Solotcha is a unique neighborhood in Ryazan, located just 24 kilometers from the city center. It boasts a beautiful pine forest, perfect for strolls year-round.
Solotcha was once a popular resort town. Today, however, it is part of the Sovietsky District of Ryazan.
Solotcha’s history stretches back centuries. The village began to develop around the Solotcha Monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin, founded by the Grand Prince of Ryazan, Oleg Ivanovich, in 1390. According to legend, this monastery was built on the site where Prince Oleg and his wife, Euphrosyne, met two hermits, Vasily and Euphemia. This encounter had a profound impact on the prince, and after founding the monastery, he became a monk and spent the last 12 years of his life as a prince-monk. Prince Oleg was buried on the monastery grounds in 1402.
Also in Solotcha, from the 14th century to 1682, there was the Zachatievsky ( Conception ) Convent for women, founded by Euphrosyne, the wife of Grand Duke Oleg Ivanovich. Six nuns lived in the convent in 1629. However, due to constant flooding, which often inundated the convent, it was closed in 1682, and its inhabitants were transferred to the Agrafena Hermitage. At the end of the 19th century, the bell from this closed institution still sounded from the bell tower of the Kazan Church, built on the site of the former convent.
The events of 1917 led to the closure of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary Monastery, and its grounds were later used as a juvenile detention center. In 1937, local priest Fyodor Yakovlevich Orlin was repressed for holding services despite government prohibitions.
In 1993, the Solotchinsky Monastery was revived, but now as a women’s monastery.
Attractions in Solotcha
The Solotchinsky Monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin, founded by the pious Prince Oleg of Ryazan in 1390, began its history as a men’s monastery located 18 versts (approximately 19 kilometers) from the city of Ryazan. It sprawls on the high bank of the Solotcha River, not far from its confluence with the Oka River.
The monastery’s origins are inspired by Grand Prince Oleg Ivanovich, who in 1390 surveyed his domain and came to the banks of the Solotcha River. There, he encountered two hermit monks, Vasily and Euthymia, who lived in wooden cells and celebrated services in a wooden church. Impressed by the holiness of this place, Prince Oleg decided to improve the monastery’s conditions and began construction of two churches: the Church of the Intercession and the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. Thus, the monastery, known as the «House of the Most Holy Theotokos,» was born.
Prince Oleg Ivanovich was so devoted to this monastery, located on the beautiful and secluded bank of the Solotcha River, surrounded by dense forest, that he unhesitatingly invested his own resources in its embellishment and development. His devotion to this holy abode inspired his children, grandchildren, and all subsequent generations of the Ryazan Principality to donate to the Solotcha Monastery.
Soon after the monastery’s founding, Prince Oleg took monastic vows and took the name Jonah, but he did not abandon his princely service. He continued to manage the affairs of the principality, but periodically retreated to the monastery, where he found his spiritual path.
The prince-monk died on June 5, 1402, at the age of 65, after more than 50 years of reign. Before his death, he took the schema and the name Joachim.
The remains of the Prince-Schemamonk and Grand Duchess Euphrosyne, who also became a nun with the name Eupraxia in the Conception Monastery, were buried in a stone tomb in the monastery Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos.
In 1768, the Solotcha River destroyed part of the walls and the old Church of the Intercession, but the remains of the pious prince-schemamonk and princess-schemamonk were transferred to the Cathedral Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos with the blessing of the Holy Synod.
Before the October Revolution, the monastery housed the pious prince’s chainmail, which is now housed in the Ryazan Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve. The prince’s chainmail was made of iron rings and weighed 6.56 kilograms. The prince wore it under his clothes, instead of chains, for 12 years.
Soon after its founding, the Solotchinsky Monastery became one of the most famous and influential monasteries in the Ryazan region. Until the end of the 17th century, the monastery experienced some decline, but beginning in 1688, when Archimandrite Ignatius (Shangin) became its abbot, a period of active construction began. By the end of the 17th century, a magnificent ensemble of buildings in the Naryshkin Baroque style had been created, and Yakov Bukhvostov was likely the architect of these architectural masterpieces.
Architectural treasures of the Solotchinsky Monastery
The Solotchinsky Monastery, with its rich history and spiritual significance, is striking in its architectural beauty and richness. At the center of the monastery stands a large two-story church dedicated to the Descent of the Holy Spirit, with an adjoining refectory. One of the church’s distinctive features was a majestic staircase leading down to the refectory, giving the building a palatial appearance and adding a special significance.
Of exceptional interest is the Church of St. John the Baptist, a gatehouse that was the subject of archaeological discoveries in 1958. A hidden compartment was discovered in the wall of this church, from which a leaf was recovered bearing an inscription dated «in the year 7203, on the 4th day of July,» which corresponds to the year 1695 according to the modern calendar. The main decoration of the Church of St. John the Baptist is polychrome relief tiles. These tiles bear images of the Evangelists, making them particularly valuable.
The Solotchinsky Monastery was also renowned for its icon-painting school, which flourished in the 17th century. The renowned Ryazan icon painter Nikolai Shumov, who later founded the Diveyevo icon-painting workshop, studied there. The monastery archives contained numerous historical documents dating back to the 15th to 17th centuries, making it a valuable historical repository.
