the places of worship of higher powers remained the same. Such places include Lake Svetloyar, which since ancient times has been shrouded in legends and mysticism.

On the shore of this lake, Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri (George) Vsevolodovich, (November 26, 1188 - March 4, 1238), son of Vsevolod the Big Nest, built the City of Big Kitezh. In addition to him, there was also Small Kitezh (presumably modern Gorodets), built during the time of his grandfather, Yuri Dolgoruky. Big Kitezh was built entirely of white stone with six temples in the center of the city, which at that time was a sign of wealth. It seems that legends united these two cities into the mystical and mysterious Kitezh City.

Alexey Asov helped to recreate the true picture of the events of those distant times. He took the chronicles and legends of those times as the basis for this.

In 1238, Batu Khan defeated the Vladimir-Suzdal Principality. Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich remained at that time the only military leader with an army that could resist the Tatar-Mongol invasion. Khan camped on the City River. Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich defended himself against him in Maly Kitezh. Khan Batu took the city by storm, but the prince and the remnants of the army managed to escape from Small Kitezh and take refuge in Big Kitezh.

Batu intended to continue his campaign to Mediterranean Sea, but it was impossible to leave the Russian prince with his army in his rear. The path to the city lay among impassable swamps and forests. And then he began to torture all the captured Slavs on how to get to Kitezh. To hand over a city sacred to the Slavs meant dooming oneself and one’s family to eternal damnation. According to legend, only one was afraid of torment and death - Grishka Kuterma. He agreed to lead Batu’s army to Kitezh.

Batu Khan was the founder of the Mongol Empire and the grandson of Genghis Khan. In just a few years, he destroyed about half the population ancient Russia. Kyiv, Vladimir, Suzdal, Ryazan, Tver, and many other cities were devastated and burned by him. Rich Russian culture Ancient Rus' gone. For several decades, the construction of cities practically stopped, crafts disappeared, and the southern Russian lands lost almost all of their indigenous population.

During this tragic time, a legend about the city of Kitezh arose among the people. It tells that Batu Khan learned about the city of Kitezh and ordered to conquer it. It was difficult for the Tatar-Mongol army to find the city, but one of the Russian prisoners told the Mongols about the secret paths to Lake Svetloyar and the army headed towards Kitezh. When they approached it, they saw that the city was not fortified and rejoiced at the upcoming easy victory. But at the sight of the army, fountains of water began to flow from underground and the city of Kitezh disappeared under water. According to legend, the water did not enter the city itself, it only hid it from enemies and the townspeople did not drown. So God saved the people of Kitezh for their prayers and piety. This place has become sacred.

The legend of Kitezh is still alive today. People living in this area talk about the sudden appearance of strangely dressed people, the disappearances of those who come to look for Kitezh and turned out to be worthy of becoming its residents. The lake has long been of interest to archaeologists and geologists - employees of research institutes, as well as numerous people independently investigating the mystery of Lake Svetloyar. Among them there are those who explain everything by the laws of physics, and those who believe in the secret nature of things. They all strive to unravel the mystery of Lake Svetloyar and the city of Kitezh that has sunk into it.

This is a legend, but many people believe in it. And there is no doubt that Lake Svetloyar is the same ancient lake about which there are ancient legends. Orthodox Christians come here to pray. They even say that a handful of earth from this place cures many diseases, and the water from the lake lasts for several years and does not bloom or spoil - like holy water. Many people believe that if you walk around the lake three times clockwise, it will grant your wish.

Supposedly in Lake Svetloyar there is a passage to another dimension. There is another interesting, downright mystical version according to which Lake Svetloyar is connected with the mysterious Shambhala. Svetloyar attracts thousands of pilgrims from all over the world. A hint about the existence of a city at the bottom of Svetloyar can also be found in the late seventeenth-century book “The Kitezh Chronicler”.

Candidate Sergei Volkov, who organized an expedition in search of the mythical city, says that people disappear in this place - some forever, others return and do not remember anything that happened to them. He spoke seriously about the possibility of them visiting lost city Kitezh. But only true believers can enter it.

Proponents of the mystical theory lost city It is suggested that in Lake Svetloyar there is a passage to another dimension. Proof of this is the stories of residents of the village of Vladimirskoye, located near Svetloyar. They saw puddles in the clothes their ancestors wore. When these strange people bought goods in the village - mainly bread and bagels, they paid with perfectly preserved ancient copper and silver coins. A possible explanation for this is provided only by the theory of parallel worlds.

