Bald Mountain, also called Lysa Hora or Łysa Góra, (, Ukrainian: Лиса гора, ''Lysa hora'';

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: Лысая гора, ''Lysaya gora'') is a location in Slavic

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

related to

witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...

. According to legends, witches periodically gather on the "bald mountains" for the

Witches' Sabbath A Witches' Sabbath is a purported gathering of those believed to practice witchcraft and other rituals. The phrase became especially popular in the 20th century. Origin of the phrase The most infamous and influential work of witch-hunting lor ...

. The exact origins and factual evidences of the concept are unclear. Notable "bald mountains" include the

Łysa Góra Łysa Góra , translated as Bald Mountain, is a well-known hill in Świętokrzyskie Mountains, Poland. With a height of 595 metres (1,952 ft), it is the second highest point in that range (after Łysica at 612 meters or 2,008 ft). On i ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, Lysa Hora and Zamkova Hora hills in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Cultural references

*''

Night on Bald Mountain ''Night on Bald Mountain'' (), also known as ''Night on the Bare Mountain'', is a series of compositions by Modest Mussorgsky (1839–1881). Inspired by Russian s:St. John's Eve (Gogol, unsourced), literary works and legend, Mussorgsky composed ...

'' (musical composition by Modest Mussorgsky and Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov inspired by the legend) *A ''Bald Mountain'' can be found in

Mikhail Bulgakov Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov ( ; rus, links=no, Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪdʑ bʊlˈɡakəf; – 10 March 1940) was a Russian and Soviet novelist and playwright. His novel ''The M ...

's ''

The Master and Margarita ''The Master and Margarita'' () is a novel by Mikhail Bulgakov, written in the Soviet Union between 1928 and 1940. A censored version, with several chapters cut by editors, was published posthumously in ''Moscow (magazine), Moscow'' magazine in ...

'' as the mountain where the ''Iyeshua'' (

Jesus of Nazareth Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the central figure of Christianity, the world's largest religi ...

) was crucified and it is the location of a sabbath in which

Margarita A margarita is a cocktail consisting of tequila, triple sec, and lime juice. Some margarita recipes include simple syrup as well and are often served with salt on the rim of the glass. Margaritas can be served either shaken with ice (on the rock ...

takes part. * In 1970s, in

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

, an anonymous poem ''A Tale of the Bald Mountain'' (Сказ пра Лысую гару) was widely circulated by ''

samizdat Samizdat (, , ) was a form of dissident activity across the Eastern Bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground makeshift publications, often by hand, and passed the documents from reader to reader. The practice of manual rep ...

''. It ridiculed the "sabbath" by the members of the Belarusian

Union of Soviet Writers The Union of Soviet Writers, USSR Union of Writers, or Soviet Union of Writers () was a creative union of professional writers in the Soviet Union. It was founded in 1934 on the initiative of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (1932) a ...

, who quarreled during the allocation of ''

dacha A dacha (Belarusian, Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and rus, дача, p=ˈdatɕə, a=ru-dacha.ogg) is a seasonal or year-round second home, often located in the exurbs of former Soviet Union, post-Soviet countries, including Russia. A cottage (, ...

s'' for them. * In '' Monday Begins on Saturday'', a 1965

science fantasy file:Warhammer40kcosplay.jpg, Cosplay of a character from the ''Warhammer 40,000'' tabletop game; one critic has characterized the game's setting as "action-oriented science-fantasy." Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction ...

novel by Soviet writers Boris and Arkady Strugatsky, the witch Naina Kyivna, the landlady of the protagonist regularly flies to Lysaya Gora for what is called "Annual Republican Convention".Толоконникова С. Ю.
"УТОПИЧЕСКИЙ НЕОМИФОЛОГИЗМ БРАТЬЕВ А. И Б. СТРУГАЦКИХ В ПОВЕСТИ «ПОНЕДЕЛЬНИК НАЧИНАЕТСЯ В СУББОТУ»"
''ВОПРОСЫ РУССКОЙ ЛИТЕРАТУРЫ'', issue 3, 2015, pp. 31-32 * Łysa Góra (Elder Speech: Ard Cerbin) is a location in the role-playing game '' The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt''. The mountain is the setting of a yearly ritual where the Sisters of the Bog, three ancient, powerful, demon-like witches, grant their favour to local peasants who worship them. During the game's story, main characters

Geralt of Rivia Geralt of Rivia () is a fictional character and the protagonist of '' The Witcher'' series of short stories and novels by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. He is a magically enhanced monster-hunter known as a "witcher", who possesses supernatural ...

and Ciri assault the ritual to assassinate the sisters and their guest of honor, Imlerith, a captain of the Wild Hunt.

References

:: European witchcraft Slavic mythology Ukrainian folklore Polish folklore Places in Slavic mythology Mythological mountains Witches' Sabbath {{europe-myth-stub

Cultural references

See also

References