Kitezh-grad. Legends. Research. Nizhny Novgorod Encyclopedia

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

In the 18th-19th centuries, Kitezh was represented as a city of the righteous, a city of social justice, where every honest Russian could go. The people endowed similar properties with some other fantastic societies, such as the kingdom of Prester John, the churches of “ancient piety” in the distant Opon (Japanese?) Sea, the islands of the blessed, the earthly paradise, Belovodye, the “City of Ignat”, etc. In Russia at that time, stories were widespread about people who gave lunch to Kitezh and subsequently sent letters from there. Numerous eyewitnesses described the ringing of bells, which they allegedly heard from under the water.

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

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

When the troops of Khan Batu reached the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, the Russians met them near Little Kitezh (now Gorodets). 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).

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

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

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

The graves of the giants Kibilek is the name of a place about five kilometers from Lake Svetloyar. Here is a spring supposedly with “living” water (tests show that it has zero acidity). And nearby - in the dense Kerzhinsky forest - there are three unmarked graves. They are ancient and unusual. 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

In the area of ​​Lake Svetloyar lived the Slavic tribe of Berendeys. Their descendants have preserved to this day the legend that since ancient times, one of the largest religious centers of the cult of Yarila was located in Kitezh. This place was considered sacred for Russian princes.
The bloody baptism of Rus' deprived the native Russian faith of both the Magi and the temples, taking over truly Russian sacred places.

Allegedly, Kitezh was turned into 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 very place of worship of higher powers, which has truly magical energy, remained the same. That is why the area of ​​Lake Svetloyar has been shrouded in legends and mysticism since ancient times.

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 in the neighboring city, Maly Kitezh (present-day Gorodets). Grishka could not stand the torture and agreed to show the way to the Holy City. Alas, Susanin did not succeed from Kuterma: Grishka led the Tatars to Kitezh.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

According to legend, Kitezh sank into the waters of the sacred Lake Svetloyar. The sanctity of its waters was extended to the city itself and its inhabitants. Therefore, the image of a city inhabited by the righteous was born, passing unharmed through the sacred waters and passing into a better world.
Let us now fast forward to times close to our century.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Unfortunately, they did not find irrefutable evidence of the existence of the city.
For believers, this fact, of course, means nothing. It is known that Kitezh will not reveal its secrets to the wicked.

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

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

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

Modern legends about Kitezh

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Christian tales about Kitezh-grad on Svetloyar

The subsequent history of Kitezh-grad is already known from Christian and Old Believer sources and chronicles, included in the “Kitezh Chronicle” of the 17th century. According to these sources, the City of Greater Kitezh was built " in a wonderful and crowded place» near Lake Svetloyar, which is east of Maly Kitezh (Gorodets) by Grand Duke Yuri Dolgoruky. It was built over three years, from May 1, 1165 to September 30, 1168, and was 200 fathoms long and 150 fathoms wide.
At the same time, the city of Maly Kitezh was built, which is now the city of Gorodets on the Volga. This, by the way, is reported by the Suprasl Chronicle, known to historians: “ And the rash of the city of Kideshku, the same Gorodets on Volz"(Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles, vol. XVII, p. 2:).
Then came the difficult time of Batu’s invasion. And in 1243, fleeing from Tsar Batu, who was hot on his heels, Grand Duke Yuri Vsevolodovich hid in this city. But Kitezh, when it was surrounded by enemies, did not surrender to them: its inhabitants prayed to the Almighty God and found protection. The city “hidden itself” and was covered from above by earthen hills and a lake. Horror seized the enemies, and they fled away from this great miracle. Then the devastated and deserted “country of Zauzol grew overgrown with forest”...
The Old Believers accepted this legend as a true incident and the failed residents were canonized. And they believe those residents still live there.
Those Old Believers who have been coming to the lake for a long time with faith and fear of God hear underground ringing, see candles burning under the water, crosses of churches reflected in the lake. They say that one lost shepherd even had dinner there and wanted to get there another time but could no longer find the way. Such fairy tales continue to circulate to this day. And now we can find the remains of those dugouts and hermitages of the first Old Believers who settled along the shores of the lake, whom Svetloyar and the invisible Kitezh-grad glorified with their stories.
One of those stories was published by Semyonov Old Believer Stepan Meledin, “Kitezh on Svetloyar Lake” in the magazine “Moskvityanin” (No. 12, 1843). This was the first article about Kitezh and Svyatloyar, and now there are already hundreds, if not thousands...
The official church in those years could not resist and, in defiance of the Old Believers, ordered to destroy “ Svetloyarsk temptations and superstitions"". In 1836, the sensational in its time “The case of the destruction of a chapel built without permission from the authorities, and the refutation of the chronicler about this lake and the city of Kitezh" Archpriest Smirnov then denounced the “schism” and was indignant against its shrine. But what’s interesting to note is that his report also contains the following words: “ Here prayers are made, the trees themselves are adored, sacrifices are made to them... They (Old Believers) represent a real resemblance to the Cheremis keremets ()" This means that in those years the Old Believers essentially continued the Vedic tradition itself.
A little over a century and a half has passed, and now the Metropolitan of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas has already served a solemn prayer service on the shore of the lake, and consecrated a chapel next to it. Not only the Old Believers, but also the Orthodox Church itself “accepted” Svetloyar and no longer honors it as a place of “pagan idolatry,” but as its shrine...

