Invisible ancient city at the bottom of the lake Svetloyar. Riddles of Kitezh-grad, hidden under the water of Lake Svetloyar. Svetloyar - the sacred lake of ancient Russia

One of the most amazing places on the planet, Lake Svetloyar, is located near Nizhny Novgorod, near the village of Vladimirskoye. It is famous thanks to the ancient legend of the city of Kitezh, which, according to legend, was located at the bottom of the source. The name Svetloyar is translated from Old Slavonic as “bright”, or “righteous”, and the particle “Yar” is part of the name of the ancient Slavic god Yarila. The natural monument is planned to become one of the cultural objects in the future.

Lake Svetloyar is a legend

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

For a long time, the horde could not find the mysterious city, but one of the prisoners of war, a former resident of Kitezh, let slip to the enemies that there was a secret path that could be used to get to the settlement. When the Tatar-Mongol army finally approached Kitezh-grad, the khan and his soldiers were surprised that there were no fortifications and walls in front of him. Batu was delighted, believing that the victory would be easy, but it wasn’t there: as soon as the army came close to the city, many high-water sources gushed out of the ground, the Tatars got scared, they had to retreat, and the water still continued to beat with huge fountains. Finally, its jets dried up, and it became clear that the city had almost completely disappeared under water. The legend says that there was no water in Kitezh itself, and it only helped the settlement to hide from the enemy attack, and not one of the townspeople was injured. God saved the inhabitants of Kitezh-grad for their pious life and faith, and the place where the ancient settlement was located began to be considered sacred.

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

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

Natural features of the lake

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

Excursions to the lake

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

It is unlikely that any other lake in Russia is more important for the sacred history of our country than Lake Svetloyar. It was in its place, according to legend, that the sacred city of the Slavs once was, during the Tatar-Mongol invasion, it disappeared into the air.

History of the legend

According to official data, Lake Svetloyar, located near the village of Vladimirskoye in the Lunda River basin, has an area of ​​12 hectares, a length of 210 meters and a width of 175 meters and is included in the list of Russian lakes of "great aesthetic value." Indeed, from the air, the lake looks like a perfectly even circle, whose shores seem to be outlined by a compass. It is believed that as soon as a righteous person approaches the shores of the lake, a dense fog descends on it. In its milk puffs, the celestial city of Kitezh appears in front of a person. An old man comes out of the main gate of the city, inviting you to enter it and stay there forever. These are the local legends. Many sincerely believing people said that when visiting the lake, they heard the sounds of the bells of the churches of the wonderful city coming from the bottom. For the first time, the city of Kitezh became known from the ancient chronicle "Kitezh Chronicler". According to legend, in the XIII century, the hordes of Batu approached Nizhny Novgorod. A battle took place with the troops of Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich, near the modern city of Gorodets. The battle was lost, and the prince went through forest paths with guards to the secret city of Kitezh, in which the ancient sacred knowledge of the Slavs was stored. According to legend, the city was inhabited by sages and sorcerers who kept ancient books with centuries-old wisdom. But, the prince did not have time to get to the city, the traitor gave out a secret path. Yuri Vsevolodovich was killed by the Tatars and the enemies went to the city of Kitezh.

Miracle

When the Tatars surrounded the city, according to legend, the wise men and sorcerers who lived in it cast an ancient spell. The city vanished into thin air, and a perfectly round lake formed in its place. According to another legend, the inhabitants of Kitezh offered up a prayer to the Mother of God for salvation. She descended from the sky, touching with one foot the stone at the main gate of the city, and threw a transparent heavenly veil over it. At that moment, the city disappeared. In its place, a sinkhole formed, which quickly filled with water. Coming from the depths of the earth.

