Literally translated as Hatchet Mountain, this infamous 71m-high hill was the site of tortures described in Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s Gulag Archipelago . The unassuming hilltop Ascension Church (1857–62) that doubles as a lighthouse was used for solitary confinement. With the cold, starvation and ill-treatment came the added terror of visiting Cheka officials who liked to shoot inmates for fun.
At the foot of the stairs leading up to the church, a 1992 cross commemorates all who died on Solovki.
The site is about 10km from the village, 7km beyond the botanical garden towards Savvatyevsky minor monastery. Tours cost about R380.
