Mount Calvary
Anzer Island is located in the northern part of the Solovetsky Islands archipelago (Yandex Maps)
We landed in the west of the island near Cape Kenga and walked around the island on foot for almost 9 kilometers to Kaporskaya Bay, where the same boat was waiting for us later.
Landing at Cape Kenga (Yandex-maps) The foundation of the chapel in honor of the image of the Virgin of All Who Sorrow Joy.
Time 19:45
It used to be like that.
Now there are no berths on the island, so you have to land on the shore from small boats or boats.
Captain kodola
Worship crosses on the shore
Coastal tundra quickly turns into forest
The road winds around many lakes
Partially waterlogged, so boots won't get in the way.
After about 2.5 kilometers we approach the Holy Trinity Skete (Yandex Maps)
The Holy Trinity Skete was founded at the beginning of the 17th century. Before that, only fishermen lived on the island and there was a monastery saltworks.
Attempts of restoration or conservation are visible.
official site of the skit http://stskit.ru
But it's sad inside...
Until 1683, the skete was not organizationally related to the monastery.
"The inhabitants of the monastery (17 people) received a salary for food and church needs. There was not enough money to maintain the monastery, the monks suffered hardships."
The Znamenskaya Chapel stands directly above a small water channel between lakes with walls reinforced with large stones.
Worship cross on the site of the desert of Eleazar and stairs leading to the chapel. It is claimed that it is incorrect, because it depicts Jesus Christ, which is not typical of northern worship crosses.
Chapel on the site of the first settlement of Eleazar Anzersky.
"Eleazar, captivated by the location, settled near the lake, called" Round. "The first thing he did was to erect a wooden cross, made by himself, near which he built a wretched hut"
After 6 kilometers we come to Mount Golgotha.
Worship cross in memory of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Solovetsky.
View of the Golgotha-Crucifixion Skete, standing on the top of Mount Golgotha
Rising, we pass by a birch-cross. "After all the crosses were destroyed on Solovki, a birch in the shape of a cross grew on Mount Golgotha near the Church of the Crucifixion of the Lord."
The Appearing Mother of God: “Call this mountain Golgotha, because over time it will have to suffer a lot and become an innumerable cemetery. On the top of the mountain, build a temple in the name of the Crucifixion of My Son.
In Soviet times, a hospital was set up in the temple for the dying, tortured and overworked prisoners of the camp ....
Even the official church websites say that Mount Golgotha is the highest place in Solovki. But she is only 64 meters tall. And the highest is Mount Verbokolskaya (height 86 meters). Yes, and Sekirnaya Mountain is also higher.
Big Solovetsky Island is visible in the distance.
We continue our way to Kapor Bay.
On the shore of the Holy Calvary Lake.
There are such wooden roads.
Worship cross on the shore of the Kapor Bay. (
A lot is known about the Solovetsky archipelago today, it would seem that scientists have described it up and down. But still ancient history these islands for the most part full of mysteries. One of them is the Solovetsky mountains. Until now, researchers believed that they were all created by a glacier, but today there is another, in fact sensational, version of the origin of some of the Solovetsky mountains. According to researchers, the most high mountain Solovetsky archipelago, Sekirnaya, partly created by a glacier, and partly is a pyramid of boulders, built several millennia ago by ancient people who inhabited the shores of the Arctic Ocean and White Sea.
It is no secret that the islands of the Solovetsky archipelago are flat, as if they were ironed by a glacier, so the high mountains look like artificial formations on them. The highest point on Bolshoi Solovetsky Island is Mount Sekirnaya (or Sikirnaya, Sikirka), almost 100 meters high. The huge sand and stone mounds of the Solovetsky Mountains were first described by the Solovetsky Society of Local History only in the 30s of the 20th century. But scientists then could not convincingly explain where such a high mountain could appear on flat islands, among plains, swamps and small hills.
In August 2002, geological and geomorphological studies by Russian scientists confirmed the possibility of the artificial origin of Sikirka. Although the elevation itself (the base of the pyramid) was formed by glacial deposits, there is reason to say that from above this natural base was indeed supplemented by mounds of artificial origin, thousands of years ago giving it the shape of an absolutely regular pyramid. In 2002, in the outlines of the relief of Sikirka, researchers identified geometrically regular forms, moreover, strictly oriented to the cardinal points.
Ancient owners of Solovki
The name of Mount Sekirnaya is associated with a legend spread by the monks that a miracle happened on its top - two angels whipped the wife of a local Pomor, who was fishing and cutting hay on the islands. From the word "sekli" allegedly comes its name. However, according to the rules of word formation in Russian, the name of Mount Sekirnaya should have come from another word - “ax” (medieval battle ax). In addition, there are big doubts that the name of the mountain in general was originally Slavic and that it should be written through the letter “e”, and not “and” - Sikirnaya. After all, the toponym Solovki itself, despite the consonance of this name with the Russian word "nightingales", has nothing to do with these birds, which have never been found here, beyond the Arctic Circle.
