“For a week, until the second ...” - in the 80s the whole Soviet Union sang this unpretentious song together, dreaming of rushing off “on a Sunday train” in Komarovo. We will tell you about the sights and history of the resort village in this article.
Komarovo - where is it?
Komarovo (Kellomyaki - until 1948) is a small resort village located on the shores of the Zelenograd Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Today, about 1300 people live in it. Administratively, the village is part of the city of St. Petersburg.
The sights of Komarovo are, first of all, the sea, clean air, mild climate and pine forests. Due to these natural factors, a large sanatorium-resort complex has formed here. The first sanatorium in Komarovo appeared at the beginning of the twentieth century. Today, there is a rehabilitation boarding house, a sports camp, a neurological sanatorium and several recreation centers.
How to get to Komarovo, Leningrad Region? The sights of this resort village can be seen by car along the Primorsky highway. The distance from the city of St. Petersburg to the village is approximately 40 km. You can get here by bus No. 211 (from the metro station "Chernaya Rechka") or by train, which leaves from Finland Station.
The history of the resort village
The history of Komarovo hardly totals one and a half centuries. Until the end of the century before last, life here flowed sluggishly and uniformly. But everything changed dramatically after the construction of the railway. At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries, wealthy citizens of St. Petersburg began to actively explore the picturesque shores of the Gulf of Finland, building respectable villas and summer residences here. Many of them have survived to our days and are important sights of Komarovo.
Initially, the village received the name Kellomyaki (translated from Finnish - "Bell Mountain"). According to legend, there really was a huge bell, with which workers were convened to build a railway station. The current name is completely unrelated to mosquitoes, although there are plenty of the latter (especially in early summer). The village was renamed in honor of Vladimir Komarov, the famous Soviet botanist and president of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
In the middle of the twentieth century, prominent scholars and cultural figures of a large country — musicians, writers, poets, artists and artists — began to move to Komarovo. Very soon, the village received unofficial status of "elite". At different times, Anna Akhmatova, Joseph Brodsky, Ivan Efremov, Dmitry Shostakovich and other prominent representatives of the creative intelligentsia lived here.
Song about Komarovo: interesting facts
In the mid-80s, a song about Komarovo performed by theater and film actor Igor Sklyar was incredibly popular. Even in spite of her plain text, she instantly became a cult. She was sung to the guitar in the courtyards and at various official events, almost daily the song sounded on the radio.
The authors of this composition consider Mikhail Tanich and Igor Nikolaev. As Igor Sklyar recalled, the song was born spontaneously, during the next creative feast. Igor Nikolaev sat down at a dusty piano and said: “Now I will write you a song!” And he played one of his unpublished hits ...
It is curious that the song mentions rocks, and sand dunes, and treacherous abysses. Although none of this is in Komarovo.
The main attractions of Komarovo (St. Petersburg): list of objects
First of all, people go to Komarovo to have a rest. But between swimming in the sea and sunbathing, you can visit local attractions. Unfortunately, there are no museums and theaters in Komarovo. But there are several other interesting objects - natural, historical, cultural and architectural.
The following are the main attractions in Komarovo that are worth visiting:
- Komarov necropolis;
- Lake Shchuchye;
- natural reserve "Komarovsky shore";
- swamp Lammin-Suo;
- bust V.L. Komarova;
- "The Booth" by Anna Akhmatova;
- sculpture "The Little Mermaid";
- Villa Bormann;
- Klusner's dacha;
- Yukhnevich's dacha;
- the cottage of General Voronin;
- building of the settlement post office.
Komarovsky necropolis
The village cemetery is the main attraction of Komarovo, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List (No. 540-027). It is located on Ozernaya Street, between the railway platform and Shchuchy Lake.
Since the mid-twentieth century, Komarov cemetery began to bury prominent scientists, writers and other artists. So, here are the graves of the poetess Anna Akhmatova, artist Nathan Altman, writer Ivan Efremov, oceanologist Mikhail Somov, geographer Viktor Sochava.
The most visited in Komarovo is the grave of Anna Akhmatova. The poet’s son Lev Gumilyov, having personally collected stones on the shore of the bay, built a wall here. It symbolizes the impregnable walls of the “Crosses” - the St. Petersburg prison, under which Akhmatova repeatedly brought programs to Gumilyov. Initially, there was a hole in the wall - a stylized prison window. But later it was closed with a bas-relief with a portrait of the poetess.
"Booth" Akhmatova
The tiny wooden house in Komarovo was donated to Anna Akhmatova by the Literary Fund in 1955. The poetess herself nicknamed him the "booth" for its cramped and small size. Nevertheless, he attracted the whole creative intelligentsia of St. Petersburg. Faina Ranevskaya, Mark Ermler, Alexander Prokofiev, Nathan Altman often visited the Booth. Often Akhmatov was visited by the young poet Joseph Brodsky.
In 2004, the house of the famous poetess was restored. Since that time, an open-air literary and music festival has been held annually near the Budka dedicated to the memory of Anna Akhmatova.
Shchuchye lake and Komarovsky shore
The sights of Komarovo include several natural sites located in the vicinity of the resort village. Among them are the Komarovsky Bereg Nature Reserve, Shchuchye Lake and the Lammin-Suo Swamp.
Shchuchye lake is located two kilometers north of the village. Its area is small - only 53 hectares. It is known that game caught here was for a long time delivered to the royal court of Stockholm. Previously, the lake was very rich in fish: roach, trout and pike were found here (hence the name).
The Komarovsky Bereg reserve is located along the Primorsky highway, between Morskaya and Sportivnaya streets. It was created with the aim of protecting coastal spruce-sand landscapes. This is one of the few undeveloped areas on the coast of the Gulf of Finland. The flora of the reserve is represented by 400 species of plants, 22 of which are rare.
Wooden villas and sculptures of the village
Several beautiful wooden structures of the first half of the twentieth century have been preserved in Komarovo. Among them, it is worth highlighting the cottage of General Voronin (now a neurological clinic), built in 1900. The openwork villa Yukhnevich or the modest summer residence of the composer Klyusner are no less attractive.
What is still interesting is the village of Komarovo, so it is with its original sculptures. So, on one of the beaches sits a bronze "Little Mermaid". The monument is an exact copy of the famous Danish sculpture. The Komarovskaya mermaid is just as sad as her "sister" from distant Copenhagen. But in the park near the restaurant "Russian Fishing" you can see funny sculptures of avid fishermen. The faces of these guys are happy and happy. And this is not surprising when you look at the size of their catch!
Sights of Repino (Komarovo): reviews and description
If you went to Komarovo in your own car, it’s worth at least an hour to call in Repino in order to visit the Penates Museum. It was in this estate that the great Russian artist Ilya Repin lived for about 30 years. These were the last years of his life. The manor building itself, its interiors, as well as the park with the grave of the artist, have been perfectly preserved.
Reviews of tourists about this museum are mostly positive. This is a very sincere place where they conduct excellent excursions. True, it is worth being mentally prepared for the excessive severity of museum rangers.
Another attraction in Repino is Chudny Beach. In summer, you can enjoy plenty of fun, get a great tan and play volleyball on a specially equipped area. On the beach you can rent a sun lounger for a full summer vacation.