Sytny Klyuch is a consecrated spring in the village of Bykovka, Vorotynsky District, Nizhny Novgorod Region.
It rises from beneath the park hill, on which, from the middle of the 19th century to the first quarter of the 20th century, stood the estate of Arkady Vasilyevich Demidov and his descendants.
There is little need to speak of the quality of the spring water — residents and visitors to the village gladly use it for drinking and cooking. Cold enough (-4°C) to make your teeth ache, and delicious, the water from Sytny Klyuch can quench both thirst and hunger.
Stone troughs filled with water from the spring were used as "refrigerators": milk churns were brought here from the dairy farm and cooled before being sent to the butter factory.
During the 20th century the chapel was rebuilt several times, and was later abandoned; as a result, by the early 21st century it had become ruins dangerous to visitors. In 2007 a decision was made to improve the grounds of Sytny Klyuch. With funds from the district administration and sponsors, a chapel in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God and an enclosed bathhouse were built.
The Demidov park has survived in almost its original form: its core consists of avenues of lindens and silver poplars. In the lower part of the park, ponds — "sazhalki" — were created. The area around the spring was landscaped, and a chapel was built.
Every year, on the feasts of the Epiphany (January 19), the day of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God (June 3), the feast day of the holy and right-believing Prince Peter and Princess Fevronia, and the day of the "Sign" Icon of the Mother of God, processions of the cross are held to the spring from the Bykovka church.