Along the Golden Ring of Russia. "It was in the city of Murom, the village of Karacharovo"

Murom - the birthplace of Ilya Muromets

Day 3. 05/30/16 IPA “On the southern borders of Rus'”

Arzamas - Murom - Kasimov - Ryazan

Mileage 461 km

The next morning was cloudy. Although it was no longer raining. And it made me happy.

Our plans for the day today are quite grandiose - to visit two ancient cities: Murom - the birthplace of Ilya Muromets, and Kasimov - an equally ancient town, the capital of the former Kasimov Khanate in the Meshchera forests. Spend the evening in the Ryazan water park. In addition, Arzamas itself, the second largest city in the Nizhny Novgorod region, was also interesting. To get everything done I had to get up early.

First of all, we drove to the center of Arzamas. We left the car on Cathedral Square in front of the Resurrection Cathedral and went for a walk.

We started with a visit to the cathedral itself, large and majestic. The parishioners were just arriving and arriving for the morning service. Having examined the temple inside and walked around it outside, we decided to walk a little along the streets of the city to the neighboring churches. From the square, the domes of five or six more temples were in direct view. Some of them, however, were closed for repairs, some did not operate at all. But the fact that Arzamas at one time was a prosperous merchant city is undeniable. And he gained fame at fairs thanks to onions and geese, which were bred here in abundance.

Having looked at the monument to Lenin, hidden in the bushes near the central square, and having visited the establishment nearby that everyone needed, we set off further on our journey.

It's relatively close to Murom. Some 160 versts. But how the weather has changed! In Murom the sun was shining like summer, it was cloudless and hot. Using pre-written coordinates, we drove to the city center and, leaving the car, went to explore the monasteries. The very first on our way was the most ancient Blagoveshchensk monastery, from which the history of the city began.

Having passed through the gate church, we found ourselves in a small well-groomed area in front of the main monastery church. Here our attention was attracted by a nondescript man who was selling souvenirs and city guides on the sidelines. Seeing the “Excursions” sign, we asked him what they cost. The shortest one-hour tour of the monastery cost 500 rubles, a longer one in the city center cost 1000 rubles. Deciding that we didn’t have to stay here for long, and that we could find out everything interesting during a short excursion, we agreed to explore the monastery with a guide. Despite his unpresentable appearance, our guide turned out to be an excellent storyteller and history expert. In addition, he himself was the author of a short guide to Murom. In a word, he made the most favorable impression on us. Can't compare with the Boldino aunt. He told me a lot about everything and it was interesting. I walked around the temple and monastery. And he agreed to take payment for his services only after the end of the excursion, when we were already heading to the exit. Touched by such courtesy, we even bought a guidebook from him, especially since the text in it was in both Russian and English. Let your daughter read and exercise on the road.

Since it was already time for lunch, we wanted to have a meal in the monastery refectory, but they politely asked us from there, because... The local brethren should arrive for lunch. All six people. We weren't upset at all. Opposite there was a convent with exactly the same refectory and a large selection of dishes. From this lunch we especially remember okroshka, in which, instead of sausage or meat, finely chopped fish such as sprat or capelin was added. I won't say it's very tasty. Just unusual. But the kvass in the monastery refectory is excellent! We even took a liter bottle with us. I haven’t tasted such delicious kvass for a long time.

Having had our fill of bodily food, we went on to explore the surroundings. And the first thing we went, of course, was to the monument to Saints Peter and Fevronya of Murom. To capture them, so to speak, in the original. We already have a whole collection of such monuments in different cities. And this one, of course, is the most important.

From the monument we walked to the territory of the Holy Trinity Convent, where in the main church there is a shrine with the relics of Saints Peter and Fevronya. It's a pity you can't take pictures there. Even with a small number of visitors, I didn’t want to disturb them with the glare of my flash. After touching the crayfish and walking around some more, we headed towards the car.

