Дивногорье

Divnogorie is an open-air museum-reserve in the Voronezh region. Its area is 11 km². The locals call the unusual-looking chalk columns here “divas”, hence the name of the reserve itself. Chalk deposits in some places come to the surface of the ground, forming bizarre shapes, and the landscape itself is a layer of chalk covered with a thin layer of soil.

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Special attention of tourists is attracted by artificially created caves, which have a length of 27 to 351 meters. Once there were temples and outbuildings, dwelling places of hermit monks. Divnogorye will be interesting not only for history and architecture lovers. It is a unique nature, which has preserved relict plants, landscape, alternating uplands and ravines, atypical for the region dry and hot climate. At the same time in the reserve developed tourist service: open camping and hotel, excursions and thematic events for children and adults.

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Video: Divnogorye

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History of the reserve

In the Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic era on the territory of the Voronezh region there was a shallow sea. At its bottom and appeared Cretaceous sediments, some of which have survived to this day. During excavations there were found remains of ancient marine animals, mollusks and even sharks. The largest collection of wild horse bones of the Late Glacial period was collected at the Divnogorie-9 monument. Presumably 14 thousand years ago there was a site of ancient man here. This area was inhabited by mammoths, rhinoceroses, deer, forest elephants and many other animals.

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‘ Divnogorye
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Interesting facts from history:

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  • Catacombs that were used for burial were discovered on the territory of the Mayak settlement. They were probably intended for privileged residents who did not want to be buried in a cemetery.
    • The area of the Mayak settlement has been explored only 5-6%..
  • The Khazar population in its bulk was pagan, conducted cult rites in special buildings.
    • According to official data, cave churches were created in the XII century in order to better shelter from Tatar raids. However, according to legend, in the XII century Greek monks Xenophont and Joasaph came to Russia, fleeing from persecution by Catholics. They had with them an icon of the Mother of God of Sicily, which ascended to a chalk pillar, where the church was dug.
  • In 1670, at the walls of the Holy Dormition Monastery, the decisive event of the peasant war took place. The rebels led by Stepan Razin were defeated and left the Don.
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‘ The Church in the Rock

Nature

The main natural feature of the Divnogorje Reserve is, of course, the chalk pillars, the exact origin of which is still a mystery. Presumably, it is the result of the destruction of chalk massifs: multiple cracks led to the crumbling of rocks and isolation of large blocks, which took a variety of shapes. Unfortunately, only a small part of these creations of nature has survived to our days, and man himself is to blame. Many pillars were blown up during the Great Patriotic War, some were destroyed during the construction of the railroad line.

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Another amazing natural object is Divnogorsky Canyon – a steep ravine with walls in the form of chalk ridges. This is a favorite resting place of steppe vipers: in the heat they hide in the depths of the ravine, and in the cold they crawl out to warm themselves on its slopes. It is recommended to observe this natural attraction from the side – walking through the canyon can be dangerous.

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Thanks to the relief, Divnogorye has a great variety of plants. There are steppe plants, forest plants, more than 700 flowering species, and calcephytes – plants living in chalky sediments. Usually all these varieties cannot be found so close together.

Of the peculiarities of the flora it is worth noting the absence of large mammals – the largest of the species is the marmot baybuck. Basically, there are insects, reptiles, amphibians, birds. Especially richly represented insects, a large number of species are listed in the Red Book. For example, the steppe dybka is a predatory grasshopper, the largest species in the European part of Russia.

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‘ Neighborhoods of Divnogorya
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Divnogorya sights

The most interesting attraction of Divnogorya are the cave complexes. One of the largest is the 2-tiered temple of the Sicilian Icon of the Mother of God in Bolshiye Divy. The first tier is the church itself, and the second tier is auxiliary and household premises. In the XIX century the temple was visited by thousands of pilgrims, the services were stopped only from the 30s of the XX century, later it was severely destroyed. The total length of the cave complex is 300 meters, you can get inside only with an excursion.

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‘ Divnogorsky Uspensky Monastery

Also in Malye Divy it is interesting to look at the rock complex of household premises, which is called “bell tower” because of the characteristic shape of the mountain-ostants, which they acquired after the collapse of the cell. The upper tier can be reached only by means of an extension ladder through a small doorway. But tourists are not allowed to climb inside the complex, as there is a danger of its destruction.

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‘ Shatrichogorskaya Cave
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Museums and tours

Museum expositions are presented on the territory of Divnogorye, thematic excursions are regularly organized. One of the interesting places is the Mayatsky archeological complex. It includes a fortress, a settlement, a burial ground and a pottery complex, to our days from the buildings almost nothing remains. But an interactive model in the proportion of 1:87 has been created and is open for tourists to view. The site can be visited from May through October.

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Part of the village was also reconstructed based on the research of archaeologists. In the Archaeological Park you can visit peasant yurts, a half-dwelling, a handicraft workshop, and hold copies of utensils from ancient times. The park is open for visits from May to September.

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‘ Divnogorie in winter
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How to get there

You can get to Divnogorye by car, bus and electric train. By car from Voronezh to the farm Divnogorye the road will take 2-2.5 hours, it is 150 kilometers of travel. From Moscow the distance will be 650 km, about 6-8 hours by car.

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By train you can get there from Voronezh with a change in Liski. From Voronezh the train leaves every 1-3 hours, on weekends there is an additional train. From Liski to Divnogorye you should take the train “Liski – Alekseevka” or “Liski – Ostrogozhsk”, get off at the station “Stop platform 143 km”. Departure 3 times a day: in the morning, afternoon and evening.

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Through the farm Divnogorie goes one bus “Liski – Kovalevo”, departing from the square at the railway station Liski, the journey will take an hour and a half.

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