St. Petersburg is called the cultural capital of Russia. And it is not for nothing that this city received such an honorary title. After all, the sights of the Leningrad region are the estates of Russian princes, castles built back in the Middle Ages, and monuments of ancient Russian architecture. As well as modern multi-story buildings with glazed facades, countless museums and art galleries. But this is not the whole list of what the famous land is rich in.
Marine St. Nicholas Cathedral
In the city of Kronstadt, in the Leningrad Region, there is a marvelous monument of architecture - St. Nicholas Cathedral. The construction of this Orthodox church lasted ten years. The work was completed in 1913. Mainly, Admiral Makarov and John of Kronstadt were engaged in fundraising for the construction of the structure.
An anchor square was chosen for the construction of the temple. Previously, there were no anchors needed by anyone. The location of this territory made it possible to arrange an area for church parades and a park around the future architectural miracle. There was one condition for bringing construction work into effect. According to him, the cathedral was to serve as a guide from the sea. Today, St. Nicholas Cathedral is the tallest building in the city. Its height reaches 71 meters. And the first thing that sailors see is the cross of the temple.
Sablinsky natural monument
The sights of the Leningrad region are an abundance of natural monuments. One of them is the Sablinsky integrated natural reserve. It is located 40 kilometers from St. Petersburg. The area of the monument is 220 hectares. On such a vast territory there are rocks, waterfalls, ancient barrows, ancient canyons of the Sablinka and Tosno rivers. This place is also famous for the Pustynka farm, which was once the estate of Count Alexei Tolstoy himself and the transit point of Alexander Nevsky before his battle with the Swedes.
In Sablinsky reserve there are incredibly many different caves. The largest of them is Left Bank. It is protected by law and is available for tourists, accompanied by cavers. Bats live in local caves throughout the winter. Sometimes butterflies join them.
2.5 hours lasts the most popular excursion to the Sablinsky natural monument. This includes a 45-minute cave stay. And for the remaining time you can explore the rest of nature.
The glorious city of Ivangorod
This settlement and the Ivangorod fortress is another amazing place that attracts tourists to the Leningrad region. Ivangorod is located on the Estonian border itself. Therefore, since 2002, the city officially enters the border zone. Before him is a checkpoint. Here, they check the documents of everyone who is trying to get into the city.
Ivangorod is located on the eastern bank of the Narva River. The name of the settlement was given due to the fact that on its territory there is an ancient fortress of Ivangorod, founded in 1492. When Russia was going through difficult days, this building served as a kind of shield for it. The building is today considered the main city attraction.
At that time, when the city of Rugodiv was located on the opposite bank of Narva, Ivangorod served as a border place. In the modern world, Narva (formerly Rogodiv) became part of Estonia. And so Ivangorod again had to turn into a border zone.
Defense construction
The Ivangorod fortress was erected during the reign of Ivan III Vasilyevich. On the right bank of the aforementioned Narva in the summer of 1492, work began on the creation of this attraction. At the very beginning, it was completely built of wood. The fort was built in order to gain access to the Baltic Sea. The fortress city was being built at a rapid pace. So, the first stone was laid on June 21, 1492, and on August 15 everything was ready.
The construction of the object was carried out by architects from Italy. That is why there are such details that are not found in any other Russian fortress. On the wall of the fort, you can either climb through the tower or climb the attached staircase. The fortress had a square shape and towers in the corners.
The building was small in size, so it was impossible to place the garrison needed for defense. In 1496, construction again resumed on the free square of Maiden’s Mountain. The foremen were Mikhail Klyapin and Ivan Gundor. All work took 12 weeks. On the eastern side of the previously constructed fortress, the Big Boyarsky City was completed, the walls of which reached 19 meters and the towers - 22 meters. The territory of the new part of the fort exceeded 250 thousand km 2 . Prior to this, no one in Russia had created anything like this in such a short period.
How to get there
Unfortunately, there is no direct bus or train connection between St. Petersburg and Ivangorod, thanks to which it would be possible to get to famous sights. Therefore, if you still decide to visit this place, you should know that without a Schengen visa or any other document allowing you to visit Estonia, you will not be able to get to Ivangorod. From the bus station, which is located in the local central square, suburban buses leave for Kingisepp every hour. Thus, one can get to Ivangorod and its fortress.
Unique museum
Ivangorod fortress (how to get into it, described above) invites tourists to visit the museum, which is comfortably located in its open spaces. The Ivangorod Art Museum was opened in late spring 1980. Pototsky M.N. has the most direct relation to its creation and development. He at one time presented Ivangorod with several works related to decorative and applied art, painting and graphics. Many of the works were created by his parents. But there are paintings by other artists.
The Ivangorod Fortress Museum contains another interesting building on its territory. Here, in the middle of the century before last, the office of Orlov, a famous merchant, was established. In 2000, a program called “Virtual Fortress” was developed specifically for this institution. It is based on multimedia technology.
Excursion
The Ivangorod fortress, a tour on which will take no more than an hour, will make a wonderful impression. The tourist route includes a tour of the Forward City, as well as the Big Boyar City. Guests are invited to climb walls and towers. From here, their eyes will have a bewitching view of the bastions and Narva Castle. In the summer season, the thematic photo exhibition is operating in the Nabatnaya Tower . It is called "Ivangorod in the past and present."
Fortress today
Today Ivangorod fortress is in a rather difficult situation. As already mentioned, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it became part of the border zone. And getting here without special documents is simply impossible. The facility needed a large-scale restoration, which they did not manage to finish before the collapse of the USSR. These days there is no such possibility.
Restoration work began in the 1950s. In the 1970s, they were very active, as the country was preparing for the Olympics-80. But still part of the fort did not have time to repair. And in the late 1990s, the local population burned an excellent tent, which was located on the Nabatnaya Tower. But there is no money for its restoration.