Description of the attraction
The horse-stone is one of the brightest attractions of the Priozersky region. It is a huge boulder of gray granite with quartz veins measuring about 9x6 meters, a little over 4 meters high and weighing over 750,000 kilograms. Located on the island of Konevets (Lake Ladoga), 7 kilometers from the coastal village of Vladimirovka.
Historically, the stone is one of the rare surviving pagan sanctuaries. There is a version that pagan rituals were once carried out next to him. The shape of the boulder is vaguely similar to that of a horse's head. This is probably where its name came from.
There is a legend that the Karelians used the island of Konevets as a summer pasture for their horses and every year they sacrificed one horse on this stone. This legend was born in the description of the life of Arseny Konevsky, compiled in the 16th century, about one century after the death of the ascetic. The author is the hegumen of Konev Varlaam.
The Monk Arseny, who arrived on the island at the end of the XIV century, according to legend, met here the fisherman Philip and learned from him about the sacrifices. Arseny found this place "thicker than a dense forest surrounded by demonic horror." The monk spent the whole night in prayer, and in the early morning he made a procession with the cross around a boulder with an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos and sprinkled it with holy water. The legend says that evil spirits, like soot, jumped out of the stone and, turning into black ravens, flew away to the opposite bank of Ladoga, which has since been called the Devil's Bay (Sortan-lakhta). Along with demons, according to legend, snakes also disappeared (Konevets Island is the only island on Lake Ladoga where snakes do not live).
In honor of this event, a small wooden chapel in the name of Arseny Konevsky was erected at the top of the stone. No reliable information has been found about exactly when the first chapel on the Horse-Kamen was erected. Perhaps this happened at the very beginning of the founding of the monastery.
During the years of Swedish desolation, the chapel was destroyed and restored under the reign of Hilarion only in 1815. The chapel was about 3 meters high and there was a small gallery. Inside there were “simple work” icons and a cross made of wood.
The modern chapel with pretty window frames decorated with saw-cut carvings was built at the end of the 19th century, or rather, in 1895, and has been completely restored today.
The chapel can be accessed by a wooden staircase. The interior is devoid of ornaments, it is characterized by simplicity and modesty: the ceiling and walls are painted with white paint. Only on the eastern wall you can see 2 icons of modern writing: one in the name of the Monk Arseny, the other in honor of the Mother of God of Konevskaya. A lectern for the reader is installed in front of the icons.
From the chapel along the path you can go to a wide road, which, if you follow it to the left, will lead you back to the monastery. If you go to the right, then literally in a few meters you can find yourself on the picturesque bank of Ladoga. Further along the coast, the road goes to the northern tip of the island of Konevets. Directly from the boulder itself, another road goes into the forest, leading to the Snake Mountain, and then it is lost in the thicket.
