Discovering Volkhov

7 points13 km1.5 hours

Volkhov is a small town on both banks of the river of the same name, where it flows into Lake Ladoga, 122 km east of St. Petersburg. We tell you about the main sights of a town that grew up around the river, the railway and the Volkhov hydroelectric station. This route was designed specially for the BelkaCar car-sharing service.

Route author

Susanin Team

Things to do

📜 Learn the city's history
🏛️🕰️ Compare the eras

Route points (7)

Church of the Prophet Elijah in Volkhov

Point on route “Discovering Volkhov”

Point 7

Church of the Prophet Elijah

🕍 Place of worship

Historical Background

The church was built in the mid-19th century. It is a cultural heritage site and an architectural monument of local significance, protected by the state. Originally a wooden church stood here (records of it date back to 1500), but it burned down. It stood in the Ilyinsky pogost (churchyard settlement) on the high left bank of the Volkhov River, on the large estate of the St. Nicholas Monastery of Ladoga. In 1848 the wooden church was struck by lightning and burned, and a new stone church dedicated to the Prophet Elijah was built in its place — the one that survives today. In Soviet times no attempt was made to destroy the Church of St. Elijah, but it was closed in 1939. The building survived and was used as a club. Then it stood idle for a long time and fell into decay. In the 2000s the half-ruined church was returned to the Orthodox community, and restoration work began. The church owns a miracle-working icon of Our Lady of Kazan. Pilgrims come to it on feast days, and there are accounts of people being healed after praying before the icon.