Divnogorye — (russian: Музей-заповедник «Дивногорье», ''Muzej-zapovednik Divnogor'e'') is a

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

and

open-air museum An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts out-of-doors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is “the unconfined atmosphere� ...

Liskinsky District Liskinsky District (russian: Ли́скинский райо́н) is an administrativeLaw #87-OZ and municipalLaw #85-ZO district (raion), one of the thirty-two in Voronezh Oblast, Russia. It is located in the western central part of the oblast. ...

Voronezh Oblast Voronezh Oblast (russian: Воронежская область, Voronezhskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Voronezh. Its population was 2,308,792 as of the 2021 Census. Geography V ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. It is located 10 km to the west from district administrative center on the right bank of

Don River The Don ( rus, Дон, p=don) is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its ...

, 80 km to the south from

Voronezh Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the ...

, not far from

khutor A khutor ( rus, хутор, p=ˈxutər) or khutir ( uk, хутiр, pl. , ''khutory'') is a type of rural locality in some countries of Eastern Europe; in the past the term mostly referred to a single-homestead settlement.

Divnogorye. Museum was established in 1988 and received official status of nature reserve museum in 1991. Divnogorye remains of the most popular and recognizable tourist attractions of Voronezh Oblast. More than 60,000 visitors are attracted every season (from May to October), mostly from Voronezh and

Oblast An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdom of ...

Description

Nature reserve museum Divnogorye occupies of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

outcrops. Maximum altitude above sea level is 181 m or 103 m relative to the mouth of the

Tikhaya Sosna River Tikhaya Sosna (russian: Ти́хая Сосна́) is a river in Belgorod and Voronezh oblasts of Russia. It is a right tributary of the river Don. It is long, with a drainage basin of .dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germa ...

for laying a railway. In addition, shepherds and

vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term f ...

caused great damage too.

Etymology

Divnogorye comes from two Russian words: ''divo'' (plural ''divy'') – ''miracle'', which was used as reference to limestone

butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word mea ...

s inhabited by orthodox monks and ''gora'' – ''mountain'' or ''upland'' (''nagorye''). For the first time, it appeared in travel notes of Ignaty Smolyanin, who accompanied

Pimen, Metropolitan of Moscow Metropolitan Pimen (known as Pimen the Greek, russian: Пимен Грек) was the Metropolitan of Kiev and all Rus' from June 1380 until he was deposed in 1384. At the same time, Cyprian, Metropolitan of Kiev was alive and claimed the same titl ...

in 1389.

Flora and fauna

The territory of Divnogorye is located on the northern outskirts

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...

zone and differs significantly from the

forest steppe A forest steppe is a temperate-climate ecotone and habitat type composed of grassland interspersed with areas of woodland or forest. Locations Forest steppe primarily occurs in a belt of forest steppes across northern Eurasia from the eastern ...

zone of Voronezh. For a long time the plateau and its slopes were used for sheep farming which lead to significant vegetation degradation. But after cessation of grazing and human presence regulation, the steppe vegetation was restored in its original form. More than 250 species of

xerophytic A xerophyte (from Greek ξηρός ''xeros'' 'dry' + φυτόν ''phuton'' 'plant') is a species of plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water, such as a desert such as the Sahara or places in the Alps or th ...

and petrophytic plants grows on the plateau such as:

European feather grass ''Stipa pennata'', common name ''European feather grass'', is a flowering plant and arid zone sand grass in the grass family Poaceae, which is grown as an ornamental plant for its feathery flowering spikes. It is one of the most common plants of ...

, ''

Salvia nutans ''Salvia nutans'', nodding sage, is a species of ''Salvia'' in the family Lamiaceae, native to Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and possibly Siberia. It has been introduced into North America as a garden escapee Escaped plants are c ...

'', limestone

thyme Thyme () is the herb (dried aerial parts) of some members of the genus ''Thymus'' of aromatic perennial evergreen herbs in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are relatives of the oregano genus ''Origanum'', with both plants being mostly indigenou ...

, ''

Securigera varia ''Securigera varia'' ( synonym ''Coronilla varia''), commonly known as crownvetch or purple crown vetch, is a low-growing legume vine. It is native to Africa, Asia and Europe and is commonly used throughout the United States and Canada for eros ...

'', Eastern

Centaurea ''Centaurea'' () is a genus of over 700 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding reg ...

, ''

Ephedra distachya ''Ephedra distachya'' is a shrub in the family Ephedraceae that stands about 25 cm to 50 cm high. The shrub grows in many parts of the world, including southern and central Europe and western and central Asia. Its local names include '' ...

'', Schiveréckia podólica, ''

Clematis integrifolia ''Clematis integrifolia'' is a flowering vine of the genus ''Clematis''. Like many members of that genus, it is prized by gardening, gardeners for its showy flowers. ''C. integrifolia'' bears nodding, urn-shaped blue flowers in summer that are 1 ...