It is no secret that the legend of the angels who expelled local fishermen from Solovki has been used by monks for centuries as an indisputable “proof” that the Solovetsky Island should belong to the monastery, and not to the indigenous people. However, archaeological data convincingly indicate that the Solovetsky Archipelago, thousands of years before the arrival of the first monks, belonged to the inhabitants of the White Sea region and served them as a sanctuary for performing ancient religious rites. Suffice it to recall the Solovetsky stone labyrinths - "Babylon", which scientists date back to the 2nd - 3rd millennium BC. It is curious that in 1994, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, these famous and very ancient labyrinths (more ancient archaeological sites not found on Solovki) were deprived of the status of specially protected monuments of history and culture (!). Apparently, someone is very eager to erase the historical memory of the ancient White Sea cults that existed on the Solovetsky archipelago thousands of years ago.
The presence of ancient sanctuaries on Solovki is also evidenced by stone man-made cairns. By the way, similar stone pyramids and labyrinths are found not only on Solovki, but also on the shores of the Kola Peninsula, and on Novaya Zemlya, and in Norway, and in England - throughout the European North, where ancient tribes engaged in marine crafts lived. All this suggests that thousands of years ago there was a highly developed northern civilization of proto-pomors - sea hunters and fishermen. Perhaps in ancient times there was a common civilization of sailors, because the sea connects cultures?
Sanctuary of the Sikirt people
According to researchers, Sikirka was a sanctuary that belonged to the ancient ethnic community of the White Sea region for thousands of years. The peoples that made up this community changed over time, their language and self-names changed, the genes of new ethnic groups were poured into it, but the proto-Pomor community itself, its main genotype and cultural code were preserved. By the beginning of the 11th century, the thousand-year experience of ancient sailors, fishermen and hunters of the seals became the basis for the emergence of a new indigenous ethnic community of the White Sea region - the Pomors.
It is hard to imagine that before the arrival of Orthodox monks in Solovki, such a large topographic object as Sikirka did not have local name. Most likely, the local pre-Slavic toponym was Russified later. So, for example, the originally Chud name of the village of Kolmogory (this is how, with the letter “k”, it is written in all old documents) in the 18th century turned into Kholmogory. A similar history of Russification of a non-Slavic name could have happened with the toponymy of Solovki.
It is no secret that in the regional local epic, the indigenous pre-Pomor ethnic community is associated with the name "Chud". And in the Nenets epic, this people is called Sikirtya (Sikhirte, Siirte). And why not assume that the name of Mount Sekirnaya is consonant not with the Slavic word "cut", but with the name of the Sikirtya people? The name of the mountain Sikirtya could well turn into Sikirka, and then into Sekirnaya.
It is curious that the second name of Sikirka - Chudova Gora - was given to her allegedly in honor of the miracle of the above-mentioned flogging of the Pomeranian wife by angels. But isn't it more logical to assume that the mountain was named Chudovaya in honor of the Chud indigenous people, to whom it served as a sanctuary? After all, both Sikirtya and Chud are, according to scientists, the Nenets and Pomeranian names of the same indigenous ethnic community of the White Sea region.
Toponymic counterparts
Scientists are well aware that toponymy in the Pomor North, as a rule, retains the archetypal substratum of pre-Slavic names. Moreover, often the same twin names are repeated in different, sometimes distant from each other, regions of Pomorie. Yes, in Arkhangelsk region two Vaimugi rivers - in the Shenkursky and Pinezhsky districts, two villages of Kholmogory (Kolmogory) - in the Kholmogory and Leshukonsky districts, two villages of Kuloy - in the Velsky and Pinezhsky districts, etc. If the name of the mountain Sikirnaya (Sikirka, Chudova) is also of pre-Slavic origin, then on the map you need to look for a toponymic series of consonant mountain names.
And indeed, at the mouth of the Pomeranian river Korotaikha, we find Mount Sihirtesya (in translation from the Nenets - the mountain of the Sikirtya people). And on west coast On the islands of Vaigach we find Cape Siirtesale (translated as the cape of the Sikirt people). Moreover, on all these mountains, archaeological evidence was found that they served as ancient sanctuaries, which the Nenets attribute to the seaside people of the Sikirtya, and the Pomors to the Chuds. Thus, the Solovetsky mountain Sikirka, apparently from the same toponymic series, is one of the sacred mountains of the ancient Sikirtya (Chudi) people.
By the way, the said sacred mountain at the mouth of the Korotaikha River, Sikhirtesya, as well as the Solovetsky mountain Sekirnaya, has a second name - Miracle Mountain! It is unlikely that such a toponymic coincidence can be accidental.
