Wooden chalets

To the south of St. Petersburg there are world-known palace park complexes: Peterhof, Tsarskoe Selo, Gatchina, Pavlovsk, Oranienbaum. Tourists who come to us (come when there is no quarantine, of course) usually plan to visit at least one suburban residence of Russian emperors. I like to walk in the parks and admire the front living rooms of the palaces too. But I also like ordinary buildings, stone and wooden houses, where ordinary people settled: bakers and milkmen, tailors and teachers.

I gladly walk along the quiet streets of small towns and villages that have emerged near imperial palaces and parks. For example, I love the small street in Oranienbaum, where several wooden houses built in the 19th and early 20th centuries have been preserved. The condition of these houses is different, some shine with fresh paint and sparkle with cleanly washed glass, others are waiting for restoration work.