English

The Holy Mountains is one of the most beautiful and unique small nook on the bank of the Seversky Donets river in Donetsk Region. A harmonious combination of the picturesque nature and hand-made ancient architectural group has created popularity hundreds years ago. The Russian writer Anton Chekhov wrote about the Holy Mountains: ((The place is unusually wonderful and original: the monastery is situated on the bunk of the Donets river at the foot of a huge white cliff. Gardens, oaks and century-old pine-trees tower, hang over and squeez one another on it. The trees seem to be crowded on the cliff and some strange force keeps pushing them out towards the skies... The pine-trees grow in such a way as if they are actually in the air and about to fall down..."

A silver ribbon of the Donets divides this picturesque panorama of the Holy Mountains in two parts: to the left there is the twisting line of the chalky mountains, where since the preglacial period the flora of a few geological epochs has been preserved; and the unique grove of oak-trees to the right. The grove spreads over the flood-lands of the river and is a contemporary with Peter the Great and the Empress Catherine. The Russian writer Caronin wrote: "It is a specific plase that you can hardly see anywhere except here. As soon as you get into it you immediately find yourself amidst a sort of a tireless and exciting life where the wood inhabitants of all kinds sing a hundred part song, chatter, babble, hum and roar with laughter". Once the oak woods were known as one of the most valuable riches of the Holy Mountains (in Rassian Svyatiye Gory or Svyatogorie). The old people said that one oak trunk was enough to build a windmill or a small barn, and the oak branches and chips made as a rule three sazhens of firewood (that is 21 feet). Today, it is the natural reserve and the health resort at the same time. In some buildings of the XIX century Svyatogorsk monastery is placed now the cardiac sanatorium "The Holy Mountains)), and since 1992 the Svyatogorsk monastery has recommenced its activity. In order to save and restore the historical and cultural relics of the Svyatogoriye the architectural complex of the town of Slawyanogorsk is proclaimed a state historical and architectural reserve. For the first time the Holy Mountains were mentioned in 1526 in the notes of the German ambassador Sigizmund Herberstein to the Moscow court. In the same XVI century more than once there was found the annalistic evidence of the Holy Mountains. This place was described as a sentry post located far off the steppe. "And now that the voevodes (the commanders of the army) came up the Mzha and Kolomaka rivers and a boarder guard from the Holy Mountains ran to them, and a messenger from the Cossack village leader Laurence Kolotovsky was sent to warn them of the foliwing: "the Crimean king and many of his people had crossed the Donets and were moving to the borders of Ryazan and Tula cities", - said the Patriarch chronicle in the year of 1555. In the reign of Ivan the Terrible on the list of the Cossack villages and sentry posts scattered along the Donets we can find the name of "the Svyatogorsk fifth sentry post". Why since XVI century were these mountains known as holy ones? For many centuries the investigators tried to find the answer to this question but in vain so far. But for the clergymen it is out of the question that "those rocks and other monastery mountains have been called the Holy due to the following facts: firstly, the ancient monks and probably not the first ones but those who settled after them found on a chalky pillar in one of the caves a saint Nickolas' miraculous icon; and secondly, these ancient mountain inhabitants distinguished themselvs by living a holy ascetic life. Most of them gave their lives for the belief in Jesus Christ martyrised by the polovtsi and tartar invader s". It is difficult to say now who and what for came here first and hollowed out the caves in the chalky rock. But nevertheless, since the early XVII century the dwelling place had already been active. Both the picture depicting the monastery in 1666 and the tsar charter bear the witness to that. ((Written in 1624 according to the Edict issued by our father's blessed memory of the Great Sovereign tsar and Grand Prince of the whole Russia Mikhail Fyodorovich it is ordered to give the annual salary to monk Simeon and his community living in the Svyatogorsk monastery of Saint Virgin Assumption. The payment is to be effected in the city of Belgorod in the quantity of 12 quarters of rye grain, 12 quarters of oats, ten roubles in cash collected from the taverns' and customs profits". The investigators have not found any earlier evidence of the monastery's existence in the Holy Mountains. And it is not surprising if we take into consideration the fact that in 1679 the abbot of the