The search for Kitezh castle

It is not surprising that numerous researchers and scientists have repeatedly tried to verify the authenticity of the ancient legend. In the 19th century, students from the Kazan School came to the lake, initiating a field search for an amazing city. True, they did not find anything worthy of attention, since the shores of the lake were literally flooded with numerous pilgrims who interfered with research. During later expeditions, V.V. Dokuchaev, it turned out that the lake is of karst origin. This fact spoke in favor of the fact that at its bottom, indeed, there may be a failed city or monastery. Moreover, with a relatively small size, the lake is incredibly deep - 29.2 meters. Moreover, it is possible that the reservoir has a false bottom and is actually even deeper. The expedition of the magazine "Change", which was carried out in the Soviet years, found that "the basin of the lake lies at the intersection of deep faults in the earth's crust, which led to the subsidence of rocks and the formation of a lake at this place. An indirect cause of this process could be the earthquake in 1596, which was celebrated in Nizhny Novgorod. For several years in a row, the study of the lake was carried out by members of the expedition organized by the Literaturnaya Gazeta.

Svetloyar meets with miracles

In order to verify the authenticity of the legends hovering over the waters of the lake, the author of the material personally went on an expedition in 2003 with the film crew of the Gran television company. The most amazing thing is that almost all the miracles attributed to the lake were confirmed. When the members of the expedition, leaving the car on the track, walked through the woods to the lake, several blows to the bell sounded. The ringing was reminiscent of "ship bottles". However, when members of the film crew went ashore at Svetloyar, no bells were found that could ring. The church, which stood on the shore of the lake, turned out to be locked and its bells obviously could not ring. Near the temple on the high bank was a large boulder. The trace of a bare foot of a woman's foot was imprinted on its surface. As if a certain girl plunged her leg into a stone soft like plasticine. It turned out that the legend about the Mother of God descending from the sky to save the city from the Tatars and stepping on a stone was true. It is noteworthy that there were walkways around the lake, along which several elderly people moved on their knees.

According to legend, anyone who crawls around the lake three times on their knees will have their deepest wish come true. The most interesting thing is that the members of the expedition, having decided to test these words in practice, were convinced of their authenticity, the desires of all members of the film crew, indeed, came true. But, the main miracle happened at dawn. As soon as the sun illuminated the camp, a mirage of the dome of the temple appeared in its rays. When the members of the expedition tried to capture it on photos and film cameras, all electronic equipment stopped working. It was possible to take a picture only on an old film camera. The picture shows the rays of the sun, collected in a cone-shaped dome over the waters of the lake. When the expedition left the lake, the mysterious "ship bottles" sounded again. Oddly enough, but miracles really happen on Lake Svetloyar, the author of the material can confirm this personally!

On the Volga River, not far from the city of Nizhny Novgorod, there is one of the deepest lakes in this region - Svetloyar. The size of the lake is 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 in the lake comes from a deep fault in its bottom. It is crystal clear and cold.

Svetloyar is sometimes called the Russian Atlantis for its legendary history. People say that sometimes a barely audible ringing of bells is heard from under its waters, and in the depths you can see the ghostly walls of monasteries and the domes of churches.
This is the city of Kitezh, which, according to legend, disappeared between 1236 and 1242 during the first invasion of Russia by the Tatar-Mongol. On the border of the third and fourth decades of the 13th century, the ancient Russian state was fragmented into dozens of principalities. The princes fought among themselves for power and new lands, entered into military alliances.

The name of Lake Svetloyar comes from a combination of the Old Russian words: “light”, which also means pure and righteous, and “yar” - not only known to everyone as a ravine, or beam, but in this case being the root of the name of the ancient Russian solar deity Yarila, who in pre-Christian Russia worshiped by the ancient tribes of the Slavs. Many legends of the pre-Christian period of Russia 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 the old Russian legend tells, Kitovras was born - a magical half-horse, half-man. He was a powerful wizard and helped the Slavs build cities and temples. Kvasura, the ancient god of wisdom and hops, also lived there. It is believed that their names gave the name to the city of Kitezh.

