Kitezh-a city that disappeared from the face of the earth, undefeated and mysterious, opening its gates to the righteous and calling to the truth - has been featured in oral folk art, scientific research, literature and art for many centuries. For a number of generations of scientists and writers, artists and musicians, the image of the legendary city, destroyed, but not submitted to the enemy, remained a symbol of heroism and patriotism and was reflected in the prose of P. I. Melnikov-Pechersky, V. G. Korolenko, M. M. Prishvin, A.M. Gorky, K. A. Fedin, poetry of A. A. Navrotsky, S. M. Music by S. N. Vasilenko, N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, paintings by N. K. Roerich and A. M. Vasnetsov, and others. Folk tradition connects the location of the invisible city of Kitezh with Lake Baikal. Svetloyar, located in the Nizhny Novgorod Volga region (now Semenovsky district of the Gorky region), about 100 km from ancient Gorodets. Almost circular in plan, the lake has always attracted attention for its unusual natural properties. For a long time, its unique depth for the low-lying Trans-Volga region (up to 30 m) and the purity of clear water, the level of which is constant at any time of the year, have been noted. There is a legend that the lake is connected by a channel with the Volga, from where unprecedented monsters fall into it. Stories are being spread about the ringing of bells, which in calm weather comes from under the water. There is information that the local landowner wanted to drain the water from the lake, but it did not flow. Rumor attributes healing properties to this water, Local beliefs forbid swimming in Svetloyar, and you can only swim on it in dugout boats. As for Kitezh, according to one version, it is located at the bottom of the lake, according to another, it stands invisible on the shore, and according to the third, it is hidden under the coastal hills .1At the end of the 18th century, the "Book of Glagol - letopisets" ("Kitezhsky Letopisets") was created-a w ... Читать далее