Drinking from the ancient Palykavichy spring is forbidden: its once healing water can now kill

Queue for water at the Palykavichy spring on Epiphany

On the eve of the celebration, January 6, 2026, specialists from the Mogilev Zonal Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology conducted monitoring of water quality in popular places for Epiphany bathing.

While the microbiological indicators in Palykavichy are in order – the water is free from pathogenic bacteria – the chemical composition causes serious concern. The samples revealed an excess of the permissible norm for nitrate content. Sanitary services issued an unambiguous verdict: the use of this spring for drinking is unacceptable.

Павялічыць

Women collecting drinking water from the Palykavichy spring. Photo: komkur.info

What makes nitrates dangerous

Doctors warn that ignoring the ban is not an option, as nitrates in drinking water pose a serious threat to health. They have no smell or taste, making it impossible to detect their presence by eye.

These substances are particularly dangerous for infants and young children, as they can cause methemoglobinemia — an acute condition in which blood loses its ability to carry oxygen. In severe cases, this can lead to oxygen starvation of the body and even death.

Pregnant women are also at risk: consuming water with high nitrate content threatens to disrupt fetal development.

Adults are also at risk, as prolonged consumption of such water can lead to disturbances in the cardiovascular system, as well as the formation of nitrosamines — substances with a potentially carcinogenic effect.

Important to remember: boiling does not reduce the nitrate content in water; it only increases their concentration due to liquid evaporation.

Where to get clean water

Nevertheless, bathing in the equipped font in Palykavichy is safe without fear for health, as the main threat arises precisely when nitrate water enters the body internally.

For those who want to bring home clean water, safe by all indicators, specialists recommend alternative routes.

According to research from January 6, the water in the springs of the villages Sukhary and Dubinka fully complies with hygienic standards for both microbiological and sanitary-chemical criteria. The bathing font in Sukhary has also been deemed safe.

Legendary history and sad reality

The spring is first mentioned in documents as early as 1552 as the property of the Mogilev starost Stanisław Kieżgajło. Over the centuries, this picturesque corner changed many famous owners. In the mid-17th century, King Władysław IV transferred these lands to the Saltykov brothers.

The true flourishing of the Palykavichy spring began in the 19th century, when the estate passed to the noble family of Rimsky-Korsakov. General Rimsky-Korsakov transformed the natural spring into a true hydraulic engineering masterpiece of its time. He built a stone grotto covered with iron over the spring, and lowered a log structure lined with zinc into the spring itself. Water flowed through special pipes into a huge basin with a capacity of 100 buckets.

The place gained scientific fame thanks to the Russian academician Vasily Severygin, who in 1804 studied the water and described it as a "mineral key, rich in carbonic acid." The water, which contains fluorine, calcium, and silver, was attributed with the ability to treat tooth decay, anemia, and nervous diseases.

But most of all, the spring was famous as a spiritual center. A chapel in honor of the holy martyr Paraskevi Pyatnitsa, patroness of women and the family hearth, stood here since ancient times. The place gained special significance after 1866, when a particle of the relics of Saint Paraskevi was brought here from Mount Athos.

A unique custom existed: it was believed that every woman or girl within a 100-kilometer radius should come here on foot at least once in her life. On the so-called "Palykavichy Fridays" (the 8th, 9th, and 10th Fridays after Easter), thousands of pilgrims flocked here, and grand processions were organized from Mogilev.

Павялічыць

Palykavichy spring in 1918. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The fame of "living water" was so great that during the First World War, the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II visited the spring to pray and drink the healing water.

Despite the fact that the ancient wooden church burned down in 1970, the flow of people to the spring did not cease. In 1983, it received official status as a natural monument. The sanctuary received new life in our century. In 2000, a new chapel was consecrated here, built with funds from benefactors from Germany — the Arnold family (Alla Arnold was originally from Palykavichy) — and local believers.

Today, the Palykavichy spring remains an important spiritual center with a restored chapel of Saint Paraskevi Pyatnitsa. However, modern ecology introduces its own adjustments to centuries-old traditions.

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