In the vicinity of Lipetsk, there are many caves and other underground objects of both natural and man-made origin. There are sometimes curious legends about them.
Treasures of the Yelets Fortress
They say that during the invasion of Tamerlane, many underground passages were dug in the area of the Yelets fortress, which had a strategic and defensive purpose.
At the end of the 60s. of the last century, workers who were laying the drainage system on Kommunarov Street stumbled upon a log cabin at a depth of more than 2 m, which was the entrance to the tunnel leading from Red Square to the place where the western Livny Gate of the Yelets fortress was once located. One of the exits led to the bank of the Elchik River, where, according to legend, robber's treasures were once buried.
There is a myth that Tamerlane also hid his treasures in these places. There are several natural caves on the territory of the Galichya Gora nature reserve. So, on the Vorgolskie Rocks there is a cave "Smoked Stone". In the 19th century, local peasants found there an old Scandinavian silver clasp - the so-called "fibula". Presumably, she just belongs to the very "treasures of Tamerlane." But where are the others then? One way or another, the fibula was transferred to the Hermitage.
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Metro in Lebedyan
They say that the founder of the city of Lebedyan, the Cossack ataman Tyapka, ordered to cut down a five-tiered limestone cave on the banks of the Don. And later the mythical robber Kudeyar hid his treasures there. But it was impossible to find them without a map: those who managed to penetrate the underground labyrinth remained there, unable to find their way back.
There is indirect evidence of the truth of these legends. So, at the beginning of this century, in an old quarry located on the right bank of the Lebedyanka River, near the Pokrovo-Cossack settlement, the remains of a certain underground structure were found. It is assumed that stone was also mined here for the construction of the Lebedyansky Donskoy Monastery in the first half of the 17th century.
Traces of torches were visible on the walls of the underground tunnels. In one of them, local historian Kirill Nadov discovered a cast bronze icon of St. Nicholas Mozhaisky. According to experts, the building was erected in the 17th - 18th centuries.
But the legend is already much later. In 1984, a local resident Leonid Mulyarchik decided to build a metro tunnel along the banks of the Don, which would connect the railway station with his native Cheryomushki district. The enthusiast managed to actually dig a tunnel, the length of which was about 200 m, the height - 1.7 m, and the depth - 2.5 m. The work lasted for many years, it took all the modest savings of Mularchik, who, however, turned into a local celebrity - articles were written about him and films were made … In 2011, the Lebedyansk subway builder died. Now there is a castle at the entrance to the tunnel.
Stone mountain
On the left bank of the Don, on the outskirts of the village of Kon-Kolodez, Khlevensky district, limestone rocks come to the surface. Their height is about 20 m. This place was named Stone Mountain. Inside it are caves, which in the old days, apparently, served as quarries. There is a hall with a vault resembling a Gothic dome, from which corridors diverge in different directions. People who come here note that the air inside the caves is surprisingly clean and fresh. But visitors should be careful, as there are many sinkholes and sinkholes. By the way, there is another local attraction nearby - a park where relic plants are found.
Don conversations
Seven large rocks can be seen near the village of Kamenka, Zadonsk region. Two of them - the Big Stone and the Fox Stone - formed 350 million years ago - in the so-called Devonian era. There is a legend that in ancient times there was a pagan sanctuary in the cave under the Big Stone. There was a stone "table" on which people were sacrificed. Also from this cave allegedly leads to another, located in the area of the Tikhonov Monastery.
Catacombs in Malye Borki
The cave complex in the village of Malye Borki, Terbunsky District, on the bank of the Olym River, is unique: it is difficult to take your eyes off the underground palaces, decorated like precious stones with ice crystals.
At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. there were quarries where limestone was mined. Noble estates were built from it, in particular, the castle in Borki, which belonged to Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich, cousin of Emperor Nicholas II. They say that serfs worked here, punished by the master for various offenses. They had to live right in the dungeons. The adits 5-7 m deep stretched over great distances and allegedly even connected to the basements of the manor house in Borki.
During the Civil War and the Great Patriotic War, the local population used the catacombs as a place for shelter. Then the abandoned quarries were filled up. In the summer of 2012, on the bank of the Olym, a fuel tanker wheel fell into the ground. Local resident Gennady Puzanov began excavations at this place. He managed to find in the dungeon a hearth made of stones, someone's drawings made on the walls with soot, small ancient artifacts …
Recently, the caves in Malye Borki were given the status of a specially protected natural area. In the future, they are supposed to be restored and tourists will be taken there.