Konevets (; or ''Kononsaari'') is an approximately 8.5-km² island famous as the site of the Konevsky Monastery. It is located off the southwestern shore of

Lake Ladoga Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, in the vicinity of Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake located entirely in Europe, the second largest lake in Russia after Lake ...

near the village of Vladimirovka. The island is part of the

Priozersky District Priozersky District () is an administrativeOblast Law #32-oz and municipalLaw #50-oz district (raion), one of the administrative divisions of Leningrad Oblast, seventeen in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It is located in the northwest of the oblast and ...

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast (, ; ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). The oblast has an area of and a population of 2,000,997 (2021 Russian census, 2021 Census); up from 1,716,868 recorded in the 2010 Russian census ...

. The nearest town is Priozersk, which is located 40 km away from the island. The island of Valaam is 60 km away and

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

is 170 km away by boat. There is a

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

link from Vladimirovka that makes the 6.5-km trip in 40–50 minutes.

Geography and environment

The island is 6.5 km long and generally slightly less than 2 km wide. At its widest point near the monastery on the south end of the island, where it is approximately 3 km wide. The island is completely covered in sandy soil. The majority of the shore is covered in fine sand beaches. Topographically, the island is mostly level. The terrain of sandy heath slopes gently up from the shoreline towards the interior of the island, where two cliffs, Svyataya and Zmeinaya, rise up out of the ground to 34 m and 29 m above sea level respectively. The steep cliffs are the result of erosion when the water level in

was slightly less than 20 m above the current sea level, thus reaching the base of these cliffs, thousands of years before the

Neva The Neva ( , ; , ) is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast (historical region of Ingria) to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of , it is the fourth- ...

emerged. The majority of the island is uninhabited, and covered by coniferous trees. The

average annual temperature Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorol ...

is 3.5 °C. The island experiences a short summer season, from mid June to the latter half of August. July is the warmest month on the island. Winters can be quite harsh, and it is possible to walk to the island across the ice then.

History

There is no certain information about the island’s earliest stages. According to sources discussing the establishment of the monastery on the island, there was a rock named Kon-kamen or Horse Rock where the Karelians went to perform sacrifices. The rock is located approximately 1 km north-northeast of the monastery at the base of the west slope of Svyataya. The rock is a rounded granite slab that is 9 m long, 6 m wide, approximately 4 m high and 750 tonnes that resembles the head of a horse. An Orthodox

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

has been built on top of it. The Russian name for the island, and thus the current Finnish name, are derived from the name of the rock or perhaps the assumed original Karelian name Hevossaari (''Horse Island''). The island’s Orthodox Monastery of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was founded by Arseny of

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

in 1393. The Swedes captured the island and destroyed the monastery in 1577 and 1610. Sweden lost control of the island as a result of their being beaten by

Peter I of Russia Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V until 1696. From this year, ...

in the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

. The current buildings are mainly from the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. The island did not suffer any damage in the

Russian revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

, as it had become part of Independent Finland in 1917. In 1940, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the monks moved to the interior of Finland and joined the monks at the Orthodox Monastery of New Valamo. The island was ceded to the Soviet Union and the monastery fell into disrepair. From 1944 to 1990, the island was used by the military and thus closed to the public. In 1991, visitors were allowed back on the island and repairs and renovations to the monastery commenced. Approximately 20 monks now live on the island, which has become a popular place of pilgrimage.

Trivia

* A traditional Karelian folk song about the island is entitled '' Konevitsan kirkonkellot'' (The Church Bells of Konevets). The Finnish group Piirpauke recorded a version of this song in 1975. Heavy metal band Sentenced used the melody as intro on their 2002 album The Cold White Light.

External links

Official website of the monastery
(in Russia) {{coord, 60, 51, 40, N, 30, 36, 50, E, region:RU_type:isle_scale:100000, display=title Islands of Leningrad Oblast Karelian Isthmus Priozersky District

Geography and environment

History

Trivia

See also

External links