There are many settlements in the world that, for a number of reasons, have gone to the sea or river bottom. These are the so-called flooded cities. Each of them has its own interesting, and often tragic fate. What cities were flooded and what were the causes of these flooding, we now find out.
Causes of flooding of cities
The causes of flooding of cities can be very diverse, but they are divided into two main groups: natural and artificial. At the same time, each of these categories is divided into many specific cases.
When talking about settlements artificially lowered into the water, they primarily refer to cities flooded by reservoirs. The goals of creating these man-made ponds were different. They were created for the operation of hydropower plants, for fish farming, storage of fresh water in large volumes and so on. Especially many reservoirs in Russia and other post-Soviet states were built during the Soviet era. According to the type of reservoir, they are divided into river and lake.
Flooding of the territory also occurs for natural reasons. This may be a rise in sea level, groundwater, or other factors. Especially catastrophic consequences of a flood when it is sudden in nature.
Sunken cities of our country
The flooded cities of Russia are an invariable part of our history. The causes of flooding were different. But most of them went under water in the 30-50s of the last century, when large-scale construction of reservoirs and hydroelectric power plants was carried out. How many cities flooded at this time? 9 large settlements are called, seven of which were located on the Volga, and one each on the Ob and Yenisei. What cities flooded? These are Mologa, Kalyazin, Korcheva, Puchezh, Vesyegonsk, Stavropol-Volzhsky, Kuibyshev, Berdsk and Shagonar. Some of these settlements were completely flooded, others partially. What are the flooded cities of Russia and how their fate has developed, we will now find out.
Mologa: history of the city
The most famous of the Russian settlements lowered to the bottom is Mologa, a city flooded by the Rybinsk reservoir. This village was located at the confluence of the river of the same name in the Volga, at a distance of just over a hundred kilometers from Yaroslavl.
The exact time of settlement of the territory where the city of Mologa appeared in the future is unknown, but already in the first half of the 14th century the Principality of Molozha existed as a specific part of the Yaroslavl principality. In the following centuries, the village grew and developed. He gained fame as a fairly large shopping center. Since 1777, it became the main county city, having also received its own coat of arms. It housed several churches and a monastery. With the coming to power of the Bolsheviks, the city became a district center.
Thus Mologa developed. The flooded city at the time of lowering to the bottom of the reservoir had nine hundred houses and seven thousand people.
Flooding Mologi
But, despite the intensive economic development of the region, in September 1935 a decree was announced on the creation of the Rybinsk Reservoir, which implied the flooding of large areas. At that time, it was supposed to become the largest artificial reservoir in the world.
The project started in the same year. According to the original plan, the water level was to be raised by 98 meters. Considering that Mologa was also at this mark, the flooding did not threaten her. But two years later, the plan was revised, and the level of water rise rose to 102 meters, which significantly increased the area of flooding. The implementation of this project was to make Mologi a flooded city on the Volga.
The resettlement of residents in other cities began in early 1937, mainly in the nearby village of Slip, and took 4 years. In the 1940s, the city was flooded. Private houses, enterprise buildings, churches and the Afanasyevsky monastery went under water.
Since then, Mologa is a flooded city. But in 2014, there was a significant decrease in the water level of the Rybinsk Reservoir, which allowed the whole streets of this once vibrant settlement to surface.
Kalyazin - a city on the Volga
Another flooded city on the Volga is Kalyazin. The first historical information about Kalyazin dates back to the 11th century. But for a long time it was a rather small settlement, which was far from the title of the city. Life in Kalyazin began to revive after the construction of the Makaryevsky monastery in the 15th century. This monastery became a place of mass gathering of pilgrims, which served as a significant impetus for the development of the city. By the way, among them was the famous Tver traveler Athanasius Nikitin. We can say that this spiritual institution has become a kind of “city-forming enterprise”.
The city managed to go down in history thanks to the famous battle of Kalyazin, in which Russian troops under the command of Prince Skopin-Shuisky defeated the Polish army in 1609.
In 1775, Kalyazin received the status of a city and became the center of the county. From that time until the establishment of Soviet power, this locality was a significant regional trade center.
Kalyazin goes under water
In 1935, the construction of the Uglich hydroelectric power station began. In this regard, in 1939-1940, Kalyazin was lowered under water. The flooded city was only partially such. First of all, the historical part of the village suffered. In addition, such outstanding architectural monuments as the Makaryevsky and Nikolo-Zhabensky monasteries perished.
People who lived in a part of the settlement that went into the water were resettled in unharmed areas, but despite this, in fact, Kalyazin is a flooded city.
Korcheva
The city of Korchev shared the fate of Mologa. It is these settlements that are the only flooded cities of Russia that have completely gone under water. The rest sank to the bottom only partially.
At one time, Korcheva was also the center of the county. But with the beginning of industrialization, the construction of the Ivankovo reservoir began. For the most part, people were resettled in the village of Konakovo, and Korcheva herself was flooded.
Other sunken cities on the Volga
In addition, there were four more flooded cities on the Volga. These are Puchezh, Vesyegonsk, Stavropol-Volzhsky and Kuibyshev.
Puchezh was partially flooded in the years 1955-1957 during the construction of the Gorky reservoir. Mostly the old part of the city with architectural monuments and buildings went under water.
The city of Vesyegonsk was flooded somewhat earlier, in 1939, like Mologa, during the construction of the Rybinsk reservoir. As in the case of Puchezh, the city partially went to the bottom.
Another flooded city - Stavropol - had the unofficial name of Stavropol-on-Volga, or Stavropol-Volzhsky, to distinguish it from the North Caucasian namesake. At the time of the flooding, which occurred in the mid-50s of the last century, 12,000 people lived in the city. All of them were relocated to a new place, not far from the old settlement, which took over the name of the city that went under water. Thus, the continuity was maintained. And on the site of the former settlement, the Kuibyshev reservoir now spills.
