There are various myths and legends about the appearance of many cities of our country, and Samara is no exception. Tsarev Kurgan (how to get there, you will learn a little later) is a mountain on the left side of the Volga River, which has overgrown with many folk legends. At its foot is the Volzhsky village and the Sok River flows. It would seem that most recently Mount Tsarev Kurgan (Samara), whose height did not exceed 80 meters, lost its upper part, since it was used as a building stone deposit during the construction of the Kuibyshev hydroelectric station.
Grave of the khan
For the first time Tsarev Kurgan (Samara) is mentioned in the book of 1634. The overseas ambassador of the duke Adam Olearius, traveling along the Volga region, heard a legend, which he outlined on paper. It says that once under the mound, Prince Mamaon was buried. He and 7 other kings went up the Volga in order to conquer Russia, but fate decreed otherwise: here the prince died and was buried. According to legend, the mountain was formed from the land brought by the soldiers, and Mamaon had a myriad of them. Based on this legend, the name of the mound is interpreted as the place where the king was buried.
However, this version of the emergence of the mountain is more like a historical joke. In fact, the mound has an absolutely natural origin. And it confirms this existing at the top of the quarry, where limestone was mined.
Treasure Stenki Razin
According to another legend, the origin of the mound is associated with the Don Cossack Stepan Razin. There is an opinion that on the mountain was his refuge, and on the slope of the mound he buried two buckets filled with gold. Only those who can get to it without disturbing the spellbound iron scrap lying on top can get the treasure.
Tsarev Kurgan (Samara) - the work of Tamerlane
Local residents can tell another version of the belief associated with the emergence of the Tsarev burial mound at the very base of the Sokoliy Mountains. According to this legend, he appeared before the battle on Kondurch, which occurred in 1391. The battle ensued between the greatest Turkic commander and conqueror Tamerlan and the Golden Horde khan Tokhtamysh. Shortly before the decisive battle, the Samarkand emir ordered each soldier to bring one stone to the place where the mountain is today.
Mass fragment
Legends are just an object of folk fantasy. Tsarev Kurgan was not created by man at all, it was Mother Nature who did her best. Geologists have long been able to establish that the mountain is the remaining fragment of the once existing single Zhiguli mountain range, separated by the waters of the Volga - one of the largest rivers on Earth. This rock formed by rocks of the coal system is an original piece that survived from erosion. The mineral composition and nature of the organic remains of the mound is identical to the Sokolim and Zhigulevsky mountains. Its only difference is the reverse inclination of the layers.
The layers of the coal system appeared approximately 300 million years ago. They testify that the rocks from which Tsarev Kurgan was formed, however, like the Zhiguli Mountains, used to be the bottom of the deep sea. Here you can see mountain layers with the remains of invertebrates that no longer exist today - bryozoans, sea lilies and hedgehogs, as well as mollusks and brachopods. All this indisputably indicates the ancient age of the local geological outcrops.
It would seem that people should be careful about such a unique creation of nature. However, today not everyone knows that in the middle of the last century, due to a rash decision by the authorities, the mound lost its top. After the construction of the Kuibyshev hydroelectric station, its height decreased almost by half. So the mountain lost its former greatness.
Back in the days of the Soviet Union, various options were proposed for restoring Mount Tsarev Kurgan. To this day, Samara has not been able to boast of this unique natural monument with a recreated appearance.
Christ Church
At the foot of the mountain is the Church of the Nativity of Christ. You will certainly notice it if you plan to see Tsarev Kurgan. Samara is always glad to tourists, and they can get here both by road and by air. Near the mound passes the Samara-Tolyatti highway, where all transport moving from the western direction gets. The road leading to the Kurumoch airport passes by the mountain .
The construction of the Church of the Nativity of Christ was completed in 1833, the architect M.P. Corinthsky was involved in the development of the project. Funds for the construction of the church were allocated by the widow of former Minister of Justice Dmitry Vasilyevich Dashkova. It was here that the estate of a famous noble family was located. The Nativity of Christ Church is an architectural monument of Russian Classicism. The church is decorated on all sides with four-columned porticoes with pediments, so the building looks more solemn and expressive. This decision is due to the terrain. The temple surrounded by the natural landscape is viewed from all sides, presenting at the entrance to the village in front of visitors from different angles.
The rector of the church, Archpriest Vladimir Nazarov, does not exclude that the construction of the church in the Tsarevshchina is connected with Emperor Alexander I. A story is known that says that in fact Alexander Pavlovich did not die in Taganrog in 1825, but hid in Siberia, calling himself the old man Fedor Kuzmich, which was later canonized by the Orthodox Church in the guise of a locally revered saint. According to one of the St. Petersburg researchers, the temple was built by order of the emperor - in this way he decided to atone for his sins.
LLC "Tsarev Kurgan"
Samara is known not only as a city overgrown with legends and myths, but also as a place where there is a lot of good raw materials. In the center of the Volga economic region, oil, gas, oil shale, sand, dolomite, limestone, chalk and clay, sulfur, and flask are mined. Today, there is a trading company of the same name with the sights of the city, which is the largest organization in the city. The company is located on Chekistov street, house 140 (Samara). "Tsarev Kurgan" realizes a natural stone from a warehouse. As a rule, the material is used for landscape design, decoration of buildings and interiors, as well as ennoblement of adjacent territories.