'', ''

Pulsatilla pratensis ''Pulsatilla pratensis'' ( syn. ''Anemone pratensis''), the small pasque flower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, native to central and eastern Europe, from southeast Norway and western Denmark south and east to Bulgar ...

'', '' Onosma simplicissima'',

pygmy iris ''Iris pumila'', sometimes known as pygmy iris or dwarf iris, probably originated as a natural hybrid between '' Iris pseudopumila'' Boissier & Heldreich and '' I. attica'' Tineo. It ranges from Austria through eastern Europe and the Balkans, in ...

and ''

Iris aphylla ''Iris aphylla'' (also known as leafless iris, table iris or stool iris) is a species in the genus ''Iris'', it is also in the subgenus ''Iris'', and in the section ''Iris''. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from Asia to Europe. It is found in Azer ...

'', snowdrop anemone, ''

Adonis vernalis ''Adonis vernalis'', known variously as pheasant's eye, spring pheasant's eye, yellow pheasant's eye and false hellebore, is a perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It is found in dry meadows and steppes in Eurasia. Mor ...

''.

Great bustard The great bustard (''Otis tarda'') is a bird in the bustard family, the only member of the genus ''Otis''. It breeds in open grasslands and farmland from northern Morocco, South and Central Europe, to temperate Central and East Asia. European po ...

and

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...

can be occasionally seen on the territory of the reserve. ''

Merops MEROPS is an online database for peptidases (also known as proteases, proteinases and proteolytic enzymes) and their inhibitors. The classification scheme for peptidases was published by Rawlings & Barrett in 1993, and that for protein inhibitor ...

'' and

Eurasian eagle-owl The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl that resides in much of Palearctic, Eurasia. It is also called the Uhu and it is occasionally abbreviated to just the eagle-owl in Europe. It is one of the largest species of owl, ...

are more common.

Hares Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The gen ...

and

foxes Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

are most common mammals.

Bats Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...

live in the crevices. The entomological fauna is rich, among which the most common are:

bumblebees A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related gener ...

dragonflies A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threa ...

paper wasps Paper wasps are vespid wasps that gather fibers from dead wood and plant stems, which they mix with saliva, and use to construct nests made of gray or brown papery material. Some types of paper wasps are also sometimes called umbrella wasps, ...

, ''

Saga pedo ''Saga pedo'' is a species of bush cricket, spread throughout the European part of the Mediterranean, and Asia as far east as China. It is a wingless bush cricket, with the body size of up to , which makes it one of the largest European insects ...

'',

stag beetles Stag beetles are a family of about 1,200 species of beetles in the family Lucanidae, currently classified in four subfamilies.Smith, A.B.T. (2006). A review of the family-group names for the superfamily Scarabaeoidea (Coleoptera) with corrections ...

, '' Lethrus'' beetles,

swallowtail butterflies Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful Butterfly, butterflies in the family Papilionidae, and include over 550 species. Though the majority are tropical, members of the family inhabit every continent except Antarctica. The family includes ...

Tourism

Divnogorye is the center of Orthodox

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

. On the territory of the museum and the immediate vicinity there are: cave churches of The Sicilian Icon of the Mother of God, St. John the Baptist and Divnogorsk-3 (XIX century), The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (XVII century), and the Mayatsk fortress (

Khazar The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...

, IX-X centuries) and

necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

and Mayatsk pottery complex (Khazar, IX-X centuries), archaeological park. The nature reserve museum is accessible for free, there is a wide range of excursion programs for organized tourist groups. There is a camping ground and a hotel next to the museum. Excursion trails and attractions on the territory of the museum are marked with information signs and supplied with tourist information. The territory of the museum is guarded.

Gallery

Image:Дивногорская степь.jpg, Typical view of

in Divnogorye Image:Вход в церковь Сицилийской иконы Божьей Матери.JPG, Entrance to cave church of the Sicilian Icon of the Mother of God Image:Kreidefelsen.jpg, Greater Divy Image:Divnogorje in Russia.JPG, View from hills onto Greater Divy Image:Собор Успения Пресвятой Богородицы и Церковь Иконы Божьей Матери Сицилийской.jpg, Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary viewed from Lesser Divy Image:Divnogorye 2.jpg, Divnogorye

canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

in autumn Image:Археологический парк.jpg, Archeological park Image:Информация для туристов в Дивногорье.jpg, Example of information board for tourists Image:DSC0107 - DSC0111.tif, Divnogorye, Don river view from Mayatsk fortress Image:Pilgrims in Divnogorye, Voronezh oblast, Russia, End of 19th age.jpg, Orthodox pilgrims in Divnogorye, end of 19th century

References

External links

Divnogorye
rufact.org
Official website of the nature reserve museum Divnogorye
* {{commonscat-inline, Divnogorye

Objects of cultural heritage of Russia of federal significance Open-air museums in Russia Buildings and structures in Voronezh Oblast