Kiy Island is located in the Onega Bay of the White Sea, 15 km from Arkhangelsk. The island stretches for 2 km and a width of up to 500 meters, it grows up to 500 species of plants, coastal waters are rich in fish, and in the summer warms up to 24 degrees. Amaze imagination granite gray 25-meter cliffs, wide sandy beaches and gorgeous, rich in berries, pine forests.

History Kiy Island is closely linked with the name of the well-known religious leader and reformer of the XVII century the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Nikon. According to legend, Nikon got into a fierce storm near the Kiy Island, and lost satellites, found salvation on the island. In memory of his miraculous escape Nikon founded on the island Kiya Cross Monastery.

Founded in 1656, the ensemble of monastery buildings was virtually formed by the end of the XVII century. The monastery occupies a small territory and, therefore, the internal layout of its facilities feature more compact. Due to the use as a building material granite boulders abode resembled fortification and organically fit into the rocky terrain of the island.

It has survived Holy Cross Cathedral, consecrated by Patriarch Nikon September 4, 1661; Nadkladeznaya Church (1661g.) With adjoining stone monastic cells of the stone cellar; bunk Church of Nativity (1689) and the refectory with cellarer's chambers and the adjacent massive bell tower and a tomb; Nastoyatelsky wooden case (1871), two-storey, with an attic, on the boulder foundations. Also preserved and the Church of All Saints (1661) - the oldest of the surviving wooden monastery buildings. She rebuilt beyond recognition under the shelter, and the walls are hidden under the skin later.