Pilgrimage to Kitezh-grad on Svetloyar

And this legend about the city of saints and righteous people brought many wonderful people, artists, and writers to the shores of Svetloyar.
Pavel Melnikov-Pechersky, inspired by his meeting with the lake, told its legend in the novel “In the Woods”, as well as in the story “Grisha”. Journalist Alexander Gatsisky, one of the first editors of the first local newspaper “Nizhny Novgorod Provincial Gazette,” wrote about Kitezh. Maxim Gorky visited here, who spoke about Svetloyar in the essay “Bugrov”, as well as Vladimir Korolenko (“In Deserted Places”), then Mikhail Prishvin (“Bright Lake”). The poet Zinaida Gippius and the mystical writer Dmitry Merezhkovsky addressed the great mystery of Svetloyar and the city of Kitezh.
Based on the legend of the city of Kitezh, an opera was created by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Lake Svetloyar was captured in their paintings by Nikolai Romadin, Ilya Glazunov... And now artists Nikolai Shaplyko and Ekaterina Sorokina have created paintings about the lake.
And now miracles are happening on the shore of Svyatloyar... No, Kitezh has not yet risen from the clear lake waters. But people with very different views still gather at Svetloyar. The Holy Lake also calls to its waters those who preach the ideas of Roerich. Others stage entire battles from Tolkien’s cult fantasy books on the shores of the lake. And next to the Old Believers and the hierarchs of the official Orthodox Church, modern pagan Rodnovers hold their prayers to Yarila and Veles...

© A. Asov, researcher of Vedic antiquity, translator of the “Book of Veles”, restorer of Slavic legends published in the books “Vedas of Russia”

More with Asov:

Addition to my friend's post

The legend of the hiding of the sacred city of Kitezh is the pearl of the Slavic epic. Based on the legend, many research books, poems, and an opera by Rimsky-Korsakov have been written... What is hidden behind the beautiful legend about the city that “went” into Lake Svetloyar without submitting to the Tatar-Mongol yoke? I read the post http://papyrus-net.livejournal.com/243128.html Very interesting! I wanted to add a Slavic legend.

Roots of the legend

The story about the city of Kitezh dates back to the time of the Tatar-Mongol invasion, that is, to the 13th century. However, according to Alexander Asov, the origins of this legend should be sought in an even earlier period - the pre-Christian history of Rus'. This is not so simple, since in the Orthodox religious tradition, paganism is so closely intertwined with Christianity that it is quite difficult to separate which legends belong to one and which myths belong to the other.

Lake Svetloyar, in which, according to legend, the sacred city of Kitezh hid, is located in the Volga region, and has been known since ancient times as the center of pagan faith. The name of the lake itself comes from two ancient Russian words: “bright”, that is, pure, righteous, and “yar”, which is the root of the name of the pagan solar deity Yarila, who was worshiped by the ancient Slavic tribes. Many legends of the pre-Christian period are associated with Lake Svetloyar. They also mention the city of Kitezh. It is spoken of in the most ancient sacred source of pagan faith - the Star Book of Kolyada.

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

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

With the baptism of Rus', Kitezh, like many other large centers of pagan cult, was turned into a 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 very place of worship of higher powers, which has truly magical energy, remained the same. That is why the area of ​​Lake Svetloyar has been shrouded in legends and mysticism since ancient times.

The Betrayal of Grishka Kuterma

Now let's fast forward to more recent times. According to Christian chronicles, the city of Bolshoy Kitezh on the shore of Lake Svetloyar was built by Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich, the son of Vsevolod the Big Nest. In addition to him, there was also Small Kitezh, which grew up under his grandfather - the famous Yuri Dolgoruky. Greater Kitezh was conceived as a majestic city. There were many churches in it, and it was built entirely of white stone, which at that time was a sign of wealth and purity. However, legends united these two different cities, and so the mystical and mysterious Kitezh City appeared.

Alexey Asov, guided by the legends and chronicles of that time, was able to recreate the true picture of the events of those distant times. In 1238, after the destruction of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, Batu Khan set up a camp on the City River. After another unequal battle, Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich with the remnants of his troops retreated to Maly Kitezh. However, Batu took it by storm, and the prince and the remnants of his army miraculously managed to escape to Greater Kitezh.

