Valdai - a land of lakes and bells
An ancient city
A small ancient city Valdai stands in the very centre of the Valdai Hills on the bank of a most beautiful Valdai Lake. It is almost 5 centuries old. The city appeared on a route Moscow-Novgorod. It was first mentioned in the chronicles of 1496. Valdai was a Russian leading bell-casting city. The city’s history is primarily connected with Iversky monastery, situated on an island of Valdai Lake, what makes it look really magnificent. You can see the traces of ancient tribes.
There is an unusual “rounds” church in Valdai, where now a museum is located. The main part of the exposition is dedicated to a traditional for Valdai craft – bell-casting. Moreover, you will be shown not only a large collection of various bells and small bells but you will also listen to various bells ringing.
A poetic legend connects the start of bell-casting in Valdai with the times of Novgorod joining Moscow. Not only pounds bells and jingles were cast in Valdai but also big bells which weighted up to two thousands pounds.
A slight upland
An ancient Valdai land has managed to keep its primeval purity. Valdai attracts people to rest here and lets them feel their unity with nature. The Valdai Hills is one of the most interesting nature monuments in the East European Plain. Geographically, Valdai consists of the eastern part of the Novgorod region and the western part of the Tver region. The eastern part of the Novgorod region differs from the western one not only in relief; there are different lakes and rivers with peculiar climate, wildlife and soil. The Valdai Hills borders can be clearly distinguished not only on a map but also in real life. For instance, from a highway Novgorod-Valdai, east of a village Kuznetsovka, you can see covered in snow chains of hills that look like crests. The highway crossing river valleys is always going up. If the highway is 25 meters a.s.l. near Novgorod then it is 200 meters a.s.l. near Valdai. The East European Plain was glacier covered not once in remote ages.
Contemporary relief is a result of recent congelation what has brought a thick bed of argil sand ground, sands and fine sandy loam, numerous round stones that have created an exceptional landscape. The waves of a huge reservoir, which was created after dissolution of ice, have inwashed enormous terraces and banks. Where the congelation territory ends, there start hilly stained chines: Valdai, Ostashkovskaya, Vyshnevolotskaya.
The peak of the Valdai region is a hill at a village Zimogorej (266 meters). The Ruzhokh Mountains continue a Valdai strained chain in the south, near a lake Velje and Seliger Lake. These are the highest peaks a.s.l. on the territory of the Novgorod region. Huge hills stand against deep degradations creating an image of a small upland. There are a lot of hollows, caves; dry river valleys in the western part of Valdai what as a whole create an absolutely fantastic relief.
A Land of lakes
Valdai is the main source of soft water in Russia; it is the start of the three seas’ basins – the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, and the Caspian Sea. The Volga river starts its way form a small spring here, the heads of the Dnepr, the Zapadnaya Dvina rivers are here; the most part of the Neva flows in the Valdai Hills; there are hundreds of small rivers, small lakes, thousands of springs dozen of which are valuable mineral water springs.
Valdai Lake is of world’s significance and is among ten the cleanest lakes of the world; it consist of numerous small lakes and surrounded with almost untouched forests. “Valdai” means “clear”, “clean” from an ancient language. The lake nature is very changeable; mind-bending charm of its islands; severe beauty of the Iversky monastery’s architectural ensemble gave birth to numerous legends and traditions. Valdai Lake is small in comparison with Seliger and Ilmen Lakes. But its depth strikes even more – it is 52 meters. There is no other so deep lake in the Novgorod region.
The lake consists of two reaches – Valdai and Dolgoborodsky, it occupies the territory of 20 square kilometers. Its longest part is 20 meters and widest part is 5 meters. It is connected with Uzhin Lake by a shallow 90-meter channel. Uzhin Lake occupies the territory of 10 kilometers and its relief is branchier. There is a dam at the end of the lake.
Cascade fed by springs lakes, which form the Valdai basin of the Zapadnya Dvina river, are unique. This region is ecologically clean and situated far of settlements and considered one of the cleanest in Europe. Numerous lakes, formed in the river-bed of the Lyubutka river, boulders and strained chines, are the result of a huge glacier that went north during the latest Valdai congelation.
There are 30 kinds of fish affect in numerous small rivers and lakes: luce, bream, perch, roach, dace, ide, tourt, whitebait, tench, crusian, gudgeon, and other. Roach bites at depth of 2-3 meters in underwater highlands and in the creeks of rivers, brooks; dace bites in brooks; you can fish bream in lured spots at depth of 6-8 meters; you can fish perch in rushy places; pike bites near the bank, at a small depth near underwater undergrowth. In winter a fishing treasure is burbot.
