Maiden stone

On the southern side (slope) of Golosov ravine there are two famous Kolomenskoe stones – the Devii (Maiden) and the Goose. On the southern side – left, if going up from the bottom of the ravine, and right if you are going down to the river. To find the stones is not so simple. In winter there is snow. And in summer – grass. The Maiden stone lies above on the slope, and further from the stream. And the Goose-stone – the opposite. But in any case, the easiest reference points are the multi-coloured ribbons on trees.

The Goose-stone is specifically male. The goose was considered both by Diyakovs and Slavs as the bird whose first egg the world derives from. It is said that the power of this stone is stronger than the Maiden stone.

The Devii (Maiden) stone and the Goose-stone were dragged to the ravine in a glacier in the days of the great glaciation. During pagan times the stones were worshipped. First by the Diyakovs, then – the Slavs. And even Christians treated the ancient stones with piety. In order not to worship idols, they thought up the story of how Saint Georgy battled with snakes in Golosov ravine. Before they died the snakes struck out with their tale ends and cut Georgy’s horse in two, the two parts turned to stone. And the horse was called Perun. And that is why they are called the Perun stones.

The Maiden stone looks as though is covered by bubbles. It is considered, that every bubble is responsible for a certain body of the human body. Whether it works or not is not known. What is known is, the stone helps woman to become pregnant. They say, gifts in the form of tiny dolls are sometimes found. In fact according to legend, the wife and daughters of Georgy the Victor are buried under the Maiden stone.

It is possible the name Devii stone came from the Slavic god Deva or Devana. She was considered the mistress of the forests and a huntress. She could make any snake, fish or bird turn. Devana rode through the forest on the backs of two obedient wolves.