rocky monastery archimandrite Iole wrote: "Не does not know when this monastery was built as well as there is no written evidence of it in the monastery". Why was the writing about the original history of the monastery lost? The answer to this question we can find in the archives of the monastery: ((Due to quite a plenty of the tartar raids and disasters and especially to the frequent changes of both the former monastery builders and father-superiors and archimandrites, no writing was found proclaiming the origin of the Svyatogorsk dwelling place as well as of the first dwellers who had set up this holy settlement in the hermitage and hollowed a holy church and cells out inside the rock". The lack of any historical evidence of the first dwellers in the caves was the reason for appearance of various legends and hypotheses. But none of them has had any veritable arguments for the fast till now. According to the one of the hypotheses the very first caves were hollowed out in the middle of the XIII century. It has the majority of adherents who consider that its happened at the time when the followers of the monks from Kiev Right Reverend Anthony and Feodosy left the Kiev and Pechera Lavra, which was devastated by the Batu hords and so. They had to come to the hermitage and settle there for good. As far back as in the XIX century some historian-investigators had a version according to which the Christian seat in the Holy Mountains appeared long before the mongol and tartar invasion. Thus, academician Dmitri Bagaley noted: "The monastery or the church was most likely to be here in the premongolian period of our history as in the XV-XVI centuries after the tartar massacre the tartars became the masters of the entire southern outlying districts though in the first half of the XIII century there were some Russian inhabited oases". There is also another legend, which says that the rocky monastery was founded by the monks from the Afon mountain.

But in any case the cave monastery had undoubtedly become the first stronghold of the Christian Orthodoxy far away in the steppe, close to the heart of the Crimean Khanate. The danger from the outside made the monks extend the labyrinths of the passages in the caves. They also had to hollow out new cells and churches in the chalky rock at the height unreachable for the enemies. A few first cells with small windows cut out outwards have been preserved since then. The window openings served not only for lighting but also for gun firing at the time of Troubles and danger. In the XVII century in the cave monastery lived about 30 men; fifteen of them were monks and the rest were hired workers and watchmen. From the archives documents it is known that at that time there was a sentry post of the Russian state in the caves of the chalky rock. The Charter sent to Chugyev city read: "And you, voevode, order to the three warriors from Chuguyev together with the ones from the city of Belgorod to go to the Svyatogorsk monastery and stay there for guarding it thoroughly in order to prevent the tartars and cherkass thieves from doing any harm to the people living there or deceiving them".

Besides the dwelling place in the Holy Mountains was used as the observation post. It was the place where the information about the enemy's approach, its army forces and plans was coming from, and it was the place where those who rescued themselves from the captivity were coming to. "And if the captives from the Crimea or from the Nogai hords or from the city ofTsargrad or from any other lands either Russian or foreign come to the Svyatogorsk monastery they ought to be questioned about the tartar forthcoming raids and various other news. If the captives bring the most important information they ought to be set free without undue holding-up", -read the Edict. During the time of being a sort of fortress, the monastery was strengthened with four cannons; three of them were made of copper and another one of cast iron. Many times the defenders of the fortress stood the siege of the enemy. The place of those who had been captured or killed during the attacks used to be occupied then by the new settlers including the ones who had escaped the catholic persecution from the Pravoberezhnay Ukraina. As well as the historical sources, the secret places in the depth of the chalky mountain provide a certain evidence of a hard every day life in the monastery about four hundreds years ago. There were found some well-preserved sepulchral niches in the lower level of the caves. There, also the first monks were buried. In the XIX century during cleaning out the caves the remains of the men without skulls were discovered. It suggested the idea that there was being performed the rite of burial according to the afon's custom. According to it, in three years after a monk's death his burial place was to be opened, the remains