Most Russians, as well as European fortresses in ancient times had secret underground passages leading to the bank of a neighboring river or into a ravine. The Trinity-Sergius Lavra, more than once besieged by enemies, according to legend, also had an underground passage, striking in its length. The history of this mysterious structure was described in the most detail in his book "Tales of the Land of Radonezh" by the local historian and writer Sergiev Posad - Alexey Lipkin.
Holy place
According to the writer, Mount Makovets, on which the Lavra was built, has always been famous for various mystical miracles. According to written sources, locals often saw fire above its top, pillars of light, and also felt some amazing fragrance. Today the top of the mountain would be called a place of power, in the same years when St. Sergius of Radonezh lived here, it was considered holy or miraculous. Over time, a powerful monastery was erected on the mountain, which was not only a spiritual abode, but also performed the functions of a fortress that guarded the northern borders of Moscow. Moreover, unusual light phenomena were recorded on the mountain even after the founding of the monastery. In particular, the book "The Siege of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra", which tells about the time when the monastery held a long siege of the Polish-Lithuanian army, describes a miracle that happened in September 1606. After fervent prayer, the priest Pimen unexpectedly saw an unusually bright light pouring from the sky from his cell. Running out onto the porch, the priest was struck by a pillar of fire that rose above the church to heaven. In addition to Pimen, the miraculous phenomenon, which was perceived as a sign, was observed by laymen and monks who were at that moment in the monastery. A few minutes later, the pillar of fire curled up into a bright, light cloud that entered the window of the Church of the Most Holy Trinity and dissolved there. A few minutes later, the pillar of fire curled up into a bright, light cloud, which entered the window of the Church of the Most Holy Trinity and dissolved there. A few minutes later, the pillar of fire curled up into a bright, light cloud, which entered the window of the Church of the Most Holy Trinity and dissolved there.
Underground passage
Nevertheless, the researcher was most interested in the legends about the underground passage, laid almost all the way to Moscow itself. Deciding to check the unusual legend, Alexey Lipkin interviewed a large number of historians, ethnographers and ethnographers, and also analyzed a large amount of historical literature. All sources spoke of the existence of a branched underground passage, in the past connecting the monastery with neighboring monasteries and deserts. There were even people who claimed that they had personally visited the mysterious dungeons, but they could not penetrate far, since they were flooded or partially overwhelmed. The monks and employees of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, although they did not officially confirm the existence of such an underground passage, in private conversations admitted its existence in antiquity.
But the most amazing thing is not the very existence of underground passages, they were present in most medieval fortresses, but their length and scale. Legends claimed that two carts could easily pass in them, and tunnels stretched for several tens of kilometers to the nearest monasteries. Moreover, passing from one underground tunnel to another, it was possible to get to Moscow itself.
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The first tunnel line stretched from the Lavra to the Khotkovsky and Pokrovsky monasteries and several deserts. There are stories among the people about how, during the Great Patriotic War, weapons and food were transferred from the monastery to the Chernigov skete. From the time of the Polish invasion, information about the underground passage that began in the Drying Tower remained. Already in those days it was considered very ancient. Obviously, these underground passages still exist today, but they partially collapsed and it is unsafe to go down into them.