Nature reserve museum Divnogorye (, ''Muzej-zapovednik Divnogor'e'') is a

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

and

open-air museum An open-air museum is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts outdoors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is "the unconfined atmosphere ... outside buildings" ...

in Liskinsky District,

Voronezh Oblast Voronezh Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Voronezh. Its population was 2,308,792 as of the Russian Census (2021), 20 ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. It is located 10 km to the west of Liski, the administrative center of the Liskinsky District. It is situated on the right bank of the

Don River The Don () is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its basin is betwee ...

, 80 km to the south of

Voronezh Voronezh ( ; , ) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects wes ...

, not far from

khutor A khutor ( ; rus, хутор, p=ˈxutər) or khutir (, ) is a type of rural locality in some countries of Eastern Europe; in the past the term mostly referred to a single- homestead settlement.Voronezh Oblast Voronezh Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Voronezh. Its population was 2,308,792 as of the Russian Census (2021), 20 ...

Description

Divnogorye Nature reserve museum occupies of

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

outcrops. Maximum altitude above sea level is 181 m or 103 m relative to the mouth of the Tikhaya Sosna River at the confluence with Don River (which flows at the foot of the plateau). Due to the rather significant difference in altitude between the plateau and the floodplain of the Don and Tikhaya Sosna rivers, its microclimate differs significantly from its surrounding lowlands. The plateau quickly heats up; rising streams of hot air drive away the emerging clouds toward the low floodplain lands. As a result, annual rainfall in the region (an average of 480 mm per year) over the plateau is reduced by a factor of 1.5–2. The summer period is especially arid. This inhibits the process of water erosion, and also reduces the likelihood of karst dips. The topsoil layer consists of 15–20% of limestone. Below there is a layer of pure limestone. The top layer undergoes wind erosion (weathering). Despite rather steep slopes, the plateau has undergone significant anthropogenic changes: in 1860 some of it was blown up using

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...

for laying a railway. In addition, shepherds and

vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The t ...

caused significant damage.

Etymology

Divnogorye () comes from two Russian words ''Дивная гора''. Local chalk pillars were called "divy" (singular: divo) by the local population; divo means miracle. The first written evidence is the records of deacon Ignatius Smolyanin, who accompanied Metropolitan Pimen in 1389: "We sailed to the

Tikhaya Sosna Tikhaya Sosna () is a river in Belgorod and Voronezh oblasts of Russia. It is a right tributary of the river Don. It is long, with a drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a singl ...

and saw pillars fwhite stone, wonderfully and beautifully standing next to ach other like small, white and very bright stacks, above the Sosna river" («приплыхом к Тихой Сосне и видехом столпы камень белы, дивно ж и красно стоят рядом, яко стози малы, белы и светлы зело, над рекой над Сосною»).

Flora and fauna

The territory of Divnogorye is located on the northern outskirts

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the tropical and subtropica ...

zone and differs significantly from the

forest steppe A forest steppe is a temperate-climate ecotone and habitat type composed of grassland interspersed with areas of woodland or forest. Locations Forest steppe primarily occurs in a belt of forest steppes across northern Eurasia from the easter ...

zone of Voronezh. For a long time the plateau and its slopes were used for sheep farming which lead to significant vegetation degradation. But after cessation of grazing and human presence regulation, the steppe vegetation was restored in its original form. More than 250 species of

xerophytic A xerophyte () is a species of plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water. Examples of xerophytes include cactus, cacti, pineapple and some gymnosperm plants. The morphology (biology), morphology and physiology ...

and petrophytic plants grows on the plateau such as: European feather grass, '' Salvia nutans'', limestone

thyme Thyme () is a culinary herb consisting of the dried aerial parts of some members of the genus ''Thymus (plant), Thymus'' of flowering plants in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are native to Eurasia and north Africa. Thymes have culinary, medici ...

, ''

Securigera varia ''Securigera varia'' (Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Coronilla varia''), commonly known as crownvetch or purple crown vetch, is a low-growing legume vine. It is native to Africa, Asia and Europe and is commonly used throughout the United States an ...

'', Eastern

Centaurea ''Centaurea'' () is a genus of over 700 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding ...

, ''

Ephedra distachya ''Ephedra distachya'' is a shrub in the family Ephedraceae that stands about 25 cm to 50 cm high. The shrub grows in many parts of the world, including southern and central Europe and western and central Asia. Its local names include '' ...

