The unspeakable beauty of the wonderful lake. Ostashkov, Nilo-Stolobenskaya desert. Oz. Seliger and surroundings
Description:
The magical beauty of the lake is worth visiting at least once in your life this amazing land on the ancient “Seregher trade route” from Novgorod to the Russian principalities of Central Russia. The image of Seliger would not be complete without its architectural and historical dominant – the Nilo-Stolobe desert.
The life and spiritual exploits of the Monk Nile, who settled on the Stolobnoy Island 500 years ago, made this monastery one of the most revered in the country, and the palace splendor of its architecture and the fantastic views of Seliger that open around it attract thousands of tourists from different parts of Russia and other countries every year.
In the monastery you can visit the museum, where pilgrims and tourists are presented with a magnificent collection of sculptural images of the Monk Nile. The tradition of making wooden statuettes and statues of the monk as pilgrimage relics for numerous visitors to the monastery arose in the late 18th century and became one of the “brands” of the Tver region.
10 kilometers from the monastery is the capital of the lake region, the city of Ostashkov, which in the 18th century, Governor Sivers in a letter to Catherine the Great called “the second Venice”. The city settled on a peninsula, on three sides surrounded by the water azure of the purest lake. The oldest building in the city is the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ and the nearby Trinity Cathedral determine the picturesque silhouette of Ostashkov and are his architectural accents.
This is one of the most monumental and majestic buildings of that time in the Tver region. Interesting examples of residential buildings - the town hall of the 18th century and the house of the painter Y. M. Kolokolnikov-Voronin - a representative of the famous dynasty of Russian artists, the house of Mitin artists - the most exquisite in its architectural solution sample of civil development of the 19th century.
If you have time and desire, you can visit the Zhitny (Zhitny) Smolensk monastery, located on the place where in the Middle Ages the city of Klichen stood guard over the “Seregher trade route” – the historical forerunner of Ostashkov.
It is also possible to walk on the island of Klitschen (1 km from Ostashkov) - a natural monument, where a relatively small picturesque space presents all the wonderful diversity of nature of the Seliger region - pine forests, mixed forests, birch and mountain groves, a wonderful and even some kind of mysterious inner lake.
It is impossible to imagine Ostashkov and its inhabitants without fishing - the most ancient fishing of local inhabitants. Fish here were caught all year round and sold far beyond the region. If desired, it is possible to order a gastronomic tour (for a fee) - "Ear Seligerska" in the restaurant "Ukha".
Those who wish to be fed with the energy of the holy place can visit and swim in the waters of the miraculous Okovetsky spring 70 km from Ostashkov, as well as see the source of the river flowing into the heart of every Russian person - sung in folk songs and poems of great poets - the Volga.