The city of Kitezh is a mysterious ancient city of Rus. One of the most famous legends connects it with the name of the Great Prince George Vsevolodovich. According to the story, he built churches throughout Russia: in Novgorod, Pskov, Moscow, Rostov, Pereyasl-Zalessky. He also founded a church in Yaroslavl, after which he went down the Volga and erected the city of Small Kitezh there. After the construction of the city, the prince went overland to Lake Svetloyar. He saw that “the place is beautiful and crowded,” and ordered the construction of a city called Big Kitezh on the shore of this lake.
However, terrible times came, the "impious and godless Tsar Batu" came to Russia, with whom the troops of Georgy Vsevolodovich entered the battle at Small Kitezh. The forces were too unequal, the prince was defeated and was forced to hide in the dense forests of the Volga. Batu took Small Kitezh and, having applied cruel tortures to its inhabitants, found out the way to the Big City of Kitezh by Lake Svetloyara. It was there that the prince went with the rest of his squad. Batu Khan approached the city and took it by storm, the prince and his entire squad died in a fierce battle, and the city was devastated. The legend ends with the words that the Great Kitezh City will be invisible until the Coming of Christ.
This is how this legend conveys the ancient events, but its narrative does not agree with the annals. In the cities mentioned, temples were built by other princes, and Khan Baty did not go to Lake Svetloyar. As for Prince George (Yuri), he fought his last battle not near Svetloyar, but on the City River (400 km northwestward). In addition, at that time the territories beyond the Volga and Kerzhents were not yet part of Russia.
Thus, the legend tells of mixed events that happened at different times and in different places. Researchers have found that the stories about Lake Svetloyare originate from the manuscript "Kitezh Chronicler", which mentions 1251 as the date of the death of the City of Kitezh. It is believed that this work belongs to the Yaroslavl Old Believers and dates from the end of the 18th century. It consists of two parts. The first of them, which is historical, is a revision of the "Chronicler on the assassination of the noble Prince George I Vsevolodovich" (16th century). There is a story about the construction of temples and cities, about the war of the prince with the Tatars and his defeat, but there is no story about the miracle of sheltering the city from the Tatars.
The second part of the “Kitezh Chronicler” tells about the salutary significance of the City of Kitezh for believers and inaccessibility for those who doubt: “If he goes and begins to doubt, the Lord will close the city. And it will seem to him like a forest or an empty place … And this city of Great Kitezh has become invisible and we protect it by the hand of God … by the prayer and request of those who worthily and righteously fall to it. " The main source of this part is the composition "An Epistle to the Father from a Son from a Secret Monastery" (1702). Here the City of Kitezh appears as an instructive example.
The legends, which were written down many centuries after Batu, say that the Grad Khan could not enter Kitezh, despite the fact that the city had no fortifications and the inhabitants did not prepare for defense. They only prayed. The most ancient of the legends, in particular, tells that only the conquerors ran into the city, as under the hooves of their horses, the earth collapsed and buried them. Above the city was the Bright Lake. Since then, they began to believe that the City of Kitezh disappeared into the depths of the water, and the Tatar army fled, gripped by panic. They say that the ringing of church bells is still heard from the depths of the lake, but only the righteous can hear it …
Promotional video: