The Sheksna River is very small. However, the area on its picturesque shores has a rather rich history. Moving along this river, you can see many interesting objects and beautiful landscapes.
Sheksna River (Vologda Oblast)
This water artery is located within the modern Vologda region. Its length is 139 kilometers today, although a century ago it was almost three times as long. The Sheksna River collects its waters from a decent territory of 19,000 square kilometers.
Today, the river combines two large reservoirs: Lake Beloe (where it originates) and the Rybinsk Reservoir (where it brings its waters). There is only one city on the river - Cherepovets, as well as a large village of the same name.
Short description of the river
To date, in fact, the Sheksna River has retained only its middle course. The upper and lower were flooded in the middle of the twentieth century with the waters of the Sheksninsky and Rybinsk reservoirs, respectively. Historically, the river flowed into the Volga. Today, only a small section of its old mouth in Rybinsk has been preserved.
Two hydroelectric power plants are now located on this river - Rybinskaya and Sheksninskaya. Once the Sheksna River was full of fish. Written references have been preserved that here in the 19th century the huge sterlet was caught, which was served at the royal table. But after the creation of powerful hydroelectric facilities on the river, fish stocks have substantially dried up.
The river is mainly fed by snowmelt. It freezes in November - early December. Melting ice on the Sheksna begins, usually in late April.
Throughout the river, many tributaries flow into it (the largest of which is the Kovzha River), as well as several artificial canals.
The origin of the toponym
The origin of this toponym remains interesting and not fully understood. Sheksna River - where does the name come from?
The exact genesis of this hydronym remains unclear. However, some researchers suggest that it comes from the Finnish word "hähnä", which translates as "woodpecker".
One way or another, and the name "Sheksna" has Baltic-Finnish roots. After all, it is known that the Baltic tribes once lived in these parts. So, the Russian philologist Yuri Otkupshchikov draws attention to the word "šèkas" in the Lithuanian language. It is translated into Russian as "motley". However, why exactly the ancient Balts called the river remains a mystery.
Sheksna River: History of the Region and Monuments
The picturesque area on the banks of the river has a historical name: "Poshekhonye". Most of this area is occupied by flood meadows with dense green grasses. That is why local cows have always been famous for their very high milk yields. "Milky land of Russia" - so the territory of Poshekhonya was once called.
Only at the end of the first millennium did these territories begin to be developed by Slavic tribes. And before that, Meria lived here - tribes of Finno-Ugric origin.
It is curious that at the end of the 18th century Poshekhony was entrusted with the title of the land of Russian simpletons and fools. The reason for this is the book of researcher V.S. Berezaysky, published in 1798, in which the author collected a large number of local jokes and folklore stories of the region.
The banks of the Sheksna River are a region rich in numerous ancient monuments. So, it is known that during the X-XIV centuries, in the area of the sources of Sheksna, the ancient Russian settlement "Beloozero" existed. Today, active historical and archaeological research is being conducted at the source of the river.
A unique architectural monument , the Goritsky Monastery, which was founded in 1544, has also been preserved on the banks of the Sheksna. The heir of Ivan the Terrible, the eldest son of the Tsar, drowned in the same river.
In the 19th century, Sheksna turned into an important transport route through which grain was delivered to the European market. The crucial importance of this river as a transport corridor lasted until the construction of a railway in these places.
Conclusion
Sheksna is a small rivulet within the Vologda Oblast of Russia. In the middle of the last century, it became part of the artificial water system of the Rybinsk Reservoir, which negatively affected the river itself, in particular, the natural diversity of its ichthyofauna. However, on its shores several interesting historical and cultural monuments have been preserved, which can be viewed in our days.