In ancient times, the Slavic tribe of the Berendeys lived near Lake Svetloyar. Until today, their descendants have preserved the legends about the city of Kitezh and the religious center of worship of the god Yarila located in it. In ancient times, in the pre-Christian period of Russia, Kitezh was considered a sacred place by the Slavs.

After the baptism of Russia, the Slavic faith with its temples and magi gave way to Christianity, but places sacred to people remained. According to tradition, Orthodox churches began to be built on the site of temples, since it was believed that these places are special and are 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 has been shrouded in legends and mysticism since ancient times.

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

Aleksey 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 commander with an army that could resist the Tatar-Mongol invasion. The Khan camped on the River City. Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich defended himself against him in Small Kitezh. Batu Khan took the city by storm, but the prince with the remnants of the army managed to leave Small Kitezh and take refuge in Big Kitezh.

Batu intended to continue his campaign to the Mediterranean, but it was impossible to leave the Russian prince with his army in his rear. The path to the city lay among impenetrable swamps and forests. And then he began to torture all the captured Slavs how to get to Kitezh. To issue a city sacred to the Slavs meant dooming yourself and your 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 a few years, he destroyed about half of the population of ancient Russia. Kyiv, Vladimir, Suzdal, Ryazan, Tver, and many other cities were ravaged and burned by him. The rich Russian culture of Ancient Russia was gone. For several decades, the construction of cities practically ceased, crafts disappeared, and the southern Russian lands lost almost all of their indigenous population.

In this tragic time, a legend about the city of Kitezh arose among the people. It tells that Khan Batu 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 secret ways to Lake Svetloyar and the army headed for 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 troops, fountains of water gushed out of the ground and the city of Kitezh disappeared under water. According to legend, 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.

To this day, the legend of Kitezh lives on. People living in this area talk about suddenly appearing strangely dressed people, the disappearances of those who come to look for Kitezh and turned out to be worthy of becoming its inhabitants. 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 are those who explain everything by the laws of physics, and those who believe in the secret nature of things. All of them 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 people come here to pray. They even say that a handful of earth from this place cures many diseases, and the water from the lake stays for several years and does not bloom or deteriorate - like holy water. Many people believe that if you walk around the lake three times in a clockwise direction, it will grant your wish.

Presumably in Lake Svetloyar there is a passage to another dimension. There is another interesting, directly mystical version, according to which Lake Svetloyar is associated with the mysterious Shambhala. Svetloyar attracts thousands of pilgrims from all over the world. A hint of the existence of a city at the bottom of Svetloyar can also be found in the book of the late seventeenth century "Kitezh chronicler".

Candidate Sergei Volkov, who organized the 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 the lost city of Kitezh. But only true believers can enter it.

Proponents of the theory of the mystical lost city suggest that there is a passage to another dimension in Lake Svetloyar. Proof of this is the stories of residents of the village of Vladimirskoye, adjacent to Svetloyar. They saw a puddle 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 given only by the theory of parallel worlds.

Here is what Sergey Volkov said:
“Our main discovery is to confirm the hypothesis of the existence near Svetloyar of a plasma substance invisible to the naked eye, which has the ability to manifest itself as living beings. -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, afterlife. Svetloyar's research shows that this hypothesis is not without common sense. "

Despite the myths, legends and folklore, scientists have found traces of real events happened. From geology it is well known that the central regions of the European part of Russia lie on a foundation of solid rock. But this foundation is cut 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 water like a ladder. 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, lower, then after a hundred or even thousands of years - the second, and finally, relatively recently, the third.

The first layer of sediments from the bottom of the lake is located at a depth of 30 meters and is very ancient, the second layer is located at a depth of 20 meters and belongs 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 on the shore of the lake, there may have been a real city or monastery, and then it 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" 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 a map of this area was drawn, a pattern was obtained, reminiscent of a city surrounded by an embankment.

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

It remains to assume a fantastic option: the city exists, but is invisible. Except for the ringing of its bells heard from time to time ...