At that time, on Russian soil, Yuri Vsevolodovich remained practically the only organized force opposing the Tatar-Mongol invasion. Batu longed for power over the world and was eager to move on as quickly as possible - to the Mediterranean Sea, but he was afraid to leave the proud and undefeated Russian prince in the rear. And then he ordered to torture all captured Russians so that they would give up the reserved roads leading to Kitezh. The warriors were silent because they knew: to hand over the sacred city means dooming themselves and their family to eternal damnation. Only one could not stand the torture - Grishka Kuterma. He was afraid of torture and death and agreed to lead his enemies to the Russian shrine.

The path was not easy and lay among impassable swamps and forests. But the traitor knew the secret paths and was able to lead the Tatar-Mongol army to the holy city.

Seeing the approaching enemy army, the residents of Greater Kitezh and the soldiers of Yuri Vsevolodovich began to pray to God. Seeing the suffering of the Russians from the invaders, God took pity on the besieged. Before the eyes of Batu and his troops, the holy city sank into Lake Svetloyar and was not left to the merciless enemy for plunder, dishonor and death.

Temple City

However, some facts in this legend are questionable. The remnants of the army of Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich in fact did not pose a real military threat to Batu. And what could the prince do on earth, over which countless hordes of nomads swept twice with fire and sword? Then the question arises: why did Batu need to lead the army through the swamps to the city, which even in those days was considered semi-mythical? The fact is that Kitezh was of spiritual value. It did not stand on trade routes and did not play any significant military or political role in the life of Ancient Rus'. But he was a great spiritual center! It is not for nothing that in the chronicles telling about Kitezh, the largest place was given to the description of the temples.
According to these chronicles, almost the entire city consisted of only churches, being essentially one of the largest temple complexes of Orthodoxy.

Among historians, the most common version of Batu’s seemingly illogical campaign against Kitezh from the point of view of military strategy is the following. After interrogating the prisoners, Batu concluded that this city was not so much a political as a spiritual center of the Slavs.

Therefore, the Mongol Khan decided to march on Kitezh and thereby finally destroy all hope of the Slavs for revival. After all, many peoples believed that with the destruction of their shrines, the people themselves perish, for shrines are the soul of the people. However, Kitezh did not fall to the enemy.

Hidden by prayer

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. Legend says that the lake hid Kitezh until the end of time, and only before the end of the world will it rise again from the waters, and the army of Yuri Vsevolodovich will leave the gates of the holy city to appear with all Christian souls at the judgment of God.

In Soviet times, naturally, such a view of history could not be accepted, and a version was put forward that the legend of Kitezh reflects a natural disaster, as a result of which the soil quickly subsided and the city standing on the shore of the lake was immersed under water. Consequently, it was concluded that the remains of the legendary city can be found at great depths. An expedition was organized to Lake Svetloyar.

During underwater research, archaeologists found that its bottom consists of three layers of soil. The first layer - at a depth of 30 meters - is very ancient, the second - at the 20-meter mark - dates back to the 13th century, and the third - deposits of more recent times. At a depth of 30 meters, archaeologists found objects that can be attributed to the period of the 13th century. However, these were just small things made of wood and metal. These findings made it possible to put forward the hypothesis that the city, gradually plunging into the water, went into another layer of reality. And some things remained in our world due to strong vibrations of the earth or were simply washed away by water.

But where did Kitezh go? Only modern scientists can answer this question. There is an assumption that at certain times and under certain circumstances different dimensions can come into contact. In this case, according to a number of researchers of the Kitezh mystery, the shift in the layers of reality occurred as a result of the collective prayer of the besieged. After all, this prayer was performed in an extreme situation and, moreover, by a large number of people at the same time. Let's not forget that in addition to the townspeople, there was also an army in the city. Plus, it has been a sacred place since ancient times.

The time of prayer was probably not chosen by chance either. Scientists have more than once turned to the most ancient astrological source of our ancestors - the “Star Book of Kolyada”, to which Alexander Asov provides a detailed commentary. It turns out that all modern Orthodox holidays coincide with ancient pagan ones. These are special days on which the heavenly bodies occupy such a position that parallel worlds touch, and we can see them. Thus, scientists concluded that Kitezh was simply transported to another dimension.

Alien from the past

The expedition involved in the study of Lake Svetloyar and its environs included not only archaeologists, but also philologists and ethnographers, that is, collectors of folklore. It turned out that local residents for many centuries have been passing on the legend of the hiding of Kitezh, supplemented by events taking place in our time. Thus, local residents say that on Orthodox holidays, bells can be heard from Lake Svetloyar. Scientists also observed a similar phenomenon, but could not explain it.

However, not everyone can get to the sacred city of Kitezh. Only a person who is absolutely pure in spirit can enter there. Even monks from neighboring Orthodox monasteries, who regularly come to Svetloyar, hear only the ringing of the bells, and only a few manage to see the outlines of the beautiful white stone churches of Kitezh in the waters of the lake. According to local residents, the lake has healing properties and can cure many ailments, and anyone who sees the reflection of the golden domes of churches in it will be happy.

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

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

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