In the Valaam monastery is the development of a new project — a free virtual tour of “Hidden Balaam.” It will, anywhere in the world, to virtually visit the island of Valaam with its ancient monastery, hermitages, and chapels, and see his relics and to enjoy the beauty of nature, reports patriarhiei.
Pilgrims and tourists coming to Balaam will be able to use the mobile app as a guide and virtual tour guide. The tour will be available approximately 20 trips — in fact all the monasteries of Valaam (including closed visits). Be available audio and video guide with reference to the GPS.
“In the monastery tour a lot of innovation. For example, in a mobile application our virtual tour will work in offline mode, — says the representative of the developer Konstantin Dyachkov. — The mobile application will not need to connect to the network. Where cellular coverage is limited or the user does not want to spend Internet traffic, the app will work without Internet. Panorama virtual tour in high resolution, which allows you to enlarge the image many times to see the smallest details. Tour can be carried out on the island with reference to the terrain and staying in any corner of the world. The main objects of additional information in a separate modal Windows. You can listen to Valaam chants, the noise of the wind and waves of lake Ladoga. Some of the panoramas will be re-created historical appearance of different eras”.
During the virtual tour the visitor can light a candle, including closed sketes of Valaam. Separately during the tour, you can sample a remembrance. For the first time, but due to the distant Hermitage of Valaam, access to which is closed to all pilgrims.
The application will be available full the prayer book and canons and hymns in Church Slavonic and Russian languages. The collection of texts and their translation to the electronic version of the brethren of the monastery dates is already more than a year.
“Old Balaam was 13 hermitages, reported on the website of the monastery valaam.ru. Today, renewed the monastic life in eleven monasteries: St. Nicholas, all saints, Baptist, Sergius, Elias, Svyatoostrovsky, Smolensk, Gethsemane, resurrection, Konevsky, St. Vladimir. With the blessing of his Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Kirill, work is underway on the construction of three buildings: the restored historic skete in the name of the monk Abraham of Rostov, Kazan skete, the skete of St. Seraphim of Sarov on Papirenska the island. In July the monastery was returned to another remote historical skit in the name of St. Herman, the Valaam miracle-worker, who is currently in a deplorable state”.
Thus, at present, work is underway simultaneously in four monasteries. This requires considerable resources, however, despite the huge amount of recovery, restoration and construction works, decided to continue activities on creation of the tour “Secret Balaam.”