Here is what Sergei Volkov said:
“Our main discovery is to confirm the hypothesis about the existence near Svetloyar of a plasma substance invisible to the naked eye, which has the ability to manifest itself as living beings. There are especially many of them and they mostly come in the evening around groups of praying people - they look and study. We captured them on video -and photographic equipment. These plasma formations were once recorded in the laboratory by scientists from the Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere and Radio Wave Propagation. Experiments at this institute showed that there are millions of plasma clots in the air in the electromagnetic range, let's call them substance. This leads atheists to think that there is a parallel afterworld. Svetloyar's research shows that this hypothesis is not without common sense. "

Despite myths, legends and folklore, scientists have discovered traces real events happened. It is well known from geology that central regions European part of Russia lie on a foundation of solid rock. But this foundation is cut through by deep depressions directed in different directions and often intersecting with each other. And based on this fact, according to geologists, Lake Svetloyar is located at the intersection of two very deep and large depressions. In such places, even a very large water reservoir can form very quickly.

Scientists scuba divers explored Svetloyar and discovered natural anomalies. They found underwater terraces at the bottom of the lake - the shore goes under the water like a staircase. Large steep underwater slopes of Svetloyar alternate with horizontal sections of the bottom. This leads to the conclusion that Lake Svetloyar was formed in parts - the first, the lower, then after a hundred or even thousands of years - the second, and finally, relatively recently, the third.

The first layer of sediments of the lake bottom is located at a depth of 30 meters and is very ancient, the second layer is at a depth of 20 meters and dates back to the 13th century, and the third terrace has deposits of very recent times.
At a depth of 20 meters, scuba divers found small objects made of wood and metal from the 13th century. On one of these underwater terraces, which was formerly located on the shore of the lake, there may have been real city or monastery, and then he disappeared into the waters of Lake Svetloyar.

When the lake was checked with an echo sounder, and later its echogram was taken by a geolocator, an oval anomaly became clearly visible. It was distinguished by a multi-meter sedimentary layer. Moreover, not far from this “oval” there is another area. There, in the mud, the signals reflected from the bottom by a thin layer of soil were different, as if something was blocking the sound. At great depths there were hidden solid objects. When they drew a map of this area, the result was a pattern reminiscent of a city surrounded by an embankment.

Thus, the existence of the city of Kitezh in this place is quite possible. But he doesn't mysteriously disappeared somewhere, but simply collapsed underground as a result of tectonic activity. Only for 50 years now scuba divers have not been able to find any traces of this. Schliemann discovered Troy guided only by the stories of the Iliad. And here the address is exact and the lake is right before our eyes - and all the underwater searches yielded nothing.

We can only assume a fantastic option: the city exists, but is invisible. Apart from the ringing of its bells that can be heard from time to time...

During tests using a hydrophone, which is made on the principle of converting sound into an electrical signal, it suddenly began to emit sounds reminiscent of the echo of thunder during a storm. Geophysicists involved in the experiment said that these sounds come from a wave of magnetic disturbance that passes through the water and creates this effect.

In some places the water simply “screamed”, in others there was dead silence. But the most unexpected surprise of Lake Svetloyar was a low buzzing sound recorded by hydrophones, reminiscent of a loud bell. Most often, the lake emitted it before sunrise and the full moon. It was then, according to legend, that righteous people were given the opportunity to see the walls of a snow-white city with golden domes of temples visible in the mirror of the lake.

As for the lake water itself, chemists have come to the conclusion that it can remain for many days without changing its properties, thanks to the sources located at the bottom of the lake with a high content of calcium and bicarbonate.

There is also a hypothesis that there was once a city here - the center of Eurasia. As a result of an unprecedented disaster blooming city was submerged under water.

Five kilometers from the lake there is a source of “living” water - tests have shown that its acidity is zero. Near it in the forest there are three ancient unusual graves. No one knows who is buried there, so far from any populated area. Their size is several times larger than the traditional size of a Christian grave. They say that perhaps giants are buried in them - the ancient Lemurians, inhabitants mysterious country Lemuria, which according to legend existed somewhere in this area thousands of years ago.

Modern science does not confirm, but does not try to refute this version of the origin of the burials. But no attempts were made to exhume them. Some people come to the graves at night to worship, others do the opposite. They believe that this is an unclean place, regardless of the healing spring located next to it. Still others take water from it and quickly leave.

