Pyana is the most winding river in the world. So claims the textbook "Geography. Nature of Russia."
It flows almost entirely through the territory of Nizhny Novgorod Region.
The towns of Perevoz and Sergach and the settlements of Gagino, Buturlino, and Pilna are located on the Pyana.
Theories on the Origin of the Name Pyana
One legend goes: "Long ago, thick forests covered the 'Mountains' everywhere. All kinds of beasts lived in them. Once a bear took to visiting a village that stood on the bank of the Sura. It spared neither women, nor children, nor the elderly. Many brave hunters perished at its hands. The people had completely lost hope. At that time a lad grew up in the village, strong and quick-witted. He resolved to fight the fierce beast. But the bear seemed to sense something. It went off into the forest and holed up in its den. For many days the young man wandered in the thicket, forcing his way through the undergrowth, doubling back, turning around, going on again, and everywhere he made marks so that he could follow them home. At last he found the bear. The fight was terrible. The lad won, but the savage beast had hurt him too, and blood poured from his wounds.
The young man was very tired. He skinned the bear, hoisted the hide onto his shoulders, and trudged home along his marks, swaying and stumbling from loss of blood as if drunk. And where drops of his blood fell, pits and hollows appeared, and springs welled up from them and brooks ran. These brooks merged, and a river flowed along that same winding path all the way to the village where the young man lived, and emptied into the Sura. People did not forget his feat, and they named the little river Pyana ("Drunken") for its bends and twists."
The Nizhny Novgorod writer Melnikov-Pechersky wrote in his book "In the Mountains": "In few places in our Rus will you find rivers like the Pyana… The first Russian settlers called the Pyana that because it staggers and lurches in every direction, just like a tipsy woman, and after running some five hundred versts in loops and twists, it returns to its own source and flows into the Sura almost right beside it." The writer cites mentions in the chronicles regarding the name of the river.
Dobrolyubov, a collector and researcher of folk art, recorded this legend: "The Pyana once met another river, and that little river asked her: 'What is your name?' 'Pyana,' she replied. 'Why, you really are drunk. Let me lead you where you ought to go.' And the oncoming river flowed ahead, and Pyana began to turn after her. 'But where are you leading me, if you are like this yourself?' says Pyana. 'To hell,' the other answers. And people overheard and nicknamed the little river Vad, and after it the village standing on it."
Another version is given by V. Malkin in the magazine *Science and Life*. In modern Finnish there is the word "piana," meaning "a small river." That is precisely what the Pyana was called in medieval Russian documents. The chronicle account of the battle with the Horde murza Bulak-Temir in 1366 says: "The accursed one (Bulak-Temir) did not stand to fight, but fled beyond the river Piana."
A.T. Kharitonychev, in his book "Nature of the Nizhny Novgorod Volga Region," asserts that the name is connected with the Mordvin word "pyan'" (in Russian translation, "pain"). The river served as the eastern border of the Russian state, and the lands along it were subject to invasions by nomadic tribes, who brought grief and calamity to the local inhabitants.
The famous Russian traveler Academician Ivan Lepekhin, who during the reign of Catherine II headed one of the detachments of the academic expedition to the Volga Region and visited the Pyana River, recorded the following tradition: "Its course is very winding and beautiful, from which the name Drunken River arose. Although this origin of the name is plausible, another reason is also related: that once two princes waged war against each other, whom some consider Russian and others consider of the Horde. One of them overcame the other and, celebrating his victory, halted at the aforementioned river. During the celebration the soldiers got drunk on wine and, abandoning military order, wandered about everywhere. The defeated, hearing the disorder of their conquerors, gathered their scattered forces, fell suddenly upon their enemies, and utterly defeated them, and in memory of the victory over the drunken they named the river Drunken."
Interesting facts
The Pyana attracts visitors with its picturesque beauty and natural features — karst sinkholes, lakes, and caves. On the banks of the Pyana lies the Ichalkovsky Bor state nature reserve, called a "mountain-taiga island set in the steppe": its terrain is cut by karst sinkholes and funnels, and it contains warm and cold caves, bright and dark underground grottoes. On the banks of the Pyana operates the Bornukovo stone-cutting factory, and nearby is the Bornukovo Cave, where the ice does not melt completely even in the summer heat. In the area of the village of Gagino on the Pyana stands the estate of Baron Jomini — one of the most beautiful noble estates in Nizhny Novgorod Region; an ethnic village adjoins the estate. The Pyana River attracts tourists as a water route: a rafting trip down it lasts from 1 to 15 days depending on the chosen stretch. From Nizhny Novgorod to the vicinity of Perevoz, where the Pyana flows, is about 120 kilometers; the river is considered a popular camping destination among Nizhny Novgorod residents.[1][2][2][2][2]
In history, the Pyana is known for the Battle of the Pyana that took place on it.
The River and Fishing
The Pyana has long been famous for the purity and transparency of its water, as well as for the abundance of fish. However, the dams and mill weirs, once numerous and maintaining the river's level, have now been destroyed as no longer needed, the riverside forests have thinned considerably, and the Pyana is now growing very shallow.
Nevertheless, it remains a fish-rich river. For the sport angler there is plenty of scope here. In the crystal-clear water one can see fish at a depth of up to 2 m. Large perch roam in the pools, and red-finned chub on the riffles.
The Pyana flows through fertile black earth, and in places meets easily soluble limestones and gypsums along its way. In its valley and along its banks there are many sinkhole lakes. The water is highly mineralized and fairly hard. But the abundance of fish is evidence that these qualities do not harm the river's inhabitants.
See also
Sources
- travelblognn.ru — TOP-5 places for tent camping in Nizhny Novgorod Region: the Nizhny Novgorod Maldives, a waterfall, and a drifting island — Blog about the best places of Nizhny… (archive)
- notk-nn.ru — Water Route No. 2 along the Pyana River — Public organization "Nizhny Novgorod Regional Tourist Club" (archive)