Mysteries of Kitezh-grad, hidden under the water of Lake Svetloyar

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

This article will focus on the legendary city of Kitezh, hiding from enemies at the bottom of Lake Svetloyar (Nizhny Novgorod region). Scientists from all over the world have been trying to solve its riddle for several decades.

Fervent prayer

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

According to this literary source, in 1238 Khan Batu, having conquered almost all Russian principalities, fought in the battle 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 regiments of the Russians, 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 shore of Lake Svetloyar.

I must say that the approaches to the hail were reliably hidden by the Vetluga forests and impenetrable swamps, and only a few knew the way there. Wishing by all means to get to Prince George, Batu ordered to torture the prisoners in order to learn 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 passed the secret path, the Tatar hordes saw in front of them the handsome 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 to 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 withdrew, the underground springs did not run out. The water rose around the city walls, reliably sheltering houses, temples and residents of Kitezh. Soon, on the site of the flowering hail, only the surface of the lake gleamed in the sun, which to this day is a silent witness to the cataclysm of the past centuries.

Reserved place

Today, many researchers of the events of those years have a question: why did Batu, who 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 catch? Did the khan really spend time and effort in search of the cherished path to Kitezh only 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 is only a few decades old. 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 force. That is why the Berendeys living on its banks arranged sanctuaries for the light god Yarila, 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 hop Kvasura was born, giving people joy and fun.

The very same Kitezh-grad 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 respected Kitezh and took care of the holy city, as evidenced by the six (!) White-stone churches erected here in a record short time. White stone in the Middle Ages was very expensive, and builders used it very carefully.

Therefore, we can assume that, having heard about an 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 to defeat Batu.) However, the higher powers ordered otherwise, hiding sacred Kitezh under water from both enemies and friends.

And what is at the bottom ?

The city of Kitezh even today 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, bells ringing and melodic 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 lake surface.

Of course, the depths of Svetloyar have been repeatedly studied by archaeologists and amateur scuba divers, but traces of the drowned hail have not been found. The researchers concluded that the bottom of the lake can be called three-layer - consisting of three levels of underwater terraces belonging to different eras.

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

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

Gateway to another world

Esotericists, who have also been studying 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, which is the Svetloyar region, could be transferred to a parallel dimension, which was facilitated by the ardent sincere prayer of its inhabitants at a time of mortal danger. Moreover, the gates to another world are still being opened from time to time, for which there is also evidence.

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

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

However, there are exceptions. So, one man from Nizhny Novgorod, 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 as proof of his words showed a piece of bread, which the guest was treated to by the "underwater inhabitants" … But as soon as he got out "his proof", the "otherworldly" bread turned to stone in front of witnesses.

And yet, every year, many pilgrims come to the cherished lake, and of the most diverse religions. They are attracted here by the glory of a mysterious place of power, and healing water, and the land from the banks of Svetloyar, which can cope with even the most serious diseases.

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