The small pretty summer cottage village of Roshchino (Leningrad Region) is located just an hour away by car or by suburban train from the northern capital. Here, beautiful nature, fresh air and the clear expanse of lakes. And in winter, the inhabitants of the village and tourists have the opportunity to have an active holiday on Pukhtolova Gora, a local ski resort located nearby.
The emergence of the village
For the first time, the village of Raivola (as the village of Roshchino was previously called in the Leningrad Region) was mentioned in the 16th century. Judging by the preserved old tax books, it belonged to the Uusikirkko volost, and there were only 7 peasant farmsteads in it.
It is believed that the first farmers who came to these lands, who eventually settled in these places, had to literally conquer every meter of arable land from the forests with great difficulty. They did this by cutting and uprooting entire plots of forest. As a result of such activities, the gentle slopes of the hills subsequently became fields and meadows. Such work was rather hard and took a lot of time.
There is a version according to which the peasants, who cleared and cultivated new lands for themselves, were first residents of nearby villages, and the plots themselves began to be called Raivola, which means “to open”, “to clear”.
There is another variant of the name of this settlement. Legend has it that coachmen once lived here, who traveled from St. Petersburg to Vyborg via a well-worn postal route. But who of the Russians does not like fast driving? It was because of their speed that the village was called "mad" (in Finnish this word sounds like "ravo"). However, the version has nothing to do with reality. The fact is that when the mention of the name of Raivol appeared in historical documents for the first time, there was neither a postal route, nor the city of St. Petersburg.
There is evidence that in 1778 72 people lived in the village, and by 1818 there were already more than two hundred of them. Around the same time, in addition to the Finnish population, which was originally settled here, Russian settlers began to appear. There were about 700 people. The emergence of such a large Russian colony was due to the fact that in these places they were engaged in the construction of an iron foundry. It mainly worked serfs who came from Russia. After the abolition of serfdom, Russian workers were allocated land on the coast of the Raivolan-yoki River. So the village was divided into Russian and Finnish parts.
War years
From the fall of 1941 to the summer of 1944, Raivola (Roshchino, Leningrad Region) was in the rear of the Finnish defense line. There were also military units of the reserve army. After the end of the Winter War, part of the Finnish territory became part of the USSR. Then the first Soviet immigrants reached here. They worked to restore the destroyed infrastructure of the village.
New name
I must say that the Raivol settlement has changed greatly in appearance, and even the name has become different. Since 3 km from the village there was the world-famous Lindulovskaya Grove, which remained from the time of Peter I, in 1948 the village was given a new name - Roshchino. On the map of the Leningrad Region, it can be seen that a railway passes through this village. It is quite easy to get here from Petersburg, taking the local train at the Finland Station.
sights
Despite its small size, the village of Roshchino (Leningrad Region), still has its sights. This building is Finnish, built at the beginning of the last century - the Pekka Paavolainen shop, as well as the new Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.
In addition, wonderful creative people lived and worked here, including the poetess Edith Sodergran. Her literary heritage is small, but the technique and complexity of the verses of this talented poetess have led many biographers and literary critics to study her relatively short biography for more than 70 years.
Her family mostly spoke Swedish, although they moved to Raivola back in 1892. Deprived of cultural ties, they lived in some isolation from local society, so this fact left a mark on Edith’s work, which contributed to the development of a certain spiritual loneliness in her character.
Sodergran was buried in 1923 in her hometown of Raivola, now Roshchino (Leningrad Region). A photo of the house near the church has been preserved to this day. It is believed that the poetess lived in it.
Unfortunately, her grave has not been preserved. Around the place of her burial in the park in 1960, a new monument was erected. At the request of the company, Edith Sodergran, sculptor Nina Terno, created a small monument to her beloved cat Totti.
Ship Grove
On the Karelian Isthmus, not far from the village of Roshchino (Leningrad Oblast), there is a real pearl of nature - Lindulovskaya larch grove (it is also called Korabelnaya). This is one of its oldest plantations in Europe. It is located about 60 km from St. Petersburg, where the Lindulovka River flows, and this is only 7 km from the Baltic coast.
According to legend, Peter I once passed through this territory. He drew attention to the excellent location and fertile soil of this area, after which he ordered to plant a ship forest here for the needs of the Krondstat shipyard.
Today, the peaks of these 250-year-old trees rise to a height of 40 m.
Modern life
In the village of Roshchino (Leningrad Region), tourist infrastructure is well developed, there is everything for a full life and comfortable rest. It is also characterized by its excellent transport accessibility. It can be reached either by car or by suburban train.
Near the village is a picturesque pond Belets. Here is just fantastic fishing! But for swimming, Lake Krugloy is best suited, which is only a kilometer and a half away. Approximately the same distance must be covered to Lake Roshchinsky. Rest on these reservoirs for a long time will be remembered by nature lovers and fill them with energy and good mood.