to be placed in a separate place, and as for the skull, it is to be put into a special niche. In the middle of the 80s this century during the investigation of the burial vault was found a burial place of a man who had been killed by the tartar sabre stab, perhaps, in the period of one of the endless tartar raids. As is known on documentary archives evidence, the monastery was attacked in 1644, 1668, 1679, 1691, 1737. Many times the monastery was destrojed but restored time and again. In the XIX century the burial-vault was used to its predestination only once, in 1859, when archimandrite Arseny, the abbot of the monastery was buried in a separate niche as his special services and his will were taken into consideration. In 1860 next to the burial-vault was hollowed out the church of Alexi built in honour of Arseny, mentioned above, known to the public as Alexy. Comparing with the other cave constructions the church was notable for its regular architectural forms and the largest volume. St. Nickolas' church is the most ancient one. It's located in the upper tier of the cave constructions. It was the place where according to legend a miracuolos icon of St. Nickolas' was found on a chalky pillar. Most likely, the church premises originally meant to be used for another purposes. Originally the iconostasis was placed in a small niche. In the middle of the XIX century during the restoration of the church it was transferred to the north-eastern part of the church. Till the middle of the 30s of the XVII century this church was the only one in the rock. Later there was dug up a passage to the upper part of the cliff and the church of Assumption was hollowed out. Now the church is lost. St. Nickolas' church having been restored on the money of Ivan Malinovsky and was reconsecrated in honour of John the Baptist. Late in the XVII century when a number of raids from the outside was reduced the monks left the caves and laid the foundation of the monastery on the bank of the Donets river at the foot of the rock. The caves were used as a shelter and later on they were honoured as a sacred place. In one of the cells not far from St. Nickolas' church monk John lived in seclusion for 17 years (from 1850 to 1867) practically without leaving it. His name is still honoured nowadays as saint. During the last decades after the monastery had been closed down the caves were considerably destroyed mainly because of the attending by numerous non-organized tourists. In the 80s the caves were restored. Around them was arranged an excursion route during which the visitors got an opportunity to know the history of this unique relics of the underground architecture. At the same time some special investigation and restoration works are being carried out; as well as the interior of St. Alexis Church, specifically, the cast iron iconostasis is being restored. Lack of any material illustrations to give the picture of the manner of the routine in the monastery characteristic of that very period of time made the historian investigators turn to the methods of archeological excavations. As result of those excavations there were discovered some things of everyday life and handicrafts at the foot of the chalky rock, related to the turn of the XVIII century. They are on display now at the entrance to the cave. The visitors can see there the articles of foundry, black-smith's, ceramic and glass manufacturing, which can successfully compete with those of in the west-eastern countries. The stove tiles and van-used kitchen utensils are notable for its wealth of floral and geometrical design that is characteristic of the Slobodskaya Ukraina. The technology of ceramic articles glazing was being widely used.

But the caves inside the chalky rock are not the only underground constructions in the Holy Mountains dated back to that period of time. Among the cave complex it is interesting to mark out the underground church of St. Anthony and Feodosy. The church was discovered and opened by the monks of the monastery in the 40s of the XIX century. In the 50s of the XIX century the archbishop in the city of Kharkov, Right Reverend Filaret noted: "That church had already been secretly built under the ground... most likely as far back as in the period of devastating tartar raids". In 1846 the church was restored and consecrated in honour of Anthony and Feodosy. History left no information about the original period of life of this relic which is really interesting for us. After being closed in 1992 the external part of the church was destroyed and the internal underground one was used for storing vegetables. In 1984 the church became an integral part of the architectural relics of the reserve and was repaired and restored. From 1986 to 1993 the archeological exhibition was arranged there. In 1993 the discovered remains of the church external part were investigated. This part served as a family burial-vault of the Golitsin princes clan. The vaults themselves appeared to be ruined, probably in the period of the 30s this century. Because of the necessity of restoration of the burial-vault the archeological exhibition was transferred and meanwhile the underground part of the church became a temporary haven for the remains of the Golitsins; prince Andrew Golitsin, a major-general and aide-de-camp to the Emperor Alexander I, princess Vera Fyodorovna, prince Nickolai Borisovich Golitsin, an outstanding figure of musical culture of the XIX century, a writer, a translator, a hero of the two wars: of the patriotic War in 1812 and of the war in the Crimea. There, also was buried, a supreme ataman (Cossack chieftain) of the Don Army prince Boris Kurakin as well as Count Mathew Platov and four generations of the Illovaisky clan and some others. Now, the church-yard monuments have not been preserved. The restoration works of the burial-vault of the Golitsins' clan have been carried out since 1994. Now is being worked out the project of the restoration of the exterior of the church of St. Anthony and Feodosy. At the same time, the research and restoration works in the underground church interior are being performed, particularly, the cast iron iconostasis and icon painting executed in the trends of the XVII century painting. There is also another unique relic, related to the end of living in the caves in the hermitage - St. Nickolas Church on the chalky rock. It is a masterpiece of the Ukrainian national architectonics. The church looks as if it grew up out of the chalky rock and it is quite natural that people's rumour called it a chalky church. The church is notable for its compositional integrity of the cliff itself and a picturesque natural landscape. History does not know the name of the man who has built this church. The documents in the monastery archives say: "This church is located in the western part of the monastery, outside its walls in the chalky rock. The church and a cupola are made of brick". There are lots of legends are connected with this relic. One of the most popular and captivating story says that the church was being secretly built behind the chalky wall. Another legend is about its miraculous appearance one night after the chalky wall, which hid the construction of the church, had been deliberately brought down. The basis for this legend was likely to be a XVII century real event: the top of the chalky rock happened to collapse for some reason and a new stone church had to be built on that place instead of the lost cave one. This explains quite an unusual constructive design: to build the church into the chalky rock, thus, to echo the lost chalky spurs in the architectural forms as well to keep the altar of the cave church in its original place. It is interesting to note, that the eastern small cupola is cut out of the chalky cone while the central one is made of brick and adorned with a decorative ornament. The decor of the facades was not remarkable for the wealth of ornaments and echoes very much the relics of the wooden architectonics. The vari-sized window openings draw a special attention. The smaller ones were made earlier and were likely to copy the cave windows and could possibly serve as gun-slots. The church was reconstructed at the XIX century and the large-sized window openings relate to that time. A new wooden belfry was also built at that very period. When the monastery stopped its functioning St. Nickolas' church changed its outward form. During World War II the church, however, was considerably ruined but restored in the 80s. The completely lost western cupola and the cupola top of the church was reconstructed. There also has been carried out gilding works. The interior of the church was changed not once. Originally, the architecture and furnishing were designed especially for the cave church. In the XVII century the stone part of the church was erected and only the iconostasis was left unchanged. In 1851 on the money of Catherine Shabelskaya the philanthropist of the monastery, the iconostasis was reconstructed and only in 1874 on the money of merchant Izvekov a new one was arranged. The repair and restoration works of the facades of this relic as well as of the church itself were carried out in the second half of the 80s. Some natural investigations made before the restoration of the church showed that there was no wall painting in it. In the design of the central cupola was used a favourite method of the Ukrainian skilled craftsmen of the XV-XVII centuries. The method was called "Zalom" that is, on the side of a larger-sized log cut a smaller-one was arranged. Thanks to this the structure looks especially graceful and exquisite. On the level of St. Nickolas' Church cupolas is placed a pavilion of an original architecture. It's called Andreyevskaya chapel and is a kind of rotunda built of crude stone. The pillars are connected with the vaulted ceiling. The initiator of its construction was Andrew Muravyov, the famous man of letters and traveller through the Holy places. The method used in masonry is known from olden times as "wild masonry". As to the Chapel itself, it was built in the 50s of the XIX century to honour the second inauguration of the monastery in 1844. Later, the Andreyevskaya chapel was renamed to the Upper pavilion of pilgrims. For some decades after the monastery had been closed down the Chapel was being destroyed loosing its tent-shaped roofing and its top. During 1988-1990 the relic was being restored. From the ridge of the chalky rocks we can see a panorama of the architectural ensemble of the XIX century monastery. The constructions of the XVIII century have not been reserved. It is connected to the closing down of the Svyatogorsk monastery in 1786 through 1788. According to the Decree of the Empress Catherine II the Svyatogoriye with all its monastery lands and serfs were handed over to the treasury bodies and then presented to Grigory Potyomkin, Prince of Tauris (an old name for Crimea). There is a legend that his Magesty prince on his way to the Crimea through the Holy mountains was fascinated by their beauty and wished to erect there a magnificent palace. So, he asked the Empress to present him with this "nice grove", as he called this place. There was found the letter from Catherine to Grigory Potyomkin dated of 1 October, 1790: "Dear friend of my heart, prince Grigory Alexandrovich, having given you today the "paradise of the earth", as you call this nook and asked me for, I have a request to you in return to sell it preferably to me if you take it to your head to sell it at all. Good-bye! God bless you. I am terribly weak". At that time that countryside comprised about 73 thousand acres of land and 2 thousand serfs. In 1844 according to the Decree of the Emperor Nickolay I the Svyatogorsk dwelling place resumed its functioning in the Svyatogorsk estate of Count Alexander Potyomkin (a namesake of Prince Grigory) with the assistance of his wife Tatyana Borisovna (born princess Golitsina). After the monastery was opened under the name of Svyatogorsk Assumption dwelling hermitage the construction works were developed on a large scale. The old ramshackle buildings were destroyed and on their place new churches, hotels and private buldings were erected. The inspirer and organiser of this tremendous plan of reconstruction was abbot Archimandrite Arseny. In the process of forming the architectural ensamble the projects of the outstanding architects' Konstantin Ton and Alexi Gornostayev were used. Their talent was embodied in the main cathedrals of the dwelling place; they are Preobrazhenskaya church and the Cathedral of Assumption. By that time the old ramshackle and small Cathedral of Assumption which was being built in 1698 through 1708 hardly fulfilled its functions of a Cathedral. The cathedral was being built during nine years, from 1859 to 1868. The project of the new cathedral was made by the academician of architecture from the city of Petersburg Alexi Gornostayev. But the most notable is the fact that this cathedral was built under the supervision of a common peasant from the Vladimir province. His name was Yakov Eryomin. Some eyewitnesses stated that apart from free construction materials, such as timber, stone, brick and lime a part of which was supplied by the Potyomkins, another part of the materials was produced at the monastery's plants. Above all 100 000 roubles more were required for the construction of the Cathedral. The cathedral became the central element of all the architectural ensemble. Built in the Russian-Byzantine style the cathedral enraptured the contemporaries with its monumental forms and grandeur. The five octagonal tent-shaped domes with graceful cupolas crown the cathedral. The central drum is for lighting. The underdome part has fresco painting executed in the academic style. The medallions are painted on the metal. The painting on the plaster predominates all over the cathedral. Unfortunately, the painting has been preserved only in this part of the cathedral. At the beginning of the 80s it was almost lost, but in 1985-1986 the paintings were being restored. The carved four-tiered iconostasis was made in Moskow in the workshop of artist Stepanov and cost the monastery 16.000 roubles. In 1922 when the monastery was closed down the cathedral was rebuilt to serve as a theatre for the House of Recreation named after Artyom, the Russian revolutionary. All the attributes for worshipping being lost, the crosses and cupolas of the cathedral were naturally dismantled. Inside the cathedral the iconostasis and communion-tables were dismantled. A suspended ceiling, a stage and balconies