Pearl of the North The Solovki Islands Составитель Самыловская М. В. Учитель английкого языка « Лингвистической гимназии № 27» г. Северодвинска

The Solovki Islands Solovetski Archipelago is situated in the eastern part of the White Sea and consists of six large islands and of many smaller ones. The area of the archipelago is more than 300 square kms. The most famous island is The Big Solovetsky Island, usually called Solovki, which gave the name to the whole archipelago. About 1200 archeological and more than 100 historically-archeological monuments are situated on the islands.

The Solovetsky Monastery Solovetsky Monastery is the biggest military fortress of the North of Russia. The architectural ensemble was created in the XVI-XIX centuries. The building of the fortress began in 1582 and continued for 14 years. The Monastery consists of huge stones, the weight of which is 11 tons. The length of the fortress walls is 1084 meters and their height is about 11 meters. The fortress is formed in the shape of a pentagon each angle of which has its own tower with loopholes.

The Solovetsky Monastery

Firstly the monastery was built of wood and there were several great fires during the 100 years the fortress was wooden. fortress was wooden. The stone building began in the middle The stone building began in the middle of the 16th century and the then built churches still are a part of the architectural ensemble. In the end of the 16th century the monastery was surrounded by a stone wall having 5 towers. These walls saw many events: The Crimean War, the Northern War, the great fire of 1923, the the great fire of 1923, the Solovetski Concentration Camp of Special Purpose (the so called SLON). In the Soviet Period more than one million people were imprisoned and killed in this camp. The monastery was greatly destroyed and it was the monks who reconstructed it. Nowadays a lot of volunteers come to the islands to help to restore the historical fortress.. The monastery was greatly destroyed and it was the monks who reconstructed it. Nowadays a lot of volunteers come to the islands to help to restore the historical fortress..

Words  Solovetski archipelago – Соловецкий архипелаг  Big Solovetski island - Большой Соловецкий Остров  Military fortress - военная крепость  Pentagon - пятиугольник  Loopholes - смотровые башни  Architectural ensemble - архитектурный ансамбль  Surround - окружать  The Crimean War - Крымская война  The Northern War - Северная война  The Solovetski Concentration Camp of Special Purpose – Соловецкий лагерь особого назначения  SLON - СЛОН  Monk - монах  Reconstruct - восстанавливать, реконструировать  Volunteer - волонтер

The famous sights The most famous sights of the Solovki Islands are the labyrinths, the canal system, the dam, and Sekirnaya Hill. The territory of the Big Solovetsky territory of the Big Solovetsky Island includes more than 500 Island includes more than 500 lakes having fresh water, so it is often called the mirror island. These lakes are joined by means of a canal system. The were used for agricultural and industrial purposes of the monks. Nowadays they are routes for tourists.

The Labyrinths The island is covered with numerous ancient mysterious numerous ancient mysterious buildings. These are labyrinths. The northern labyrinths are specially organized spirals of stones. The peculiarity is that the labyrinths have entrance and exit in one and the same place, you will always go out of the labyrinth exactly where you the labyrinth exactly where you entered it. The legend says if a entered it. The legend says if a person makes a wish and goes person makes a wish and goes through the labyrinth it will always come true.

The Solovki Islands The stone dam. It was not allowed to have cattle near the Monastery, so the animals were kept on the island of Big Mucsalma, this name means "situated behind the strait". Originally the monks reached Big Mucsalma on boats but in the middle of the XIX century a wooden dam was built. It took 7 years for the monks to create it. The dam is very twisting because it goes through the finest areas of the strait. The length of the finest areas of the strait. The length of the dam is about 1 km.

The Sekirnaya Hill Sekirnaya Hill is famous by its 3-floor temple built in the XIX century. The temple has a tower-lighthouse which is the only church of this kind all over Russia. One of the departments of the Soviet concentration camp was situated here. A lot of people died there and almost nobody managed to survive in the so called Sekirka after an year of imprisonment. The crudest executions were the following:  Shooting;  Gnats. Naked people were brought in a forest where died because of the unbearable bites of gnats and other insects;  One more execution was a famous stair-case of Sekirnaya Hill that has 250 steps. People were thrown down it, so it's foot became a common grave of the concentration camp prisoners.

Words  Labyrinth - лабиринт  Canal system - канальная система  Sekirnaya Hill - Секирная гора  Route - маршрут  Mysterious - загадочный, таинственный  Spirals of stones - каменные спирали  Dam - дамба  Big Mucsalma - остров Большая Муксалма  Strait - залив  Twisting - извилистый  Fine - мелкий  Temple - храм  Tower-lighthouse - башня-маяк  Department - отделение  The Soviet concentration camp –  Советский концентрационный лагерь  Imprisonment - заключение  Execution - пытка  Gnat - комар  Grave - могила

The life Of the Monastery The ensemble of the Solovetsky Monastery consists of 3 churches and 2 cathedrals. The first church to create in 1577 was Uspenskaya Church. Transfiguration Cathedral, built of stone is famous for its inner interior. A huge 5-storeyed iconostasis was built in 1697 by Peter the Grate's order. In the XVI-XVII centuries the Monastery was the center of spiritual, military-political, and economical life of the Russian North. Factories producing bricks, leather, candles were situated on the territory of the Monastery. The monks got salt, were occupied in saw-mills and jewelry cutting factory. There is also a big library on its territory where more than 100,000 books are kept. In 1990 the Solovetsky Monastery was reopened after 70 years of its inactivity. Nowadays about 50 monks live in the Monastery, approximately 12,000 pilgrims all over the world and thousands of tourists come to the Solovki islands every year, the native population being only 900 people.