The mystery of Kitezh-grad, hidden under the water of Lake Svetloyar. Mysteries of Kitezh-grad, hidden under the water of Lake Svetloyar Invisible ancient city at the bottom of Lake Svetloyar

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.

Fervent prayer

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 the oldest cities in the 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, places of power - sanctuaries of Slavic deities - were erected Christian churches.

The rulers of all the principalities revered Kitezh and took care of holy city, as evidenced by the six (!) white stone churches erected here in record a short 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 this area may well contain the ruins of an ancient city, but 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 moment 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. 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. So, 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 the land 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 first written mention of the ancient city of Kitezh was in the Kitezh Chronicle, which was written by the Old Believers in the 1780s.

According to this chronicle, the city of Maly Kitezh was founded by Prince Georgy Vsevolodovich at the beginning of the 13th century, on the banks of the Volga, in the Voskresensky district Nizhny Novgorod region. Then he discovered a nice place upstream, on the shore of Lake Svetloyar. There the prince decided to build the city of Greater Kitezh. It was founded as a monastic city. Everyone considered this city holy.

"The Grand Duke did beautiful city, built it in the shape of a circle with churches, monasteries and boyar palaces. He then surrounded it with a trench and erected walls with loopholes,” wrote Adele Barker and Bruce Grant in the book The Russia Reader: History, Culture, Politics.

Lake Svetloyar in the Voskresensky district. Photo: Public Domain

Destruction of Kitezh

In 1238, Northeast Russia was conquered by the Mongols under Batu Khan. Having besieged the city of Vladimir and surrounding cities, the khan learned about the powerful city of Kitezh and was determined to capture it.

First, the Mongols came to Little Kitezh. Grand Duke George rode out to meet them and entered into battle with them. But in the end he was forced to flee in the direction of Greater Kitezh, the location of which remained unknown to the Mongols.

Mongols under the walls of Vladimir. Photo: Public Domain

Batu became furious and ordered the prisoners to be tortured until they gave up the location of Greater Kitezh. The prisoners did not reveal the secret of their holy city, because, in their opinion, this would bring eternal damnation on themselves and their descendants. However, one of the captives named Kuterma could not stand the torture and revealed the secret routes to Lake Svetloyar.

Descriptions further developments in the chronicle are vague and ambiguous. “The only thing that is known is that the Grand Duke managed to hide church utensils in the lake, after which he fell in battle. By the will of God, the city itself became invisible; in its place, water and forest were visible,” Barker and Grant say.

"The Invisible City of Kitezh". Painting by Konstantin Gorbatov (1876-1945). Photo: Public Domain

Legends of the Invisible City

It is not clear what exactly happened to Kitezh, but for many centuries its mysterious disappearance was told in legends and folklore.

According to one popular tale, the entire city sank into the lake by the will of God to prevent its treasures from falling into the hands of the Mongols. Because of this, Lake Svetloyar is sometimes called the Russian Atlantis. Legend has it that the army of the Golden Horde watched in dismay as the city sank into the lake. The last thing they saw was the white sparkling dome of the cathedral with a cross.

But in fact, the disappearance of the city may not have been so remarkable. Some archaeologists have suggested that the city could have suffered from a landslide, which is why it fell into the lake.

According to folk tales, the city of Kitezh is visible only to those who are pure in soul and heart. Those who believe in these legends often report hearing church bells coming from the lake, seeing lights, or even the outlines of buildings below the surface of the water.

In past times, pilgrims visited the lake in the hope of hearing the bells. They went there to pray and left offerings for the inhabitants of the city.

It is also said that during World War II, women went to the lake to pray for their sons.

In search of Russian Atlantis

In 2011, an archaeological expedition was carried out to the village of Vetluzhsky with the aim of searching for archaeological remains in the area of Lake Svetloyar. Excavations revealed traces of an ancient settlement, as well as fragments of traditional Russian ceramics.

Scientists plan to continue their research. According to their estimates, the hill in which the artifacts were found has always been prone to landslides. Due to one of these landslides ancient city He could well have plunged into the lake, which gave rise to fantastic legends about the invisible city of Kitezh.

Address: Russia, Nizhny Novgorod region, p. Vladimirskoye
Depth: about 34 m.
Coordinates: 56°49"07.3"N 45°05"34.5"E

Content:

Short description

130 km from Nizhny Novgorod, on the outskirts of the village of Vladimirskoye, standing on the banks of the Lyunda River, is located mysterious lake Svetloyar. Sometimes this lake is called the small Russian Atlantis.

Lake Svetloyar from a bird's eye view

The legend about the city of Kitezh, which has survived to this day in the literary treatment of the Old Believers, is associated with Svetloyar. The “Kitezh Chronicler” reports that Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich, traveling along the Volga on a ship, erected the city of Maly Kitezh (presumably the current Gorodets). Having passed the rivers Uzola, Sanda and Kerzhenets, the prince arrived at Lake Svetloyar. Fascinated by the beauty of this place, Yuri ordered to build the city of Bolshoi Kitezh on the shores of the lake.

During three years of construction (1165 - 1168), a majestic city was erected from stone and many Orthodox churches were built in it. In 1239, the troops of the wicked and godless Khan Batu moved to Rus'. Soon hordes of Tatar-Mongols captured Small Kitezh, and Prince Yuri and his retinue took refuge in the forests near Big Kitezh. One of Batu’s captives, Grishka Kuterma, unable to withstand the torture, betrayed his compatriots and showed the enemies the way to the great city. Batu found Yuri's refuge and killed him.

