The mystery of the flooded bell tower (10 photos) Bashny.Net

Surreal image. It can not be. How?
However, it has.



The 180-km distance from Moscow to Yaroslavl and Dmitrovsky highway on the bank of the Volga River is a small town Kalyazin. By car it takes hours 3 - 3, 5. Like many provincial cities of Russia, the history of this city of his birth connects with the creation of a fortress-monastery, around which the settlement grew, and in the subsequent time on opposite sides of the river emerged two more settlements, united in 1775 of each other and received by the decree of Empress Catherine II; city ​​status. In 1800 there was built the bell tower at St. Nicholas Cathedral. The height of the bell tower was 74, 5 m.

In 1939-40 with the creation of the Uglich Reservoir old Kalyazin appeared in the flood zone; Cathedral was disassembled, and the bell tower partially under water. Later, the bell tower was built around an artificial island with a mooring for boats. Currently flooded bell tower has become a landmark of the city and attracts many tourists.



All the buildings in the flood zone had to be either destroyed or transferred to the flood-free location. Move the stone cathedral is impossible and, like all stone buildings, began to demolish. However, one of the architects of enthusiasts stood in the way of breasts of breakers, even went to Moscow, but persuaded to leave the church bell tower as a lighthouse, because at this point, Volga makes a sharp turn, almost at an acute angle. There are, however, a version that the belfry was not blown up because they simply do not have time to spring floods, but it does not hold water, because the controlled demolition of the omnipotent NKVD, not blown up with this year, would be blown up next. Just untenable version of a shortage of explosives, for the same reason.



Another thing - the bell that hung on the upper tier of the bell tower. It had to be removed. All we have seen newsreels where the bell is pushed through the arched doorway any bell tower, and he falls, crashing to the ground. The same should happen in Kalyazin. The bell was removed from the suspension, and lowered to the logs, stacked in the doorway arches. And it turned out that a bell does not pass this aperture, not above, not what it is wider. Because there was already the highest instructed not to blow up the bell tower floor did not endure, and an arched doorway rastёsyvat long (a spring flooding is not far off), it was necessary to lower the bell tier below where the aperture wider. When lowering the temporary suspension could not stand, and the bell fell on prepared joists below. Multi-ton (501 pud) Mahina easy to brake them, like all the floors of the lower tiers. It so happened that the bell fell flat and fast, pausing on each slab, and in the end, became the basement vault on the bell tower, which is thought and thought, and break too. From the open gate leaves of the lower tier clubs issued a brick dust, some paper, wood chips, there was a roar, the earth trembled. As a result, Bell found himself in a deep basement.

It is clear that for such an eventuality comrades were not ready. Everything has been prepared to ensure that the lower the bell, instead of raising it. It was clear that to simply not handle the flood, and Bell just gave up. By early summer, when the flood was asleep, it was found that the basement flooded with water. And the bell again waved his hand for a long time now (it would seem - all, but - no). War to the beginning of the war the level of the reservoir has reached the design level, and the bell tower was the furthest from the coast by a good 200 meters. The base of the bell tower took a seven-meter layer of water, almost one and a half stories. A white needle in the middle of blue waves, it's beautiful, but the locals are not happy, for them, those who stayed in Kalyazin, and he moved to another city, the bell tower became a symbol of the murder of the town. And they do not complain about it. Except, of course, the ubiquitous boys that with the opening of the bathing season immediately swam to the bell tower. They brought the first hearing that bell, which lies in the flooded basement of the bell tower, is buzzing. Tales of that, said the adults, this can not be. However, it can. In the moonlight, in early June 1941, the bell struck for the first time. The following night, the city has not slept. Bell began to beat. Not often, every few minutes, but until the morning.



The old man said that the alarm is that - to the war. And on the night of June 22, the bell already beat all night frequently and strongly. A low rumble echoed waters for many kilometers, alarm heard in all coastal villages, even some Kashincev (from Kalyazin to Kashin in a straight line about 20 kilometers) said that they had heard it. The news of the outbreak of the war all is already perceived as an expected event ...

Since June the bell fell silent like, and at the beginning of winter, right out of the ice polo, again sounded alarm ... It was just before the start of the counter-offensive near Moscow. Kalyazintsy noticed that the bell starts to beat before the big battle before the battle of Stalingrad, Kursk before. At the end of April 45th calling for a long time, foreshadowing the battle for Berlin.

The bell tower among water - it's beautiful and sad. For once there were streets and squares seething life. Kalyazin collapsed. Expand as a result of the construction of the Uglich HPP estuary Żabno detached from the main part of the city across the river Svistuhu, barely visible in the distance. The third part of Kalyazin - one that surrounded the ancient monastery, disappeared under the water.

And earlier, when Kalyazin not yet been flooded, St. Nicholas Cathedral looked like: