Volgoverkhovie or Volgoverkhovye (Volgino Verkhovye) is a village in the Ostashkovsky district of the Tver region, 42 kilometers north-west of Ostashkov. The village is known for the fact that next to it is the source of the Volga, it is an attractive place for tourists.
The main attraction of the village and the local natural monument
is the source of the Volga. It is believed to be located in a swamp
250 meters from the village, at 228 meters above sea level. In the
middle of the swamp, on a clean and deep "bog spring", there is a
chapel connected to the shore by a wooden deck. In 1999, Patriarch
Alexy II consecrated the source of the Volga.
The first
monastery at the source of the Volga was founded as a male monastery
(Volgoverkhovsky Transfiguration Monastery) in the middle of the
17th century. by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. It existed
until the beginning of the 18th century, gradually falling into
decay. In 1724, after a big fire, it was abolished. A new revival of
the monastery began in 1907 as a women's community in the
Volgoverkhovye, which was assigned to the Vyshnevolotsk Kazan
Convent. Soon (in the same year) the Olginsky community received the
status of a monastery and became independent. In the 1920s the
monastery was closed. In the 1960s, there was an attempt to create a
historical and cultural reserve on its basis. In the 1990s, the
monastery was returned to the diocese and renewed as a convent.
The first bridge across the Volga
The first bridge from the
source across the Volga is located in the village. The bridge is
wooden, about 2 m long, with handrails. Used for pedestrian traffic.
The bridge at this place has been known since at least 1910, when it
was captured in photographs by famous Russian photographers S.M.
Prokudin-Gorsky and M.P.Dmitriev.
Not far from the first
bridge over the Volga, there is a memorial stone erected on June 22,
1989. The inscription is carved on the stone:
Traveler! Turn your eyes to the source of the Volga! Here the purity and greatness of the Russian land is born. Here are the origins of the people's soul. Keep them safe. This stone was laid on June 22, 1989 for the living and future children of Russia. Look around when you leave.
The first dam across the Volga
The first dam from the source
across the Volga is located in the village. The dam, built at the
beginning of the 20th century by the Olginsky women's monastery, is
a wooden structure with pedestrian traffic.