Kizhi Island which is probably most widely known as the location of famous Kizhi Pogost and Kizhi Museum is situated in the northern part of lake Onego. Lake Onego stretches a hundred kilometres from East to West and about 2-3 hunderd kilometres from South to North. This circumstance will play not the list role if you decide to visit Kizhi.
Kizhi is most easily achievable from May till September when there are no ice fields and no winds and storms on Onego. During this period you can travel to the island onboard any kind of ship suitable for sailing on large lake waters. If to speak about regular passenger ships to Kizhi they go from Petrozavodsk which is the largest port on Onego. The ships depart from the harbor situated in Petrozavodsk bay of Onego lake (on the photo).
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| View of Onego lake from Petrozavodsk bay |
Ships used for the regular connection with Kizhi are called hydrofoils. A hydrofoil is simply a small speed motor ship which has got so called underwater wings and looks like this one on the photo...
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| A Hydrofoil standing in Petrozavodsk harbor |
...or, like this one when moving on its underwater wings
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| A Hydrofoil sailing |
A hydrofoil moves with a speed of 60 km/hour, that is thrice more than a usual motor ship and makes the distance of 80 km from Petrozavodsk to Kizhi in about 1 hour 15 min. You can buy tickets for the hydrofoil at the office of Petrozavodsk river station or book them via a travel agency. Hydrofoils usually go 3-5 times a day, every day.
After actually crossing the lake from the West to the East, viewing the panoramas with numerous islands of Onego, meeting lots of large and smaller motor ships going to and from Kizhi with passengers waving to you you'll arrive to this famous island yourself and step on its rocky ground.
After the arrival most of the passengers are moving to the excursion office which a kind of "entrance" to the most popular part of the museum's area. If you travel yourself you'll need to buy an entrance ticket and if you'd like to have a guided excursion - the choice I'd recommend - a ticket for this excursion. Upon buying the excursion ticket you join a group formed near the excursion office and go with it, otherwise you just go and see everything yourself.
Just several hundred metres farther from the excursion office you'll see the most famous exhibit of Kizhi island, the wonderful Kizhi Pogost with its great wooden church of Transfiguration, on the photo.
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| Transfiguration church of Kizhi Pogost |
You can come inside the Kizhi Pogost through its gates and have a closest view on the Transfiguration church and its 22 domes which are actually the most difficult part of its construction. The domes are covered with small aspen shingles. If you try to count somehow the amount of these shingles on all the domes you'll get a number of 30,000 or more. 30,000 aspen shingles made with an axe.
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| Aspen domes and a closer view of the Transfiguration church |
Kizhi Pogost also includes the Intercession church and the Bell Tower, both well seen on this photo.
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| Intercession church and the Bell tower of Kizhi Pogost |
The Intercession church is opened for visitors so you can come inside it and view its interiors.
The Transfiguration church is closed for visiting till 2014 year for restoration works, so you cannot view its interiors... unless you're planning your trip for 2014 or later.
Close to Kizhi Pogost you'll see nice peasant houses like this one.
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| A Traditional Peasant House seen on Kizhi island |
Inside one of the houses you can have an excursion with viewing an ethnographic exposition with lots of traditional objects from local peasants' life few hundred years ago.
Smaller wooden buildings can be seen everywhere and are an essential part of Kizhi landscapes.
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| Kizhi landscape |
Hydrofoils usually depart 3 hours after the arrival to Kizhi, so you have 3 hours to explore the island and to return to your hydrofoil. There is a cafe on the island, but taking some kind of snack lunch with yourself is a good idea also. The excursion on Kizhi together with the hydrofoil trip to the island will take about 6 hours, fresh air and small foot walks very possibly will make you think of food.
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