The legend of Kitezh is the most famous legend about a city hidden from the enemy. However, there are quite a lot of similar stories. In a number of regions of Russia, there are still myths about how, under the threat of plunder, monasteries or entire cities went under water or hid in the mountains. It was believed that only a select few could get there from our world. In the book “The Brotherhood of the Grail,” Richard Rudzitis cites a letter from a Russian monk who sends a message to his loved ones and asks them not to consider him dead. He says that he simply went to a hidden monastery with the ancient elders.

However, scientists have not come to a conclusion final conclusion: one or more hidden cities or monasteries are discussed in the question of Kitezh. One way or another, the prevalence of such legends and their undoubted similarity once again proves the authenticity of this story. However, the more research is carried out on Lake Svetloyar, the more questions scientists have that have yet to be answered.

Modern legends about Kitezh

During the Great Patriotic War, old people made pilgrimages around Svetloyar, praying for their fellow countrymen who had gone to the front.

About 20 years ago, a visiting hydrobiologist wanted to explore Svetloyar. After several dives into the water, his temperature rose sharply. The man turned to doctors, but they could not even make a diagnosis: an unknown disease developed without any objective reasons.
And only when the hydrobiologist left these places did the disease recede by itself.

One day a resident came to pick mushrooms in the vicinity of Svetloyar. Nizhny Novgorod. He did not return home that day or the next. Relatives sounded the alarm. Search and rescue efforts did not yield any results. The man was put on the wanted list. A week later he returned home safe and sound. He answered all the questions evasively: he said he got lost, wandered through the forest. Then he generally said that he had a memory loss. Only later did he admit to his friend, who specially got him drunk, that he had been in the invisible city of Kitezh, where he was met by miraculous elders. “How can you prove it?” asked a friend. And then the mushroom picker took out a piece of bread, which he was treated to in Kitezh. However, in an instant the bread turned into stone.

They also say that in one of the museums, before the 1917 coup, a letter in Old Church Slavonic was allegedly kept, which was addressed from a son to his father. Its content boiled down to the following: a young man ended up in Kitezh thanks to some miracle and asks his parents not to bury him ahead of time.

In the recent past, divers dived to the bottom of Svetloyar. The most interesting thing is that they do not tell anyone about the results of their research. According to rumors, they never found the bottom and were very frightened by this circumstance. A body of water cannot be bottomless! There is a belief that
The secrets of the lake are guarded by a miracle fish, a kind of Loch Ness monster, only in the Russian way.

There is an even more fantastic legend about Lake Svetloyar. Locals say that it has an underground bottom and connects with the waters of Lake Baikal. And again no confirmation of this was found. However, these popular beliefs were not refuted.

However, the inhabitants of the otherworldly Kitezh themselves often visit our world. Old-timers say that it used to be that an old man with a long gray beard in ancient Slavic clothes would come into an ordinary village store. He asked to sell bread, and paid with old Russian coins from the time of the Tatar-Mongol yoke. Moreover, the coins looked like new. Often the elder asked the question: “How is it in Rus' now? Isn’t it time for Kitezh to rebel?” However local residents They replied that it was too early. They know better, because the place around the lake is special, and people here live in constant contact with the miracle. Even those who come from other regions feel an unusual aura.

The legend of Kitezh has come to us in the literary adaptation of the Old Believers: “The Book of the Verb Chronicler” in its final form took shape in the second half of the 18th century. among one of the cliques of the priestless Old Believers - the runners. But both components of the monument, quite separate and independent, lead back to the 17th century. At the same time, the first part, which tells about Prince George Vsevolodovich, his murder by Batu and the destruction of Kitezh, reflects legends dating back to the time of Batu’s invasion.

No matter how legendary the legend is and how far from correct the historical dates given are, it is based on actual events. “The Holy Blessed and Grand Duke Georgy Vsevolodovich” is the Grand Duke of Vladimir and Suzdal Georgy II Vsevolodovich, who fought with Batu’s army and laid down his head in an unequal battle on the river. City. The connection of Little Kitezh (Gorodets) with the name of Georgy Vsevolodovich has a completely historical background: from 1216 to 1219 (before the occupation of the Vladimir table) the prince went there for his appanage; in 1237, when the hordes of Batu approached Vladimir, Georgy Vsevolodovich went to the Yaroslavl land, within which both cities - Big and Small Kitezh - were located and where the battle lost by the Russians took place.

