Kizhi

Kizhi Island, which is located in Karelia, is famous for its ensemble of unique wooden cultural monuments. Here, back in 1960, an open-air museum-reserve was founded, which is now known to the whole world. This island is an area on Lake Onega with 5.5 km long and 800 meters wide, where ancient objects are located.

The museum is included in the lists of particularly important cultural heritage of the Russian Federation. Kizhi Island also has its rich history. For one of the legends, the name Kizhi went from "kizat" which means "play". Here in ancient times, a pagan sanctuary was located, where offerings were made, which were accompanied by corresponding dances and songs. Another legend tells us that Kizhi in translation means "water moss", which is distributed in swamps in the center of the island. It used to be a valuable product, as with the help of these mosses people lost their homes.

The most important object of the Kizhi Museum is the Church of Transfiguration, which, after beliefs, was designed by Peter l. It has a very complex design, which differs from other cultural monuments on this island. This twenty-two-headed church was built entirely from a tree back in 1714. Near it is the winter church of the Intercession Virgin, which is the ninth-headed. In 1862, a tent bell tower was also erected here. Very interesting are the local peasant bays, which will unite with one roof with the economic part, as well as their interior. The most famous are the houses of Oshnev and Elizarov. The oldest building on this territory is the Lazarev Church, which used to be in the Murmansk Monastery. No less well-known is the Chapel of Mikhail Arkhangel, which creates a wide variety of types of calls. There are also household buildings, which include mills, both wind and water, bathhouse, barn.

Walking around the museum, you can learn various types of crafts. Traditional works are carried out simply in front of tourists: agriculture ( land cultivation, sowing, demo harvest, as well as hammering ), crafts that men ( wood wrestling, birch weaving ) were engaged in, women's classes ( various types of embroidery, spinning, sewing ). At the same time, all museum workers are removed into peasant orders and use exclusively ancient tools.

A trip to Kizhi Island will bring you even more pleasure if it coincides with local celebrations, among which the main is Kizhi parish Day. On this day, you can sincerely enjoy the festive atmosphere, participate in various competitions, witness all kinds of traditions.

You can only move around the island in a pedestrian way, so it would be nice to have comfortable shoes. There are no hotels here, but you can stay in guest houses located near Kizhi skher.