Valaam

   In the northwestern corner of Europe’s largest lake Ladoga, lies the beautiful archipelago consisting of fifty islands, which was named after the biggest of them – Valaam. The total area of the Valaam archipelago is 36 km, with a maximum length of 13 and 8 km. The nature of Valaam is unique. More than 460 kinds of the plants grow on the island. Valaam is the island of the coniferous forests. Along with the trees common to this latitude one observes silver fir and larch alleys, oak groves and apple gardens. The animal world of the archipelago is singularly diverse, too. There are nine small lakes in the main island of the archipelago. Bays, lakes surrounded by thick plants and sullen granite rocks reflect everything in their azure… The harmony of the archipelago is evident to everyone.
Valaam separated by nature from secular settlements is an ideal place for monastic life and solitude, as if especially destined to glorify God. There on the high cliffs stands the Valaam Transfiguration Monastery, a major place of pilgrimage in Russia. According to a legend, it was in the 1st century that St. Apostle Andrew arrived at Valaam and hoisted the Cross there as a token of enlightenment of that land with the Christ’s light. As early as in the 10th century, before Russia was baptized, the founders of the cloister St. Sergius and Herman, Miracle-Workers of Valaam, came to the island and established here the monastery. For centuries the Valaam Monastery was the most important monastic community and religious center in the North.
Most of the elegant monastery structures dated from the 19th century. The heart of the cloister is the Transfiguration Cathedral (1887-1896) designed by Karpov and other architects. The imposing blue cathedral domes of the monastery located in the southern part of the island near the Monastery Bay can be seen from almost any point.
Another marvelous construction is St. Nicolas’ Church in the skete of the same name by Gornostayev. The monastery was a source of inspiration for many well-known figures of Russian culture: the poet Tiutchev, composer Tchaikovskt and painter Shishkin among them.
In the days of the Second World War Valaam was bombarded but the damage was not serious.
In 1986 the Metropolitan of Leningrad Alexius (now Patriarch of All Russia) consecrated the Transfiguration Cathedral given back to the Church and in 1989 monastic life resumed hire. In 1992 most of the clerical and administrative buildings were returned to the monastery. Today, when the state has begun to return the buildings to the Russian Orthodox Church, the monastic life is reviving and the restoration and the conservation works are going on.
The monastery is stauropegial, which means that it is directly guilder by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (not by a local bishop).