Solovki Islands (Part II). Architecture
More personal travel thoughts in continuation to part I.
Where to go on Solovki if you like architecture, history of Orthodox Christianity, and overviews.
Solovetsky Monastery
The main complex and the cornerstone of the whole place — a large fortified Orthodox monastery with a long history of development, burnings, and re-development.
The history of this stone monument is better told in the Wikipedia article. But the engineering solutions are marvelous by the standards of the time they were built, especially considering how difficult it is to build in the northern regions and on islands. There was an almost infinite amount of drinkable water, which was also used as a source of energy (a water mill, and hydroelectric power later) for the local smithies and lumber mills.
Inside the walls
You can see the intentional inclination of the walls towards the center of the buildings. Architecture majors can correct me, but I will speculate that it is done to stabilize the structure on a poor foundation.
Anzer Island
The “holiest” of the Solovetsky islands. You can only enter it as part of a tourist group via the pilgrim service. Those groups are not small, however. Our group was more than a hundred people.
The whole excursion ran from 06:00 till 17:30, with buses, boats, and a lot of walking on the island. And for tourists there are a lot of benches to sit on while the guide gives a lecture. The lectures partially overlapped with those given at the Monastery. So this part can feel drawn-out, especially because of the tiredness and the mosquitoes all around you. But the views are wonderful.
Sekirnaya
Another popular touristic and pilgrim place — a Church of Ascension (RU). It is both a church (part of Ascension Skete) and a lighthouse that is visible when approaching the archipelago from the North or West. It is placed on the second tallest hill of Bolshoy Solovetsky Island, Sekirnaya Mountain.
Other Photos
Here are some more random photos of the settlement.
Next: Part III. Nature
This post is part of my #100DaysToOffload challenge.