The next goal was Oka Garden - a local park of culture and recreation. It wasn’t difficult to get three hundred meters to it, but then we didn’t want to go back, so we drove this distance by car. There are no problems with parking in Murom. That's for sure.

Oka Garden, as you might guess from the name, is located on the banks of the Oka River. Interestingly, the border between the regions runs right along the river. It turns out that the left bank, on which Murom is located, belongs to the Vladimir region, and the opposite bank belongs to the Nizhny Novgorod region.

But the main thing in the park is, of course, the monument to the epic Russian hero Ilya Muromets. He stands on a high pedestal, raised high in right hand naked sword. In the 13th-14th centuries, it was here that the border of the ancient Russian state passed, and beyond the Oka River the Horde’s possessions began, from where trouble more than once came to Rus' in the form of hordes of nomads. And the Russian heroes stood here, serving at the border outpost.

After the obligatory photo session against the backdrop of the monument, we head off to the attractions. Not all children should be taken to monasteries and churches. The set of carousels is standard, but the tickets are not very expensive. The view from the Ferris wheel was not impressive. The city center is low-rise and completely hidden under the greenery of trees. Only Ilya Muromets with his sword is threatening someone across the river.

Having spent the allocated budget on entertainment, we return back to the car. According to the plan, there was also a walk around the Spassky Monastery. But they decided to abstain from it. And we spent so much time. We just drove along the stone walls that surround the ancient monastery.

But on the way out we stopped at another “Ilya Muromets”, but more modern. This was the name of the armored train that operated on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. Now in Murom, only an armored locomotive from him is installed on a pedestal. A huge steel box on wheels. No protruding parts, so you can't even climb on it. But we arrived in five minutes. We walked around and touched it. "Touched history." And then on to the road.

Our next point was the small, but also ancient Russian town of Kasimov, named after Khan Kasim, who went into the service of the Russian Tsar, for which he received the local inheritance for management. Since those times, a mosque with a minaret and several tombs have remained in Kasimov - the khan himself and his descendants. This minaret was our goal.

And here, I must say, we were very lucky. Because in the mosque, through which the entrance to the minaret leads, there is a local history museum. And Monday is his day off. But fortunately for us, such a coincidence happened that on that day two or three ships cruising along the Oka stopped in Kasimov. And since there are not many attractions in the town, museum workers were asked to go to work and open the minaret for visitors. And just then we showed up! The museum aunties, having learned that we were not from the ship, but on our own, were not very stubborn and, having sold the required tickets for 50 rubles, were allowed onto the stairs of the minaret.

It must be said that this tower is very unusual. Not only is there no other minaret like this in central Russia, it was also built contrary to the canons. We are used to seeing minarets as slender as needles surrounding a mosque. This one looks more like a log, or a thick log. Low, wide, irregularly shaped in plan, with the apex-end shifted to one side. But there was a narrow spiral staircase in the thickness of the tower, and it led us to the upper platform of the tower, fenced with a thick stone parapet. There is nothing in the tower except the stairs. According to the museum workers, the entire thickness of the minaret is filled with earth and stones.

Having examined the city of Kasimov from above, we headed to the Khan’s tomb (tekie), located nearby. The tomb of Shah Ali Khan is nothing interesting. Brick building fenced with iron bars. Only from the Arabic script above the entrance can one guess that this is not a simple shed, but a historical monument.

In general, there are many interesting museums in Kasimov, for example, samovars or bells. But, as I already said, they had a day off on Monday. And we no longer had any free time. And so we were incredibly lucky with our visit to the main attraction.

The Ryazan water park is called “Gorki”, but it is not located in the city itself, but far beyond its outskirts. There, in the swamps, they built an entire entertainment complex with a hotel, attractions and a water park itself. I don’t know who would be interested in going up on a Ferris wheel if you won’t see anything around except bushes and swamps.

It must be said that the water park, located separately, does not have its own clear address, and it is also not easy to find it by coordinates. And although we had a description of how to get to the water park from Ryazan, we were driving from the other direction, and therefore got a little lost.

