There were legends of the Red Bohr

Smolensk land is filled with historical secrets and amazing legends. To touch these secrets and see everything with your own eyes, we will go along the right bank of the Dnieper in the centuries-old forest known as the Red Bor. The journey begins with a story about the ancient history of Smolensk and the appearance of the first ancient Russian state (9th century). Gnezdovo is known as the largest mound complex in Europe of that period, the birthplace of the so-called “Norman hypothesis” of the emergence of Russian statehood. Excavations continue to this day, bringing new information. We will also learn about the history of one find of world significance – the oldest and very unusual East Slavic inscription made with the help of the so-called Glagolitic alphabet, Russian writing before the appearance of the Cyrillic alphabet, which is now known to any literate Russian person. Not far from the Gnezdov mounds in the middle of the Red Bor hidden object, not marked on any sign, but well known to lovers of historical legends. This is one of Hitler’s underground bunkers, equipped during the Second World War for the visits of Adolf Hitler to the occupied territories of Europe. Visitors will learn that this place is associated with an unusual story of the assassination of the Nazi dictator, which could be a decisive event in world history.

In the continuation of our trip, a visit to the Katyn memorial is offered. The complex is located in the area of Kozy Gory, where in the 1930s and 40s officers of the Polish army and numerous Soviet citizens were shot. Although the circumstances of the incident have not been fully investigated and remain the subject of all sorts of disputes, the memorial in the Katyn forest is a common place of memory for the Russian and Polish peoples who together survived the tragic events of the middle of the last century.