During tests with the help of a hydrophone, which is made on the principle of converting sound into an electrical signal, he suddenly began to make sounds reminiscent of the echo of thunder during a storm. The geophysicists involved in the experiment said that these sounds come from a wave of magnetic disturbance that travels through the water and creates this effect.

In some places, the water just "shouted", 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 the legend, that righteous people were able to see how the walls of a snow-white city with golden domes of temples are visible in the mirror of the lake.

As for the water of the lake itself, scientists and chemists came 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 once there was a city - the center of Eurasia. As a result of an unprecedented disaster, the flourishing 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. Next to him in the forest are three ancient unusual graves. No one knows who is buried there, so far away from any inhabited place. Their size is several times larger than the traditional size of a Christian grave. It is said that perhaps giants are buried in them - the ancient Lemurians, inhabitants of the mysterious country of 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 attempt was made to exhume them. Some people come to the graves at night to worship, others the other way around. believe that this is an unclean place, regardless of the healing source located next to it. 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 many such stories. In a number of regions of Russia, myths still exist about how, under the threat of plunder, monasteries or entire cities went under water or hid in the mountains. It was believed that only the chosen ones 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 not to be considered dead. He says that he simply went to a hidden monastery to the ancient elders.

However, scientists have not come to a 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 being done 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 fellow countrymen who had gone to the front.

About 20 years ago, Svetloyar wanted to investigate a visiting hydrobiologist. After several dives into the water, his temperature rose sharply. The man went to the 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, the disease receded by itself.

Once, a resident of Nizhny Novgorod came to pick mushrooms in the vicinity of Svetloyar. He did not return home that day or the next. Relatives sounded the alarm. Search and rescue operations did not yield results. The man was put on the wanted list. A week later he returned home alive and unharmed. He answered all questions evasively: they say, he got lost, wandered through the forest. Then he generally said that he had a memory lapse. Only later did he confess to his friend, who specially made him drunk, that he was in the invisible city of Kitezh, where he was met by miraculous elders. "How can you prove it?" the friend asked. 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 before the 1917 coup, one of the museums allegedly kept a letter in Old Slavonic, which was addressed from son to 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. The reservoir 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 a 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 an old man with a long gray beard in ancient Slavic clothes used to come into an ordinary village shop. He asked to sell bread, and paid with old Russian coins from the time of the Tatar-Mongol yoke. And the coins looked like new. Often the elder asked the question: “How is it in Russia now? Isn't it time for Kitezh to rise up? However, local residents replied that it was still too early. They know better, because the place around the lake is special, and people here live in constant contact with a miracle. Even those who come from other areas feel an unusual halo.

The legend of Kitezh has come down 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 interpretations of the Old Believers-bespopovtsev - runners. But both components of the monument, quite isolated and independent, are taken away in the 17th century. At the same time, the first part, which tells about Prince Georgy Vsevolodovich, his murder by Batu and the ruin of Kitezh, reflected legends dating back to the time of the Batu invasion.

No matter how legendary the legend is and how far the given historical dates are not true, it was based on actual events. “The Holy Right-Believing and Grand Duke Georgy Vsevolodovich” is the Grand Duke of Vladimir and Suzdal Georgy II Vsevolodovich, who fought with the army of Batu and laid down his head in an unequal battle on the river. City. The connection of Maly 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 to receive an inheritance; in 1237, when the hordes of Batu approached Vladimir, Georgy Vsevolodovich went to the Yaroslavl land, within which both cities, Big and Small Kitezhi, 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 was 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 genealogy of Prince George, strengthens the motive of holiness - the leading motive of the legend.

The second part of the “Book of the verbal chronicler” - “The Tale and the Requisition about the Secret City of Kitezh” - is devoid of any historical background, it belongs to the type of legendary-apocryphal monuments that treat the earthly paradise. The image of the “secret” city of Kitezh stands somewhere in the middle between the “earthly paradise” of the most ancient Russian apocrypha and Belovodie, the legendary happy land that became so popular among Russian peasants in the 18th century.