were arranged. Some time later a film projection room was attached to it. At the beginning of the 80s the facades were restored. The original decor and cupolas with crosses were rearranged and gilded. After the Svyatogorsk monastery had resumed its activity the cathedral was returned back to the church. The interior of it is still to be restored. However, the service is taken there up again and on holidays thousands of pilgrims gather in the cathedral. At the same time with the cathedral of Assumption there was built the Lower pavilion of pilgrims or so-called "cave pavilion". It's situated to the west of the cathedral almost adjoining it. The cave served as the entrance to the chalky rock and it is from here that the Labyrints of the cave passages start. The ruined pavilion and its lost upper part were reconstructed in early 80s. Now it is one of the popular objects for tourist sightseeing. From there, from the upper rotunda, the entrance to the Cirill and Mefody staircase was arranged. It led up to the top of the chalky rock.In 1851 this staircase had 511 steps. It was a kind of gallery with 16 turrets which were crowned with gilded cupolas. Nowadays only two half-ruined turrets remind us of that relic. In order to recostruct the staircase the reconstruction project is worked out. Konstantin Ton, the author of the project of the cathedral of Christ the Saviour and the Kremlin Grand Palace in Moscow took part in the architectural arrangement of the Holy Mountains. One of his greatest masterpieces is the Pokrovskaya Church with the belfry built in the Svyatogorsk monastery. From the archives documents it follows: "This church was erected in 1850 by permission of the Sacred Synod. It was built thanks to the tries of Archimandrite Arseny, the abbot of this hermitage, at the monastery's expense with the assistance of the Potyomkins, the philanthropists of the dwelling place". The architectural look of the church is vari-styled and includes motifs of the ancient Russian architecture, as well as the baroque and classical elements. In the lower tier of the church the entrance holy gates were arranged. The facades were lavishly decorated. Nowadays, the decor has only partly been preserved.

There were 8 bells arranged in the belfry the main of them weighed about 14 lb. Above the building of the church itself the belfry towers. The classical elements were mainly used in its architectural forms. The belfry decor together with its cupola tops have been actually lost. The belfry drum was equipped with a clock, which was described by Anton Chekhov in such a way: "The clock on the Svyatogorsk belfry played its quiet melodious music in a kind of introduction and after that it struck twelve". In the XIX century in the lower tier of the Pokrovskaya church a sacrisity, a monastery library and archives were located. The project of the restoration of this building is now getting under way. At present the relic serves as a library and surgeries of the "Holy Mountain" Sanatorium. The Treasury and Abbot Houses were built simultaneously with the Pokrovskaya Church. To the Abbot House the chambers for honourable guests were adjoined. It was there where the tsar family of the Emperor Alexander II was cordially received in 1861. In February 1994 the Holy mountains again welcomed the member of the Emperor's House of the Romanovs, the Great Princess Leonida Georgiyevna Romanova (born princess Bagration). Her Highness attended the Service in the Cathedral of Assumption, did the sights of the Svyatogorie, visited the ancient cave monastery, worshipped the remains of prince Nickolai Golitsin who had accompanied prince Bagration (wounded in the battle at Borodino) to his father's estate. Like others, the Svyatogorsk monastery has preserved its unique peculiarities though built according to the certain canons that is, the securing walls with towers are to be provided around the monastery. Only a part of the walls has preserved till now. At the back of the complex some buildings for monks are located. In the XIX century about 500 monks lived there. Now the buildings serve as sanatorium hotels for guests. A part and parcel of the whole monastery complex is a hotel courtyard. It's situated in the opposite, eastern part of the ensamble. The four hotel buildings have been preserved and the one which attracts a curious eye is called "nobiliary inn". Today it is a large three-storeyed building with a semi-basement, built on the turn of the XIX century (earlier it was a two-storeyed one). The hotel was reconstructed many times especially after it had been ruined during World War II. At present it serves as rooms for the guests of "The Holy Mountains" sanatorium. It had the order elements in its architectural forms. The hotel was designed for 200 guest rooms. Many famous poets, writers, artists stayed at this hotel. In May 1887 Anton Chekhov stayed