How do you imagine the city of Kitezh? Legends and traditions about Kitezh-grad. Funnel Svetloyar. There have already been nuclear wars on Earth

Where did Kitezh-grad disappear to?

Nizhny Novgorod Shambhala

When the troops of Khan Batu reached the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, the Russians met them near Little Kitezh (now Gorodets). Most of the squad was killed in the battle, 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 there is no doubt that the small forest lake Svetloyar in the Nizhny Novgorod region is the very one 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).

Where do people disappear to?

You can learn a lot of interesting things from local residents,” says Doctor of Philosophy, Professor of the Penza State Technological Academy Sergei VOLKOV, who organized an expedition to search for the mythical city. “It’s as if people are disappearing here.” Some - forever, others return, but do not remember anything.
- Maybe they were visiting the Kitezhgrad residents? - I guess jokingly.
Professor Volkov has been searching for Kitezh-grad for more than twenty years.
“According to rumors, that’s how it turns out,” the professor answers quite seriously. - Somewhere in the ravines there is supposedly an entrance to the city. But only true believers can get there.
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 the 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.

To Batu's amazement

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.
Scuba divers examined Svetloyar and discovered underwater terraces in it - the coastal slope goes under the water in ledges. Steep cliffs are interspersed with horizontal sections. From this we can conclude that Svetloyar was formed as if in parts: first one subsidence, then - after hundreds, thousands of years - a second and, finally, a third. On one of the underwater terraces of this lake there could have been a town or monastery, which then disappeared in the waters of Svetloyar.
When this place was “enlightened” with an echo sounder, and later with a geolocator, an oval anomaly clearly appeared on the echogram - a bottom layer of silt of a special composition: it differed from the multi-meter layer of sediment that was crushed. Moreover, another site was found not far from the “oval”. There, under the silt and a thin layer of bottom rock, there was something that did not allow sound to pass through. As if some large heavy object was hidden in the depths. When a map of these zones was drawn up, the result was a drawing reminiscent of a city surrounded by a rampart.

Bells ringing from the bottom

So, according to scientists, Kitezh could well have existed. But it did not disappear mysteriously, but simply fell underground as a result of tectonic activity. But after almost fifty years of searching with entire teams of scuba divers, no traces could be found. Not a spoon, not a bowl, not some kind of hewn log. Schliemann, for example, found both Troy and gold, guided only by the fabulous Iliad. And here the address is exact, and the lake is like a puddle - you can get around it in 20 minutes. It’s time to imagine something fantastic: the city exists, but it is invisible. Only audible at times. The bells are ringing there... And this may not be the imagination of the pilgrims.
“Engineer Igor Fomin worked at a defense enterprise in St. Petersburg, which supplied devices to the Navy,” says researcher Mikhail Burleshin. - He developed a device - a hydrophone, which uses physical principles to convert sound into an electrical signal.
During tests taking place on Ladoga, the hydrophone suddenly began to emit rolling sounds, similar to the echoes of thunder from a passing thunderstorm. Geophysicists, after listening to the tape, said that such peals of “thunder” are waves of disturbances in the earth’s crust that pass through water and create such an effect. After this, Igor Fomin began to purposefully listen to the lakes. In some the waters were silent, in others they “screamed.” But the most unexpected surprise awaited the researcher at Lake Svetloyar. A hydrophone lowered into the water recorded a low rumbling sound, reminiscent of the hum of a huge bell. Most often the lake rumbled before sunrise and during the full moon. It was at that time when, according to legend, righteous people saw in the lake “exactly like in a mirror the walls of the hidden city and heard the hum of its bells.”
As for the quality of the lake water, chemists studied it and came to the conclusion: it can indeed be stored for many days and not deteriorate thanks to the springs gushing from the bottom of the lake with a high content of bicarbonate and calcium.