However, at about seven o’clock in the evening we pulled into an empty parking lot in front of the water park. Do Ryazan residents really not like to swim? I went to investigate. It turned out that just the weekend before, the summer swimming season had opened. And today is the last Monday of the month - sanitary day. What a bummer! And the children were already ready to splash around in the water.

What to do? I had to urgently change plans. This evening we are going for a walk around Ryazan, and tomorrow morning we are going back to the water park.

We drove to the Ryazan Kremlin, located on a high hill in the center of the city. Maybe it was because it was Monday, but a parking spot at the entrance was found quickly enough.

We walked through a shady park to the Glebovsky Bridge, built across the moat surrounding the Kremlin. Immediately behind the bridge rises a huge cathedral bell tower. Illuminated by the evening sun descending to the horizon, it looked very cool. In general, the entire Kremlin complex looked very festive and elegant. Behind the bell tower, the Assumption Cathedral with blue domes rises three floors high.

Frankly, at that time we had a need to visit the toilet, so we first went through the monastery courtyard towards the object indicated on the map of the Kremlin with the letters WC. But here we were disappointed - the toilet was open until 18:00 and was already closed. In general, the working hours of all museum exhibitions of the Kremlin ended and we had to be content with only an external inspection of ancient buildings.

After walking around the Kremlin territory, we again returned across the Glebovsky Bridge to the park and went towards the Church of the Savior on Yar, near which there is a monument to the famous Russian poet Sergei Yesenin. The monument is quite original in its design. The artist depicted Yesenin only up to his chest, but with his arms outstretched to the sides, as if trying to emphasize the breadth of the Russian soul.

The sun was sinking lower and lower, and we decided to attend to the issue of housing. I booked the apartment through the website Sutochno.ru. In the morning I called my reservation, and a male voice confirmed that they were waiting for us. In the evening it was necessary to agree where and how to meet. The man gave the phone number to his wife, who is involved in renting apartments, but she did not know anything about our application and the apartment was occupied. We found ourselves in somewhat of a limbo. Fortunately, the Ryazan apartment landlords quickly got their bearings and were able to offer us another acceptable option, but we had to wait about an hour before moving in.

We made the most of this hour. We stopped at a small public garden, where there is a nice composition dedicated to the saying “Mushrooms with eyes grow in Ryazan. They are eaten and they watch.” And then we walked a little more at the monument to Evpatiy Kolovrat - also a famous epic hero, a native of Ryazan.

At the appointed time we arrived at the desired address - the owner was already waiting there. The apartment, located on the first floor of Khrushchev's five-story building, was quite decent. In our presence, the owner connected the Wi-Fi router he had brought, and the Internet appeared. The only nuance was drawing up the lease agreement. Usually they limited themselves to making a deposit or taking a passport photograph. Here they took a deposit of 1000 rubles and entered all the data into the rental agreement form. Well, if it makes the owners feel safer, we don’t mind.

Today was a very intense day for us. In practice, we got acquainted with the most interesting sights of four (!) cities. All of them were part of the southern defensive line of Rus', therefore they have an ancient and glorious history, one way or another connected with the defense of the Motherland. It is not for nothing that Murom is the birthplace of Ilya Muromets, the patron saint of the border troops and strategic missile forces of Russia.

The city of Murom is one of the most ancient cities in the Vladimir region, included in the " Golden ring» Russia. Murom was first mentioned in the chronicle of 862, which is considered the year of its origin. The city of Murom is the birthplace of Ilya Muromets, a Russian epic hero. Murom is a unique city, standing on the high left bank of the Oka River, a city where devout Orthodoxy and ancient paganism are intertwined.

Monument to Ilya Muromets

Murom received its name from the Finnish-Ugric tribe Muroma, which most likely means “people on land”. The first written mention of Murom is in the Tale of Bygone Years, but archaeological excavations indicate that the Murom lands were inhabited much earlier than 862, and on the territory of modern Murom in the 6th-7th centuries the so-called Nikolo-Naberezhnoe settlement with a military shelter was located - The Kremlin on Kremlin Hill.

