The Belogorsky (White Hill) monastery, one of the most beautiful one in the Ural Region, is on the top of the Belaya Gora. Approaching the Belaya Gora you can see the huge Cathedral of the Elevation of the Cross. You can have a wonderful panorama from the top of the mountain.
If you arrange a car trip to the monastery from Perm, you can easily include in it a visit to Kungur Ice Cave, but you must get there before noon. The monastery is only 70 kilometers from Kungur.
It is believed that the monastery on the Belaya Gora was established in 1891. That year a 10-meter cross was elevated on the mountain in remembrance of the miraculous saving of prince Nikolay. As is known, on April 29, 1891 there was an attempt on the life of the heir to the throne Nikolai during his long journey over Japan.
The site of the future cathedral on the Belaya Gora was consecrated in June of 1893. And almost at once a wooden church was erected there. A bit later there were built the hegume`s house, the monks` buildings and the shelter for orphans. Five icons were brought with the first cross procession from Moscow and St. Petersburg in 1897.
The construction of the stone Cathedral of the Elevation of the Cross began in 1902. It was the most impressive cathedral in the Perm eparchy and one of the largest cathedrals in Russia. It was built in the neo-Byzantine style after the model of the Vladimir cathedral in Kiev. It was finished in June of 1917. By that time the monastery called the Ural Athos had already acquired a big influence in the region.
In 1919 the Bolsheviks shot the monks of the monastery and the monastery itself was soon closed. However, the monastery, as well as the newly built cathedral were not destroyed. For a long time the building was in a dilapidated state but in 2012 its reconstruction was finished and it was reopened for tourists.
