Nordic Travel
   Nordictravel.ru / Karelia / Sights / Seids and Labyrinths eng   fin   rus   ger   it   


Travel Russia. Seids and Labyrinths


North West North East South West South East
Full Map

  Sights
    Kizhi
    Petrozavodsk
    Valaam
    Solovetsky
    Paanajarvi
      National Park
    Vodlozersky
      National Park
    Kivach
    White Sea
    White Sea -
     Baltic Canal
    Petroglyphs
    Seids & Labyrinths
    Karelian villages

Karelian Seid Seids and labyrinths (mazes) are believed to be the traces of ancient hyperborean civilizations that inhabited Scandinavia and the north of Russia ages ago.
A seid is a big boulder, which stands on smaller stones, and labyrinth's name speaks for itself - it is a spiral composition of stones on the ground.
This stone structures were (and probably are) believed to be sacred and mystical sites, where the real world meets the supernatural universe, and energies accumulate to keep in balance communities of people, ancestors and spirits. Many of such sites were erected by human, but there are also some natural phenomena, also subjects of a shamanistic cult.

Labyrinth While the area of northern Karelia, Kola Peninsula, northern Finland, Sweden and Norway was settled mostly by ancient tribes of Saami and Lapps, the resembling sites can also be found in England, Ireland and Iceland.
In Iceland, for instance, Icelandic Rune Stones are considered by local population as homes of elves.
Labyrinths are supposed to be a dancing-place for fairies in the mythology of England and Ireland. Probably the most known mystic stone structure is Stonehenge in England.

Seid-magic is described in famous Scandinavian Sagas. Nowadays, Saami people that still inhabit Kola Peninsula and Scandinavia keep pagan legends and ceremonials, though some of them have changed a traditional reindeer sledge for a modern cross-country vehicle.

In Karelia and nearby, some significant assembles of seids and labyrinths have been found so far:
1. Kuzova Archipelago in the White Sea, along the sea route from Kem to Solovetsky.
2. Paanajarvi area - mountains of Kivakka and Nuorunen.
3. Vottovaara Mountain in Muezersky region.
4. Solovetsky Archipelago.

Several smaller sites are located in Karelia and numerous small and big - in Kola Peninsula.

Transport:
Different means of transportation: boat to Kuzova and Solovetsky Archipelagoes, car (snowmobile) to the Paanajarvi and Vottovaara areas, and a lot of hiking in the wilderness.

back



  Karelia
  Sights
  Activities
  Transportation
  Day Trips
  Karelia Trips
  Accommodation
  Destination Photos
   Travel Services
   Russian Visa
   Tickets
   Trip Search
   Accommodation Finder
   Offers and Promotions
   Translation Services
   Travel Tips
   Photo Gallery
   Destinations
   Karelia
   Moscow
   St.Petersburg
   Kola Peninsula
   Arkhangelsk Region
   Arctic
   Novgorod
   Far East & Kamchatka
   Vologda Region
   Leningrad Region
   Pskov Region
   Golden Ring
   Finland

   Special
   Travel Russia:
    Velikiy Novgorod
   Russian Tours:
    Silver Ring


   Copyright © 2001-09 "Nordic Travel"
   
"Nordic Design"
© 2003-06