HELP "KP"

Lake Svetloyar is located in the Nizhny Novgorod region. Located near the village of Vladimirskoye, Voskresensky district, in the Lunda basin, a tributary of the Vetluga River. From a bird's eye view it looks perfectly round. This gives grounds to some geophysicists to assume that the lake arose from a meteorite fall. In fact, it is a flat oval approximately 450 by 350 meters. The depth reaches 39 meters. But perhaps there is no bottom there at all. After all, the water in the lake comes from a karst fault, the depth of which is unknown.
By the way, at that time a city that could fit on the area of ​​the lake was considered relatively large.

MINER'S OPINION

Candidate of Technical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of the Mining Institute Andrey PARFENOV: “You can easily fall underground”
- In Russia, many cities may go underground. This is primarily due to the fact that on its territory there are hundreds of quarries up to hundreds of kilometers long, which were dug from the 15th to the beginning of the 20th century. Under Stalin, the entrances to them were blown up so that bandits would not hide there. Therefore, finding these “holes” is now very difficult. And out of ignorance, houses and entire cottage communities are now being built above them. So, under Podolsk there are gigantic voids. And now failures have begun to occur there. In Moscow, huge quarries begin under the Ukraine Hotel and go under the Badaevsky brewery. There are also many underground passages under the Kremlin, lined with white stone, and now the environment has become acidic due to large emissions of exhaust gases - limestone is not resistant to acid. Therefore, it is possible that the Kremlin may one day disappear, like the city of Kitezh.
By the way, the radars of the European Space Agency satellite recently recorded that the two largest cities in China - Shanghai and Tianjin - are gradually sinking by several centimeters per year under the weight of giant skyscrapers.

ARTISTIC HYPOTHESIS

The city sank in Issyk-Kul?

Ilya Glazunov placed Kitezh at the bottom of Lake Issyk-Kul (1989 painting “The Legend of the City of Kitezh)”).
“The reason was a book by the district governor of the city of Przhevalsk, which stands on the lake,” said the artist. - It proves that at one time this was the center of Eurasia. And as a result of an unprecedented catastrophe, the blooming city was flooded. And in calm weather in the waters of Issyk-Kul you can see traces of a sunken city with the outlines of buildings and walls. Maybe scientists are looking for Kitezh in the wrong place?

It is still unknown who is buried in the deep forest.

ANOTHER RIDDLE

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.
Firstly, who would have thought of burying someone far from populated areas? 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.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

And it will be invisible...

“...And he came to Lake Svetloyar, and saw that the place was exceptionally beautiful, and ordered to build the city of Big Kitezh on the shore of the lake, and on the other side of the lake there was an oak grove. And they began to dig ditches and build a church... And that city of Big Kitezh was 200 fathoms long, and 150 fathoms wide, and they began to build that city in stone in the summer of 6673 (1165) of the month of May on 1 day in memory of the holy prophet Jeremiah and they built that city for 3 summers (September 30, 6676/1168).”

(“Chronicle of the murder of the blessed prince Georgy Vsevolodovich.”)

Strange, but there is not a word in the document that Kitezh disappeared under water. It is said, however, that he disappeared from view: “And Greater Kitezh will be invisible until the coming of Christ, as this happened in former times.”
Fathoms in Rus' varied, but on average one fathom was approximately 2 meters. In total, the city was 400 by 300 meters - the size fits perfectly into the current lake.

“Little Russian Atlantis”, “Nizhny Novgorod Shambhala”... The legendary ancient city was built in 1165 on the shores of Lake Svetloyar by the noble prince Yuri Vsevolodovich, who was amazed by the beauty of those places. A reliable written source has reached us, the “Kitezh Chronicler,” which says that the prince named the city Big Kitezh, and “that place was unusually beautiful, and on the other side of that lake there was an oak grove.” Little was known about the city itself, except that six church domes rose in the middle of it, and the city itself was built of white stone, which symbolized spiritual purity.