Trinity Convent in Murom

Pilgrims come to the Trinity Monastery to venerate the relics of the holy saints Prince Peter and Princess Fevronia - the patrons of the Orthodox family, love and prosperity in marriage. Saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom are an example of marital fidelity, devotion and love, which they preserved throughout their lives, overcoming all trials and temptations.

Peter and Fevronia of Murom

For a long time, Murom was the easternmost outpost of Rus', located at the crossroads of trade routes between Russia and Bulgaria. Over time, the city of Murom acquired great importance as a trade center and from 1054 became the possession of the Chernigov princes, who turned Murom into the center of the Murom-Ryazan principality.

1. View of the Kazan Gate Church and bell tower.
2. Fragment of the bell tower of the Kazan Gate Church

In 1392, the son of Dmitry Donskoy, Vasily I, annexed the Murom principality to the Moscow principality along with Nizhny Novgorod, Vologda, Meshchera, Tarusa. Murom squads fought on the Kulikovo Field, besieged Kazan, and participated in the liberation of Moscow from the Poles. Ivan the Terrible and Peter I visited Murom, A.S. Pushkin and A.S. Griboyedov, A.N. Radishchev and N.A. Nekrasov, I.A. Krylov and R.G. Derzhavin came. N.O. Hannibal, the mother of the great Russian poet A.S. Pushkin, was born on Murom soil.

Holy Trinity Convent

here rest the relics of the holy faithful Prince Peter and Princess Fevronia...
The saints were canonized at a church council in 1547. With their prayers they bring down heavenly blessings on those entering into marriage.
The day of remembrance of the holy couple is set on July 8.
The Holy Trinity Convent was closed in 1933. Its ensemble was considered an architectural monument and was under state protection. The revival of the monastery began in 1991.

on the territory of the Holy Trinity Convent

Sights of Murom: Old Kozmodemyanskaya Church (XVI century), Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral (XVI century), Trinity, Blagoveshchensky and Spassky monasteries (XVII century), Vvedenskaya and Resurrection churches (XVII century); St. Nicholas Embankment Church, where the relics of Saint Righteous Juliana Lazarevskaya lie; Church of Kozma and Damian on the embankment on the road to the village. Karacharovo - the birthplace of the epic hero Ilya Muromets and other architectural monuments of Murom of the 17th-19th centuries, which made it one of the most beautiful cities of the “Golden Ring” of Russia.

Annunciation Monastery

According to legend, the Annunciation Monastery is located on the site of a wooden church “at the court” of Prince Constantine, who baptized Murom. The monastery was founded in the 16th century by order of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. A small crown above the cross of the central dome of the Annunciation Cathedral reminds us of this. This temple was built in the middle of the 16th century, but has survived to this day in a greatly altered form.

Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery

Spassky Monastery is one of the oldest buildings on Murom land. Wooden buildings of the monastery existed from the 10th-11th centuries, and the first written mention of the monastery dates back to 1096. The monastery is located on the high left bank of the Oka, and the domes of its cathedrals are visible from afar to city guests arriving in Murom from the river.

Chapel of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and Elijah the Prophet in the Spassky Monastery. 1890

Spassky Monastery. Icon of Kazan

Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery Peter and Fevronia

prayer

Nikolo-Embankment Church

The golden domes of the Nikolo-Embankment Church, standing almost at the water's edge, certainly attract the attention of tourists and guests of the city of Murom. The view of the church opens not only from Oka, but also from the alleys of the city Oka Park. The temple is also called “Nikola Wet”, since during a flood the river water reaches almost to its walls.

Church St. Sergius Radonezh

Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh (1715). was moved to the territory of the Holy Trinity Convent in 1975 from the village of Krasnoye, Melenkovsky district.

Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God with a bell tower

Sergius Church. 1715

ON THE STREETS OF THE CITY OF MUROM...

