Blakitnaja Krynica (Blue Well)

Spring is not too far from Sozh – a large tributary of Dnieper. It is located in a small grove of lime and oak trees.

Spring has formed a small pond, some 20 by 15 m large. This pond is filled with emerald-colored water. Springwater rises from a depth of some 150 – 200 m, but the pond is not too deep – up to 2.5 m. The deepest place is located at the mouth of the spring. This channel represents a kind of cave that has been measured up to the depth of 3 m, thus bringing the depth of the pool to 5.5 m.

Output of the spring is approximately 60 liters per second. While this is not too impressive figure if compared to the mighty springs of the Balkans, Caucasus, or Florida, this most likely is the most powerful spring in the extensive East European Plain.

Water leaves the spring as a 3 – 8 m wide stream, which falls into Golub river and then – in Sozh.

Spring water is very clean, 5° C cold throughout the year, and rich with calcium bicarbonate.

Pond is rich with interesting types of vegetation including impressive, purple-colored algae formations.

History

Blakitnaja Krynica has been a sacred place since prehistoric times. According to legends, it was the most sacred place for the tribe of Radimichs and these people were baptized here more than 1000 years ago. Some tell that back then these springs were a lot more powerful and formed natural fountains.

Some information about the ancient beliefs is provided by a local legend that tells the story of three young people – Catherine, Stepan, and Makar. Catherine loved Stepan but Stepan was somewhat weaker than Makar. They competed for Catherine by throwing a large boulder – who will throw it further away, would marry Catherine. Makar won and Catherine, unwilling to live together with a man she did not love, threw herself in the water and disappeared. She was found dead 5 kilometers away, in the Blakitnaja Krynica.

Although this legend seems to tell the story of local people, it may, in reality, show the interaction of prehistoric gods, the story behind the Pre-Christian legend of this ancient shrine.

Near the spring was a small village – Kliny, but it was abandoned after the Chornobyl catastrophe although the area has not been severely polluted.

Now Blakitnaja Krynica is an important Christian shrine and next to it is located a small Orthodox church. Every year on 14th August the spring is visited by thousands of pilgrims. In order to heal themselves many pilgrims drop their clothes and dive in the spring. After the bath, they leave old clothes on site.

Since 1985 Blakitnaja Krynica is a protected hydrological monument.

References

1. Власов Б.П., Рудаковский И.А., Лихачев А.С. Характеристика родника “Голубая криница”. Белорусский государственный университет. Accessed on January 1, 2016.