Iksha: Lock, Wooden Church and Settlement Traces

Iksha brings together different chapters of local history: a lock on the Moscow Canal is located here, alongside a wooden church, a local history museum and archaeological finds. These range from traces of a Russian settlement to individual artefacts of the Fatyanovo type. Fossils from quarries in the surrounding area add a geological dimension to this picture.

Canal and Church Construction in Iksha

Lock No. 6 on the Moscow Canal is located in Iksha. It is a tangible point of reference in the town’s technical history, distinct in theme from its religious and archaeological heritage. Those interested in the history of structures will find a different perspective here than in the study of older settlement traces.

One particularly precisely dated chapter is the history of the wooden Church of Matrona of Moscow. It was built between 4 June and 26 August 2004 to designs by E. M. Kuznetsov and the monk Sergei. It was intended as a future smaller church near the Church of Seraphim. Its solemn consecration took place on 23 July 2017. The construction and consecration thus mark two different points in the history of this church building.

The local history museum in the settlement of Iksha is another precisely dated landmark in the area’s more recent history: it opened on 24 August 2013. Together with the church and the lock, it showcases different subjects—technical infrastructure, religious architecture and local history—rather than focusing on just one period.

Archaeological Traces and Finds

Remains of a Russian settlement dating from the 12th to the late 16th century were discovered on the western edge of Iksha. Excavations uncovered traces of buildings and remains of ovens, as well as household items and jewellery. Architectural remains thus sit alongside objects from everyday life. Spanning several centuries, the settlement’s dating places it in a different context from the individual, precisely dated events in the area’s more recent history.

The Iksha settlement area is also known for the Iksha and Protasovo burial grounds, as well as individual finds of Fatyanovo-type artefacts. No distinct settlements of the Fatyanovo culture have been discovered there so far. This distinction helps put the evidence into context: known burial grounds and individual artefacts are not the same as confirmed, distinct settlements. Those interested in archaeology will therefore encounter several different kinds of traces here.

The area around Iksha also broadens the range of subjects: fragments of ammonites and belemnites have been found in quarries. These are fossils, not remains of the Russian settlement. Archaeological evidence of human history in Iksha and its surroundings thus sits alongside finds from a completely different field. For travellers who enjoy exploring different kinds of finds, this contrast is particularly interesting.

Which Focus Suits Your Trip?

When choosing a destination, you can ask yourself which subject interests you most: the lock as an engineering structure, the history of the wooden church or the archaeological finds. Those particularly interested in earlier settlements will find specific points of reference in the information about the Russian settlement and the artefacts; the fossils in the surrounding area offer a distinct focus of their own. These different subjects can also provide families with talking points while planning: What can a building find tell us, and how is it different from a fossil? If Iksha suits the mix of engineering, architectural history and archaeology you are looking for, you can then look for a holiday apartment in the settlement.

Discover more destinations: Gulnevo, Zhestylevo, Stepanovo, Rybaki, Yakhroma, Kuznetsovo, Neroshchino, Shustino.

For the main travel overview: Dmitrovsky District.