This small lake is located on the territory of the Nizhny Novgorod region, between the Kerzhents and Vetluga rivers, the left tributaries of the Volga. It is with him that the legend of the city of Kitezh is connected, which went to the bottom so as not to get to the enemies. Lake Svetloyar has unique properties: the water drawn from it retains freshness for years, and on the shores there are plants that are no longer in this area. Pilgrims regularly come here - and every year there are cases of miraculous healing.
It all started with a meteorite
The length of the reservoir is 470, and the width is 350 meters, it has the shape of an oval. Its name goes back to the original Russian words “bright” (by the way, it also meant “pure”, “righteous”) and “yar”, denoting not only a cliff, depth, but also a place related to the Slavic sun god Yarila.
The question of the origin of the lake remained open until recently. In the 19th century, an assumption was made about the karst origin of the lake (that is, its formation as a result of a rock failure under the influence of climatic conditions). The evidence was the similarity with many karst reservoirs: they are usually also small, often have the correct shape and great depth, the water in them can sometimes disappear and reappear - this is exactly what, according to legend, happened to Svetloyar.
But the exploration work carried out in the middle of the 20th century showed that there are no traces of karst processes at the bottom of the lake. An opinion was expressed about the glacial origin of the reservoir.
In the late 1960s, members of the Literaturnaya Gazeta expedition explored Svetloyar and found that the lake consists of three terraces of different depths - the first, the deepest, in their opinion, arose about 1500 years ago, the middle one, located higher, 800 years ago , upper - about 400 years ago. Thus, the lake was formed in several stages.
And only studies conducted in 2009 showed that the initial reservoir is of meteorite origin and was the result of the fall of a celestial body. The dates of its formation were also significantly adjusted. The original depression appeared about three thousand years ago. The second sinking took place about 1000 years ago, and the third and last - in the XII-XIII centuries.
Legend of the Lost City
According to popular beliefs, Kitovras was born somewhere near the lake - a mythical creature, a winged half-man-half-horse (stories about him are recorded in the collection of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery and some other old church books). He helped the Slavs build cities and temples - and it was in his honor that this place was named Kitezh and was considered sacred to the Berendey tribe living here.
After the arrival of Christianity, Orthodox churches arose on the site of the pagan ones. Vladimir Prince Yuri (canonized in 1645 under the name of George) Vsevolodovich, the third son of Vsevolod the Big Nest, built on the shore of the lake (according to other written evidence - on an island in the center of the reservoir) the white-stone city of Bolshoy Kitezh with six temples with golden domes. A new city was erected near Maly Kitezh (now Gorodets), which was founded by Yury Vsevolodovich's grandfather Yury Dolgoruky.
In 1238, the army of Batu Khan invaded the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, taking Maly Kitezh among other cities. Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich and his retinue took refuge in Bolshoy Kitezh, the path to which lay through impenetrable swamps. The captive Grishka Kuterma, who could not stand the torture, showed the way to the enemies.
But when Batu's soldiers approached Bolshoi Kitezh, the city suddenly went under water. According to some legends, this happened only for a while - and when the enemies left empty-handed, the waters parted and the city reappeared. But the ending of other legends is less optimistic: the water closed over the Great Kitezh forever.
Local residents claim that it is from these times that you can sometimes see the golden domes of the temples of the ancient city in the water of the lake. In addition, from somewhere in the depths, the ringing of bells is often heard, and ghostly people in ancient clothes have been noticed more than once on the shore.
Why were the Cheremis afraid?
But to what extent can the legends about the ancient city correlate with real events? For the first time, the Tatar-Mongols invaded Russia in 1237-1240 - and in time this coincided with the period when the last sinking of Lake Svetloyar took place. In the Old Believer books, the legend of Kitezh is written differently: the prince hid sacred church utensils in the lake, and he himself was killed in battle with enemies. It also says that the city did not die, but became invisible and opens only to the righteous, who can come to it by the path called Batu's path.