Of course, the legendary image of the prince is not completely identical to the historical one. Georgy Vsevolodovich is given a fictitious pedigree: he descends from the holy Prince Vladimir and is the son of the holy Vsevolod Mstislavich of Novgorod. This invented genealogy, which does not correspond to the actual pedigree of Prince George, reinforces the motive of holiness - the leading motive of the legend.

The second part of the “Book of the Verb Chronicler” - “The Tale and Discovery of the Hidden City of Kitezh” - is devoid of any historical background; it belongs to the type of legendary-apocryphal monuments that treat of the earthly paradise. The image of the “hidden” city of Kitezh stands somewhere in the middle between the “earthly paradise” of the most ancient Russian apocrypha and Belovodye, the legendary happy land that became so popular among Russian peasants in the 18th century.

Kitezh (Kitezh-grad, Kidish) is a mythical wonderful city, which, according to Russian legends, escaped from Batu’s troops during the Tatar-Mongol invasion in the 13th century thanks to the miraculous property of being invisible. As the troops approached, the city allegedly disappeared from the eyes of the astonished enemy and sank to the bottom of Lake Svetloyar. In subsequent centuries, the legend was transformed; the Old Believers described Kitezh as a refuge for followers of the old faith.

IN XVIII-XIX centuries Kitezh was presented as a city of the righteous, a city of social justice, where every honest Russian could go. The people endowed similar properties with some other fantastic societies, such as the kingdom of Prester John, the churches of “ancient piety” in the distant Opon (Japanese?) Sea, the islands of the blessed, earthly paradise, Belovodye, "City of Ignat", etc. In Russia at that time, stories were widespread about people who gave lunch to Kitezh and subsequently sent letters from there. Numerous eyewitnesses described the ringing of bells, which they allegedly heard from under the water.

Lake in the Nizhny Novgorod Trans-Volga region approximately 100 km east-northeast of regional center and 1-1.5 km west of the village of Vladimirskoye, Voskresensky district, a natural monument of federal significance. The lake has an oval shape with dimensions of 500 x 350 m, and is distinguished by its great depth, reaching 40 m. The view of the origin of the lake has changed since the time of its study and until now has not yet been resolved unambiguously. Its volcanic origin was first suggested at the beginning of the 20th century by the writer V. Korolenko. Various researchers at different times have expressed hypotheses about the glacial, karst, oxbow, volcanic, neotectonic, salt dome and cosmic - meteorite origin of the lake. In 2009, the results of field studies were published confirming the hypothesis of the meteorite origin of the lake.

There is still a debate in science about the reality of Kitezh and the possible location of the “sunken” city. The most attractive version is that the legend tells about some place with supernatural properties. What kind of place is this (parallel world, astral plane, some kind of spatial hole) - it is useless to argue about this now, because... There is too much that is unclear in the legend. However, attempts have been and are being made to find the real sunken city. Most often, such searches were carried out in the area of ​​​​the Zhiguli bend of the Volga, where a mirage is still sometimes observed over the Volga - a large ancient Russian city rising from under the water.

When the troops of Khan Batu reached the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, the Russians met them near Little Kitezh (now Gorodets). Died in battle most of squads, and Prince Georgy Vsevolodovich with the surviving soldiers took refuge in the forests and built the city of Kitezh Bolshoi on the shore of Lake Svetloyar. Batu found out where the prince had taken refuge and killed him. And the residents gathered in the temple and turned to God with a prayer not to allow the invaders to come to them. God heeded the prayer, streams of water gushed out from under the ground, which, without causing harm to the inhabitants, flooded the city up to the tops of the churches. But they too soon disappeared. And in place of the city, a lake overflowed. Since then, this place has been revered as a saint... This is the legend that many believe. And they have no doubt that it’s small Forest Lake Svetloyar in Nizhny Novgorod region and is the very same place in which Kitezh drowned. Orthodox Christians come here to pray. They say that a handful of local soil cures ailments. Water collected from the lake lasts in bottles for several years without spoiling, like consecrated water. And if you go around the lake three times clockwise, then all your cherished wishes will come true. And the version that Lake Svetloyar is related to the mysterious Shambhala attracts thousands of pilgrims from all over the world. However, the only real hints about the existence of the legendary city can be found in the book “Kitezh Chronicler” (late 17th century).