Legends of ancient Pomerania
But who are these sihirtya, or chud? The legends and myths of the Nenets of the Arkhangelsk region contain the most information about the ancient Chud protopomorsky sailors named sikirtya (sihirtya, sirtya). Nenets legends tell about Sikirt hunters and fishermen, who were short in stature with "white" eyes. Recall that the Novgorodians called the indigenous Proto-Pomor population the same way - “the white-eyed miracle”.
On the island of Vaigach, which the Pomors and Nenets considered holy places, archaeologists found bronze figures a few years ago. winged people which, according to scientists, are ancient civilization Arctic. According to Nenets legends, the clothes of the Sikirt were decorated with many small metal objects, which made noise when they approached. This description is very similar to the bronze "noisy pendants" of the white-eyed Chud, which are found by archaeologists throughout the Arkhangelsk region.
According to Nenets legends, in ancient times, the Sikirts sailed in boats from across the sea. The Nenets themselves consider the Sikirt to be the indigenous people of the coastal tundra, who lived here long before them. The Sikirtya were autochthonous northerners who mastered the Arctic sea crafts: they settled on sea islands, as well as on the mountains along the coast of the Arctic Ocean.
It is possible that today's northerners are carriers of the autochthonous sikirtya genes, and it is possible that it was from these Arctic fishermen and St. John's wolves that the Pomors adopted some of the main economic traditions (techniques for hunting sea animals, Arctic fishing). According to Nenets legends, the Sikirtya harnessed dogs to their sleds in winter and rode them, hunting sea animals and catching fish from under the ice. It is curious that even in the last century, the Mezen and Kanin Pomors used dogs harnessed to small sleds (special drag sleds) to take freshly caught saffron cod from the hummocks.
Today, the people of Sikhirta, or Chud, no longer exist, but the memory of him has been preserved in the legends and myths of the northern peoples, as well as in the stone sanctuaries of Pomorie - labyrinths and pyramids. The task of our generation is to preserve and study these monuments of the ancient proto-Pomor civilization, about which we all know very, very little so far.
Mount Sekirnaya, being the most high point archipelago, perfectly visible from the sea. In ancient times, this place was deserted, completely covered with dense dense forest. Tradition says that it was here, at the foot of the Sekirnaya, that the monks Herman and Savvaty entered the Solovki shore. And in 1429 they erected a cross and built a small cell and spent time in prayer.
Before the appearance of St. Herman and Savvaty, there were no permanent residents on the island - only occasionally fishing boats came here. There is a legend that once on the top of the mountain two angels carved the wife of a fisherman they had caught. It was a sign from above that the island belonged undividedly to the monks, and no one disturbed them in seclusion from the bustle of the world. It is with this case that the origin of the name of the mountain is associated.
On the top of Sekirnaya Mountain, the only temple-lighthouse in the world, the central temple of the Sekiro-Voznesensky Skete, was built. Day and night it illuminated the way for ships for 40 miles.
In Soviet times, a punishment cell of a special purpose camp for delinquent prisoners was set up here. But these gloomy pages of history have long been turned over, and the spiritual life on the island is being revived.
Mount Sekirnaya
Mount Sekirnaya is a high hill (73.5 m) on the Big Solovetsky Island. The mountain is the highest point in the archipelago. According to legend, a woman was whipped by angels on this mountain because she wanted to settle on the island.
At the top of the mountain is the Ascension Skete, built in 1860 by the architect Shakhlarev. The temple is completed by a bell tower, above which, under the dome, a lighthouse was located from the very beginning of its existence. The skete has survived to our times.
In Soviet times, a punishment cell operated on the mountain, the 4th department of the Solovetsky Special Purpose Camp (SLON).
From Sekirnaya Gora, a beautiful view of Savvatiyevo opens - the place where the founders of the Solovetsky Monastery, St. Savvaty and Herman, originally settled in 1429. The mountain is located 11 km from the monastery. At its foot there are several worship crosses.
Back in 2002, Russian scientists confirmed the possibility of an artificial origin of Sekirnaya Mountain - the one located on the Solovetsky Archipelago. Although the elevation is based on glacial deposits, there is every reason to believe that from above it is indeed supplemented by mounds of artificial origin, that is, all this is the work of human hands.
About hills and knolls
It's no secret that on the numerous islands and islets of the Solovetsky archipelago there are hills and mountains of absolutely different heights. So, Sekirnaya Gora is perhaps the highest mountain on the entire Bolshoi Solovetsky Island. This mountain has another, more euphonious name - Miracle Mountain.
Nevertheless, let's return to a more established name - Sekirnaya. So, it was named in memory of the angels. The essence of the myth is that once the angels descended from heaven and whipped the wife of a fisherman, the wife of a Pomor. According to legend, Saints Savvaty and Herman lived and lived near this, apparently still nameless mountain.