there on his way to the city of Taganrog. In a letter to his sister he wrote: "The monks, extremely nice people, gave me kindly not an extremely nice room with a pancake-like tiny mattress. I spent two nights in the monastery and experienced quite a nice heap of impressions. I eyewitnessed how about 15 thousand prayers to God gathered there in honour of St. Nickolas' day; 8/9 of the pilgrims were old women. About the monks, making friends with them, about the way I treated the monks and the old women I shall report to the "Novoye Vremyan Magazine and when I come to see you. Tlte service seems to be endless. It is uncomfortable for me to stay in the room, therefore, I get up in the morning and leave it at once. I took a fancy to a spot on the bank of the Donets and used to sit for hours there during all the services". In olden times the picturesque landscape of the Svyatogorye inspired the visitors to create, and among such people were the poet Fyodor Tyutchev, the writers Ivan Bunin and Vasily Nemirovich-Danchenko, artist Ilya Repin. A vivid description of the nature surrounding the Donets river is given by Ivan Bunin in his story "The Holy Mountains)). "The skies above us seemed to be deeper and innocent; the joy clear like the skies was penetrating into our souls; what a space was being opened beneath the hill before our eyes; what a beauty was the valley, a dark velvet of its woods as viewed from this height; what a brilliance was the Donets in the sunshine; what a hot southern breathing was all around in the air! The heart of the warrior of prince Igor's regiments must have been beaten wildly and joyfully, indeed, when galloping his snorting horse up the hill towards this height, he found himself hanging down over the precipice in the mighty thick of the pinetrees running downwards the mountainside)). In 1862 the poem "The Holy Mountains)) created by Fyodor Tyutchev was published: "Quietly and mildly The July Night spreads over the Ukraine. The stars are so high in the skies, The skies are so deep in the Universe, And the Donets is so silver Enchanted By a fascinating mystery of the night". The prominent Ukrainian poet and philosopher of the XVIII century. Gregory Skovoroda also visited this place to see Leonty Kordet, the abbot of the monastery, for he cherished their friendship. From the courtyard the' road winds up the chalky mountainside and leads towards the household complex of the XIX century monastery. Only one building has been preserved. It is along the breastwall near which at those times various workshops and stores of the dwelling place were located, and now they are handed over to the Svyatogorsk monastery for its needs. The main household building is south-wards from the Cathedral of Assumption. Historically it was destined to serve, as a gate to the monastery in the south. In due course the gates being reconstructed first in a one-storeyed building and later in a two-storeyed one. Today it accommodates the director's office of the Historical and Architectural Reserve, the funds and also the archeological exhibition which displays the exhibits dated from the earliest stage of the Holy Mountain's history, since the Stone Age. By the beginning of the 80s this building had been unsafe. It was being repaired and restored in 1984 through 1989. Among the other lost relics are the XIX century Preobrazhenskaya church, the Cirill and Mefody staircase mentioned above as well as the refectory church and a few hotels for guests. The restoration of the original look of this unique architectural ensemble is being planned. The logical completion of the XIX century architectural ensemble was the palace built for Count Potyomkin on the chalky mountainside. This building has been lost like a few others and the whole complex as well. The Svyatogorsk small and secluded monastery of St. Arseny, for instance, is actually lost completely. It was located in a marvellous dell on the bank of the Donets at a half kilometre distance from the monastery. A miraculous effect of the spiritual influence of the Svyatogoriye on the visitors recalls in their memory their meetings with the relics of the world culture. Vasili Nemirovich-Danchenko experienced that and resumed the following: "I saw the Solovki Isles from the Anzer Mountains, the Zavolzhye (the lands located on the other side of the Volga river) - from the hill slope in Nizhny city, the panorama of the Urals from the Rastes, the Zadneprovye (the lands on the other side of the Dniper river) - from the Kiev and Pechera heights, the magic plains ofAvariya-from the Koy-su, the endless sea of the Balkan-from the eagle nest on the St. Nickolas, the happy valleys of Gyrlov sultanate - from the Dervish mountain, but if I had one more chance to admire this vast panorama from the chalky rocks of the Holy Mountains I would undoubtedly forget much for the sake of it".