This hill, from which we are now breathlessly gazing at the surrounding beauty, was not alone. To the right, to the left, and opposite, hills of varying size and steepness rose, in places overgrown with small thickets of trees and shrubs. Surrounded by these hills, like in a bowl, a large lake lay at the bottom of the ravine. There was no wind, and the whole world was reflected in its calm waters. Even birds and the smallest clouds...
You definitely need to come here and see this creation of Mother Nature. And to make you even more willing to visit these magical places, I will tell you a legend that lives in the memory of the old-timers of the village that is located beyond Lyask, not far from the lake.
Once there was a pagan temple on one of the hills near this lake. Oak idols, blackened by age, surrounded a bonfire lined with huge boulders in a tight circle. A fire was lit in this bonfire on holidays and on days of celebrations. The keeper of this fire was a healer and fortune teller, the old prophetess Marinza. Everyone came to her for help: men – so that she could ask the gods for a successful hunt, mothers and wives went to ask for protection of their homes from misfortunes, children's health, and profits on the farm.
But now a new, alien faith began to spread across our land... She has not yet reached these wooded, dense places, but news of her has already been brought by newcomers. These rumors were full of unkind things: that holy temples were being destroyed, gods made of stone and carved out of wood were being drowned, and people who did not want to abandon the faith of their ancestors were mercilessly destroyed by whole settlements.
One day, the lady of the sacred fire gathered people and informed them that tomorrow at sunset she would leave this world and go to her ancestors. And Marinza also made such a request: her body must be placed on a built raft and pushed to the middle of the lake, and the archers should shoot arrows lit from the holy fire from the shore and set the raft on fire. So the ashes of Marinets at the bottom of the lake will calm down. After that, the water in it will become healing. Thus, Marinza will help people even after death: she can cure various diseases with water from the lake...
That's right, and it was done as commanded by old Marinza. And the lake has been named after her ever since. But now we know him as a Saint.
Yes, it is now... And earlier, long after the death of the prophetess, the lake was called Marintsevo. Supporters of the new faith came up with their own legend: according to their stories, the church was once flooded here, and the lake has since been called Holy. Almost all similar lakes in our country are covered with similar legends about sunken temples, and, surprisingly, only churches.
But, fortunately, sometimes it is possible to look into the depths of our past, touch the more diverse world of legends and learn about, perhaps, the true origin of the names of beautiful and mysterious places.