And the city stood for a hundred years, until, during the invasion of the Tatar-Mongol horde, Batu Khan heard about the wealth of the wonderful city and set out to take possession of it. When the Mongols approached Kitezh-grad, they saw that the city was completely unfortified and not ready for battle. The residents did not even think about defense: they all prayed. Stunned for a moment with amazement, the Tatars nevertheless moved forward, but immediately stopped. The sound of bells was heard and fountains began to flow right out of the ground, which began to flood the city, and soon it disappeared under the waters of Lake Svetloyar. The last thing the amazed invaders saw was the cross on the dome of the main cathedral. Seeing such a miracle, the Tatars rushed in all directions, and many died wandering in the forests. Local residents say that the water did not harm the worshipers... and the city itself did not go under water, but into another dimension, and continues to exist to this day.

It must be said that repeated attempts were made to find the sunken city, but they were all unsuccessful. And at the same time, the lake’s water has healing properties, does not spoil for three years, and the lake itself is considered holy. Local residents talk about strange newcomers dressed in Old Russian clothes and paying for bread with Old Russian coins. “Isn’t it time for Kitezh to rebel?” - asked one such old man.

There is also a story about a lost mushroom picker who returned a week later and was reluctant to answer questions. However, being forced to explain his absence, he said that he was visiting Kitezh-grad. And as proof, he held out a piece of bread, which he was treated to there.

One of the museums still contains a letter from a son to his father, written in Old Church Slavonic. The young man writes that by some unknown miracle he ended up in Kitezh, but is alive and well, and asks not to serve funeral services for him and not to be particularly sad. He also said that the prayers of the inhabitants of this secret place are so pure and strong that they rise into the sky like pillars of fire, and in this light one can even read and write.

Periodically, people disappear near Lake Svetloyar even in our times. Having returned, they say that while wandering in the ravines, they came to a wonderful city inhabited by the righteous, where they stayed for several days. It has been noticed that not everyone can find the way to the invisible city, but only those who truly believe in their soul. Apparently, the residents of Kitezhgrad are not ready to receive all guests, but only people like themselves.

People say from mouth to mouth that Kitezh-grad will appear before the end of the world, but those who are pure in heart can see it even now. It is believed that if you look into Lake Svetloyar in clear weather, you can catch the image of a city with domed churches and hear singing and bells ringing.

By the way, the ancient chronicles do not directly say that Kitezh went under water. It says that the city will disappear and “Great Kitezh will be invisible until the coming of Christ, as it happened in previous times.” There are suggestions that he could sink underground or, conversely, ascend into the sky. But most often they claim that he simply became invisible.

Do you think this is impossible? But Sergei Volkov, a professor at the Penza State Technological Academy, discovered some invisible plasma substances near Lake Svetloyar. And he even captured their manifestations on photo and video tape. The most amazing thing, in his opinion, is that these clumps have a logic of behavior. For example, they try to get closer to a group of people praying. These studies were confirmed by the Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere and Radio Wave Propagation (IZMIRAN). According to them, there are millions of plasma clots right around us in the electromagnetic range. Maybe it is they who represent the “other world” for us, which reveals itself only in special places like Lake Svetloyar.

The Nizhny Novgorod land is rich in minerals, except that geologists have not found oil and diamond deposits in it for the time being. However, three and a half decades ago, a geological exploration party from Yaroslavl, while drilling a well near the village of Vorotilovo (Koverninsky district), discovered “pebbles”! At a depth of one and a half kilometers there were black crystals of irregular shape. They turned out to be technical diamonds. These are found in the Arctic and Yakutia. These gemstones are flake-like, which is not the case with traditional diamonds. And scientists still do not understand how they arose. One thing is clear: this could not have happened without the influence of high temperatures and geological underground shifts. Kovernina diamonds cannot be turned into brilliants; they cannot be cut due to their lamellar structure. But these stones have the same strength as ordinary minerals, and they can be used in manufacturing or in jewelry to polish cubic diamonds. Experts believe that geological exploration in the north of the region needs to be continued, since these places may be part of the Russian Diamond Belt.

City next to a volcano

Where would diamonds and oil come from in the Volga forests? Their appearance depended on changes in temperature in the bowels of the earth, in the movements of layers and rocks that occurred in time immemorial. The subsoil “does not sleep” to this day.