The monastery’s courtyard boasted an apple orchard, which certainly added to the enchanting atmosphere of the monastery.
In 1867, under the rector Archimandrite Gerasim, the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos was restored.
However, after the October Revolution in 1920, the Solotchinsky Monastery was closed, its buildings partially destroyed, its churches vandalized, and many sacred relics lost. The monastery was converted into a juvenile detention center. The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary became a warehouse, and the Church of the Holy Spirit became a club and cinema.
However, in 1990, the relics of the pious Prince Oleg of Ryazan were returned from the Ryazan Provincial Museum to the St. John the Theologian Monastery, and in 2001 they were transferred to the Solotchinsky Monastery, which by then had become a convent. Currently, the relics are kept in a shrine, from which emanates an extraordinary fragrance and myrrh.
In 1994, the Solotchinsky Monastery was revived as a women’s monastery. The Church of the Holy Spirit and the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, a two-story sisters’ quarters, and the monastery fence were restored, and a bishop’s quarters were built. The monastery also houses outbuildings, including livestock and poultry farms.
Through the efforts of Abbess Varvara (Samarina) and the nuns, the wounds inflicted on the monastery were healed, and although much remains to be done to restore the former magnificent monastery, the preserved churches and buildings form a beautiful architectural ensemble.
A beautiful flower garden has also been created on the monastery grounds. A staircase leading to the banks of the Solotcha River was recently built and leads to a wooden font where one can immerse oneself in the holy healing waters on the night of January 18th–19th, on Epiphany Eve, after the Liturgy and the Rite of the Great Blessing of the Waters.
Solotchinsky Monastery website : solotchinsky- monastery.rf
The Church of the Kazan Icon of the Holy Mother of God in Solotcha has a long history, dating back to the late 14th century, when Princess Euphrasinia (Eupraksia in monasticism), wife of Prince Oleg of Ryazan, founded the Conception Convent on this site. However, in 1682, the convent was closed due to constant flooding, and the nuns were transferred to the nearby Agrafena Hermitage.
Traces of the former monastery included a small bell with an inscription, which stood in the belfry of the parish church, and the church itself, which stood on the site of today’s Kazan Cathedral. This church was also called Zachatievsky, a reminder of the former monastery.
Until 1764, the village of Solotcha was part of the Solotcha Monastery’s estate. In 1771, construction began on a new church dedicated to the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, complete with a St. Nicholas side chapel and bell tower. Construction was completed in 1783, and the bell tower was reconstructed in 1795.
Over time, this church also fell into disrepair, and in 1843, construction began on a stone Kazan Church with St. Nicholas and St. Alexei aisles. This new church was consecrated in 1858.
In 1901, documents clarified that the temple was built between 1843 and 1859. In 1893, in honor of the deliverance of the heir to the throne, Emperor Nicholas Alexandrovich, from danger in Japan, images of holy figures, including those of the royal family, were painted on the stone vaults of the temple.
In 1939, the Solotchinsky temple was closed, and on May 15, 1951, a decision was made to convert it into a secondary school, although this plan was never implemented.
Temple website: https : // hram 62.ru/
Monument to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
In 2000, on the occasion of the International Festival of Friendship and Tolerance, the Moscow government donated a statue of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, sculpted by Grigory Potocki, to the city of Demre, Turkey. The monument was erected in the city square next to the ruins of an ancient church where the saint and miracle worker once held services. However, local residents, predominantly Muslim, disliked the sculpture of the Orthodox saint, and in February 2005, the monument was removed.
The monument’s author, Grigory Potocki, agreed to recreate it in the Ryazan region, preserving the original composition: the saint stands on a globe mounted on a pedestal. The sculptural composition for the new monument to St. Nicholas of Myra the Wonderworker was created by Ryazan artist and sculptor Raisa Lysenina . This new monument was erected in Solotcha near the Kazan Church and consecrated on May 22, 2006.
House-museum of Ivan Pozhalostin
Ivan Pozhalostin , a prominent engraver and master of reproduction engraving in the second half of the 19th century, was born in the village of Yegoldayevo in the Ryazan region. He gained fame for his talent and numerous works in this field.
Pozhalostin came to Solotcha when he was appointed volost clerk for the area. In 1880, he built his own house with a mezzanine, designed according to his own plans.
Thanks to his artistic talent, Pozhalostin received an education at the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, where he studied engraving. After completing his studies, he became a renowned illustrator, portrait painter, and teacher.
Pozhalostin spent much time in Solotcha after returning to his native land in 1894. After his death in 1909, the house became the home of his daughters, Ekaterina and Alexandra. During Soviet times, from the 1930s to the 1950s, famous writers worked here, including Konstantin Paustovsky, Arkady Gaidar, and others, whose works, written in Solotcha, became part of the golden fund of Russian literature.
The original house was lost in a fire in 1970, but it was rebuilt in 1992 using old sketches and drawings. Today, the house houses a museum dedicated to the life and work of Ivan Pozhalostin .
Address: 391020, Solotcha village, Ryazan region, Poryadok street, 76
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