Por-Bazhyn Fortress: A mysterious structure on a remote island in Tuva

The fortress is located on a small island in the middle of the Tere-Khol mountain lake, which is difficult to reach, even today. Its waters are considered sacred by the locals.

Alexander Yuryev/Sputnik

Nevertheless, a description of this place can be found by the Siberian explorer Semyon Remezov in 1701: "The old stone city, two walls are intact, two walls have collapsed and we don't know which city it is."

Dmitry Alexandrovich Klements.

Public domain

At the end of the 19th century, ethnographer Dmitry Clements began studying the island, which Soviet scientists then continued. The ruins formed a clear rectangle with a labyrinth of streets inside. There was a palace complex with columns, the foundations of which are perfectly preserved. That the fortress was very old was beyond doubt. At the same time, it seemed as if its inhabitants had simply disappeared, as no human burials could be found.

S. Weinstein/Sputnik

But, who built the fortress, so atypical for this area, and what happened to its inhabitants? One of the most widespread versions is that Por-Bazhin was built in the 8th-9th centuries by Uyghurs and there was no lake at all back then. It appeared as a result of an earthquake, which forced the Uyghurs to leave the fortress.

Por-Bajin Fortress Foundation (CC BY 4.0)

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