It will be commonplace to once again tell the reader that St. Petersburg is the universally recognized cultural capital of Russia. And not only can Peter be called an open-air museum, a pearl of Russian cultural heritage and a “mecca of art” for tourists, it’s blasphemous not to mention how “book” this city is. A significant role in creating such an appearance was played by Krupa - Krupskaya Fair, which we will talk about in this article.
History of "Groats"
"Krupa" - a book fair in the Krupskaya Palace of Culture, is certainly one of the symbols of St. Petersburg. It is difficult for many - both indigenous people and tourists, to imagine that it once was not there. However, the history of the Krupskaya Fair began relatively recently - in 1992.
It is difficult to remember or imagine the times when there were simply no books in the stores. But how greedy for books can be a reading person! In the same sixties people paced the city far and wide in search of resellers of rare publications, created bibliophile clubs to exchange their values. The first such meeting place in Leningrad was the kindergarten on Liteiny. The activity, in general, was illegal, and new acquisitions literally ruined their owners - they cost 4, or even 5 times higher than their face value. Not surprisingly, in the early 70's this place was covered.
Resourceful book lovers were looking for new shelters - a garden to them. Marx, The Trumpet, even suburban meetings. In the end, in 1984 in the Palace of Culture. of the same K. Marx, a club was formed at the Society of book lovers, where bibliophiles were able to freely exchange the most expensive. Soon, the Vodokanal club became an alternative to it, where book lovers came not only from St. Petersburg, but also from Moscow.
More freedom was felt in the era of perestroika, when commercial activity was officially authorized. Bibliophiles then already became crowded in Vodokanal - the choice of a new site fell on the Palace of Culture. Krupskaya. As we already mentioned, the move happened in 1992. Then “Krupa” was completely different than today - lack of repair, dim lighting ... The scribes from the very beginning put things in a serious way - the sale was stationary and, despite all the difficulties, the operating mode of the “Krupskaya” book fair was static.
At a time when the book fair was completely isolated, commercial printing was already beginning to take over the state. Bibliophiles from Krupa, educated, risky, and modern, did not stand aside from this process. Therefore, many past and present owners of St. Petersburg publishing houses - these are the scribes from the Krupskaya Fair. They knew better than others what was popular among readers, that they would be interested in which books would be taken apart like hotcakes.
Present and Future Krupskaya Book Fair
The peculiarity of Krupa is also that it is the first book fair in the country, the first market relations in the book business. Then already became famous Moscow "Olympic", bookstores in other Russian cities. Although today the Krupskaya Fair is quite a modern book supermarket, here you can still find islands of the past - trays with books of real bibliophiles. These are not just sellers - they are people who are able to spend an exciting excursion into the book world in a few minutes.
At the Krupskaya Fair in St. Petersburg these days, books of almost all St. Petersburg and a number of Moscow publishing houses are presented. It should be noted that a unique union of scribes “Slovo” works on its basis. It not only brings together book publishers, but also carries out an important charitable and educational mission, and takes an active part in the cultural life of the city. In particular, this is the organization of book exhibitions, support for the ABS Prize, the Wanderer, the establishment of the Peter-book magazine, well-known to many.
Although the appearance, and the richest assortment, and the operating mode of the Krupskaya Book Fair speaks of its true progress along the path of a modern civilized business, its creators managed to maintain that wonderful unique atmosphere of the book club. For the convenience of visitors, much has already been done: the interior has been reconstructed, trading floors have been expanded, a free parking lot has been arranged in front of the club. In the near future, it is planned to launch the Krupy information and reference service, with the help of which you can remotely learn about the availability of a particular publication at the fair.
Krupskaya fair: opening hours, address
"Krupa" is located at the address: Obukhov Defense Ave., 105.
Opening hours of the Krupskaya Book Fair: 10: 00-18: 00. It works every day except Monday.
How to get to DK them. Krupskaya
St. Petersburg Book Trade Center has a convenient location. Knowing the address of the Krupskaya Book Fair, you can easily find the way to it from the station. "Elizarovskaya" - on foot or by road. The first method will take no more than 10 minutes:
- From the street Elizarova turn onto Obukhov defense ave.
- From the street Elizarova "cut off" the way by quarters.
- From the station go along the street. Grandmother, turn onto the street. Weavers.
Ground transportation:
- To the stop. "Tkachev Street" on Obukhovskaya defense avenue: tram number 7 and number 24, minibus number 185.
- To the stop. "Street Weavers" on the street. Grandmother: bus number 95, minibuses number 12, number 264, number 365.
- To the stop. "Elizarovskaya Station": minibus number 31, number 114, number 253, bus number 31, number 114.
On the floors of the fair
On the second floor of the recreation center you will find various second-hand books:
- Rare, as well as medical books - IP Fedorova.
- Fiction, books on psychology - IP Ilyina.
- Musical literature, second-hand orientation - IP Tagiltseva, IP Deryagin and so on.
On the third floor there is the following:
- Exhibition and sale "The World of Gems".
- Souvenir products.
- Feng Shui departments.
- Stationery.
- Textbooks, discs, manuals.
Hits of the Krupskaya Book Fair
Let's see what can be called the bestsellers of the Krupskaya Fair today:
- "What the whole city is talking about," F. Flagg. A guide to the extraordinary world of the writer, from and to invented by herself. Another amazing feature - in the book many heroes from other works of Fanny Flagg, loved by readers, gathered.
- "Transcountry Chronicles", E. CheshirKo. A new work by the author of the famous "Brownie Diary", which attracted 2 million readers in Runet.
- Belgravia, D. Fallows. War, the Battle of Waterloo, passion, intrigue, indescribable atmosphere of the "golden" century ...
- "Baby Nicolas." A lifely and kind book for the youngest readers, capable of teaching them the most valuable thing - sincere and strong friendship.
- Eros and Magic in the Renaissance, J.P. Culianu. Agree, an intriguing title! The book is devoted to the study of the figure of a magician from a scientific point of view.
- "Asterix and Obelix", A. Uderzo, R. Gostinni. It is not surprising that these funny and interesting comics, which are distributed around the world in millions of copies, have become favorites at the Krupskaya Fair.
- The Seven Week of the Three-Eyed, B. Akunin. Few readers can be found who would not be affected by a series of historical detectives narrating incredible investigations of tireless Fandorin.
Hot News
Let's look at the news that have already found a lot of fans:
- "My Future Profession" - career guidance tests for students.
- "Special Forces" Lubyanka "", A. North, A. Kolpakidi.
- "Beatniks", D. Haustov.
- The Bone Collector, D. Diver.
- "Biographies of the Six Great Renaissance Masters," D. Vasari.
Useful leisure at the Krupskaya Book Fair
Do not think that Krupa is just a point of sale. Here you can have a useful and interesting time for any visitor. Regularly held:
- Presentations of books.
- Women's club meetings.
- Workshops on felting wool, watercolors, painting porcelain and glass, working with acrylic paints, making jewelry from natural stones, and many more. other
- Chess tournaments.
- School of painting.
- Fashion illustration courses.
- Classes in a vocal studio.
- Meetings with writers.
- Open poetry readings.
- Workshops.
The Krupskaya Fair is both the book and cultural center of St. Petersburg. Here you can not only find a rare edition at a very reasonable price, but also have a useful and interesting time.