House of Culture named after the 1100th anniversary of Murom

On July 31, 2013 at 14.00 in Murom, a solemn opening ceremony of the monument to the outstanding inventor, “father of television” Vladimir Kozmich Zvorykin (1889-1982) took place near the walls home scientist (Pervomaiskaya st., 4)

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Rozhdestvenskaya (Lenina) street

Inscription on the tablet: According to legend, Ilya Muromets uprooted such oak trees, threw them into the Oka River and changed the river bed. This oak is about 300 years old. He grew up during the time of Ivan the Terrible, and then lay in the Oka for another 300 years. Its diameter is about 1.5 meters. The girth is about 4.6 meters. In 2002, the oak was raised by Murom river workers from the bottom of the Oka River on the Spassky rift, 197 kilometers from the mouth.

Dawn over Murom...pier on the Ob River

Moskovskaya street

But I am more fascinated by the Murom expanses....

Murom is an ancient city located on the banks of the Oka River. It is located 318 km from Moscow And 126 km from Vladimir. The population of Murom is about 112 thousand people They proudly call themselves Murovites. Get to Murom You can go by train, by train, by car. In the spring and early summer, while the Oka remains full of water, river cruises on double-decker ships take place here. Murom is known as homeland of the epic hero Ilya Muromets, the fate of Orthodox saints - patrons of marriage - is connected with it. St. lived, reigned and rested here. noble princes Peter and Fevronia. July 8, when he remembers them Orthodox Church, the Day of Family, Love and Fidelity has been established. Recently, in the middle of summer (8.07), a small ancient town becomes the center of all-Russian celebrations. It is crowded and unusually noisy. On other days, life in Murom flows at a measured pace, which creates a special atmosphere.

Main attractions of the city of Murom

The main attractions of Murom are concentrated on the central streets. Be sure to visit:

• Holy Trinity Convent. It was founded in 1643. Here the faithful Peter and Fevronia, revered on the land of Murom and throughout Russia, found rest. Picturesque flower beds and cozy design of the area will bring many pleasant moments.
• Annunciation Monastery. It is located a few steps from the Trinity Monastery. According to legend, it was founded by Tsar Ivan the Terrible in honor of the victory won in Kazan. The road from the two monasteries leads to Peasant Square (previously called Konna, the reason for the horse trade).
• Travelers will find another monument at the entrance to the wedding palace. This is a monument in honor of local saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom. But, as they say, he is not an acquired taste. ABOUT last days will tell the life of the blessed princely family bas-relief near the Transfiguration Monastery.
• Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery(Lakina Street, 1a) is also associated with the Murom Saints. In it, at the end of his days, Prince Peter accepted the schema with the name David. Original architectural ensemble, dating from the 16th century. Today it is the largest and oldest monastery in Murom. Main shrines: icon Mother of God"Quick to Hear", icon of Seraphim of Sarov And sculpture of St. Ilya Muromets with a piece of his relics.

In 2012, a monument to the patrons of marriage was erected in a central place. If you look closely, you can see a rabbit. He hid at the feet of the holy couple. All the tourists rub his nose. According to legend, this brings happiness to the family.

Ilya Muromets is known as the hero of Russian epics, but this is a very real person who lived. The Murom land is saturated with places dedicated to the famous fellow countryman. Microdistrict Karacharovo - local residents claim that this is the birthplace of the Russian knight. In memory of his canonization (in 1643), a cross was erected in the village. Was brought from Kyiv icon of Ilya Muromets- it is stored in churches of Guria, Samon and Aviva. A spring flows under the mountain, formed, according to legend, by the first gallop of a heroic horse. There is a bathhouse and a chapel nearby. At the entrance to Murom from the direction of Vladimir, an epic stone was installed. The image of the hero is considered an unspoken symbol of the city. The monument indicates the date of foundation of the “ancient city of Murom”. In Oksky Park, since 1999, a monument to the epic hero has risen above the river. The place was not chosen by chance. It is installed exactly where the border of Russian lands once was.

