Finnish heritage
Finnish heritage is easily found in the Russian Orthodox Island of Valaam. The name of the island (also known by the Finnish name ‘Valamo’) means ‘high mountain’ in Finnish. The island belonged to Finland for a long time, which, in turn, was part of Russia before the 1917 revolution. The island returned to its ‘home harbour’ together with the Karelian Isthmus in 1940 only, after the Soviet-Finnish war. It returned without the monks who had to escape from the Soviet regime to Finland where they founded the New Valaam Monastery.
Valaam is a real pearl of the Karelian nature - northern, a little harsh, even wild, but so enchanting, inspiring and pristine. And at the same time, quite different from the central part of Russia.
Many artists, composers and writers came to Valaam to draw inspiration - there is really a lot to draw here. The beauty of the local nature fascinated Shishkin, Kuindzhi, Roerich who depicted Valaam as a mysterious, inaccessible, holy island.
Russian Athos
Those who come to the island admire its forested rocks, pine groves, hills, picturesque bays, lakes and numerous straits. After all, Valaam is the name of the largest island as well as of the entire archipelago of fifty small islands adjacent to it, there are churches, chapels and monasteries on some of them.
Valaam is known primarily thanks to the ancient Savior-Transfiguration Cathedral and monastery, which was founded at the time of the Christianization of Rus. Moreover, according to a legend, the St. Andrew the First-Called who visited these places gave his blessing for the construction of the holy monastery on the island.
The monks Sergius and German sent to Valaam by the Novgorod episcopate were the founders of the monastery. The exact time of its construction is unknown, but they say that at the end of the 10th century the monastery was already on the island.
Today, Valaam is a kind of ‘Northern Athos’, a place of worship and religious pilgrimage. But unlike Athos, there are no gender restrictions to visit it and no special permission is required. Valaam welcomes everyone both for pilgrimage, and for travelling.
Most of those who come here, of course, are pilgrims, but even those who are primarily interested in educational or ecological tourism can visit the monastery, churches, see miraculous icons, touch the holy relics, talk to the priests - they are somehow surprisingly candid and good in Valaam, and their sermons are particularly heartfelt and sincere.
By the way, Valaam has always attracted the attention of the most distinguished pilgrims. Alexander I repeatedly visited the island, arriving as a regular traveller, without escort or ceremony. Peter the Great and Elizabeth allocated money to restore the monastery and temples destroyed by the Swedes and damaged by fires.
Erased page
The Russian tsars not only visited the island for prayer, but also considered Valaam a suitable place for the ‘wrong-headed’ who were sent here to do penance for their sins and be headed off from the wrong way.
After the Great Patriotic War, a nursing home for the disabled was set up at the monastery. The spavined people who were war-stricken and whose souls were hurt by the war were perforce brought to the island, as they say, in a ‘voluntary-compulsory’ manner. Evgeny Kuznetsov who worked as a tour guide in Valaam for many years tells about this in his Valaam Notes. In 1984, the home for the disabled was closed, and the page associated with its existence on the island was practically erased from the Valaam’s history. The award books and descriptions of burial places disappeared and many graves of veterans were lost.
The memorial cross erected by the fraternity at the Abbots cemetery with the names of the disabled soldiers who were particularly seriously injured reminds of this page in the history.
Rising from the ashes
Valaam is an example of how faith and hope help put on the new man, give a person a sense of purpose - to his life and the world around him. The monastery and temples were destroyed many times due to wars and shelling, they burnt because of fires and the people were forced to leave the island that fell into decline, and then revived each time. Today, the historical sites have been restored on the Valaam island, and new churches have also been built, good conditions have been created for pilgrims and tourists visiting the island.
It is best to come here during a warm period - from May to September - for at least a few days to sink in the unique atmosphere of Valaam. Hiking around the island remains the most exciting, and those who make a short visit to the island can use the golf cars.
The pilgrims can even work at the monastery - as doing the work of penance - especially since the economic life is in full swing in Valaam at the agricultural production units, and a wide variety of workshops function here. And, of course, you should taste local, monastic, delicious dairy products, cheese, vegetables and smoked fish - there is a farm and a trout-farm in Valaam.
An additional bonus is a visit to the Valaam Gardens where apple, pear, plum trees and even grapes grow. They are compared to the Garden of Eden, however, in contrast to it, everything here is completely hand-made, and not only seedlings, but also black soil were brought from the mainland - to satisfy hunger and give inspiration to those who need it.
