Description of the attraction
The monument to the warrior Ilya Muromets, standing on a massive cylindrical pedestal, is located on the high bank of the Oka, in the city park named after Lenin (Oka park) of the ancient city of Murom. The sculptor was Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Klykov. His works are installed in many Russian cities. His creations, such as the monument to Marshal G. K. Zhukov on Manezhnaya Square in Moscow, a monument to Alexander Nevsky in the city of Kursk, a belfry of the Prokhorovskoye Pole memorial ensemble in the village of Prokhorovka, Belgorod Region, and others.
Bronze Ilya Muromets is depicted in the guise of a hero-monk - in a helmet and chain mail, from under which a monastic robe is visible. His right hand is raised, in it he holds a sword, and in his left - a cross pressed to his chest. The militant gesture of the epic hero is not accidental - here, on the banks of the Oka, in ancient times the border of the Russian lands passed.
The height of the monument from the sword to the pedestal is 21 meters. At the base, you can see griffins, which are a symbol of strength, victory. The left paw of each mythical bird rests on shields. Looking at the figure of the epic hero, one immediately remembers the famous phrase: "Whoever comes to us with a sword will die by the sword."
The monument to Ilya Muromets carries deep symbolic meaning. First of all, it is a monument to the all-Russian military courage and the triumph of Orthodoxy on Russian soil.
Ilya Muromets is the most famous Murom native, partly thanks to the epics, partly - the textbook painting by Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov "Three heroes", known to everyone from school. True, it is not known for sure whether the Russian epic hero was a Russian saint, originally from the Murom region. Some sources claim that he was actually born in the village of Karacharovo on the banks of the Oka River and left here for Kiev to serve the Grand Duke. From other sources it is known that the birthplace of Ilya Muromets is the Chernigov cities - Moroviysk or Karachev. Nevertheless, almost everyone believes in the real existence of this hero.
The most reliable sources consider the prototype of the hero from the epics and legends of the famous in the XII century strongman Chobitko, nicknamed Chobotok, originally from Murom, who, under the name of Ilya, was tonsured in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and in 1643 was canonized among 69 Kiev saints. His burial is known, from which particles of the saint's relics were taken, which are now stored in Murom.
The canonical life of the hero does not exist, but in the number of legends and epics he surpasses many heroes of antiquity. A kind of "illustration" for one of his deeds lies in the courtyard of the Murom museum. This is a huge oak stump with a plate on which there is an inscription telling that, according to legend, Ilya Muromets uprooted such oaks and threw them into the Oka, thereby changing the river bed. Many guests wish to be photographed by this oak tree.
The memory of the famous Ilya Muromets is immortalized in the village of Karacharovo. Here you can even see a memorial plaque on the house, which is believed to have been installed on the site of the hut of the epic hero, and a particle of his relics is kept in the local Trinity Church.
Despite the fact that the monument to Ilya Muromets is still very young, it has already come to the liking of the fellow countrymen of the epic hero and has become one of the most recognizable symbols of the city.
