Kalyazin Bell Tower, Volga River, Russia

December 1969 Issue

Kalyazin Bell Tower, Volga River, Russia

 
About 200 kilometers north of Moscow, one of the most recognizable sights along Russia’s Volga River is the belfry of St. Nicholas Church, located in the Uglich Reservoir near the relocated town of Kalyazin. Towering 244 feet above the water, this structure was the subject of our October 2015 mystery photo. The church and monastery were completed in 1696, and the bell tower was added from 1796 to 1800.

The original, 12th-century, town of Kalyazin, along with the church, were submerged by the filling of the reservoir in 1939-1940, following Joseph Stalin’s orders to build a hydroelectric dam. When it came time to destroy the tower, city officials decided not to because it had already become a tourist attraction and was being used as a navigational landmark by boaters.

Forty-six correct answers were submitted, and JAY GLOVER of Seattle, Washington, won the drawing. We thank Conrad & Alice Houge of South Colby, Washington for submitting the photo.

Correct answers were submitted by:

Eugene Anderson, St. Louis, MO; Nanci Alexander, Lexington, KY; Shirley & Victor Becker, Skokie, IL; Michael Bosick, Orlando, FL; Doug Clark, San Diego, CA; Alan Craig, Red Bluff, CA; Linda Crain, Signal Hill, CA; Thomas DeClaire, Webster, NY; T. Myers Elefant, San Jose, CA; Phil Eschbach, Winter Park, FL; Gary Esping, Woodbury, MN; Robert Filman, Menlo Park, CA; Robert Gay, Vero Beach, FL; WINNER: Jay Glover, Seattle, WA; Gerald Gould, Cumming, GA; Ada Green, New York, NY; Robert Havlen, Albuquerque, NM; Milton R. Herzog, Hot Springs, AR; Joe Hockl, Marlton, NJ; Jane & Clyde Holt, Hinesburg, VT; Stephen Jeffries, Centennial, CO; David E. Johnson, Jr., Lawrenceville, NJ; Janice M. Kolbaska, Mt. Prospect, IL; John Lester, Tempe, AZ; Ann Lockwood, Alexandria, VA; Loree Marcantonio, Vancouver, B.C., Canada; Robert McCarron, Cuyahoga Falls, OH; Sandra Spitzer McKelvey, Abington, PA; Michelle Mellen, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA; Phyllis Mueller, San Jose, CA; Barry Muhs, Rochester, NY; Anne Munsell, Los Angeles, CA; Anthony Osretkar, Frederick, MD; Maureen Patrick, Margate, FL; Betty C. Pex, Belmont, CA; Janice Piatt, Scottsdale, AZ; Raymond Prince, Maple Valley, WA; Gloria & Ron Pyszka, Palo Alto, CA; Patricia Rosen, New York, NY; Sally M. Shimell, Acworth, GA; Rick Sinding, Princeton, NJ; Martha Thacker, Orlando, FL; Denzil Verardo, Elk Grove, CA; Brian Weaver, Burlington, KY; Lilly Ying, Monterey Park, CA; F. John Zepecki, Morgan Hill, CA.