Kondopoga: sights and history

Kondopoga district is one of the most beautiful and interesting places for tourists in Karelia. On its territory is the famous balneo-mud resort of Marcial Waters, founded by Peter the Great and popular to this day. Kondopoga itself can offer a lot of interesting and useful pastime. The sights of this city are diverse, and among them there are tourist facilities, similar to which it is impossible to find anywhere else in Russia.

A bit of history

If you are going to visit this part of Karelia, you will probably be interested to know what Kondopoga is famous for.

The sights of the city are mostly young enough, but it was founded more than 520 years ago. Initially, Kondopoga was a small settlement in the Kizhi Pogost. Its transformation into an industrial city began after the discovery of marble deposits in the villages of Belaya Gora and Tivdia in the middle of the 18th century. A new impetus to the development of Kondopoga (attractions with descriptions presented below) was obtained as a result of the construction of a pulp and paper mill, which currently is one of the largest in Russia and in Europe.

Church of the Assumption

In any story about the sights of Kondopoga, the description of this ancient temple is necessarily present. It is considered a symbol of the city and is included in the number of objects of cultural heritage of federal significance. The church is located on the shore of one of the most picturesque bays of Onega Lake - Kondopoga Bay. It is known that the existing building is the fourth temple in this place. It was built in 1774, and its height is 42 meters.

The Assumption Church is considered very valuable, as it has a beautiful iconostasis in the baroque style and an old icon-painting ceiling, the so-called "sky." This decorative element of the main attraction of Kondopoga is unique, since it is impossible to see the composition "Divine Liturgy" in any of the existing Orthodox churches. The central medallion depicts the image of "Christ the Great Bishop", which is surrounded by a frame with sixteen facets. Each of them is decorated with an elegant painting. She demonstrates the cherubim with the seraphim, and also the angels in deacon's vestments.

Kondopoga Hydroelectric Power Station

This magnificent example of industrial architecture of the early 20th century can easily be mistaken for an impregnable medieval fortress. The Kondopoga hydroelectric station, using the sink of the Suna River and the Sandal Lake, was built in 1916. It is one of the oldest in the territory of Russia. Its surroundings are a great place for hiking and picnics, and on the banks of Sandala you can go fishing and have a great rest in the summer.

Local History Museum

Attractions of Kondopoga are quite diverse. There is also an interesting museum that offers interactive programs that allow you to get acquainted with the history of the city by watching videos and visiting rooms where the atmosphere that was in the houses of Kondopoga residents in different epochs was recreated. In addition, there you can see an ethnographic exposition and visit the hall, where objects and documents related to the industrial development of this region of Karelia are collected.

Carillons

Talking about the sights of Kondopoga (Karelia), one can not help mentioning the most musical tourist objects of the city.

In total in Russia at the moment there are 5 carillons. They are musical instruments, consisting of a series of bells, performing a limited set of melodies due to the clock mechanism. Two of them can be listened to in St. Petersburg, and one - in Peterhof. As for the 2 remaining, their "home" is Kondopoga, whose attractions, although small, but diverse and interesting.

The big and small carillons of Kondopoga are the pride of the townspeople. The first of them consists of 23 bells suspended on an arch of 14 meters high, which is set on the square in front of the Ice Palace. This monumental musical instrument was made in the Netherlands and brought to Karelia in 2001. Another carillon can be seen next to the building of Sberbank on Proletarskaya Street.

Ice Palace

In the last two decades, much has been done to develop tourism in Karelia. For this purpose, new cultural and sports facilities were built in many cities of the republic. Among them, the Ice Palace, which accommodates 1,850 spectators, is especially noteworthy. This original construction of glass and concrete adorns the center of the city and, along with the Assumption Church, is considered its architectural symbol.

Other interesting sites

In addition to the Assumption Church, in Kondopoga there is another temple - Sretensky. It was founded in a tiny building of a former pumping station and for many years was the only active center of Orthodoxy in the city.

In Kondopoga you can see a beautiful Lutheran church built in 2004 in the traditional Finnish style of northern architecture. It is considered the largest in Karelia, and it is visited by believers from all corners of the republic.

Now you know the interesting Kondopoga and its sights, and you will surely want to visit it to see everything with your own eyes and relax against the backdrop of the natural beauties of Karelia.