This legend is reflected in many works of art - the opera by composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, paintings by artists Konstantin Korovin, Apollinary Vasnetsov, Nicholas Roerich, poetry and prose by Maximilian Voloshin, Anna Akhmatova, Mikhail Prishvin and many others.
Most historians agree that the collapse of the settlement that existed here could well have happened. True, the divers who examined the bottom did not find any buildings. But this, as well as the fact that the bottom and shores of lakes of meteorite origin usually do not fall through, can be found a logical explanation.
Almost the entire European center of Russia lies on huge tectonic plates. But, as geologists found out, in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bLake Svetloyar there is a fault between such plates - thus, a failure here can really appear rapidly and reach a very great depth.
Indirectly, this assumption is confirmed by the events of 1903. Then the inhabitants of the village of Shary, located not far from Svetloyar, were very frightened by the roar coming from the ground. Later, the Cheremis who lived in the village discovered a huge hole in the neighboring forest, so deep that even the tallest trees disappeared without a trace. That is, for a given place, an unexpected and rapid departure of part of the surface to a great depth can be a consequence of the movement of tectonic plates and occur repeatedly.
Bread turned to stone
Specialists in anomalous phenomena believe that such zones have high natural energy. That is why there are many phenomena that seem mysterious and inexplicable.
For example, before sunrise or after sunset, mirages often appear on the lake, and huge luminous crosses can be observed in the sky - in 1996, one of them was seen and documented by an employee of the local museum of local lore. The already mentioned bell ringing coming from under the water belongs to the same kind of phenomena.
Researchers note that people often disappear in these places - some disappear forever, others do not remember anything after returning.
A few years ago, a resident of Nizhny Novgorod came here to pick mushrooms. The man was missing and the search was on for a long time. A week later, he returned from the forest alive and well, saying that he had been in the invisible city of Kitezh, where he was well received. As evidence, the man showed a piece of bread that he was treated to, and this bread turned into stone in front of the interlocutors.
Local historians claim that before the revolution of 1917, a letter in Old Russian was kept in the local museum, where the son informed his father that he was in Kitezh and asked him not to worry about him. During the revolutionary upheaval, the letter disappeared.
Residents of the surrounding villages say that people in ancient clothes sometimes come to them and buy bread or bagels, for which they pay with ancient copper coins. Ufologists considered this money - they really belong to the times of the existence of the legendary city. Has he moved to a nearby parallel world?
Burials of giants
Lake Svetloyar is also famous for the fact that its water cures many diseases, removes spoilage and prolongs life. For all this to happen, according to another legend, the sufferer must kneel down and in this position go around the reservoir three times clockwise, after which you can wash your face with healing water or drink it. At first glance, such actions have little in common with our usual medical practice, but the reviews of hundreds of people who have got rid of diseases indicate the opposite.
It is known that during the Great Patriotic War, several women performed such a ceremony, praying that trouble would not happen to their spouses, and all the men returned home unharmed.
Another mystery of the lake is a spring located five kilometers from it, the water of which has the same properties. Maybe the spring is somehow connected to Svetloyar through underground layers? It has not been possible to prove this yet.
According to legend, when Prince Yury Vsevolodovich was leaving the chase for Bolshoy Kitezh, his horse stumbled - and a fountain of water suddenly burst from under the hooves. A detachment of pursuers considered this a bad sign and turned back.
Near the spring there are three ancient burials, which are much larger than traditional Christian graves. Some researchers suggest that giant people who lived in these places thousands of years ago are buried here. The opening of the graves has not yet been carried out - those who believe that because of this the healing water of the source may lose its strength are actively opposed to it.
Locals say that no one is destined to know the secrets of the lake. You just have to believe in his miracles.