Near-scientific mystics believe that on Svetloyar there is also a passage to another time dimension. And as proof they cite stories told by residents of the nearby village of Vladimirskoye. They supposedly often meet strange peddlers in clothes that their great-grandfathers wore, and for the purchased goods - mainly bread, bagels, gingerbread - they receive change from them in coppers and silver coins. “For us,” continues Volkov, “the main discovery was the confirmation of the hypothesis about the existence near Svetloyar of plasma substances invisible to the eye, which have a logic of behavior, that is, they manifest themselves as living beings. There are especially many of them around a group of praying people - as if they are being studied. We captured them on video and photographic equipment. These plasma formations were once recorded in laboratory conditions by scientists from the Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere and Radio Wave Propagation (IZMIRAN). Their experiments indicated that millions of plasma clots are floating in the air in the electromagnetic range. Then this led atheists to the idea that the other world still exists. The current study of Svetloyar has shown that this hypothesis is not without common sense.

But where did the city go? Is there some real natural event at the heart of the myth?

In fact, as soon as we begin to study any legend, myth or similar work of oral folk art, we find traces of events that actually took place,” said the outstanding Russian archaeologist and historian Academician Boris Rybakov (died in 2001) at one of his speeches. Ed.). — Geologists are well aware that the central regions of the European part of Russia lie on a foundation of very strong rocks. But it is dissected by deep faults that run in different directions, often intersecting with each other. And geologist Vladimir Nikitin found out that Lake Svetloyar lies precisely at the intersection of two deep faults. In such a place, even a large reservoir could form surprisingly quickly - even before the eyes of Batu Khan.

The graves of the giants Kibilek is the name of a place about five kilometers from Lake Svetloyar. Here is a spring supposedly with “living” water (tests show that it has zero acidity). And nearby - in the dense Kerzhinsky forest - there are three unmarked graves. They are ancient and unusual. First of all, who would have thought to bury someone far from settlements? Secondly, the graves are several times larger than traditional Christian burials. They say that giants are buried there. Namely, the skeletons of the ancient Lemurians - inhabitants of the mysterious country of Lemuria, which, according to legend, existed somewhere in this area hundreds of thousands of years ago. Modern science does not confirm, but does not try to refute this version of the origin of strange burials. No one tried to dig them up. Yes, and it’s a sin. Nizhny Novgorod esotericists come to graves at night to worship the “unknown.” Many Orthodox Christians, on the contrary, believe that this place is unclean. Despite the spring. They take water and quickly leave.

In the Nizhny Novgorod region there is beautiful lake Svetloyar, similar to a giant mirror. It is its dark, serene waters that have been hiding the ancient city for many centuries, about which there are so many legends and speculations, but there is practically no factual information. They say that this city opens its doors to those who are pure in heart. It is to such a person that Kitezh-grad will reveal all its secret miracles. Maybe you'll be lucky?

According to legend, Kitezh-grad was located in the northern part of the Nizhny Novgorod region, near the village of Vladimirskoye, on the shores of Lake Svetloyar near the Linda River. The city is mentioned in historical sources - “The Kitezh Chronicler” and “The Tale and Collection of the Hidden City of Kitezh”. In wide circles, this romantic legend became famous thanks to the epic novel “In the Woods” by P. I. Melnikov-Pechersky. Here is a quote from this book:

“That city is still intact - with white stone walls, golden-domed churches, with honest monasteries, with princely patterned towers, with boyars’ stone chambers, with houses cut from kond, rotting forest. The hail is intact, but invisible. Sinful people will not see the glorious Kitezh.”

And many became interested in the legend and went in search of the mysterious invisible city thanks to Rimsky-Korsakov’s famous opera “The Tale of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia.” Most researchers agree that the name of the city comes from the princely village of Kidekshi (from the Meryan “rocky bay”) near Suzdal, destroyed by the Tatar-Mongol horde in 1237.

The Legend of Kitezh City

Why did it happen one day that the beautiful white-stone city went under water for centuries? They say that it happened like this: Batu Khan found out about Kitezh and ordered to capture it. One of the prisoners told the khan about the wonderful city - he led the army along secret paths to the shores of Lake Svetloyar. The Mongols were very surprised by the fact that such a beautiful city had no defense. Its inhabitants remained absolutely serene in the face of certain death. They didn't even try to resist - they just quietly prayed. Naturally, the Mongols took advantage of this luck and attacked the city. This is where things got weird. Water suddenly gushed out from under the ground - a lot of water, a whole flood. It is unclear where the streams came from and quickly began to flood both the army and the city itself. The invaders had to quickly retreat. They could only watch in confusion as the city sank into the lake. They say that the last thing they saw was the cross on the dome of the main cathedral sparkling in the sun.

