Troitsky Makariev Monastery, Orthodox monastery in Kalyazin, Russia
The Troitsky Makariev Monastery is an Orthodox monastery in Kalyazin, sitting on the bank of the Volga River and made up of stone buildings with traditional domed churches and an enclosing wall. The surviving structures stand on a narrow strip of land surrounded by water, as part of the original grounds was flooded when the Uglich Reservoir was created.
The monastery was founded in the 15th century and grew over the following centuries into an important religious center for the Tver region. In the early 1940s, part of it was submerged when the Uglich Reservoir was built, leaving only a portion of the original complex above the waterline.
The monastery takes its name from Saint Makarius, a monk who founded the first community on this site in the 15th century. His memory remains tied to the place, and visitors who attend services today can still feel the connection between the site and the old monastic tradition of the Volga region.
The monastery sits on the edge of Kalyazin and is easy to reach on foot from the town center, with the path along the Volga bank offering the best views. Visiting during drier months tends to be rewarding, as lower water levels reveal more of the old structure.
Although the monastery was used for administrative purposes during the Soviet era and underwent major changes, it is now active again as a working religious community. This return to monastic life after decades of disruption and partial flooding makes it a rare case among the old religious sites of central Russia.
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