The main attraction of the old Russian city of Smolensk is the ruins of its fortress walls. It is curious that several curious legends are circulating about them at once, the earliest referring to the Middle Ages, and the latest to our days … But the most impressive one is connected with the name of Tsar Boris Godunov, who allegedly put a curse on the fortress.
They say that during the construction of the fortress (the so-called Smolensk Kremlin), the skull of a horse belonging to Mercury of Smolensk, a saint who lived in the 13th century and the patron saint of the city, was embedded in the wall. And as if, if Smolensk is in danger, then a horse neighing is heard from the wall …
And they also believe that when the city walls of Smolensk were laid (and this happened during the reign of Tsar Boris Godunov), he imposed a terrible curse on them, according to which anyone who tries to destroy the fortress will face an otherworldly punishment. Maybe that's why the ruins still remain in place.
The inscription "Spider" is visible under the dome of the Altar Tower. Rumor has it that this was the nickname of one amateur climber who tried to climb over the wall without belay. Once he climbed to a great height - and suddenly, having opened his fingers, fell down, crashing to death … It seems to be suicide because of unhappy love …
The most mystical and legendary of the towers of the Smolensk Kremlin is Veselukha. There seems to be a secret gallery under it. And about the name of the tower, there are two versions at once. According to one of them, near the tower there was once a favorite place for folk festivals of the townspeople, therefore it was named Veselukha.
But there is also a scarier myth. They say that in ancient times the daughter of a landowner was immured in the tower for some sins. The girl went crazy from loneliness and laughed with an eerie laugh all day. And nowadays, sometimes you can allegedly hear devilish laughter coming from the top of the tower at night. It is the restless spirit of the landowner's daughter who laughs, who died in captivity …
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In Veselukh there was also a lair of a gang led by a Polish count named Zmeyavsky. The count rubbed into the confidence of the wife of a landowner, kidnapped her husband along with his assistants and was able to take possession of their money. On them, a criminal nobleman built a brick factory in the Devil's Ditch, in the basement of which counterfeit money was stamped. In order for the local population to bypass this place, Zmeyavsky and his accomplices arranged witchcraft "sabbaths" there. However, the gang was discovered anyway. And inside the tower, a missing landowner was discovered, whom Zmeyavsky was holding in captivity.
But the fortress is not the only place in Smolensk, overgrown with myths. So, the dungeons, located in the Lopatinsky garden of Smolensk, once served as casemates, where many famous people languished. For example, the Cossack atamans Kochubey and Iskra, who participated in the Battle of Poltava … Above the entrance to one of the galleries before the revolution, one could discern a strange inscription carved on a stone in large print: "CABOGRALLO".
Some local residents believed that this was the name of one of the prisoners, a foreigner. But if a foreigner, then why was the name written in Russian? The version that this strange word is composed of the first letters of the names and surnames of the sons of Governor Lopatin, after whom the park got its name, sounds much more believable. Their names were Kasyan, Boris, Grigory and Alexey Lopatin.
By the way, in the former house of the Lopatin family, located not far from the park, just opposite the building of the city administration of Smolensk, there is now a children's art school. There, as if at night, empty corridors wander the ghost of a woman in white.
An unknown spirit lived in the recent past in the archive, which was located at one time in the building of the Smolensk Church. The archive workers heard sounds and creaks, and sometimes they saw the ghost itself on the upper tiers …
Several times the ghost entangled the cable of the lift, so that people could not get to the top of the building. He also threw felt boots, which were given out to employees because of the cold reigning in the room and were usually stored on racks. Apparently, the otherworldly entity did not like the fact that the building was used not for its intended purpose, but for worldly purposes …
The seven-story House of the commune was built in the early 30s as a residential building, and on the site of a cemetery. It got its name in honor of the Paris Commune, although because of the strange architecture the people of Smolensk called it "Teapot". In the 70s, a fire happened here, after which the house went under resettlement. Since then, it has been abandoned. Sometimes informals wander there.
Rumor has it that some demonic entity lives in the Teapot. In the pictures taken by the adventurers who climbed inside, a translucent skull appeared somehow. And some allegedly had to personally encounter a creature that looks like a great black lynx.
If you believe the terrible stories, then several times, most often in the autumn, the bodies of people and birds killed by a terrible "owner" were found near the house. But this does not prevent local teenagers and young people from arranging gatherings in the “Teapot”.