Molochkovo: Spring, Chapel and Local History

Molochkovo combines a long local history with specific religious traditions. A chapel above a well is mentioned as early as 16th-century chronicles. The chapel dedicated to the Righteous Warrior Fyodor Ushakov stands at an old spring near the church. It was built in 2002 within a few months by members of the Soltsy garrison and residents of nearby settlements.

The Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God, together with its enclosure, is also part of the settlement’s historic character. It dates from the 19th century; a regional heritage register from 1998 lists the church and enclosure as cultural heritage. For travellers interested in local history, this offers several points of interest: the chapel at the spring, the church, and the customs associated with religious holidays that have been passed down through generations.

Before the Revolution, processions on the feasts of the Dormition of the Mother of God and the Ascension of Christ went to the chapel in Molochkovo. Fairs were held in the settlement for the Feast of the Ascension until the 1920s. A custom associated with the Feast of the Baptism of Christ is also recorded: local people immerse themselves in the spring water. These accounts show different aspects of local history: processions and fairs are part of the historical festival tradition, while the spring custom describes a religious tradition handed down through generations.

If you are looking for a holiday apartment, Molochkovo may be of particular interest if the settlement’s history is to be the focus of your trip. The chapel, spring and church offer concrete themes to explore. For broader trip planning, it is worth distinguishing local history from the additional nature and culture themes of the wider Novgorod Oblast.

Novgorod Oblast: Nature and Culture in a Wider Context

In the wider Novgorod Oblast, Valdai National Park covers 159,100 hectares and extends across the Valdaysky, Demyansky and Okulovsky districts. Mount Ryzhokha is the park’s highest point. A 25-metre-high observation tower on the mountain offers views of the taiga, Lake Velyo and other bodies of water. In the Bor area, a circular trail passes through typical taiga forests on hilly terrain and through diverse wetlands in hollows between the hills. These landscape themes give regional trip planning a different focus from Molochkovo’s chapel and church history.

Valday also offers its own cultural attractions within Novgorod Oblast. The bells on display at the Bell Museum Centre come from around the world and range from examples dating to the 3rd century BC, through the Middle Ages, to modern souvenir bells. Staff demonstrate bell-ringing techniques that visitors can try for themselves. The exhibition at the County Town Museum, which opened in 1998, explores the everyday lives of the town’s residents, the development of local trades, and the lives of individual Valday families and well-known summer visitors. In 2017, the monument “For the Blacksmiths and Bell Masters of Valday” was also erected in Valday.

This gives you two different perspectives to consider when planning your trip: Molochkovo with its local history, and the wider Novgorod Oblast with its parkland, walking trail and cultural attractions in Valday. Focus your search for a holiday apartment on whichever of these is most important for your stay.

Discover more destinations

Tashino, Zimogorye, Volna, Luka, Staraya Russa, Petrovshchina, Anukhino, Myasnoy Bor

For the wider travel guide: Novgorod Oblast.