Here is how Melnikov-Pechersky talks about this event:

“He miraculously disappeared, by God’s command, when the godless Tsar Batu, having ruined Suzdal Rus', went to fight Kitezh Rus'. The Tatar king approached the city of Great Kitezh and wanted to burn down the houses with fire, beat the husbands or drive them away, and take the wives and girls as concubines. The Lord did not allow the Basurman desecration of the Christian shrine. For ten days, ten nights, Batu’s hordes searched for the city of Kitezh and could not find it, blinded. And until now that city stands invisible - it will be revealed before the terrible judgment seat of Christ. And on Lake Svetly Yar, on a quiet summer evening, you can see walls, churches, monasteries, princely mansions, boyar mansions, and courtyards of townspeople reflected in the water. And at night you can hear the dull, mournful ringing of Kitezh bells.”

By the way, both local residents and many tourists say that bells can still sometimes be heard from under the dark waters of the lake. And in calm weather you can hear people singing, also coming from under the water. Some travelers also talk about seeing church domes in the water.

It’s worth going to the shores of Lake Svetloyar to experience the miracle. There is a belief that if you walk around the lake three times clockwise, your deepest wish will come true. They say that water taken from Svetloyar does not spoil for a long time. Naturally, scientists have repeatedly explored the lake up and down. And they found a lot of mysterious objects at its bottom. For example, underwater terraces - the shores go under the water like a ladder. A lot of ancient objects were found at the bottom of the lake, most of which date back to the thirteenth century.

How to get to Lake Svetloyar where, according to legend, Kitezh city was located

• By bus. We need the route “Nizhny Novgorod - Voskresenskoye” from the Kanavinskaya bus station. Before reaching Voskresensky, you need to get off at the village of Vladimirsky. Then any local will tell you the way. Travel time to Vladimirsky is 2-2.5 hours.
• By local train. Nizhny Novgorod - Semenov" or "Nizhny Novgorod - Uren" to Semenov, then take the Semenov - Voskresenskoye bus to the village of Vladimirskoye. Next - walk through the village of Vladimirskoye, past a large parking lot, along a birch alley, to the lake (1 km).
• By car. Along the Kirov highway. Drive through Semenov, get to Bokovaya station, then make a right turn following the sign for Vladimirskoye and Voskresenskoye, get to the village of Vladimirskoye (turn right), drive through the village to a large parking lot. Next - along the birch alley on foot. Distance from Nizhny Novgorod - 130 km.

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 was very expensive in the Middle Ages, and builders used it very carefully.

Therefore, it can be assumed that, having heard about unusual city, Batu decided to take possession of his 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 big Orthodox holidays From under the water you can hear the ringing of bells and melodious singing. 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 in front of the 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 total area Svetloyar is 12 hectares.

The only hints about the real existence of Kitezh can be found in the book “The Kitezh Chronicler”. According to scientists, this book was written at the end of the 17th century.

According to her, the city of Kitezh was built by the great Russian Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich Vladimirsky at the end of the 12th century. According to legend, the prince, returning from a trip to Novgorod, stopped along the way near Lake Svetloyar to rest. But he was unable to really rest: the prince was captivated by the beauty of those places. He immediately ordered the construction of the city of Big Kitezh on the shore of the lake.

Lake Svetloyar is located in the Nizhny Novgorod region. It is located near the village of Vladimirsky, Voskresensky district, in the Lunda basin, a tributary of the Vetluga River. The length of the lake is 210 meters, width is 175 meters, and the total area of ​​the water surface is about 12 hectares. There is still no consensus on how the lake came into being. Some insist on the glacial theory of origin, others defend the karst hypothesis. There is a version that the lake appeared after a meteorite fell.

The name of the lake itself comes from two ancient Russian words: “bright”, that is, pure, righteous, and, which is the root of the name of the Russian solar deity Yarila, who was worshiped by the ancient Slavic tribes.

Many legends of the period before the capture of Rus' by Christians are associated with Lake Svetloyar. They also mention the city of Kitezh.

According to one legend, in the area of ​​Lake Svetloyar the magical half-horse-half-man Kitovras, a powerful wizard and builder of ancient temples, as well as the god of wisdom and hops Kvasura, were born. The name of the city of Kitezh came from their names.

