Wednesday Walk around the lake

Dolgoe Lake (The Long Lake)

Krasnoye Selo is the same distance from St. Petersburg as the world-famous Tsarskoye Selo. If I lived in the 18th century and my job description included choosing a place to build a royal residence near the new imperial capital, I would, in all probability, choose Krasnoye Selo.

Holy Trinity Church

This small settlement is located in a very picturesque area. Nearby are the Dudergof Heights - small mountains or large hills. In our flat terrain, any manifestation of relief can be considered a gift of nature. At the foot of Dudergofsky heights there are several big, but not too big, lakes with clear underwater springs. It is convenient to get to Krasnoye Selo not only from St. Petersburg but also from the first czar's residence on the shore of the Gulf of Finland in Strelna. All in all an ideal choice! But the Empress decided otherwise, and the palaces and parks appeared in another village, 20 kilometers to the east.

A typical street in Krasnoye Selo

The name "Krasnoye Selo" (Red Village) is an unambiguous reference to the beauty of the area. The adjective "red" is often used in Russian to mean "beautiful", these words are consonant and close in origin.

Sometimes you can see old wooden houses

Judging by old maps, small villages on the lakeshore existed before the founding of St. Petersburg. But this area has not received a significant development. Rural houses look pretty solid now, but otherwise, nothing has changed: there was a village and remained a village. In the twentieth century, the central part of town was built with apartment buildings, and these few streets give the right to be called a town, not a village. The period of greatest prosperity for this area is the 19th century. In 1819, Emperor Alexander I acquired Krasnoye Selo, and designated this area as a summer dislocation of the St. Petersburg garrison.

Bridge over the Dudergofka river

Few historical sites have survived in Krasnoye Selo. There is Trinity church, industrial and residential buildings of paper factory, some service constructions of grand duke's residence (manor building did not saved), some other old buildings. So I had not planned a walk in Krasnoye Selo, my decision to visit this place was spontaneous.

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I tried to make a nice picture with cobwebs and ducks

To get to Krasnoye Selo you can take a bus or a suburban train, it's equally convenient. I took the bus - and soon came out on the main street of Krasnoye Selo, near the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity. This is the main architectural monument of Krasnoye Selo. The church was built in 1733-1738, architect Ivan Blank.

Krasnoye Selo Railway Station

At the beginning of the walk I decided to make a small recongestination: to decide on the return transport, as well as to buy pirozhki and water for the trip. A bakery with a rich assortment was found in the church courtyard, and a little further along was a path through an abandoned park, leading to the train station. The train station was built in the 1950s in the popular neoclassical style of the time. I looked inside the train station building and took some pictures of the interior.

Park Krasnoye Selo

I walked through the park and out to the large Nameless Lake. Thanks to underground springs, the water in this lake is clear, but cold. It is quite a large lake, its length is 2 kilometers. In hot weather on the beach of this lake gathers a lot of vacationers, but this day was cool and the beach was not crowded.

Unnamed lake

Duck and ducklings almost merge in color with reflections in water

The next lake is called Long Lake, and this lake is separated by a dam. The dam has a very scenic view of the lake and the hills in the distance. I admired the views and decided to walk back along the path winding along the eastern shore of the lake.

The dam between the lakes Bezymyannoye and Dolgoe

Dolgoe Lake (The Long Lake)

Suddenly, the path turned toward some thickets with what appeared to be a section of dilapidated wall inside them. I stepped closer and saw the ruins of an old house.

Ruins of the old building, which deserves a separate story

Unnamed lake

There was another beach a little farther away. I noticed some activity near and came closer. A young man was trying to learn how to board, but he kept falling over the obstacle, making a splashing fountain. Finally, his persistence was rewarded, and he made it all the way across without falling once.

Unnamed lake

Well, it's time to call it a day! I visited a new place, strolled through the park, walked around the lake... all that was left was to walk to the train station along the path along the railroad tracks.