'', Schiveréckia podólica, ''

Clematis integrifolia ''Clematis integrifolia'' is a flowering vine of the genus ''Clematis''. Like many members of that genus, it is prized by gardeners for its showy flowers. ''C. integrifolia'' bears nodding, urn-shaped blue flowers in summer that are 1.5 inches ...

'', '' Pulsatilla pratensis'', '' Onosma simplicissima'', pygmy iris and '' Iris aphylla'', snowdrop anemone, ''

Adonis vernalis ''Adonis vernalis'', known variously as pheasant's eye, spring pheasant's eye, yellow pheasant's eye and false hellebore, is a perennial plant, perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It is found in dry meadows and steppe ...

''.

Great bustard The great bustard (''Otis tarda'') is a bird in the bustard family, and the only living member of the genus ''Otis (bird), Otis''. It breeds in open grasslands and farmland from northern Morocco, South Europe, South and Central Europe to temperat ...

and

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of pr ...

can be occasionally seen on the territory of the reserve. ''

Merops MEROPS is an online database for peptidases (also known as proteases, proteinases and proteolytic enzymes) and their inhibitors. The classification scheme for peptidases was published by Rawlings & Barrett in 1993, and that for protein inhibito ...

'' and

Eurasian eagle-owl The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl, a type of bird that resides in much of Eurasia. It is often just called the eagle-owl in Europe and Asia. It is one of the largest species of owl. Females can grow to a total le ...

are more common.

Hares Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The genu ...

and

foxes Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

are most common mammals.

Bats Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

live in the crevices. The entomological fauna is rich, among which the most common are:

bumblebees A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only Extant taxon, extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct r ...

dragonflies A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of dragonflies are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...

paper wasps Paper wasps are a type of social vespid wasps. The term is typically used to refer to members of the vespid subfamily Polistinae, though it often colloquially includes members of the subfamilies Vespinae (hornets and yellowjackets) and Stenoga ...

, '' Saga pedo'',

stag beetles Stag beetles comprise the family Lucanidae. It has about 1,200 species of beetles in four subfamilies.Smith, A.B.T. (2006). A review of the family-group names for the superfamily Scarabaeoidea (Coleoptera) with corrections to nomenclature and a c ...

, '' Lethrus'' beetles, swallowtail butterflies

Tourism

Divnogorye is the center of Orthodox

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

. On the territory of the museum and the immediate vicinity there are: cave churches of The Sicilian Icon of the Mother of God, St. John the Baptist and Divnogorsk-3 (XIX century), The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (XVII century), and the Mayatsk fortress (

Khazar The Khazars ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a nomadic Turkic people who, in the late 6th century CE, established a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia, southern Ukraine, Crimea, an ...

, IX-X centuries) and

necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...

and Mayatsk pottery complex (Khazar, IX-X centuries), archaeological park. The nature reserve museum is accessible for free, there is a wide range of excursion programs for organized tourist groups. There is a camping ground and a hotel next to the museum. Excursion trails and attractions on the territory of the museum are marked with information signs and supplied with tourist information. The territory of the museum is guarded.

Gallery

Image:Дивногорская степь.jpg, Typical view of

in Divnogorye Image:Вход в церковь Сицилийской иконы Божьей Матери.JPG, Entrance to cave church of the Sicilian Icon of the Mother of God Image:Kreidefelsen.jpg, Greater Divy Image:Divnogorje in Russia.JPG, View from hills onto Greater Divy Image:Собор Успения Пресвятой Богородицы и Церковь Иконы Божьей Матери Сицилийской.jpg, Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary viewed from Lesser Divy Image:Divnogorye 2.jpg, Divnogorye

canyon A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency t ...

in autumn Image:Археологический парк.jpg, Archeological park Image:Информация для туристов в Дивногорье.jpg, Example of information board for tourists Image:DSC0107 - DSC0111.tif, Divnogorye, Don river view from Mayatsk fortress Image:Pilgrims in Divnogorye, Voronezh oblast, Russia, End of 19th age.jpg, Orthodox pilgrims in Divnogorye, end of 19th century

References

External links

Divnogorye
rufact.org
Official website of the nature reserve museum Divnogorye
* {{commonscat-inline, Divnogorye

Objects of cultural heritage of Russia of federal significance Open-air museums in Russia Buildings and structures in Voronezh Oblast Museums-Reserves of Russia