Places for walking

After taking impressive photos, it’s worth taking a walk along the picturesque embankment. The high bank creates a panoramic view of the Muromsky Bridge. Technical know-how connects rich history and modern life. A short walk will lead to Oksky Park, the oldest in Russia. It was broken on the site of a wooden Kremlin, which was once dismantled as unnecessary. The amusement park is designed for visitors of all ages; I especially want to note Ferris wheel. It offers an excellent perspective on the historical center of the city. Those who appreciate architecture should simply walk along the streets of Murom, enjoy the views of “houses with a mezzanine,” wander around the central square of the 110th anniversary of Murom, and sit on a bench in Ermakov Square. Mayor Alexey Vasilievich Ermakov He spent his own money on the development of the city - a monument was erected in his memory. Reminds me of his activities Water tower- a symbol of technological progress, - which laid the foundation for the local water supply system. Interesting and monument to Vladimir Zvorykin, the “father” of Russian television, near the museum building on Pervomaiskaya Street, 4. By the way, Murom Historical and Art Museum housed in several buildings. The fund contains more than 90,000 exhibits. Interactive programs have been developed for tourists and guide services are offered. And finally, about something delicious. Installed near the city market monument to kalach. It is Murom that is considered the birthplace of the bread delicacy. Kalach is featured on the city coat of arms. After taking a photo as a souvenir, you can taste the Murom kalach. Murom is an ancient, multifaceted city with a rich history, providing rich opportunities for tourist excursions. The route depends on your interests. Obviously, one day will not be enough to enjoy the sights of Murom.

Video about Murom

Watch these videos as a guide to get to know the city of Murom better.

Film guide to the sights of Murom from the series “Moscow and the Surroundings. Moore"

A very detailed video guide to Murom! We recommend viewing.

Film about Murom from the series City walks with Pavel Lyubimtsev

Film about the history of Murom from the series Small Golden Ring

Good movie about ancient history center of Murom land.

Photos of temples and monasteries and other attractions of Murom

...Karacharovo is the birthplace of Ilya Muromets and this is a village next to Murom, which almost merges with the city. Later it turned out that Karacharovo is one long, very long village street called Priokskaya.
...Cutting through herds of pigs, in clouds of dust, in front of the amazed local residents, who, at the sight of our decent foreign car struggling with their potholes, somehow looked at us with pity and understanding. You could read from their faces: “What, the fools took the bait?”
...The husband, negotiating a steep, rutted uphill climb in the wake of a leisurely cow, cheerfully wagging its tail right in front of our hood and almost giving out the freshest organic matter on it, ground his teeth and tried to send this house of Ilya Muromets into a star.

...This is an ordinary village house in which people live, children are busy at the porch, someone is digging a garden, and a tired woman, seeing our car, slammed the open windows with a roar - she clearly realized that we were the next ones, boring them worse than a bitter radish, curious tourists.

Karacharovo- this is the birthplace of Ilya Muromets and this is a village next to Murom, which almost merges with the city. But don't delude yourself. Although it is considered to be within the boundaries of the city, it is not within walking distance, but only by car, and even then, the absence of any signs turns the road to it into a labyrinth, and the half hour of time allotted for inspection stretches to one and a half, as minimum.

Along Lenin Street, without taking our eyes off the map, we drove out onto the bridge over the railway towards Karacharovskoe Highway. A survey of local residents with the question “how to get to the village” did not bring any particular results. This is not surprising; it’s really difficult to explain how to drive there. In general, adjusting the direction of our movement with almost every second person we met, we finally taxied onto a steep road down the hill to the river. We've arrived. It turned out that Karacharovo is a village on the very bank of the Oka, and is a long, very long village street called Priokskaya. The road along it is also rural, which means cow pats, bumps on bumps and dust in a column. The house of Ilya Muromets, or rather his modern descendants - the Gushchin family - №279 . Let me explain, for those who have not yet understood everything - given how the houses are usually located (even and odd on different sides), you can quickly calculate that you need to drive through ~140 (!) houses to get to it.

