Kalyazin, April 14, 2014
Water has subsided around the famous flooded bell tower of St. Nicolas Cathedral, situated in the Russian town of Kalyazin in the Tver region, reports Interfax-Religion.
April 2014. Photo: A.Ryabtsev
The 75 meter-high belfry, which earlier could be reached only by swimming, is now surrounded by land. The previous time Kalyazin residents observed such a phenomenon occurred 17 years ago, reports press service of the Diocese of Tver.
According to experts, the bell tower has ended up on dry land due to the winter with little snow and water evacuation from the reservoir. The belfry is expected to be submerged again already by May.
The bell tower, which was flooded in the Soviet time when the Uglich reservoir was built, had been constructed between 1796 and 1800 by local masters. Its campanile had 11 bells. The largest bell weighed 501 poods (approximately 8,200 kilograms or 18,100 pounds) and was cast in November 1835. Under the Soviet government St. Nicolas Cathedral was blown up and the flooded bell tower is all that has remained from it.
