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The Kiy Island, a unique phenomenon of Nature, is situated in the Onega Bay of the White Sea, 15 km from the town of Onega. It stretches from the North to the South; it is 2 km long and not more than 800 m wide. One can get to the Kiy Island only when the tide is high. The Island is a natural ledge of a table-land from the sea. The Island gets higher closer to its middle; some cliffs are 25 m high above the sea level. The Island if divided in two parts by a ‘pereima’ (shallow channel) (in old Russian - a place to intercept somebody); one can walk across the sandy sea bottom from one part to the other when the tide is at its lowest.
Up to 500 plant species grow on the Island, the coastal waters are rich in fish and in summer the water temperature rises to 24°C. Imagination ignites with the sight of the granite grey 25 meters high cliffs, with wide sandy beaches and with glorious pine forests full of berries. The Island is an extremely popular recreation place with the local people and their guests. In summer up to 2000 tourists come to spend holidays in the «Kiysky» Rest Home on the Island.
The history of the Kiy Island is closely connected with Patriarch Nikon, a famous religious figure of the 17th century, a reformer of the Russian Orthodox Church. The legend says that Nikon got into a heavy storm at sea near the Kiy Island; he lost his companions but managed to reach the Island. In memory of his miraculous salvation he founded the Kiysky Krestnyy (‘Cross’) Monastery by the Deed of the Tsar Aleksey Mikhailovich of June 13, 1656. The architectural ensemble of the Monastery is of great interest even today. It is one of the three monasteries founded on Nikon’s initiative; he not only searched for a good place to build them but was also the author of some architectural solutions. By the end of the 17th century the Monastery ensemble was practically finished, it took a comparatively small territory and was very compact. Because of the granite stones used for construction, the Monastery looked like a fortress and fundamentally blended with the relief of the island cliffs.
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 | | «Kiy Island is a stone in the middle of the sea»We invite you to visit a unique natural phenomenon – the Kiy Island. The programme includes, while in Arkhangelsk, an excursion called «Arkhangelsk, the city of four centuries», a visit to the Museum «Guest Houses», an excursion to the Wooden Architecture Museum «Malye Korely»; while in Severodvinsk, there is an excursion to the city; a rest on the Kiy Island, and excursions «Krestnyy (Cross) Monastery», «Nature of the Kiy Island». For more detail... |
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| | «The Onega ‘round-the-world’ ride»We invite you to visit a unique natural phenomenon, which is situated in the Onega Bay of the White Sea. The Island stretches in length; it is 2 km long and not more than 800 m wide. Up to 500 plant species grow on the Island, the coastal waters are rich in fish and in summer the water temperature rises to 24°C. The programme includes the general excursion of the city «Arkhangelsk, the city with an Angel name», a visit to the Fine Arts Museum, and excursion to the Wooden Architecture Museum «Malye Korely»; an excursion round the town of Onega, a stay on the Kiy Island. For more detail... |
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Monastery