My husband immediately appreciated the capabilities of our trade wind and the prospect of moving along this “road,” but I sang with the sweet-voiced Sirin bird and meanly lured me to the house, promising mountains of gold: “No, just think, when will we see the house of Ilya Muromets again, this is a Russian hero, maybe you forgot about the Smorodina River, about the Nightingale the Robber, about heroic gallops?!”... The husband fell for it, and then it was too late (impossible) to turn around. So, cutting through herds of pigs, in clouds of dust, in front of the amazed local residents, who, at the sight of our decent foreign car struggling with their potholes, somehow looked at us with pity and understanding. You could read from their faces: “What, the fools took the bait?” My husband, negotiating a steep, rutted uphill climb following a leisurely cow, cheerfully waving its tail right in front of our hood and almost spewing the freshest organic matter onto it, ground his teeth and tried to send this house of Ilya Muromets into a star. I had already become quiet, pressed my head into my shoulders and scrolled through in my head options for escaping fair subsequent retribution.

We finally made it to this house. Indeed, we are Cheburashka fools. This is an ordinary village house in which people live, children are fiddling around the porch, someone is digging a garden, and a tired woman, seeing our car, slammed the open windows with a roar - she clearly realized that we were the next ones, boring them worse than a bitter radish, inquisitive tourists. We didn't even stop. It would look stupid. Like, “Hello, weren’t you expecting us?” The street is narrow, old people are sitting on the rubble, everyone is watching - their active village life is going on. We just took a photo of the sign with the inscription “Here, according to legend, was the house where the hero Ilya Muromets was born” from the car window. We floundered to the end of the village, somehow turned around, scaring the chickens, and rattled back past the same 140 houses.

We left the village. My husband stopped the car on a gorgeous sandbank. Turned off the ignition. I rushed around in the cabin, like Panikovsky and the daughter of Lieutenant Schmidt, because I realized that now they would start beating me. With your feet. I had already brought tears to my eyes to suppress pity. But my husband restrainedly said that the question of trust in women is now closed for him, and that now, as punishment, I will wash the car of everything stuck in the Oka. I'm happier. We walked along the light sand towards the inviting water.

The village of Karacharovo is located right on the Oka River

People are fishing

Resting

Washing cars

The ships are coming

The trains don’t whistle, but the picture before my eyes is simply luxurious: Oka, Sky

In my defense, I managed to tell my husband that Ilya Muromets is a mysterious character. It is real, and it is figurative, epic. Some believe that Ilya is Finno-Ugric, due to the consonance of his name with the Finnish Kalevala hero, the blacksmith Ilmarinen.

A real real hero may have really lived here in the village of Karacharovo near Murom. He accomplished feats with his comrades - Dobrynya Nikitich, Alyosha Popovich, Danube Ivanovich, Churila Plenkovich, Duke Stepanovich and others. Then he became a monk at the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. Based on his relics preserved in the Kyiv caves, an approximate portrait was drawn up: a tall, strong, wide man, with a large chest, well-developed shoulders, powerful arms and legs. They used to say about these people: “not well cut, tightly built.” And, indeed, from birth left leg his right one was shorter, which is why he sat “on the stove for 30 years and 3 years.” It is surprising that this man - no longer a hero, but a monk - was killed by a dagger in the back. According to legend, this was the revenge of his illegitimate son for his mother’s tears.

In ancient Russian epics about the hero, his image is a collective one. Through the allegory characteristic of ancient Russian songs, Ilya Muromets is the incarnation of the Vedic god Perun - the thunderer, warrior and heavenly blacksmith (among the Orthodox, Ilya the Prophet is superimposed on this name). By the way, Tsar Ivan the Terrible scheduled his performance in Kazan on Perunov (Ilya’s day) - August 2, as if asking for help and intercession from the heavenly warrior god to fight the dark forces. And the day of the real hero, Saint Ilya of Murom, is celebrated in Orthodoxy on January 1.