Geologists can tell a lot of interesting things about phenomena that still affect our lives today. Thus, Volgogeology specialists from Yaroslavl, along with diamonds, discovered a volcano in the Kovernin wilderness. More precisely, a volcano crater at a depth of fifty meters.

Studies of rock samples have revealed that this fire-breathing giant went out even when people were walking around our area. And before his death, the “dragon” spat out streams of lava that crawled to today’s Balakhna. After the giant exploded, such an amount of rock burst out from its depths that it covered the crater.

Did you know?

The only hints about the real existence of Kitezh can be found in the book “The Kitezh Chronicler”. This book is believed to have been written at the end of the seventeenth century.

Vorotilovsky ledge

It is difficult to imagine this picture: huge stones weighing several tons and with a diameter of up to one hundred meters rolled from the top. Then they found themselves scattered throughout the Chkalovsky, Koverninsky, Sokolsky and Gorodetsky districts.

All of them are securely buried under layers of soil along with the crater of the volcano. This formation is called the Vorotilovsky ledge. According to geologists, the ledge is very similar to the African volcano Cameroon. This is where the largest diamond mine on the planet is located.

What if something similar happens to us? Cameroon is also located on a plain and not in a mountainous area like most fire-breathing mountains. Is it possible that the volcano will wake up?
- No! - Geologists answer. The giant fell asleep millions of years ago in eternal sleep.

Did you know?

The length of Lake Svetloyar is 210 meters, width is 175 meters, and the total area of ​​the water surface is about 12 hectares

Swinging chandeliers, the house dances

Geologists also find an explanation for the strange tremors in the “stable” areas of central Russia. About forty years ago, Nizhny Novgorod residents looked with surprise and fear at the rattling dishes in their cupboards and swinging chandeliers.

A particularly strong poltergeist was noticeable in Sormovo and Shcherbinki. As it turned out, at that moment an earthquake was recorded in the city. Fortunately, the tremors turned out to be weak, more like the echo of some distant sound. And no one then wondered why we began to shake (by the way, for the second time in recent years), what kind of cataclysm sent its menacing echo to our region? It turned out that we shouldn’t have thought about it in vain. There are no coincidences in nature. According to geologists, repetition of tremors is very likely in the future.

Versions

There is still no consensus on how Lake Svetloyar 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

Lithospheric plates move slowly along the surface of the mantle

In general, Nizhny Novgorod residents walk along their streets, roads, fields, confidently, believing that there is nothing firmer under their feet. After all, at one time everyone read in a geography textbook about the stability of the platform on which our region is located.

However, geologists know: it inexorably drops by 3-4 millimeters per year. This platform looks like a giant block wall that lies horizontally and is covered with a thick layer of soil. The junction of its lithospheric plates passes under the Nizhny Novgorod region, along the Volga and Oka rivers.

This is clearly visible to the ordinary eye: the right bank of the water arteries is high, and the left is low, flat. This joint gradually diverges, very slowly turning into a crack. The lithospheric plates themselves are dotted with small cracks. The entire structure moves and causes mild earthquakes in our area. Many years ago these natural phenomena were destructive.

Legend

A version of the legend says that St. George the Victorious himself descended to earth to help the defenders of Kitezh. But George's horse stumbled. Then the saint realized that saving Kitezh was not his task and retreated

After one of them, which occurred in 493, frightened people left the territory of the Volga-Vyatka region.

Now earthquakes are much weaker, but still noticeable, judging by the events of the beginning of the century. During the new century, Nizhny Novgorod residents are threatened only - in extreme cases - by breaking glass, doors slamming themselves, clocks stopping. No more.

However, even venerable scientists do not know all the secrets of nature, which presents people with unexpected surprises. We also don’t need strong vibrations of the subsoil because of landslides. Many Nizhny Novgorod residents remember how one of the clay slopes of the Dyatlov Mountains collapsed in 1974. The earth completely blocked the Oka congress.

