Old caves: description, history, location map and interesting facts

If for an ancient person caves were home and a refuge from bad weather and wild animals, today people are attracted to them by mysterious beauty, possible hidden treasures or the presence of paranormal phenomena.

Old caves have all at once to interest not only speleologists, historians and tourists, but also representatives of various occult teachings.

Staritsa

This small town was founded in 1297 on the same name river as a fortress on the orders of Tver prince Michael Yaroslavich. Until the 16th century it was called Gorodetsk, as evidenced by coins minted at that time.

Until 1425, he was the center of the Staritsa specific principality, but at the end of the 15th century he became a member of the Moscow Principality along with Tverskoy. Once Staritsa was very beloved by Ivan the Terrible, by order of which she was surrounded by a white stone wall. He regularly visited the city in the period from 1579 to 1581 years.

During the 18th century, the city repeatedly passed from one province to another. So, in 1708 he was part of Smolensk, and in 1719 - Tver province. Since 1727 he is attributed to the Novgorod, and in 1796 returned to Tver, where he becomes a major marina on the way to St. Petersburg.

By 1897, Staritsa had become a sufficiently large county town, with more than 5,000 people, 21 production facilities and 124 trading establishments.

Today, 8,000 people live in the city, and it has become an ordinary provincial town, although it has a rich history behind it. Unfortunately, the short-sighted and limited Soviet leadership did not consider unique opportunities for tourism development in this city. And for this there is everything: ancient churches and monasteries, unique Staritsky caves, the most beautiful nature and opportunities for an amazing holiday on the banks of the Volga and Staritsa.

The history of the quarry

On the left bank of the Volga there are unique ancient quarries that from the 13th century not only supplied the cities, fortresses and monasteries with white stones, thanks to which Rus was called white stone, but also gave the city a profit.

Artists stonecutters up to 1928, for 7 centuries, mined a white stone, creating amazing in its beauty, intricacy and length of man-made caves that stretch for a hundred kilometers between the cities of Rzhev and Tver.

Old caves, the scheme of which has not yet been completely traced, since by Stalin's decree all the entrances to them were filled up so that no one could find the weapons warehouses hidden there during the Second World War, continue to be studied by speleologists and other scientists.

Unfortunately, at the time of collectivization, the artisans of the stonecutters were dissolved, and the city gradually from a large pier with a developed industry turned into a small regional center.

Findings of speleologists

Indeed, major scientific expeditions to the Staritsky caves began in 1993. Speleologists and scientists were interested not only in the intricate movements of the catacombs and their age, but also in studying the influence of closed space on a person, on the sense of time in it, the biorhythms and microclimate that exist in them.

One of the aims of the historians was to find a weapons depot hidden here for the partisans in 1941. Scientists managed to collect information not only in the local archive, but also in German. Judging by their data, the Germans who entered Staritsa destroyed the Red Army men who were trying to escape, and only three people who guarded the warehouse in the catacombs were still alive.

Perhaps they would continue to carry out their service, waiting for the Germans to leave, but someone from the local, who took over the power of the aggressors, talked about their existence. It was the signs of the Soviet soldiers' stay and their last fight with the fascists and were found by the expedition members.

Numerous shells and traces of fire, which the invaders arranged to lure people out of the cave, told of the events of those days. Three soldiers were martyred, but they did not say where the weapons warehouse was located. It is not found to this day.

The reason why this has not happened yet is that it was difficult not only to find the moves that had been buried on Stalin's orders, but also to clear them. If you carry out blasting operations, the Staritsky caves may collapse, and then you will have to dig new corridors.

It is important that these catacombs, at last, show interest in the scientific community, which means that they will be studied, cleared, and made available to people. Even today, excursions from different cities come to the Staritski caves, which has a positive effect on the development of tourism in this area.

Excursions in the caves

In our time several catacombs are open for inspection, in which all the aisles and labyrinths are tied with a rope. Holding on to it, you can go deep enough inside and see the work of hundreds of stonecutters who worked on these corridors for 7 centuries.

In addition to the majestic stone pillars supporting the arches of the caves, here you can see the places where the miners slept, where the tables for the meal were equipped.

Unfortunately, from the hundreds of kilometers of tunnels, only 30 km are open for inspection, but the interest to them is already so great that many tour operators include them in their routes.

It became profitable after dozens of people visited the Staritski caves. The comments and photos that they posted on the Internet made a proper impression. The place was really unusual, and people began to show interest in it.

Paranormal activity

Like many other mysterious places on the planet, these catacombs have properties that have no logical explanation. For example, one of the restorers, who worked in the Cherepkovsky cave, accidentally discovered that the fallen objects were disappearing somewhere.

The gauntleted hand and the handle disappeared without a trace, although no holes or cracks were found on the floor of the catacomb. No less strange were the sounds with which the cave is filled from time to time. For example, he heard a herd of horses running in one of the corridors, clapping hooves loudly over the rocks. For centuries, there was a lot of evidence that people were lost in these catacombs, and an incomprehensible glow was discovered, to which no explanation was ever found.

Specialists in paranormal phenomena have yet to find out what secrets the Old Caves store. The route to Tver and then to the village of Tolpino in the Staritsky district is simple, so that not only scientists and tourists come to the catacombs, but also adventurers and treasure hunters.

Legends of the Old Caves

Rumor that somewhere in the depths of these catacombs is hidden treasury Vladimir Staritsky, who decided to bury it before the trip to Moscow on the orders of Ivan the Terrible, does not give rest to lovers of treasure hunt. Knowing the king's burrows, the prince foresaw that he might not return to his native land, and was right. On the orders of Ivan the Terrible, not only Vladimir Staritsky was poisoned, but his entire family was poisoned.

Another legend says that under the local monastery there are caves in which the relics of monks are buried. Since the grave at the monastery is not found, this version was decided to work, but the expedition, which is engaged in the search for burial, found only the temple where Satanists performed their rituals.

The Legend of the Divine Miracle

There is a belief that there is a healing key in the Staritskaya cave, beating from the ceiling. The basis of the story is real facts. It all happened during the invasion of the Tatar-Mongol, when one old woman managed to bury herself in the quarry. After spending a long time without water, she turned to God with a prayer for thirst quenching. In response, the Creator created a spring that pours its waters from the ceiling of the cave.

According to legend, it appears only in times that are difficult for the people. As the old people say, the last time they heard of him before the arrival of the Germans in Staritsa. Thanks to the created miracle, the old woman became famous at the time, and today her silhouette can be seen on the coat of arms of the city.

To plunge into these secrets, it is better to personally visit the Staritsky caves. How to get there by car, you will easily understand. The initial direction is Tver, 80 km from which is Staritsa, and then a few kilometers to Tolpino.

Protection of caves from diggers

So people are arranged that some are ready to act for the discovery of truth on "bare enthusiasm", while others are only interested in gain. So it is with these catacombs. If not all scientists know how to get to the Staritski caves and where they have entrances, the diggers do not hesitate to make explosions in tunnels, if only to get to any artifacts first.

To stop this, a special society was established to protect the historical monument from the encroachments of the vandals.