Our first stop was the lovely city of Castlegar which is where we spent the most amount of time exploring the Doukhobor history. The Doukhobor museum is amazing, and is in a replica of a Doukhobor Village built to the specifics of the Villages scattered throughout the Kootenays. One family would occupy a Village, including immediate and extended family around 100 people. The Doukhobor Discovery Centre has a Facebook page if you want to check it out & get a virtual tour!
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| I have a feeling we will be seeing more of these signs! |
These are from a model of a typical Doukhobour village...
And some of the real thing!
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| The bath house |
Getting the tour...
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| While the men worked outside the community for money the women worked the fields, and since they had no money for livestock when they first settled the women pulled the plows. While the women were hard at work inthe fields, the elders looked after the children. |
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| Bread, Salt, & Water at the center of the religion, to symbolize living simply |
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| The clothes Peter Verigin died in when the train he was on was bombed, I found it a wee bit creepy... |
The sleeping quarters upstairs
The Doukhobors were very skilled weavers & seamstresses, and made much of the clothing out of hemp.
Leo
Tolstoy was a crucial part of the Doukhobors migrating to Canada, and
used all the money from the sales of his book Resurrection to pay for
the Doukhobors to migrate and escape persecution and exile their
motherland of Russia. Tolstoy was referred to as 'The Benefactor' by the
Doukhobors. He also happens to be one of my favourite authors!
After the museum we went to Millennium Park to enjoy our picnic lunch.
After lunch we headed up the hill to the Verigin Tomb. There's a lot of history as Peter Vergin's Tomb was blown up 6 times by the Sons of Freedom sect of the Doukhobors (the Sons of Freedom happen to be my family's sect). In this tomb lie Peter V. Verigin & his wife, Peter P. Verigin & his wife, and alongside the tomb are Anna Markova (Peter P's daughter) and John J. Verigin (Anna's son). If you are interested in any more info check out the website Verigin Memorial Park.
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| The view on the way up to the tomb |
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| The view of the Columbia River from the tomb |
I wasn't expecting Verigin's Tomb to be so beautiful! Stay tuned for the rest of Day 3's adventure's...