Svetloyar lake. Voskresensky district

Kirov neighbors have long had problems associated with earthquakes. Natural disasters haunted them five times over the past century. One of the earthquakes was a magnitude six on the Richter scale!

Legend

And this city of Greater Kitezh became invisible and is protected by the hand of God - so at the end of our century of rebellion and tears worthy, the Lord covered that city with His hand.“The Tale and Request for the Hidden City of Kitezh”

And such shocks are not limited to the swinging of chandeliers, they move furniture around the room, draw deep crevasses and ravines on the surface of the earth, and destroy houses. And this is no longer at all similar to the fading shock wave that supposedly reached the northern regions from seismically unfavorable southern latitudes.

Involuntarily the thought comes that the source of the tremors is somewhere nearby. By the way, the territory of central Russia was shaking before.

Chroniclers have noted such facts more than once. Some hydrobiologists today even believe that the famous Lake Svetloyar was formed as a result of the earthquake of 1230.

Kitezh city Legend, interesting facts

There are a great many legends about the city of Kitezh, on the site of which Lake Svetloyar is located today. According to one of them, it was built in just three years; it was completely made of stone, which was an unprecedented phenomenon for Rus' in those years. There were no merchants, artisans, or nobility in the city, and only righteous people, philosophers, and spiritual teachers lived behind its stone walls. The shrines of the Russian land were also kept here.

Legend

According to legend, Kitezh should “appear” on the day of the Last Judgment. On the day when the dead rise from their graves, Kitezh will rise from the water

Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal Yuri Vsevolodovich

In the thirteenth century, Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich encountered a horde of Tatars and entered into battle with them near another city with a similar name, Maly Kitezh. The prince lost the battle, and he and a small detachment made his way to Greater Kitezh along secret paths. According to the official version, he was killed there by the enemy, who overtook him. However, the Kitezh chronicler claims that the prince survived. He entered the city, after which he heard the ringing of bells.

According to another version, Kitezh did not dissolve, but sank to the bottom of Svetloyar, where it remains to this day.

The third legend tells that previously on the site of the lake there was a settlement of people who worshiped the goddess Turka. But after Turka became angry, her horse hit the ground with its hoof. At this place a spring immediately began to flow, from which a lake was formed.

Did you know?

The legend of the city of Kitezh excited the minds of writers, musicians and artists. The writer Melnikov-Pechersky told his legend in the novel “In the Woods”. The lake was visited and written about by Maxim Gorky, Vladimir Korolenko, Mikhail Prishvin

Another option for the disappearance of the city is this. Khan Batu heard about Kitezh and became eager to conquer it. From a captured Russian warrior, the Tatars learned about the secret paths leading to the wonderful city. When Bata's army approached the place, they saw that the city was not fortified. In anticipation of a quick and easy victory, the khan moved the horde to the walls. But immediately jets of water burst out from under the ground, under which the magical city disappeared.

People from parallel worlds. Data

Later and more advanced versions say that a tunnel has formed in the lake that leads to. As proof, they cite stories from local residents who have seen people in strange clothes here more than once. The last such case was recorded in 2015. Some of them even went into the store and were surprised by the outlandish delicacies in bright packages with pictures, but they only dared to buy bread and cereals, trying to pay with ancient silver coins.

They also claim that the lake is mysteriously connected with Shambhala. One way or another, every summer thousands of people from different countries and different cities arrive here. They say that the water here is holy and cures many diseases.

Did you know?

Lake Svetloyar was painted by artists Nikolai Romadin, Ilya Glazunov and many others. The poets Akhmatova and Tsvetaeva mention the city of Kitezh in their works.

But according to hydrobiological scientists, it was not the evil intentions of Batu Khan that destroyed the city of Kitezh (if there was one), but two deep faults in the soil. The most mysterious body of water in the Nizhny Novgorod region is located at their junction.

This version sounds very plausible. Everyone knows that during a strong earthquake, sinkholes swallow up entire blocks of modern cities. And a small settlement with wooden houses could easily disappear from the surface as a result of a natural disaster.

In the Nizhny Novgorod region there is a 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.