New Stavropol in 1964 was renamed Tolyatti, in honor of the famous communist figure in Italy. Now it is one of the largest cities in Russia with a developed industry (primarily automobile industry), and a population of seven hundred thousand.
In the 50s of the XX century, the city of Kuibyshev was also flooded, until 1936 it was called Spassk-Tatar. It was located on the territory of modern Tatarstan. Before the flooding, people were relocated to a new place, near the ruined historical city of Bulgar, but the new settlement was still called Kuibyshev. Only in 1991 the city was renamed to Bolgar.
Flooded cities of Siberia
Of the more or less significant settlements flooded in Siberia, the cities of Berdsk and Shagonar can be distinguished.
Berdsk was founded in the 17th century on one of the tributaries of the Ob, but it became a city only during the Great Patriotic War. True, in this status, he did not last long. In the 50s of the last century, large-scale construction of the Novosibirsk reservoir on the Ob River began. Berdsk was subject to flooding. People moved to a new place, located eight kilometers from the old city, during 1953-1957. As you can see, this was not a momentary process, but stretched out for four whole years. As a result of the transfer to the new place of the old city, it became a large industrial center. But Berdsk completely lost its historical buildings, since all of them were under water.
Another Siberian city that has known flooding is Shagonar. It was located on the territory of the Tuva Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and was located on the banks of the Irtysh river. This city was flooded later than other settlements in Russia during the construction of the Sayano-Shushensky reservoir in the 70s of the last century. Then he was moved to a new place, seven kilometers from the old settlement. But, unlike Togliatti and Berdsk, the transfer to a new place did not have a positive effect on the development of the city. Now it is a small town with a little more than ten thousand people, consisting mostly of ethnic Tuvans.
Flooded cities in other countries
Flooded cities are not only in Russia, but also in other countries of the world. Often the cause of their flooding was also the economic activity of man. For example, in the United States, about a hundred small cities were lowered for the construction of various power-generating facilities. In addition, they produce fresh water.
For the same purpose, a village in Venezuela called Potosi was flooded in 1985. But since then, the water level has fallen significantly, and therefore the flooded city is gradually beginning to surface.
Back in 1938, the Mead artificial reservoir was formed in the US state of Nevada . It so happened that for the construction of this reservoir had to flood the small town of St. Thomas. Now this lake is drying up, and, as in the case of Potosi, the tops of old structures appear on the surface of the water surface.
In 1950, in the north of Italy, two lakes - Rezia and Muto - were artificially combined into one. This was done in order to implement a project for the production of electricity. As a result, the small town of Kuron was flooded. The only evidence that a settlement was once located here is the bell tower of a 14th-century church sticking out of the water.
To build the largest power plant in Brazil, the settlement of Petrolandia was also flooded. The new city was erected a little further from the flooded settlement.
Also in order to increase the country's energy supply in 1972, a town in the north of Portugal called Vilarinho das Furnas was lowered under water. Moreover, the settlement here has been located since ancient Roman times.
At the end of the 50s of the last century, the ancient Chinese city of Shi Cheng on Qingdao Lake was flooded to create a dam on the Xi'an River. During the relocation of local residents, about 290 thousand people were settled. This is probably the largest relocation in the world in history, associated with the artificial flooding of the city.
In 1988, the Romanian town of Besidu Nou was flooded as a result of a natural disaster. The tragedy of the event is reinforced by the fact that as a result of this catastrophe all 180 residents who lived there died.
Ancient cities underwater
But not only in the last century, flooding of cities took place. Similar cases occurred both in antiquity and in the Middle Ages, but often they were caused not by human intervention, but by natural disasters.
Everyone probably knows the legend of Atlantis. This is the first evidence of sinking to the bottom of urban settlements, although of course it can be argued about its historicity. If you believe the writings of Plato, then under the water as a result of the largest floods left not one city, but a whole continent.
Further evidence of such a catastrophe is provided in the Bible. This is the death of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which, according to legend, went to the bottom of the Dead Sea. In contrast to the flooding of Atlantis, the hypothesis of the existence of these cities has a significant scientific basis.
Also, at one time, Alexandria, Canopus and Heraklion in Egypt, a city on the Japanese island of Yonaguni, which sank 2,000 years ago, Saefting in the Netherlands, who died in the depths of the sea in 1584, and Port Royal in Jamaica, destroyed by a flood in 1692, were partially or completely flooded. year, Port Julius and Bayi in Italy, Pavlopetri and many other island cities in Greece, Atlit Yam in Israel, the unknown Mayan city in Guatemala, discovered at the bottom of Lake Atitlan, ancient cities on the island of Kekova in modern Turkey.
As for Russia, first of all, it should be noted the former capital of the Khazar Kaganate - the Itil city, which has disappeared without a trace, which, according to some experts, was washed away by the Volga.
These are not all flooded cities of the world, but we mentioned the most famous of them.
Flooding for good?
For a long time there has been debate about whether the flooding of some settlements is justified and expedient, or can there be no justification for such actions? On the one hand, the state, and its population as a whole, after the construction of a hydroelectric power station or fresh water reservoir, have significant economic benefits.
But at the same time, one should not forget that the resettlement of people from one place to another causes various social and economic difficulties in adaptation, which not everyone transfers painlessly. In addition, the flooding of settlements is associated with the destruction of houses and household structures, and often cultural property.
And the fate of the settlements moved to a new place has developed differently. Some have grown and become large industrial centers, becoming larger and more beautiful than the flooded cities, while others have disappeared altogether.
Therefore, the problem of the ethical and economic feasibility of flooding settlements is rather controversial.