Russia 2019 (35) KUZINO - BIG, Old Monastery

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Today's port was Kuzino, a typical Russian village, but we didn't stop to explore here. Instead we hopped a bus to the Lake District. We were told there are hundreds of lakes here.

Our destination was the stunning Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. It is situated on the shore of scenic Lake Siverskoye, one of the biggest lakes in the district at 80 feet deep. In winter it turns to thick ice. Even today it is considered to be a magic lake, for maintaining your youth. I dipped my hand into its icy cold waters, but my wrinkles haven't disappear...so far!

This monastery was founded in 1397 by Saint Cyril of Beloozero. The small wooden monastery that he founded grew over the next 200 years to become a full-fledged fortified town and cultural center. Medieval books, songs, and icons were produced here. Five-thousand books are still kept here from the 14th century, plus over 600 frescoes. And there were so many beautiful icons; icons are not pictures, but images of saints.

It was the largest and strongest monastery in northern Russia. Because of this and its distance from Moscow, it became a bastion of exile for political and religious outliers in the 17th century. In 1924, it was converted to a historical, architectural, and art museum-reserve. Today only thirteen people live here full-time.

To see aerial views of the huge grounds (12 hectors or 29.5 acres in area), go here: https://russiatrek.org/blog/travel/kirillo-belozersky-monastery-the-largest-monastery-in-europe/

Many tzars, even Ivan the Terrible, entered this gate during their reigns. We were following in those royal footsteps. The tzars offered precious and personal gifts to the monastery, many of them now on display. 

The sprawling grounds are fortified by a thick wall with look-out towers (20 meters or 165 feet tall). The surrounding wall is 732 meters or 2,100 feet in circumference and seven meters or 23 feet thick. Imagine!

Interior wall.

Inside the vast complex you find eleven incredibly preserved churches dating from the 15th through 17th centuries. Here are a few.

A solitary priest. Maybe saying his prayers, or just watching the tourists.

Inside the monastery wall were farmland and animal stock space to feed the townspeople of the time.

Now you see fields of golden dandelions.

 

Although we strolled many halls of the museum, we were not allowed to take photos for the most part. They are filled with beautiful icons, artifacts, and frescoes. Here's one glimpse.

After the formal tour, we had free time to explore the grounds on our own. We found these old mill stones.

We saw these "recycled" gravestones made into a road at some point.

On the way back to the bus we saw this church located outside the monastery wall. Looks like people are attending services here today.

There were a few souvenir tables near the bus park. Aren't these girls lovely?

Our fave Viking guide Vadim always brings food for the local mongrels. What a guy!