Birch alley to the lake

And here the legend is closely intertwined with reality - in fact, the Grand Duke died in an unequal battle with the Mongols on the City River in 1238. According to legend, on the eve of Batu’s attack, three warriors were on patrol in Kitezh, warning the townspeople of the danger. Many people fell from the swords of enemies, and three heroes also died, blocking the path of the khan’s army. And in the place where three warriors fought to the death for their city, the holy spring Kibelek appeared, the water of which still flows.

On the shore of Lake Svetloyar

The inhabitants of Kitezh did not erect any fortifications and did not even try to defend themselves; they turned with fervent prayer to God not to allow foreigners to come to them. God heeded the prayer, and when the hordes rushed to attack, abundant springs suddenly gushed out from under the ground and began to flood the city. The Mongols retreated in fear.

Like Atlantis, the city sank under water, only one lonely dome of the cathedral was visible above the surface of the lake, but it soon disappeared. But Kitezh survived: in clear, calm weather, from the depths of Svetloyar one can hear the drawn-out singing of people and bell ringing, and in the clear waters of the lake you can see the domes of churches and monasteries.

Path around the lake

Svetloyar - sacred lake of ancient Rus'

Even before Russia adopted Christianity, the lake was considered sacred - rituals were held on its shores in honor of the Slavic sun god Yarila, hence the name Svetly Yar. Nowadays, Lake Svetloyar is a center of pilgrimage for both pagans and Orthodox Christians. Every year on July 6, Christians from all over Russia come to Svetloyar and make a religious procession around the lake in honor of the feast of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. In the evening a pagan celebration begins here - on the night of July 6-7, people celebrate Ivan Kupala Day.

Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God on the shore of the lake

People light fires, throw wreaths across the water surface and walk around the lake with candles in their hands. There is a belief that if you make a wish and walk around the lake 3 times, your wish will definitely come true. During the Great Patriotic War, women made pilgrimages around Lake Svetloyar, praying to save the lives of sons and husbands who had gone to the front.

Hypotheses about the origin of Lake Svetloyar

Adding to the mystery of the lake is the fact that the origin of Svetloyar has not yet been clarified. Naturalist V.V. Dokuchaev classified it as a lake of karst origin. Geologist G.I. Blom, after drilling a well, concluded that Svetloyar is a typical glacial lake, which is a remnant of the ancient bed of the Lyunda River.

Stone with a pile of the Virgin Mary on Lake Svetloyar

It was also hypothesized that the basin of the reservoir was formed as a result of faults in the earth’s crust and erosion of rocks. In 2009, Svyatoslav Engalychev, an employee of the St. Petersburg All-Russian Research Geological Institute, published the results of his research confirming the version that the lake owes its appearance to a meteorite that fell to the ground. In 1968, an expedition organized by Literaturnaya Gazeta detailed the complex topography of the bottom of Svetloyar.

View of Lake Svetloyar

The central deep-sea bowl is framed by two underwater terraces. The expedition members proposed a hypothesis according to which the lake is very young on a geological time scale. Thus, the central basin was formed approximately 1200 years ago, and the immersion of the lower terrace under water occurred about 8 centuries ago, which quite accurately corresponds to the time when the city of Kitezh sank, having miraculously escaped from the Mongol-Tatars.

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.

Fervent prayer

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 heated battle, the Mongol-Tatar invaders crushed the few Russian regiments, and the prince, along with the rest of the army, took refuge in the small city of Kitezh, which he founded several decades ago on the shores of Lake Svetloyar.

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 a small city, 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?

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 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.

However, when exploring the depths of the lake with a geolocator, an anomalous zone in the form of an oval, covered with a multi-meter sedimentary layer, was discovered at the bottom of Svetloyar. The signals from the device were rather muffled, as if something was interfering with the free passage of sound. This fact allowed the researchers to suggest that the ruins of an ancient city may well be located in this area, but 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.

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. They are drawn here by the glory of the mysterious place of power, the healing water, and the land 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.

Lake SvetloYar

130 km from Nizhny Novgorod, in the Kerzhen forests, not far from the town of Semenov, famous throughout the world for its Khokhloma paintings, there is Lake Svetloyar. It is famous for the legend of the city of Kitezh. Kitezh (Kitezh-grad, Kidish) is a mythical wonderful city, which, according to Russian legends, escaped from Batu’s troops 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. But, unlike other mythical lost cities, Kitezh did not suffer for the sins of its inhabitants - on the contrary, it is believed that divine intervention hid it from the eyes of the enemy for hundreds, and perhaps thousands of years.

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 arose after the fall of a meteorite. 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 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 of the legends, 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 cult of Yarila. 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 the center of the Orthodox faith, and the princes continued to visit it 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 place of worship itself higher powers, possessing truly magical energy, remained the same. That is why the area of Lake Svetloyar has been shrouded in legends and mysticism since ancient times.

Greater Kitezh was conceived as a 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 to neighboring city, Small 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").

He wrote an opera about the mysterious city, “The Tale of invisible city Kitezh" Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. 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 off the shores of the lake yielded nothing. The searches of archaeologists also ended in nothing. On the approaches to the lake there are traces mysterious city did not have. 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.

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