There is a place in the delta of the Neva River that historically bears the collective name of 'Islands'. The answer to the direct question "what islands" is likely to be that three islands are meant — Krestovsky Island, Yelagin Island and Kamenny Island, which in the 18th and 19th centuries were considered peripheral territories and were built up with summer houses, and in the 20th century they gradually found themselves in dense urban development, but retained their significance as a recreational resource. One of these islands is entirely occupied by the park, the other one is occupied by the park only by half - the second half of the island is occupied by apartment buildings, and on the third island there are still dachas. Of course, these cottages have long ceased to be just a summer holiday destination, now they are mansions and residences.
The answer about the three islands is correct, but not accurate. Because 'Stone Island' is also a collective name. The channels and canals divide this island into several sections. Perhaps it is thanks to the abundance of water channels that the cottages have survived to this day: it is difficult to build anything of scale on small islands.
From one of these islands I began this walk. An unnamed footbridge across the Krestovka River channel brought me to a long elongated island, with a few benches on the far promontory. There are no other crossings to this island - apart from crossing the river or channel on ice in winter. I wonder how the benches were brought there. Were they carried on hands? Perhaps it was not so easy.
After walking around the islet, I walked back to the footbridge, the ice didn't seem strong enough to walk across. Then I turned left and soon came to the Kamennoostrovsky Theatre. The pattern on the building's walls was clearly visible in the bright sunlight, the white lines imitating brickwork. In fact, the building is made of wood and is a unique example of wooden architecture.
I went a little further away to take a picture of the general view of the theatre and managed to capture part of another interesting building in the frame. I'm referring to the turret on the right-hand side of the picture. It's M.E. Kleinmichel's dacha and was built in the early 20th century in Art Nouveau style. An episode of the Soviet TV series about Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson was filmed in this building.
From the Kamennoostrovsky Theatre, I walked out to the Bolshaya Nevka River embankment. It's not the most pleasant walk, but there was an absolutely unique architectural monument waiting for me. On the way I was able to look at some of the cottages, as well as the mosaic on the end of the building on the opposite bank of the river.
I hope to see and photograph this mosaic one day from a closer distance, but there are some complications there. A car junction has been built around a small section of the street in front of the bridge, and it's hard for an untrained person to figure out how to properly cross streets with almost continuous car traffic.
And this is the unique architectural object I wanted to take a look at. No, it's not the remains of a tram stop or an old barn, as it might at first seem. It is a reinforced concrete shelter of the Iron-Beton partnership, erected in 1908 especially for the international building and art exhibition. The demonstration of the latest building and finishing materials was one of the main themes of the exhibition. Although examples of the use of reinforced concrete structures can be found since at least the beginning of the 19th century, extensive research into the reliability of reinforced concrete structures did not take place until the end of the 19th century, and standards for the design and use of reinforced concrete structures appeared at the beginning of the 20th century.
At this point my walk is close to completion. At the end of the story I decided to put some more photos, taken at the very beginning of the walk, on a small unnamed island.
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| Smartphone | Google Pixel 3a |
| Location | Saint Petersburg, Russia |
This is my entry for the #WednesdayWalk challenge by @tattoodjay.