Academician Likhachev said that ancient Russian literature did not know fictional characters or plots. Therefore, above the figurative overtones in the legends that the hero Ilya changed the course of the Oka River, leaving oak trees in it, and the name of the village arose because at this place his horse “turned around” from the nightingale’s whistle, i.e. sat down on his hind legs, historians are probably seriously thinking about it. This also means that in place of the jumps, i.e. the blows of the hooves of the same horse, Ilya Muromets, clogged the springs from which the locals fetch water - this is also a “fact”. (They are located on the slope under the Trinity Village Church).

I don't agree with the academician. Why such a straightforward conclusion? What about imaginative thinking? Any hero of any Russian fairy tale/epic and any of their words and actions is a concentrate of centuries-old folk wisdom. Our great-grandfathers left us their legacy, presented not in a highly intelligent presentation, but by formatting it in the form of children's fairy tales. It couldn't be simpler. They probably foresaw that although our time is “cosmically-advanced-computer-n-ano-technological,” we need to present wisdom more simply, otherwise it won’t reach us through the “darkness of centuries.” And, indeed, many people don’t get it. Even children are now closer to some Robot Uri than to Ivan Tsarevich with the Gray Wolf and the Frog Princess. And to think about the meaning of fairy tales - no matter what we do, what are we like, we should crunch on chips, watch TV and load up shooters. And fairy tales are for fools - we are smart.

Stories about a trip to Murom and Diveevo

Road to Karacharovo. Photographer: Vyacheslav Zaikin.

According to written sources, the village of Karacharovo has been known since the 17th century. It belonged to the Cherkasy princes, then the Sheremetevs, then passed into the Razumovsky family. With the dowry of her daughter, Ekaterina Alekseevna Razumovskaya, Karacharovo went to the Minister of Public Education, Count S.S. Uvarov.

Among the architectural monuments in their estate “Red Mountain” that have survived today are: the manor house, two outbuildings, outbuildings and a linden alley. Archaeological spouses Alexey Sergeevich and Praskovya Sergeevna Uvarov made a great contribution to the development of Russian science and paid great attention to the protection of historical and cultural monuments. In the 20th century, with the rapid growth of Murom, the city limits reached the borders of the village, and since the 1960s it has been administratively part of the city as one of its districts.

Cross in memory of Ilya Muromets in Karacharovo. Photographer: Vyacheslav Zaikin.

Chapel at the spring of Ilya Muromets. Photographer: Vyacheslav Zaikin.

The village has preserved sights associated with the name of its most famous native - the hero Ilya Muromets. Local legends say that after the healing, the hero went to help the priest uproot stumps before plowing the field, pulled them out of the ground with his hands and threw them from the high Karacharov hills directly into the Oka. There were so many stumps that a large island even appeared in the river flow.

The view of it still opens from Trinity Church(Krasina St.). Built in stone in 1828, it stands on the site of the old wooden Trinity Church, into the foundation of which the first logs, as local legend says, were laid by the holy hero himself. Now the temple is dilapidated, only its bell tower has been restored, inside of which there is a chapel. It contains an icon of St. Elijah of Murom with a particle of his relics, brought from the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. Another icon of the Saint with a particle of his relics is located in the church of Saints Guria, Samon and Aviv, built in 1845, located nearby in the village cemetery.

Karacharovo. Temple of Guria, Samon and Aviv. Photographer: Vyacheslav Zaikin.

The road goes down to the Oka River past the Trinity Church, beautifully bending around a high hill. On the left side of it below there is a wooden chapel and a bathhouse at the holy Ilyinsky spring.

It is believed that this key was hammered by the impact of the hooves of the heroic horse Burushka on the ground. There are many such springs along the banks of the Oka, sometimes they are also called “skoks” in memory of their wonderful origin.