XII Международная студенческая научная конференция Студенческий научный форум - 2020

Have you ever thought about what rocks can do? Have you ever heard that they can fulfill desires and bring joy and happiness to people? No? No wonder I never imagined it either, until I found out about the magic Blue Stone.

The blue stone is considered a sacred object. It is located near the town of Pereslavl-Zalessky, on the shore of the lake Pleshcheevo near Alexander's Mountain. The blue stone has been here for a long time. According to local legends, the glacier that formed Lake Pleshcheevo itself, brought it from the north, from the side of the rivers Ladoga and Onega, about 30 thousand years ago. The blue stone is a true ritual object that has been preserved in Central Russia since the times of pagan Russia.

Its weight is as much as 12 tons! It is a huge block of quartz biotite shale. The length of the Blue Stone is about 3.1 meters, and the width is about 2.6 meters. Its color is very ambiguous, it can be gray, and dark gray, and even gray and blue.

In order for the Blue Stone to match its name, you need a clear blue sky and morning dew, which will lie on the surface of the boulder. Blue colour turns out because particles of mica reflect heavenly blueness. But, unfortunately, nowadays the stone is too deep under the ground, so it is very difficult to see this phenomenon.

The history of the Blue Stone is surrounded by numerous legends. One of them is that it was once on top of the Alexander's Mountain, where the pagan temple was located at that time, and it was this stone that was worshipped by the pagans from the Meryan tribe. This myth was dispelled by historians, because they found that until the 17th century the Blue Stone was lying in a ravine at the Borisoglebskiy Nadozyorny Monastery (Borisoglebskaya Sloboda). There, celebrating the feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul, the locals organized pagan games over the boulder, which caused anxiety to the monks. This was the first place the Blue Stone was captured in the chronicles.

Bluestone was nicknamed demon stone because all attempts to get rid of it did not end in anything. At the beginning of the 17th century deacon Anufrius decided to bury it underground. On the further consequences of the legend diverge, if you believe one, he was cured of fever, or, conversely, fell ill with it. But in any case, the boulder was underground for a short time: either its magic power pushed it into the light, or it tried to cause numerous rains and soil erosion.

After a while the Blue Stone was laid in the foundation of the Spiritual Church. When it was transported through Pleshcheevo lake, the ice cracked and the boulder went to the bottom. 70 years after that nobody saw it, but then it miraculously found itself on the present place, not far from Alexander's Mountain. After that they began to say that the Blue Stone could move around on its own.

This fairytale boulder is a famous sight of the Yaroslavl region, it gathers large crowds of tourists around it. Now there is a trail to the stone, along which there is a special zone for visitors. Near the boulder, branches of trees and bushes are hung with colorful ribbons, which symbolize the sanctuaries of Central Asia.

Blue stone is called miraculous. According to local residents, staying on the boulder heals people from any diseases, primarily women, from infertility. Blue stone can fulfill even the most extraordinary desire, just put your hand on it. As a sign of gratitude tourists leave coins or other precious things. But, for example, Orthodox priests everywhere claim that this boulder is inhabited by an evil force that sends souls to hell during their earthly lives. That is why they try to get rid of it in every possible way.

Unfortunately, now the soil has almost swallowed up the boulder, it looks only about 30 centimeters away. The locals assume that the Blue Stone simply wants to move and it should be expected in a few decades in another place. I think it's worth coming to the magic stone and put your palm on it making a wish, because they say it comes true!