Levitan Hill

Levitan Hill is one of the seven hills on which the old town of Plyos stands, in the Ivanovo Region, Privolzhsky District. It rises on the left bank of the Shokhonka River, a tributary of the Volga, beyond the Zarechye quarter. From the top there is a wide view of the Volga and the historic center of Plyos, which makes the hill one of the town's main viewpoints.

History

The hill is closely tied to the landscape painter Isaac Levitan, who lived and worked in Plyos from 1888 to 1890. It was here that he painted most of his famous Plyos landscapes. According to legend, the view that opened before him from this height impressed him so much that he decided at once to stay in Plyos.

For a long time a wooden church of Saints Peter and Paul, built in 1748, stood on the hill. It burned down in 1903. According to one version, it was this church that Levitan painted in his Plyos works.

In 1982 another wooden church, the Resurrection Church, was placed on the site of the burned-down one. It was brought from the village of Bilyukovo, where it had been built back in 1699, and reassembled on Levitan Hill.

What to see

At the top of the hill stands a bronze monument to Isaac Levitan, unveiled in 2012. The sculpture conveys the painter's features and echoes the motifs of his Plyos paintings.

Next to it is the Resurrection Church brought from Bilyukovo, a wooden church from the late 17th century that today serves as the hill's focal point and one of the recognizable sights of Plyos.

From the slope and the summit there is a panoramic view of the Volga, the embankment and the town buildings below — this view is the main reason people climb the hill.

Getting there

Levitan Hill lies within Plyos, and access is free and open around the clock.

Plyos is about 69–70 km from Ivanovo. By car the trip along the R-132 highway takes about an hour; by bus or taxi it takes about an hour and a half to two hours.