The Leningrad region is rich in architectural monuments. And not only such as the brilliant palace and park complexes of Pushkin or Petrodvorets, but also much more modest, but no less mysterious from this, for example, the old fortress in Koporye.
Forgotten treasures
As well as about any other ancient place, there are several legends about the Koporskaya fortress, where historical facts are intricately intertwined with human fantasy. Over its more than 800-year history, the fortress has passed from hand to hand more than once: laid down by the German knights, reconstructed by the Novgorodians and for a long time in the possession of the Swedish crown, it has accumulated many secrets that it is in no hurry to part with.
According to one of the legends, in the underground part of the fortress there was a room where the Swedish king Karl XII loved to eat. Peter the Great caught him in this occupation when he came to storm the fortress. Frightened, Karl fled from the fortress along a secret passage (which once really existed), and forgot his precious crown in the dining room. Some storytellers claim that he forgot there not only the crown, but also his throne, which, for obvious reasons, was inconvenient to drag along a narrow underground passage. Still others, a heated imagination draws pictures of chests filled to the brim with Swedish gold, which the invaders safely hid, hoping to return to the fortress again. In such a simple way, local “guides” try to give the fortress an additional charm, which, by the way, it does not need. Believe it or not,but treasure hunters regularly carry out their work in and around the fortress and nullify sluggish restoration and conservation work.
Another series of legends is associated with the stories of local residents and visiting tourists about how in the dark they managed to meet the spirit that guards the secrets of the old fortress. Someone saw the same Swedish king on the fortress walls, examining his former possessions, or perhaps returning for his treasures. They say that if you follow him, he will certainly lead to the very secret room where the golden crown is waiting for its owner. But there are not many people who want to go down the dark stairs after the ghost, where it is not surprising to break your neck during the day.
Steep steps of transitions lead up and down
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Another ghost that is sometimes seen in the fortress is the spirit of a Russian nobleman, president of the medical college, secret adviser to Senator Zinoviev, who acquired the fortress in private possession in 1793 after Koporye was excluded from the list of significant defensive sites by Catherine II. And if it comes to that, then Zinoviev and his relatives, as the legitimate owners of the fortification, have much more rights to appear on the fortress walls than the foreigner Karl.
Hospitable host
So the old dilapidated fortress attracts the attention of not only tourists and seekers of ancient treasures, but also just thrill-seekers. Among adolescents, visiting such a place at night is considered almost a feat, but often older people can be poorly taken.
A guest of one of the local residents, Valery Korablev, fell for just such a bait. After the evening feast, having heard enough stories about the ghosts that supposedly live in the fortress, Valery volunteered to sit among the fortress walls until dawn, fortunately there were only three hours left. No sooner said than done. At night, the gates of the fortress, of course, are closed, but there are no obstacles for longing desire: it is not so difficult to get into the fortress along the slope from the side of the Koporka river. For about an hour, Valery wandered around the interior, trying to get acquainted with the local sights in the dark, but an unexpected downpour forced him to seek shelter. Valery showed himself to be a person of principle and, despite calls from friends who suggested that he return home, he did not want to give up. The nearest roof turned out to be the family crypt of the Zinovievs - the last owners of the fortress,who owned it for over 100 years, until political changes in the country forced them to emigrate abroad.
Entering the vaults of the last refuge of the Zinovievs, Valery discovered that he was not alone there. An elderly man sat against the far wall, calmly examining the newcomer. “What, are you hiding from the rain? Do you have a drink? Valery handed the stranger an open bottle of beer. Word by word flowed a leisurely conversation: “What are you doing here, uncle?” Valery asked. “Yes, I live here, everyone calls me Dmitry Vasilyevich,” was the answer. After that Valery decided that before him was a “representative of the rural intelligentsia,” who had to live in such an unsuitable place for lack of other housing, and stopped puzzling over this question. The rain soon began to subside, and the night was drawing to a close. “Well, it's time for me to make another detour,” said Dmitry and went out into the predawn gloom.
Valery woke up when it was already quite light. His nighttime interlocutor never returned, an unfinished bottle of beer was standing nearby. The rays of the morning sun and the knowledge that he had won the argument after all warmed the soul pleasantly. A chill ran down my spine only when, leaving the crypt into the courtyard, Valery came across a tombstone, the inscription on which read "Dmitry Vasilyevich Zinoviev 1822-1904".
The spirit of Dmitry Vasilyevich Zinoviev is invisibly present in the fortress
Ghost rescuer
Generally speaking, local ghosts are distinguished by a kind disposition: people are not lured into dark passages (unless they themselves climb there), stones are not thrown on their heads and are not pushed to a cliff. Rather, on the contrary, they try to warn unwary tourists about the danger. After all, our people heartily despise inscriptions like “No passage. Dangerous to life”and ignore the fact that the fortress walls, built of soft limestone, have long been in disrepair. So they climb to enjoy the breathtaking panorama and show off on the walls, and then they fall and, alas, are often fatal.
Warning labels stop few people
In the summer of 2004, a company of young people from St. Petersburg came to inspect the fortress. As usual, we climbed to take pictures on the Naugolnaya Tower, from where a gorgeous view of the surroundings opens. The whole company was assembled, they were only waiting for Varvara, but she did not rise. Friends were surprised at her unusual prudence, because under normal conditions Varya would be the first to be on the wall. Only after some time did the girl decide to explain to her friends the reason for her “strange” behavior. Of course, she, like everyone else, was going to climb the tower, but, approaching the narrow path leading up, she froze as if rooted to the spot, saying that someone was holding her hand, and her feet were rooted to the ground. The tetanus quickly passed, but the urge to climb the crumbling wall was gone. And a month later it turned outthat it was the right decision - at the time of her visit to the fortress, Varvara was already pregnant, so someone's invisible intervention may have saved the life of not only her, but also her future son. Making some historical inquiries, Varya was surprised to find that she was the full namesake of the first wife of the very same Vasily Nikolayevich Zinoviev, who took possession of the fortress in 1793. Maybe it was this that influenced the decision of the ghost to warn the future mother (and that it was he who helped, Varvara does not doubt). One way or another, but the happy parents decided to name their son Vasily in honor of the ghostly keeper of the secrets of the old fortress.which is the full namesake of the first wife of the very same Vasily Nikolayevich Zinoviev, who took possession of the fortress in 1793. Maybe it was this that influenced the decision of the ghost to warn the future mother (and that it was he who helped, Varvara has no doubts). One way or another, but happy parents decided to name their son Vasily in honor of the ghostly keeper of the secrets of the old fortress.which is the full namesake of the first wife of the very same Vasily Nikolayevich Zinoviev, who took possession of the fortress in 1793. Maybe it was this that influenced the decision of the ghost to warn the future mother (and that it was he who helped, Varvara has no doubts). One way or another, but the happy parents decided to name their son Vasily in honor of the ghostly keeper of the secrets of the old fortress.
Source: Secrets of the XX century, No. 52, December 2009, Natalia IVANOVA