The Valaam Archipelago, consisting of Valaam Island and about 50 smaller islands, sits in northern Lake Ladoga. The main attractions here are the 14th-century Valaam Transfiguration Monastery(Valaamsky Spaso-Preobrazhensky monastyr; 38182, 38233; www.valaam.ru) and the beautiful tree-covered island on which it stands, with its many bays and headlands. The island can be reached by boat or hydrofoil, mid-May to mid-October.
Most agree that the monastery was founded in the late 14th century in part as a fortress against Swedish invaders, who managed to destroy it completely in 1611. Rebuilt in the 18th century with money from Peter the Great, the monastery burned down in 1754 and was rebuilt again in the 19th century. When the Soviet Union took northern Lake Ladoga from Finland in WWII many of the monks and much of the monastery’s treasure were moved to Finland. The Soviet authorities turned the monastery into a home for war invalids.
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