From Vologda to Nyuksenitsa it is just over 300 kilometers. If you go by bus (561 rubles), the journey takes 6 hours; you can get there faster by minibus - in 4 hours, but it costs more (850 rubles). Taxi drivers arrive in 3 hours, asking for 5,000 rubles, if divided by four, it turns out to be 1,250. Expensive, but they say there are people interested.
At the end of the 19th century, Nyuksenitsa was an ordinary northern village, located near the confluence of the Nyuksenitsa river into the Sukhona, which one of the local residents called Nyuksenka in a conversation with me.
At the end of the 17th century, Peter the Great sailed past a village consisting of only five courtyards towards Arkhangelsk, and no other great people visited there. In the 19th century, there were already five dozen households in the village, and life there was the same as in all northern villages.
In 1924, Nyuksenitsa became a regional center, and began to slowly grow. District committee, district executive committee, district military registration and enlistment office, district police department, school, hospital, post office... All were built on the other, high bank of the Nyuksenitsa River, where there was a lot of free space.
Old Nyuksenitsa. House on Pervomaiskaya street.
An old warehouse has been preserved on the low bank of the Sukhona.
Not far from the old warehouse is the district court building. I looked from one side and the other, but I still didn’t understand when this building was built. Either at the beginning of the last century, but it was very well preserved, or after the war.
The confluence of the Nyuksenitsa River and the Sukhona.
If you go up from the river from the old Nyuksenitsa, then first there will be a bus station, and then a cemetery. I walked around there for half an hour, thinking that I would find ancient stone tombstones, but I didn’t find anything except this fence. Apparently, previously only wooden crosses were placed on graves, and wood is a short-lived material.
Just above the cemetery begins the settlement of gas workers, the construction of which began in the seventies. At that time, a gas compressor station was built on the outskirts of Nyuksenitsa, which is still operating. Against the backdrop of collapsed enterprises in the area (“The creamery is not working, the flax plant is not working,” the taxi driver told me), the station is now the place where many would like to find a job. But Gazprom is not rubber.
In the center of the village there is a kind of “monument”. The management, it seems, spared the money for a bronze statue in the form of a man with a determined face and the inscription “Gazprom” on the back, and installed this piece of equipment for a gas compressor station. What a monumental thing, this is not a police officer’s pistol, or a surgeon’s scalpel.
A dozen and a half men in Gazprom jackets were fussing around. Some were mowing the grass, others were sweeping paths, others were carrying barrels and hoses.
-What are you going to do? – I asked one of them.
-The authorities ordered it to be painted, we will paint it.
The Gazprom village club turned out to be surprisingly minimalist, like in a refugee camp.
The children have grown up, and no one plays in the sandbox anymore.
It’s clean near the houses, there are no trash cans, and I didn’t immediately understand where the residents throw their garbage. It turns out that instead of tanks they have this structure. People go up the stairs, throw out bags of garbage, then a car comes and takes everything away. Conveniently, the dogs won't get it.
Local diner. Air conditioning in the dining room is, of course, good, but when it’s hot outside, the sweaty shirt inside immediately freezes. I took cold okroshka, steak with mashed potatoes, and compote. Delicious, large portions. Paid one hundred and fifty rubles.
When I walked back, I saw that the “monument” had already been painted, or rather, primed. The workers sat nearby on benches, smoked, and waited for everything to dry. I didn’t think to ask what colors they would paint it. I wouldn’t be surprised if I learn that the “monument” has become white, blue and red.
Nyuksenitsa (founded in 1619) is a village, the center of the Nyuksensky district of the Vologda region of the Russian Federation (North-Western District).
Nyuksenitsa is located on the East European Plain in the northeastern part of the Vologda region, on the left bank of the Sukhona River (basin of the Northern Dvina) at the confluence of the river on the left. Nyuksenitsa, 316 km northeast of the regional center - Vologda.
Transport connections: by waterways (pier); by airlines - local airport and helipad on the eastern outskirts (irregular flights); highways - the Sukhonsky Trakt highway Veliky Ustyug-Totma-Vologda (bypassing the village, 7 km to the west) and local roads, there is a bus station. Nearest railway station in the Arkhangelsk region - 135 km north on the Konosha-Kotlas line.
At present, the village is located on both banks of the river. Nyuksenitsa and stretches for 4 km along the left bank of the Sukhona. The development is mostly represented by private houses and occupies an area of 5.2 thousand square meters. km, where 4.63 thousand people live (2010).
Nyuksenitsa is not only a regional center, but also a center of spiritual culture in the Vologda region - “a treasury of folk traditions of the Russian north.”
Economic potential: enterprises of the agricultural complex, timber and food industries.
Sights: local history museum, monument to the “Warrior-Liberator”, Church of Agapit Markushevsky, local pristine nature of the surrounding area.
At the confluence of the Nyuksenitsa and Sukhona rivers, the administrative center of the Nyuksensky district of the Vologda region is located - the village Nyuksenitsa.
