St. Petersburg is a city with a not-so-long history, but during its existence it has accumulated a lot of rich cultural and architectural heritage. One of these corners is Poklonnaya Gora. The place, very popular and still among many citizens, is located at the metro station of the same name. There is a very large flow of transport due to the densely populated sleeping area. In this regard, the construction of the interchange on Poklonnaya Hill in St. Petersburg has begun.
So why is she worshipable?
There are two versions of the origin of the name of the highest point in St. Petersburg. One of them tells that even in pagan times, the Karelians who inhabited these lands - one of the Finno-Ugric tribes of the region - built a temple here in which they worshiped their gods. According to the second version, the history of the name refers to the first periods of the existence of St. Petersburg. Located not far from the road leading to the city, the mountain was a place where every traveler entering and leaving had to give a bow to St. Petersburg. According to the third version, the hill was named so because every ambassador arriving to Peter I from here, where the Northern War was going on, bowed to the Russian tsar. But there is another popular historical name for the hill, which arose in the distant years, - Bugor. In this case, we mean the semantic meaning of the word - "border".
Poklonnaya Gora and surroundings: XVIII century
Poklonnaya Gora in St. Petersburg and the surrounding land in the first third of the 18th century were granted by Catherine I as a merit to Count Ivan Shuvalov, who built his estate here with a wonderful park.
The lands of the Shuvalov estate with the first owner and his descendants, and then with the other owners, had the status of a suburban cultural area. Here the nobles invited by the owners rested. And since many amusements were related to the development of art, since Ivan Ivanovich Shuvalov was actively involved in the reforms of education and culture and strongly supported young talents, the epithet Parnassus was often applied to this hill. This area is named after the owner to this day called Shuvalovo.
Some sources provide information that Poklonnaya Gora is part of the ridge, formed as a result of the retreat of the ancient glacial sea.
History of Poklonnaya Gora
In St. Petersburg in the XIX century, the area of ​​Poklonnaya Gora was considered a popular summer resort. Boats with idle vacationers glided along the Suzdal lakes. Boat stations and baths were located along the banks. Therefore, the part of the territory adjacent to Poklonnaya Gora is called "Ozerki".
In open areas, among the greenery and cozy wooden houses, music sounded and couples danced. This area was famous for its theatrical performances.
In Soviet times, to this day, the area continues to accumulate summer residents and just resting people who came to breathe air near the lake surface and admire the white sails of light yachts in blue water. Alas, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to admire nature, since the Poklonnaya Gora area is located in the development zone. The city is getting closer. However, the result of recent studies regarding the denouement under construction is disappointing. When they open the denouement at Poklonnaya Gora in St. Petersburg, conceived back in 2008, nothing will change. A three-level denouement is useless and does not solve the problems of the northern part of the city.
What on Poklonnaya Gora in St. Petersburg can be seen in our time from the preserved sights of the countryside? Now we will tell.
Church on Poklonnaya Hill
In St. Petersburg, in the historic district of Ozerka, there is a church that belongs to the Christian community of Evangelical Baptists, and previously belonged to the St. Petersburg diocese and was consecrated in the name of the Holy Trinity. The Baptists call her the house of prayer. The Trinity Church was erected in 1904 at the estate of Count Orlov-Denisov at the expense of Erast Leontyevich Pigulevsky. Two years before the start of construction, a chapel was built here, the project of which A. Nosalevich worked. The church itself was created according to the project of V. Tikhanov with the participation of P. Trifonov. Their chosen style is called pseudo-Russian.
The temple has a cubic shape. On the east side, three apses protrude from the facade, of which the central one is higher and wider. But they are much lower than the overall height of the temple. The church is single dome. A high drum with light windows is crowned by a bulbous cupola. The facades are decorated with kokoshniks and carved stone ornaments, painted in red-brick color with contrasting white decor. The belfry, adjacent to the temple, is also cubic. Its upper part is made in the style of tower architecture and is decorated with a tent covering under the onion head.
Cottage of Jamsaran Badmaev
It will be about giving a physician who used many residents of the city with the help of the secrets of Tibetan medicine, with which he was familiar firsthand. In Orthodox baptism, Peter Badmaev is a Mongol in his origin. He arrived in St. Petersburg from Buryatia. He had a very good education, and studied Tibetan medicine with Mongolian, Buryat and Tibetan lamas. Understanding the importance of fresh air and green spaces for the human body, he buys a piece of land not in the city, but beyond his line, in the dacha darling beloved by Petersburgers in the middle of the forest, near Suzdal Lakes. Here he builds a small reinforced concrete house with a tower on two floors and starts a subsistence economy.
At the cottage there were always a lot of people. Especially on Thursdays, when young people organized tennis tournaments and played in the towns. After outdoor games, lunch was always offered, prepared with products from our own household.
Near Badmayev opened a sanatorium, a pharmacy of Tibetan potions and led the reception of patients. The payment for treatment was differentiated depending on the class and level of income. In difficult moments of political persecution, Peter Badmaev helped G. Rasputin, hiding revolutionary-minded students in his country house.
Badmaev’s cottage lasted until 1981 and was demolished due to the expanding development zone.
By tradition or so it happened?
An interesting fact is that it was near the place where P. Badmaev’s dacha and his sanatorium were located that in 1985 the building of the Karl Marx Hospital was built. The hospital, modern in technical innovations in those years, became an innovative center for the implementation of laparoscopic operations. Its building is known to all as a “trefoil” in a characteristic form. Over time, the hospital, continuing to keep up with the development of medicine, was modernized and equipped with the latest technology. After perestroika, it was renamed St. George's Hospital in the name of St. George the Victorious, the patron saint of the Russian army and a symbol of victory over illness and death. A church was opened in the hospital, and therefore the renaming took place.
The disappeared monument
By November 1949, it was decided to erect monuments to Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin at the entrances to Leningrad. That year he turned 70 years old. Established such a monument on Poklonnaya Hill. The author of his project was V.I. Ingal. Two years before installation, the sculptor exhibited a model of the monument at an exhibition dedicated to the 800th anniversary of the capital.
The sculpture was called "IV Stalin - Generalissimo." The figure of the leader is made in full growth and placed on a high granite pedestal. To the two-tiered rectangular pedestal entwined with a laurel wreath, gently sloping granite steps led. The leader was cast in bronze: in an open overcoat and a tightly buttoned jacket, with his head uncovered. The hand of the lowered right hand is slightly laid aside, the right leg is ready to take a step. The figure expresses determination and sharpness.
The Stalin Monument on Poklonnaya Hill was dismantled during the years of de-Stalinization, namely in the period after the next XXII Party Congress in 1961.