The Solovetsky Islands or Solovki is the largest archipelago in the White Sea, its area is about 350 sq. km. It consists of six large islands:
- Solovetsky, - Anzersky, - Big Zayatsky, - Maly Zayatsky, - Big Muksalma, - Malaya Muksalma
and more than a hundred small islets. In 1992, the Solovetsky Archipelago was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The territory of the islands and the adjacent water area are currently a nature reserve. The archipelago has about 630 rivers and lakes. The special microclimate of the Solovetsky Islands is due to its geographical position - 165 km from the conventional line of the Arctic Circle. In winter, the air temperature can drop to -45 degrees C, while short summers and frequent rains contribute to constant dampness. Despite the weather conditions, poor roads and poorly developed infrastructure, more and more tourists tend to visit the Solovetsky Islands. A rich history, many monuments of culture and archeology, nature and fauna of the north, the Solovetsky Monastery and the Solovetsky Special Purpose Camp (SLON) - all this attracts those who are going to visit this place.
Solovetsky monastery and fortress
In the 15th century, the monk of the Valaam monastery Savvaty and the monk German arrived in Solovki in search of a secluded place for prayer and meditation. Where the Savvatievsky skete is now, they erected a cross and built cells, and this is how the history of the Solovetsky monastery began. Herman and Savvaty spent more than five years in prayer and hard work, in 1435 Savvaty died. In his place, Herman brought a young monk Zosima, who on the very first day of his stay on the island dreamed of a wonderful temple. In the place where Zosima had a vision, the hermits built a church in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord. Hearing about such a unique place, other residents began to arrive on the islands. In 1436, Archbishop Jonah gave permission to establish a monastery. Zosima became the abbot of the monastery.
During the war in 1571, when Swedish ships appeared near Solovki, Ivan the Terrible decided to build a wooden fortress. And in 1582, instead of the wooden one, the construction of a stone fortress began. Throughout its history, the Solovetsky Monastery experienced many sad events - the Solovetsky uprising, which lasted 8 years, the attack of British ships during the Crimean War, and throughout its existence it served as a place of exile. In 1920, the monastery was closed, and later the Solovetsky special purpose camp (SLON) was organized on the territory of the monastery, which in 1937 was transformed into the Solovetsky special purpose prison (STON). The revival of the monastery began only in 1967 - a museum-reserve was created on Solovki. Since 1990, the Savior Transfiguration Monastery has been opened, which operates to this day.
Stone labyrinths
The islands were visited by people as early as the 5th century BC, and since the 3rd century BC, pagan temples - labyrinths - were erected here. The Solovetsky labyrinths or Northern labyrinths are spiral images made of small stones. The sizes of the labyrinths are varied - from 1 to 25 meters, the height is no more than 50 cm. One of the largest clusters of labyrinths has been found in the Solovetsky archipelago - at least 35 are known today, and many more different stone calculations and embankments have been found. Most of the stone labyrinths are located on Bolshoy Zayatsky Island. The significance of these labyrinths has not yet been established, but their historical and cultural value is indisputable.
On the territory of the Solovetsky Islands you can also see:
The Negotiation Stone is a monument dedicated to the events of the Crimean War.
Monastic sketes
To provide the monastery with everything necessary, many blanks were made; special sketes were built throughout the territory to store various supplies. It is now known that three main sketes were founded on the Bolshoy Solovetsky Island - the Savvatievsky skete (vegetable garden), the Sekirnaya mountain skete (berry), the Isakovsky skete (fishing and for making hay). The skete on the island of Bolshoy Muksalma was a stockyard, and on the island of Bolshoy Zayatsky, the Andreevsky skete was founded - the "sea gate" of Solovki.
Great Solovetsky dam
The dam is a unique structure that connects the islands of Bolshaya Muksalma and Bolshoi Solovetsky. It was forbidden to keep cattle in the monastery, so it was decided to build a hermitage to keep it on a neighboring island. The lack of land communication between the islands made it difficult to move. In the middle of the 19th century, it was decided to build a dam bridge. A dam was built of large boulders and sand, and has a length of 1200 meters.
Botanical Garden
The botanical garden was founded by Archimandrite Macarius in 1822. The garden is located between two lakes. More than 500 species of plants grow here, some of them were planted by monks in 1870, and some by prisoners of the Solovetsky prison. Although the territory of the Solovetsky Archipelago is a protected area, fishing and picking mushrooms and berries are allowed here.
