In the old Russian city of Pskov, a large number of valuable monuments of antiquity and Russian architecture have been preserved. And, like any ancient city, Pskov is covered with legends of fabulous riches. Recently, literally in recent years, three large, very valuable, historically treasures have already been discovered in Pskov. Does this mean that the ancient city really has, and very large, ancient caches of treasures?
In total, according to the Pskov archaeologists, more than a hundred known treasures were found in the region of the Pskov province. Among them are treasures of old silverware and caches of ancient coins, which were buried in the third century AD, and in the fourteenth century, and even at the beginning of the twentieth century. For example, at the Mstislavsky excavation site in Pskov, archaeologists have found even the most ancient bronze pendants in the form of an anchor, which were used in ancient times as a talisman, as a symbol of hope and salvation from enemies. Early peasants in the 3-5 centuries called such anchors a hidden cross, because the talisman hid their creed from desecration and persecution by the unfaithful Romans.
One of the most amazing among ancient legends is the legend of the Gremyacha Tower, standing right on the banks of the Pskova River. Allegedly, in the old part of the city, in one formidable powerful tower of the ancient fortress, a treasure is hidden. According to legend, there is so much hidden wealth, a myriad of money, bars of gold, silver and jewelry in the cache, that because of this, the tower began to thunder and therefore received its such an interesting historical name.
Of the forty ancient towers that make up the architecture of the ancient Pskov fortress, few have survived to this day. The Gremyachaya Tower is the best preserved. Now it reaches a height of twenty meters, and in the old days, it was also decorated with a fifteen-meter tent on top. The tower served as a small military fortress, thirty loopholes for guns were made in it.
Historians, however, say that Gremyachaya Tower was called earlier Kozmodemyanskaya, in connection with the Kozmodemyanskaya monastery located in this place in ancient times. This entire ancient complex was erected back in 1525 to defend the borders of Pskov from repeated raids from western neighbors. The tower even provided for an underground passage and a special pit for access to the river for water during an enemy siege. Today, the remains of the huge defensive wall of the Okolny Castle are still visible, adjoining the old tower on both sides.
According to the ancient tales passed down by the people by word of mouth, treasures are located in the secret room of the hidden dungeon of the Gremyachy Tower. There, at great depths in the ground, in a secret crypt, closed by two thick strong iron doors, there is a coffin, in it lies an enchanted princess, surrounded by her dowry: barrels filled to the brim with gold coins, painted chests with precious jewelry. She is the only one who knows where other riches are buried. According to the old legend, only those who can wake up the sleeping girl will receive treasures, while a person should have pure thoughts so that for twelve days in a row, without resting, sitting at the head of the tormented young princess, the entire psalter is read.
Also, an ancient legend tells that for all the time there was only one daredevil who dared to take possession of the wealth from the tower. For six days he read prayers over the young princess, but then sleep overcame him and he fell fast asleep. Immediately, all the evil spirits of the underworld attacked him and tore the young man to shreds.
According to another existing legend, the tower was named Gremyachay because of the ringing of chains and fetters heard in it at night, into which the Pskov prince was imprisoned, captured by the Livonian knights back in 1240. At that time, the Pskov Kremlin (in the old days it was called Krom) was besieged by the knights of the Teutonic Order, who began a military campaign in 1237 in search of wealth and cheap labor on the primordially Russian lands.
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According to this ancient legend, the captive prince approached the window of the dungeon, and asked the local population not to surrender, but rather to repulse the enemies. Then the chief knightly master demanded complete obedience from the captive, forcing the prince to bow to himself in order to become a vassal of the Teutonic Order. The prince full of pride rejected the offer, and the Teutons immediately executed him. Having learned about the execution, the Pskovites began to rebel against the invaders. An unequal battle was going on for exactly 24 hours, the townspeople were much weaker armed, and therefore the Teutons began to win. But suddenly the night was lit up with a bright lightning, and on the roof of the tower everyone saw the ghostly shadow of the deceased prince. The frightened Teutons ran away. The Pskovites were jubilant and celebrated the victory. So ancient Pskov, according to legend, was liberated.
There is also a third legend dedicated to the mysterious Thunder Tower. So, according to this legend, once, just on the day of John the Evangelist, a tipsy artisan was returning home from his friends. On the way, he met people who seemed familiar to him. He was invited to drink with them in friendship for the company. They brought me to an unfamiliar tavern, and poured a glass of vodka. The artisan, out of habit, crossed himself before drinking. And suddenly, in an instant, everything disappeared, and the man was on the roof in the Gremyachaya Tower. It was only then that he realized who he had contacted, and realized that the sign of the cross helped get rid of the evil spirits that had lured him into a trap. Only in the morning the artisan was lowered from the Gremyachaya Tower. Since then, it was on the day of St. John the Theologian that the artisan stopped visiting the guests altogether, and went around the terrible tower in circles.
The eternal human thirst for miracles, an irrepressible craving for various all kinds of secrets and riddles, has no boundaries, and is vividly reflected in historical annals and legends. Ancient sources do not dry out and ancient mysterious legends and fables are passed on from the old generation to the new generation. Events from antiquity have always excited, and will excite the imagination of man, forcing him to search again and again for ancient age-old treasures. People will always believe in the existence of ancient wiser civilizations in order to unravel the meaning of the mysterious treasures that have come down from them and the messages left by our ancestors.