In the area of ​​Lake Svetloyar lived the Slavic tribe of Berendeys. Their descendants have preserved to this day the legend that since ancient times, one of the largest religious centers of the cult of Yarila was located in Kitezh. This place was considered sacred for Russian princes.

The bloody baptism of Rus' deprived the native Russian faith of both the Magi and the temples, taking over truly Russian sacred places.

Allegedly, Kitezh was turned into a center Orthodox faith, and the princes continued to visit him as if nothing had changed.

Many Orthodox churches were built on the site of temples, since it was believed that such places are special - they are sources of strong positive energy. The names of the ancient gods were gradually replaced by the names of saints, but the very place of worship of higher powers, which has truly magical energy, remained the same. That is why the area of ​​Lake Svetloyar has been shrouded in legends and mysticism since ancient times.

Great Kitezh was planned as majestic city. There were many temples in it, and it was built entirely of white stone, which at that time was a sign of wealth and purity.

The length of the built city was 200 fathoms (straight fathom - the distance between the ends of the fingers, arms outstretched in different directions, approximately 1.6 meters), width - 100.

Those were times not best suited for peaceful existence. Discord between the principalities, raids of the Tatars and Bulgarians, forest predators - a rare person dared to get out of the city walls without weapons.

In 1237, the Mongol-Tatars under the leadership of Batu Khan invaded the territory of Rus'.

The Ryazan princes were the first to be attacked. They tried to turn to Prince Yuri Vladimirsky for help, but were refused. The Tatars ravaged Ryazan without difficulty; then they moved to the Vladimir principality.

The son Vsevolod sent by Yuri was defeated at Kolomna and fled to Vladimir. The Tatars captured Moscow and captured Yuri's other son, Prince Vladimir. Prince Yuri, when he learned about this, left the capital to his sons Mstislav and Vsevolod. I went to gather troops.

He set up a camp near Rostov on the Sit River and began to wait for his brothers Yaroslav and Svyatoslav. In the absence of the Grand Duke, on February 3-7, Vladimir and Suzdal were taken and devastated, and the family of Yuri Vsevolodovich died in a fire.

The prince managed to learn about the death of the family. His further fate was even more unenviable: Yuri died on March 4, 1238 in a battle with Batu’s troops on the Sit River. Rostov Bishop Kirill found the headless body of the prince on the battlefield and took him to Rostov. Later they found and attached the head to the body.

Here ends the facts that are confirmed by scientists. Let's return to the legend.

Batu heard about the wealth that was kept in the city of Kitezh, and sent part of the army to the holy city. The detachment was small - Batu did not expect resistance.

The troops marched to Kitezh through the forest, and along the way they cut a clearing. The Tatars were led by the traitor Grishka Kuterma. He was taken in the neighboring city, Maly Kitezh (present-day Gorodets). Grishka could not stand the torture and agreed to show the way to the Holy City. Alas, Susanin did not succeed from Kuterma: Grishka led the Tatars to Kitezh.

On that terrible day, three Kitezh heroes were on patrol near the city. They were the first to see the enemies. Before the battle, one of the warriors told his son to run to Kitezh and warn the townspeople.

The boy rushed to the city gates, but the Tatar’s evil arrow caught up with him. However, the brave boy did not fall. With an arrow in his back, he ran to the walls and managed to shout: “Enemies!”, and only then fell dead.

Meanwhile, the heroes tried to restrain the Khan’s army. No one survived. According to legend, at the place where three heroes died, the holy spring of Kibelek appeared - it still flows.

The Mongol-Tatars besieged the city. The townspeople understood that there was no chance. A handful of people against Batu’s well-armed and organized army is certain death. Nevertheless, the townspeople were not going to give up without a fight. They came out onto the walls with weapons. People prayed in the evening and all night long. The Tatars waited for the morning to launch an attack.

And a miracle happened: the bells suddenly rang, the earth shook, and in front of the eyes of the amazed Tatars, Kitezh began to plunge into the waters of Lake Svetloyar.

The legend is ambiguous. And people interpret it differently. Some claim that Kitezh went under water, others that it sank into the ground. There are adherents of the theory that the city was closed off from the Tatars by the mountains. Others believe that he took to the skies. But the most interesting theory says that Kitezh simply became invisible.

Struck by the power of the “Russian miracle,” the Tatars began to run in all directions. But God's wrath overtook them: those who were devoured by the animals, those who got lost in the forest or simply went missing, taken away by a mysterious force. The city disappeared.

According to legend, he should “manifest” only before the end of the world. But you can see it and even achieve it now. A person in whom there is no sin will discern the reflection of white stone walls in the waters of Lake Svetloyar.

According to legend, Kitezh sank into the waters of the sacred Lake Svetloyar. The sanctity of its waters was extended to the city itself and its inhabitants. Therefore, the image of a city inhabited by the righteous was born, passing unharmed through the sacred waters and passing into a better world.

Let us now fast forward to times close to our century.

The legend of the city of Kitezh excited the minds of the intelligentsia. First of all, writers, musicians and artists.

The 19th century writer Pavel Melnikov-Pechersky, inspired by Lake Svetloyar, told its legend in the novel “In the Woods”, as well as in the story “Grisha”. The lake was visited by Maxim Gorky (essay “Bugrov”), Vladimir Korolenko (essay cycle “In desert places"), Mikhail Prishvin (essay "Bright Lake").

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov wrote the opera “The Tale of the Invisible City of Kitezh” about the mysterious city. The lake was painted by artists Nikolai Romadin, Ilya Glazunov and many others. The poets Akhmatova and Tsvetaeva mention the city of Kitezh in their works.

Nowadays, science fiction writers and especially fantasy authors have become interested in the legend of Kitezh. It’s clear why: the image of a hidden city is romantic and fits perfectly into a fantasy work. Among works of this kind, we can name, for example, the story “The Hammers of Kitezh” by Nik Perumov and “Red Shift” by Evgeny Gulyakovsky.

Naturally, scientists did not ignore the mystery of Kitezh. Expeditions were sent to Lake Svetloyar, more than once.

Drilling near the shores of the lake yielded nothing. The searches of archaeologists also ended in nothing. There were no traces of the mysterious city on the approaches to the lake. In the 70s of the last century, the expedition was equipped by Literaturnaya Gazeta: trained divers descended to the bottom. Their work was not easy, since the depth of the lake is more than 30 meters. There are a lot of snags and sunken trees at the bottom.

Unfortunately, they did not find irrefutable evidence of the existence of the city.

For believers, this fact, of course, means nothing. It is known that Kitezh will not reveal its secrets to the wicked.

Hypotheses arose that Kitezh was not located on Lake Svetloyar. Other supposed places of “habitat” of the holy city immediately arose - there was even talk about China (allegedly Kitezh and the legendary Shambhala are the same place).

In our times, scientists have forgotten about Kitezh - there is no time for that. But at one time the legend was speculated upon by businessmen who hoped to turn the legends into a source of self-financing.

Currently, the territory of the lake is protected by the state. The lake and surrounding area are part of a nature reserve, which is protected by UNESCO.

Modern legends about Kitezh

During the Great Patriotic War, old people made pilgrimages around Svetloyar, praying for their fellow countrymen who had gone to the front.

About 20 years ago, a visiting hydrobiologist wanted to explore Svetloyar. After several dives into the water, his temperature rose sharply. The man turned to doctors, but they could not even make a diagnosis: an unknown disease developed without any objective reasons.

And only when the hydrobiologist left these places did the disease recede by itself.

One day, a resident of Nizhny Novgorod came to the vicinity of Svetloyar to pick mushrooms. He did not return home that day or the next. Relatives sounded the alarm. Search and rescue efforts did not yield any results. The man was put on the wanted list. A week later he returned home safe and sound. He answered all the questions evasively: he said he got lost, wandered through the forest. Then he generally said that he had a memory loss. Only later did he admit to his friend, who specially got him drunk, that he had been in the invisible city of Kitezh, where he was met by miraculous elders. “How can you prove it?” asked a friend. And then the mushroom picker took out a piece of bread, which he was treated to in Kitezh. However, in an instant the bread turned into stone.

They also say that in one of the museums, before the 1917 coup, a letter in Old Church Slavonic was allegedly kept, which was addressed from a son to his father. Its content boiled down to the following: a young man ended up in Kitezh thanks to some miracle and asks his parents not to bury him ahead of time.

In the recent past, divers dived to the bottom of Svetloyar. The most interesting thing is that they do not tell anyone about the results of their research. According to rumors, they never found the bottom and were very frightened by this circumstance. A body of water cannot be bottomless! There is a belief that the secrets of the lake are guarded by a miracle fish, a kind of Loch Ness monster, only in the Russian way.