Where? Routes of travelings...

On board our ship you can take a cruise to any part of Lake Onega and enjoy the Nothern landscapes, clear water and fresh air. The most popular routs:

to the Isle of Kizhi - a preserve of old Russian wooden architecture;
to the Besov Nos peninsula - "the ancient history on the rocks" - rock drawings of pristine people (petroglyphs);
to the Murom Monastery

Lake Onega, (Old Rus.: Onego) is located in the North-West of the USSR's European part. Its area is 9.72 thous. square kilometers (including islands). Depths - up to 127 m. After construction the Upper-Svir hydroelectric powerplant its surface has increased to 9.95 square kilometers. Inflowing rivers are the Vytegra, the Vodla, etc. Outflowing - only the Svir. The Lake is connected to the White Sea with the White Sea-Baltic Canal. Fishery. On the Onega shore stand the towns of Petrozavodsk, Kondopoga, etc. The "Kizhi Museum" is on a small island.

("The Soviet Encyclopedical Dictionary", 1983)

Kizhi

Kizhi is an island on Lake Onega, Karelia. The complex of wooden architecture of the Kizhi "Pogost" (administrative unit) - built in XVIII-XIX cc. The picturesque outlines of the 22-cupola Transfiguration Church (1714), 9-cupola Intercession Church (1764) and the pyramid-shaped Belfry (1874) form an ensemble of rare beauty. The St.Lazar Church of the Murom Monastery (XIV c.), living and household structures of XVII-beg. XIX cc. have been moved to Kizhi. Museum resrevate of local wooden architecture and ethnography of Karelia.

("The Soviet Encyclopedical Dictionary", 1983)

In olden times on a small woodless and almost barren isle of Kizhi on Lake Onega there was a big settlement which was named "The Spassky Kizhsky Pogost" in the handwritten books of the city of Novgorod. "Kizhsky" - from the name of the island, "Spassky" (Saviour) - from the Church of Saviour that was then located there.

The mere word "the pogost" renders the significance of the place. The word was used to denote not only a rather large administrative and territorial unit comprising several minor units ("volosty") with many big and small villages including tiny setterments ("vystavky" and "potchinky") on the neighbouring islands but also the most densely populated place being the main administrative center. The officials of both secular and religious powers lived here, a garrison of Riflemen ("streltsy") had quarters on the "pogost", meetings of people, fairs, religious and other festivities also took place here.

Hundreds of peasant from the adjacent islands and even from the mainland came here by boats and crowded the spacious guesthouse, filled in the churches' refectories, assembled on the porches, gathered in a lot of small shops and pubs, invaded the numerous inns. There were magistrates and courts, workshops of craftsmen, barns and warehouses, churches and schools - in short, the whole spiritual, cultural, economic and political life of the district was concentrated on the "pogost".

Nowadays a historical , architectural and nature museum reserve has been created on the island, where churches, chapels, peasants' houses, mills have been brought from different settlements of Karelia. The main places of interest are the 22-cupola Transfiguration Church (1714), the 9 cupola Intercession Church (1764) and the pyramid-domed Belfry. The objects of Russioan wooden architecture make a great view enjoyable from any point. The nature of the North unspoilt by the wealths of civilization gives a pecular tint to the open-air museum.

The Murom Monastery

In Karelia there are numerous old churches, cathedrals, chapels, cloisters and monasteries which are well preserved up to the present time. The Murom Monastery lies on a small island in the Eastern part of Lake Onega. The monastery was founded in 1350-1352. Completely destroyed after the revolution it is slowly being rebuilt now. From the Murom Monastery the St.Lazar Chuch (St.Lazar's Resurrection) built in XIV c. was moved to the isle of Kizhi. At present there are two churches within the walls of the monastery. The juridical status was returned to the monastery on April 16, 1992. Now the Murom Monastery is being gradually revived.

The Besov Nos (Demon's Nose)

The Besov Nos is situated on the Eastern coast of Lake Onega (in Pudozh district).There you can see numerous rock drawings that depict the life of people many thousands of years ago. The rock drawings (petroglyphs) arouse interest of not only the researchers in archaeology, history and culture, but also of common tourists. The petroglyphs are the unique remnants of the monumental art of the epoch of neolith (IV-II millennia B.C.)

Onega rock drawings,epoch of neolith, on the shore of Lake Onega. Episodes of hunting, rites; symbols of the heavenly bodies, animals, boats etc.

("The Soviet Encyclopedical Dictionary", 1983)

Rock drawings were always made close to the water level,where lichens did not grow and the rock surface was very clean and smooth. The petroglyphs were made by continuous dotting strikes of a quartz chisel over the whole space of the drawing and more seldom only over its contour. It is supposed that initially they were painted, but no traces of that have remained.