The lakes are fed by springs, that’s why the water is always fresh and cold and the bottom is clean. Sandy beaches, picturesque woody banks, fishing, berries and mushrooms attract tourists and holiday-makers from cities. There are resorts “Valdai”, camping, pioneer camps, several tourist centre on the banks of the lakes. Valdai and Uzhin Lakes as exceptional health-improving, scientific and educational places have been acknowledged monuments of nature.
Lake Sinenkoe (Blue) sparkles at a village Molodilino, 13 km of a highway Borovichi-Khvoyanya. This is a very small lake; it is stretched for only 300 meters. Four fifths of its banks are a quaking mossy bog. The depth of the lake changes never. The water is light blue and transparent. You can easily see a thing that you drop to the bottom at depth of 10-12 meters even at dusk.
Southern taiga
Natural geographical position influenced flora peculiarities. Fir and pine, juniper and cedar grow in the area of taiga and broadleaf woods. Some highlands resemble taiga. Birch and aspen grow primarily in deciduous forests. Beautiful pineries grow is sandy soils. Huge oaks are common in sunny meadows. Valdai forests are affected with elk, wolf, bear, lynx and raccoon. Birds are represented by wood grouse, black grouse, woodpecker, duck, and heron and other
The one interested not only in sceneries but also in herbs won’t miss several hours to visit the banks of a brook Goluboy (Blue), which is 2 km of a village Borovichi. There is a real botanis garden on a small place: up to a dozen and a half of buttercups and composite; nine carnations and lots of other.
The slopes of the brook’s high banks are covered in the carpet of blossoming crested birds; a ceaseless swarm of bees is above them. The bushes of coltsfoot and gagea are shown in golden and white colours. In early May they are changed by violets, dandelions, speedwells and globe-flowers. Flora is far richer in the middle of summer. There are very uncommon for the Novgorod region plants in the valley of Goluboy brook: five-finger, white crested bird, and meadow-rue. The banks of the brook are a reserve.
Monastery
Iversky monastery that is situated on the Island creates a special beauty to Valdai. It was established by a Novgorod governor Nikon in 1653. The cathedral of the Assumption (1656) became the first stony construction of the monastery. It is 43 meters high and it occupies the territory of 5,7 ha. The monastery has been active since 1991.
You can reach the monastery by car and by excursion motor-ship boat. You have to drive around Valdai till a turn to the village Borovishi and then drive for about a kilometer and then turn left, the road will bring you to an island Ryabinovy and then to the monastery. By the way, you can wade to a near-located island Muravjiny from the monastery. There you can see centuries-long pines and a small Glukhoe (Deaf) Lake.
The remains of ancient settlements
Monuments of nature stay close to numerous archeological monuments. These are the remains of ancient settlements, burial mounds. There are quite common in the banks of rivers and lakes – the only of connection between people in remote ages.
Kryukovo Lake is situated in a low-rise forest, 3 km west of a village Borovishi. There was a settlement on it bank in the neolith times. Then there appeared a settlement at the beginning of the Common Era. There were discovered several stony tools in the low ground layers and remains of iron and clay dish were found in the upper layers.
Burial mound groups on the lake’s banks are rather interesting. The first group consists of 11 burial mounds, the second –of 29 and the third – of 6. These burials are dated back to various times and that’s why they are of different shape: long, round and conical. Some think, that there are treasures hidden in them. But there are no burial mounds in the Novgorod region that are like the one of the Central Asia, where treasures were hidden.
The Novgorod people’s ancestors of the 5th-6th centuries had a tradition to set on fire ashes of a dead man. They collected the ashes into a bowl and raised a small hill over it. After the first hill there were then raised some new. If the hills were one over another then there appeared conical burial mounds, is they were side by side, than there were long burial mounds.
A mystery of Knyazhya Mountain
Demyansk town is situated in a picturesque place. Piny woods filled with resin smell, birch groves, lakes with transparent water, sandy beaches – this all makes the town very attractive for tourists. Visiting it they climb a 305-meter mountain Orekhovna – the peak of the territory. It opens a very unusual view: horizonless spaces, forest hills and blue lakes.
There towers a bald mountain in the shape of a truncated pyramid, 9 km east of the town. Locals call it Knyazhya Mountain. It is hard to believe that it is of nature origin. That’s why it is covered in many beautiful legends but its mystery will be soon clued; there are archeological excavations now.
Valdai is open to the sky.
Valdai is open to the sky in terms of accessibility. There are 13 entrances to heavy traffic highways and railways on its territory: from Bologoy town, Borovishi village, Krestez town, Staraya Russa town, Seliger Lake. Moreover, there are a lot of dirt roads. The main kinds of rest here are informative excursions, sport and health-improving rest. Tourist trains, walking groups and water means of transportation are used. 60 per cent is educational tours (museum and churches visits). The Valdai Region accounts for 45 per cent of tourists coming to the region.