In summer, fishermen with their wives sailed to the foot. The husbands, as expected, fished, but the wives mowed the grass, and ran the household. Why the Pomors disliked Saints Savvaty and Herman, history is silent. That's just a conflict broke out between them and the fishermen. I repeat that it was in ancient times and, as is often the case in the myths of any nation, heavenly forces intervened in the situation - in our case, angels in the form of blond youths.
The latter took and flogged one of the fishermen's wives with rods, and ordered to reel in the fishing rods for good and for health. And that, they say, this island with a mountain in addition belongs to the monks for prayers ... It was not possible to argue with the angels, so the fishermen left this island and henceforth began to treat the saints with respect.
Ancient people tried
This is where questions arise related to the name of this mountain. Judging by the legend, the name "Sekirnaya" allegedly comes not from the word "cut", but from "ax" - the name of a medieval battle ax. It turns out that the angels were supposed to strike the Pomor's wife to death not with vices, but with battle axes. Somehow it turns out tough, especially for angels.
It is known that the islands of the Solovetsky archipelago are flat, as if ironed by a glacier. High mountains look somehow strange on them, as if they are artificial formations. On the Big Solovetsky Island, Sekirnaya (or Sekirka) is the highest mountain, its height is almost one hundred meters. Where does she get on this kind of plateau?
It should be noted that the huge sand and stone mounds of the Solovetsky Mountains were first described by local historians in the 30s of the last century. But scientists then could not explain where such a high mountain could appear on the flat islands. It was assumed that Sekirka was partly created by a glacier and partly a pyramid of boulders, which was built several millennia ago by ancient people who inhabited the shores of the Arctic Ocean and the White Sea.
In 2002, Russian scientists confirmed the possibility of an artificial origin of Sekirnaya Gora. Although the elevation is based on glacial deposits, and there is reason to believe that from above it is indeed supplemented by mounds of artificial origin.
Nightingales do not sing on Solovki
Of course, the question arises: if the ancient Solovetsky mountain is a pyramid, where does it get its original Russian name from? And why did the monks need such a strange legend about angels? In fact, there are doubts that the name of the mountain was originally Slavic. After all, the word "Solovki", although consonant with "nightingales", has nothing to do with them - nightingales have never been found beyond the Arctic Circle.
Well, the monks used the legend of angels as proof that the Solovetsky Island should belong to the monastery, and not to the indigenous people. In addition, archaeologists have confirmed that the Solovetsky archipelago belonged to the inhabitants of the White Sea region thousands of years before the arrival of the first monks. Novgorodians called these White Sea tribes “chud”, and rooted local Nenets - “sikirtya”.
Moss mow
The mention of the Sikitra people is found in the Tale of Bygone Years. Translated from the ancient language, “skhrt” or “skrd” is an artificial mound of an elongated shape. The word "stack" has the same root. Mow - an artificial hay mound of elongated shape. But a stack can be not only made of hay, so a version arose that a “skhrt” is a form of a primitive bulk prehistoric dwelling, like a giant stack of grass, moss and branches, in which our ancient ancestors lived.
The same ancient root stem "skrt" is in the word "hide". After all, the main function of the home is to hide from the cold and wild animals. People who lived in such primitive dwellings were called skitniks, and in the North - sikirtya.
The first chronicle information of the Novgorodians about the Donenetsk cave population in the north (the Nenets came to the territory of the Pechora tundra from behind the Ural Range only in the 13th-14th centuries) confirms that the tribes living there did not know iron and lived in caves.
Cave people
But the question reasonably arises that in the flat Pechora tundra there are practically no mountains in which such caves can be found today, and even so that cave people could live in them. Perhaps such "mountains" of the ancient cave people could only be artificial mounds-dwellings - huge stacks of peat and moss.
Only then it becomes clear why, after a thousand years, there was practically nothing left of them - they turned into ordinary small hills among the flat landscape of the tundra. By the way, archaeologists periodically find traces of the Donets civilization in the tundra - bronze and stone tools, jewelry.
It is worth saying that traces of the dwellings of the Sikitra people also remained. Back in the 19th century, academician Lepekhin wrote: “The entire Samoyed land in the current Mezen district is filled with derelict dwellings of a certain people. They are found in many places, near lakes on the tundra and in forests near rivers, made in the mountains and hills like caves with holes by a similar beast. In these caves, furnaces are found and fragments of iron, copper and clay household items are found.
As for the stone bulk mountains, like Sekirnaya, these are no longer houses made of peat and moss for living people, but the houses of the dead - pyramids made of stones. In this way, stone mountains on Solovki are nothing but monuments of an ancient civilization. Our researchers have a lot of work to study the history hidden in the earth.