Story
The year of foundation of the settlement is considered to be 1619; this year dates back to the watch book that was kept in the Totemsky district and in it there is an entry about the village of Nyuksenitsa, which at that time consisted of only five households.
There are several interpretations of the name “Nyuksenitsa”: some believe that it comes from the word “nyuksa”, which means “sable”, of which there are indeed a large number in the surrounding area; someone - from the word “nyuksha” - “swan”. Today the swan is the symbol of the village of Nyuksenitsa.
The most important page in the history of the village is the visit of Peter I to these places at the end of the 17th century.
Tourism
Tourists in the vicinity of the village of Nyuksenitsa are attracted by the beauty of Northern nature. It is no coincidence that these places are called “Russian Switzerland”. The most famous natural monuments include the mineral spring in the Bobrovsky Salt Spring tract; geological outcrop of Permian rocks, which reach a height of up to thirty meters, they are located near the village of Ozerki on the left bank of the Sukhona River; Lesyutensky, Brusensky and Selmenga forest reserves, famous for their lingonberries, cranberry swamps and large beaver settlements.
Also in the vicinity of the village of Nyuksenitsa, a must-visit is the national Russian village of the 16th century - Pozharishche, where folk crafts such as embroidery of ancient Russian ornamental patterns continue to develop, and is also famous for its home brewing.
In the village of Nyuksenitsa itself, interesting places to visit include the local history museum, located in the building of an old school; House of Culture, occupying a wooden building from the mid-20th century; A center for traditional folk culture with clubs for both children and adults on weaving, folk dolls and embroidery, wood painting and birch bark weaving. At the folk culture center, tourists can book excursions around the Nyxen region. In 2000, an Orthodox church with a tented bell tower of Agapit Markushevsky was erected in the village of Nyuksenitsy. In addition, in the village of Nyuksenitsa there is a stadium and a sports and recreation complex.
Today, the life of the village of Nyuksenitsa is closely connected with the main gas pipeline and the compressor station located here, as evidenced by the monument to builders and workers of the gas industry.
Nyuksenitsa – a treasury of folk traditions
Territory
Nyuksensky district is located in the eastern part of the Vologda region. The district center is the village of Nyuksenitsa. The distance to Vologda is 310 km, travel time by car is 6.5 hours. Moscow is 780 km away, travel time is 14 hours. It is 963 km to St. Petersburg, travel time is 15 hours.
Story
The first mention of Nyuksenitsa dates back to 1619, but people have settled on these lands since ancient times. In the village of Nyuksenice there is the only Paleolithic site in the region. About 25 thousand years ago, mammoth and bison hunters lived here - the tusks and teeth of these animals are still found along the banks of the rivers in the region. Later, the Nyuksensky Prisukhonye was inhabited by Finno-Ugric tribes - the “Zavolochskaya Chud”. In memory of those times, we still have non-Slavic river names - Selmenga, Uftyug, Pursanga. It is the “Chudi of Zavolochskaya” that the residents of Nyuks owe the name of the village. Once upon a time, swans settled in abundance in these parts, and in Finno-Ugric “swan” sounds like “nyuksha”. This is how the “swan river” Nyuksenitsa gave the name to the village. The territory of the Nyuksensky district for 127 km is crossed by the largest navigable river in the Vologda region - the Sukhona. In total, there are 12 lakes and 20 rivers and streams flowing here. The area is rich in forests, cranberry and cloudberry swamps. According to geologists, there are promising diamond-bearing areas here. The natural resources of the region are reflected in the coat of arms of the region. Lingonberries on a golden field speak of the abundance of earth's gifts; the blue belt symbolizes Sukhona, and the sterlet symbolizes rich fishing.
The land of Nyxen is famous for its history and outstanding people. Residents of the area consider the famous Russian explorer as their fellow countryman, whose monument is erected in the village of Krasavino. The fate of the writer and People's Artist of Russia is closely connected with these places.
What to visit in the Nyuksen region
The Nyxen land is hospitable and famous for its natural beauty - it’s not for nothing that this region was given the name “Russian Switzerland”. Ecological trails in the village of Levash and the village of Bobrovskoye provide an opportunity to get acquainted with rare plants listed in the Red Book. On Nyuksen land, they take great care in preserving and restoring traditional folk culture. The project “Nyuksenitsa – a treasury of folk traditions” is developing successfully. The Nyuksensky regional center of traditional folk culture is also working fruitfully in this direction.
– a unique place with a living traditional folk culture, the only one in the Vologda region. It is included in the register of objects of intangible cultural heritage of the region. The peasant architecture of a traditional northern village is represented here by several well-preserved peasant estates and houses, outbuildings and architectural fragments from the mid and late 19th century. In the modern village, ancient work activities and rituals have not been forgotten, and children and youth enthusiastically participate in creative projects to master traditions. Here you can see with your own eyes the process of making butter, passed down from generation to generation, taste traditional cuisine, take part in master classes, traditional games and round dances.
Events in the Nyuksen region
Nyuksensky district is the venue for the folk art festival “Sukhonsky Tunes”, the children’s folk festival “Spring”, the regional folk festival “Living Antiquity”.