Monastery’s storage building. Most
probably it dates back to the 19th century.
The mess and debris that you see are quite typical, but not for the
whole island. The construction works are at its peak here: something is
getting painted, built, restored. You feel the scale of work here. Most
probably it has just started.
A construction with an unknown purpose. I
hope they did not dump sinners’ bodies from it :)
Local power station
A diesel-powered
one.
An entrance to the Old Brethren Cemetery.
Quite an expressive angel (?) on a high
pole by the cemetery gates.
Monks and priests are buried at the
cemetery, since the 19th century (I think).
One cat was chasing another, and when it
jumped into an open window it hid in the tall grass, waiting for the
“victim” to come out.
One of the monastery structures
Since it is virtually impossible to cover
the whole archipelago in several hours, we have decided to look for the
St. Nicolas Skete.
That was not easy, considering locals’ or just passersby’ poor knowledge
of the island’s geography. Finally, we have managed to get to the right
path.
Please remember that it’s almost impossible to walk along the shores
as the paths soon end.
The poles are fixed this way in order not
to cut into the rocks.
Another way of doing it.
As you can see from the pictures, the
nature is very beautiful.
The island even boasts its own Air Force Base… A small one… Only
around 15 people.
It is worth noting that the islands of
Valaam were inhabited since the 10th century. In the 12th century Valaam
belonged to the Novgorod principality.
As for fauna, Valaam is a habitat to more than 123 species of birds.
It is also a home to elks, foxes, hares, squirrels, field mice, minks,
moles, adders and grass snakes.
When the lake freezes and the ice becomes
quite thick around mid-February, the auto connection is established with
the city of Sortavala.
Here we are.
There is Nikolsky (St. Nicolas) Skete on the island of the same name.
Unfortunately, there is no passage to
the island. Therefore we can only enjoy its view from afar.
St. Nicolas church (in the name of St.
Nicolas the Miracle Worker of Myra)
It was built in 1833 by A. Gornostaev.
This concludes our tour of Valaam and we
are sailing back to the mainland. No, not on this boat :)
