Popova mountain and abandoned mines

Popova mountain rises above the Village of Shiryaevo. Its height reaches 200 meters, and at about 100 meters height, there is an observation deck where you can see a beautiful view of the Volga and the village of Shiryaevo lying at the foot. You can reach the top of the mountain by path on a steep slope.   

Near the village of Shiryaevo, the development of limestone was started in mines of Popova mountain, in the 19th century. In the 20th century, a small stone-cutting plant was opened here, where limestone is extracted in the form of huge slabs. 

Limestone, was mined here, is almost 100% consist of calcium carbonate, which allowed producing lime of the highest quality. The most active works in mines here were made during the years of Soviet industrialization. Despite the only square entrances to the caves are visible from the road, the mines in Popova, and then in the Monastery mountain, amounted to 17 thousand square meters. Huge corridors stretch hundreds of meters deep into the mountain. 

In the 19th century, horse-drawn drays were driven into these tunnels and loaded with hand-cut limestone. In the process of limestone extracting in mine tunnels, large columns were made to protect against collapses. They give the caves a beautiful and mystical appearance. 

In general, the tunnels of the Zhiguli mountains in Samara Luka reserve have been considered as zone of anomalous phenomena, so you need to be very careful when visiting them, especially if you want to get far into the depths.

In 1955, in the Apple-tree gully began to develop a large quarry where limestone began to mine in an open way with the help of special equipment. This significantly increased productivity, and it was no longer necessary to drive the trolleys deep into the mountains. After that, the mine tunnels in Popova, Monastyrskaya and Camel mountains were abandoned, and turned into a tourist attraction.