July 2011 : Karelia again ! (Petrozavodsk and Kizhi)

After visiting Karelia in winter (see blog last March 2011), we decided to return there during summer period (white nights). The main target was to discover one of the famous world heritage called Kizhi island.

From Moscow, we took the train (14 hours) to Petrozavodsk on Friday evening, and returned on Sunday evening.

It's always surprising experiencing a night train and it's really a good opportunity to meet Russian people and to talk with them.

At the arrival, the railway station is really impressive !

PETROZAVODSK

It is the capital of the Republic of Karelia with 280.000 inhabitants which stretches 27 km along the western shore of the Onega Lake (see map on top). Petrozavodsk is the cultural, administrative, scientific, touristic and education center of Karelia.

The city was founded in the early 1700s by Prince Menshikov at the order of Peter the Great who needed a new iron foundry for manufacturing cannons and anchors for the Baltic Fleet at the time of the Great Northern War. By 1717 about 3 000 people lived here. When the plant’s furnaces reached their full production capacity, it soon made Peter’s plant the largest enterprise in Russia. Each year the plant produced hundreds of cannons, tens of thousands of bayonet rifles, thousands of swords and other military equipment.

Although it has the status of a historical Russian city, the industry has changed : instead of cannons, the main industries are now machine-building, metal working, wood working, construction as well as food industry.

At the beginning of the 20th century the railroad cut through the city going northwards to Murmansk. During communism period, Petrozavodsk became somewhat of an exile spot for those arrested for political reasons and later, during World War II Petrozavodsk was nearly destroyed. After the war, the city was laboriously rebuilt and became the capital of the Republic of Karelia.

Now, Petrozavodsk is a cultural, tourist, science and industrial centre of the region and the main tourist attractions are:

The Museum in the open air
Lenin square with the administrative buildings of 1775
Recreation Park founded in 1703, the oldest park in Russia
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
The Block of Historical buildings (Neglinnaya, Phedosov, Malaya Slobodskaya)
Kirov square (Arts Museum, 4 out 5 city theaters)
Karl Marx Avenue.

One of the most popular place in the city is the Alexander Nevsky cathedral. This cathedral was built from 1826 to 1832 and had a fairly calm existence until 1929 when it was closed down and passed over to the local history museum. It was only in 1991 that it was returned to its former purpose and sanctified again in 2000.

One of the sights in the city is the museum in the open air with the so-called Tübingen Panno which is one of the more mysterious sculptures on the shore. All these sculptures are gifts from Petrozavodsk’s sister cities twinned with Petrozavodsk.

Fishermen Dream's Tree Under the Stars

Tübingen Panno Wave of Friendship

The Unity Sleeping Beauty Meeting Point

KIVACH waterfalls

The falls are situated in the center of the Kivach reserve 60 km North from Petrozavodsk. The beautiful wood road leads to the place bringing annually up to 30-40 thousand tourists there.

The height of the waterfalls is 10 meters. It is located on the river Suna in central part of Karelia. The waterfall is surrounded by a natural reserve of the same name where it is possible to walk with mosquitos !

KIZHI Island

Kizhi is one of 1650 islands on Lake Onega in the region of Karelia and is one of the oldest inhabited sites in Russia located 500 km South of the Arctic Circle and reachable by hydrofoil from Petrozavodsk in roughly 1 hour.

What does it mean Kizhi? It comes from karelian kischat for "Games".

The small island, just 6 km by 1 km, is an open air museum of wooden buildings, including a stunning church, a windmill and a bell tower. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Arriving by boat we can discover progressively this island : we were not alone to visit it and the access is limited at 300 people in order to preserve the site.

Let's follow our private local guide who has spend a lot of time with us, explaining the history, the traditions, and has answered all our questions : thanks to that English teacher (on the left) of Petrozavodsk who is dealing this job during the 3 months school vacation and is really passionate of Kizhi.

The large Church of the Transfiguration is now closed for works. Transfiguration is built entirely without nails, dating from the early 18th century. Its 22 domes are made from aspen wood on a pine frame.

The question we have raised was : do they really used no nails ?

The answer is in the image below ... there are small nails only for the roof !

However, it was possible to visit the smaller Church of the Intercession.

After, let's visit a typical rural house (isba) which was well-equipped for the cold northern climate, having a bed above the stove and a shelter for the animals on the ground floor. We have also seen people working as it was in the past ... and we went out though the granary.