Anyone travelling by boat on the Volga is familiar with an eerie sight: near the town of Kaliazin, upstream from Uglich, Russia, in the middle of a vast water expanse, stands a lone tall belfry, a somber monument to a bygone era.

In 1940, when the Uglich Reservoir was under construction, many villages and towns were flooded — many churches and monasteries destroyed. The belfry of St. Nicholas cathedral remained a sole exception, reminding navigators of the site of an ancient monastery.

Obviously, there is no way to drain the reservoir. But there has long been a desire to bring this unique architectural monument back to life. This has finally come to pass on the eve of the 2022 New Year.

After several years of painstaking restoration works, foundation reinforcement, and melioration of the artificially created island where the belfry currently stands, the 200-year-old Kaliazin belfry is now open to the public. It is an outstanding tourist attraction and a landmark that the city can be proud of.