Kanonersky island - a small piece of land in the city of St. Petersburg. Located between the Gulf of Finland and the Sea Canal, it is part of the Nevsky Bar system.
The total occupied area of 115 hectares, no more than 650 meters wide, is 5 kilometers long. Separated by the Sea Canal from Gutuevsky Island. In the west it is washed by the Neva. Separated from the White Island by the New Gunner's Harbor, where the docks of the ship repair plant and treatment facilities are located. On the north side is the ship fairway.
Kanonersky island - which district of St. Petersburg? It is assigned to the Kirov district of the northern capital of Russia. You can get to the island only through the tunnel.
History
Previously, when the island belonged to the Finns, its name sounded like Kissasaari, which means Feline.
When this part of the land was transferred to the Admiralty College, a new name appeared - Battery, as warehouses with ammunition and gunpowder were located here.
The island acquired its current name only in the 18th century. At that time, military exercises were held here, there were barracks.
After some time, the construction of the Commercial Sea Port began, and Kanonersky Island automatically loses the status of a military training ground. Construction work is underway, banks are being strengthened, a dam is being built. Already at the end of the 19th century, a ship repair plant appeared on the island, which by the 30s of the last century was not only repairing individual parts of ships, but also completely repairing them in its own dock.
Like most industrial enterprises, ship repair during the Second World War will be redesigned, and warships are already being repaired, bombs and shells are being poured.
Streets and houses
Over time, housing began to appear on the island. Due to the inaccessibility to the mainland, factory workers begin to settle here. There is no master plan for development, so everything happened spontaneously, the houses are very mottled. There are abandoned buildings of the XVIII century, and there are "Khrushchevs" and houses built during the reign of Stalin.
Due to its small size, there are only house numbers and a zip code on Kanonersky Island, whose number is 198184.
How to get to the mainland
Only in 1983, the island was connected by a tunnel with Gutuevsky and, accordingly, with the mainland. Now the tunnel runs regular bus services.
It was built for 8 years. The total length of 927 meters, with two lanes, one on one side and the other. Water periodically enters the tunnel, so it is repaired quite often. Overhaul was carried out in the period from 1998 to 2002, when the waterproofing layer was completely replaced.
And once it was quite difficult to get here, and the island itself was called Mysterious. Only port and factory workers had passes, the rest had to get them in a housing office. On the maps of the Soviet era, this place was marked as a huge training ground, only in the 80s modern outlines of this land began to appear.
The logical question is, how could one get to the island if there was no tunnel? Everything is very simple, free and regular water buses and a ferry ran on which you could transport a car. In winter, an icebreaker tug and ferry shuttled.
In the post-war years, the Gunner Island of St. Petersburg could only be reached by boat. Later, trams, ferries and even steamboats appeared again.
If the water area was covered with thick ice, then wooden bridges were laid, along which you could walk and not wait 40 minutes for an icebreaker.
At night, the ferry was closed, only in extreme cases it was opened if it was necessary to send a sick person to the hospital.
Social sphere
Today, no more than 5 thousand people live on the island. One of the old buildings has survived, which was reconstructed and given under the administration of the plant. And once there was an outpatient clinic.
The infrastructure on Kanonersky Island is very poorly developed:
- pool;
- school;
- kindergarten;
- 3 shops;
- about 20 residential buildings.
All other institutions, courts, law enforcement agencies, including pharmacies, cinemas, are located on the mainland. There are no billboards, litter bins or roads on the island.
But still there is the pride of the island - this is the Surf pool on Kanonersky Island. The sports facility is built with the latest technology. Bowl in length - 25 meters, 5 tracks. Highly qualified trainers work in the pool. Athletes and simply lovers of water procedures are involved here.
Ecological problems
After the construction of the tunnel, when access became free, visitors reached here. You can admire the sunrises and sunsets on Kanonersky Island. It is here that you can feel the complete isolation from the bustling city. Rare species of birds nest on the shores; there are even those listed in the Red Book. Rare plants grow, for example, solonchak aster.
But, as they say, where there is a person, there is garbage. In recent years, the island has almost turned into a natural dump. Although this is not only household, but also industrial waste. Not only visitors leave the trash, it is nailed to the shore by waves. Lots of waste trucks heading to the island have been seen many times. Even from satellites you can already see huge piles of construction debris. Locals say that in the 90s, even those killed in gang warfare were taken to the outskirts of the island.
The local administration and volunteers tried many times to change the situation. But real results were achieved only in November last year - then a large-scale liquidation of the landfill began, the money was allocated from the local budget.
Local ecologists have long been offering the authorities to make a specially protected natural area on the island, but so far there is no positive answer.
West Speed Diameter
In 2016, the highway was opened, and again the residents of the Gunner Island were not lucky. After all, part of the land was under the highway. Several houses were resettled, and other windows that do not fall under the program are no longer helped by any windows with a noise-reducing effect.
The highway even runs over a kindergarten, and this is not only noise and dust, but also a potential threat.
Now this area is called the "island under the bridge", homeless and migrant workers settled in abandoned houses . Prices for the rest of the housing have dropped significantly, so in the absence of funds it is almost impossible to move to the mainland.
After construction, another problem arose: the pillars of the bridge did not even bother to protect. Two months later, everything was outlined, the racks began to "grow" with garbage, they were fenced only last year.
Additional sound insulation
For more than a year, residents of the Gunner Island of St. Petersburg have sought that the authorities solve the problem with increased noise levels. The involved Rospotrebnadzor confirmed that sanitary standards were violated from 10 to 100 times. That is, no sound-absorbing windows and a 2-meter protective barrier provided by the highway construction project have given the proper results.
It was decided in the Kirovsky district administration to order a project to establish additional 3-meter noise barriers. All work was completed in December last year.
Interesting facts and legends
Kanonersky island is unique, primarily because there are not even streets here, and all the addresses of residents differ only in the numbers of houses and apartments.
In Soviet times, this part of the land was a sensitive facility, and it was possible to get here only after obtaining a special pass. And until 1983 there was not even a land connection with the island. The tunnel, which was built in the last century, was designed and built using a unique technology, the so-called "method of lowering sections." Simply put, to begin with, all sections were mounted, the structure was immersed in water and only then pumped out water.
There is a small cat monument on the island. Indeed, at a time when Finns and Swedes owned the land, the name was - Cat Island. The monument is installed at the oldest building, where the administration of the shipyard is now located. And local legend says that such a name was given due to the fact that wild cats used to live here, which in itself seems a bit ridiculous. And among the workers of the seaport, another legend goes that the symbol of the island is a cat, and it is a reflection of the personality of the port employee, severe and cunning.
How to get to the island
Not many residents of the northern capital know about this island. If you are a dreamy and romantic person, then you should definitely get to the Gunner Island of St. Petersburg. It offers a magnificent view of Kronstadt, and if you stay until the evening, then the lights of the ships make a great impression against the sunset. Here it seems that this is a completely different country without advertising and the glowing lights of storefronts. Silence is broken only by the sounds of passing ships and the cries of seagulls.
Fishermen often come to the island, even conduct competitions among themselves. After the contest, they cook the most delicious smelt ear.
You can get to the island in only one way - through the tunnel.
From Baltiyskaya metro station, on the square near the station, you can take a minibus, following route K-67.
If you go to the Sadovaya, Spasskaya or Sennaya stations, you need to transfer to the K-19 or K-115 minibuses.