Zaachiy Island - the historical heart of St. Petersburg

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

Many tourists from both the CIS and far-abroad countries flock to St. Petersburg every year. Excursions around this city will allow you to plunge into the history of both tsarist and modern Russia. One of the most interesting local places is Zayachy Island, which is the historical heart of St. Petersburg. Here is the Peter and Paul Fortress, which houses the Grand Duke's tomb, where most of the Russian emperors are buried.

In general, Hare Island is more like an “island” in size, because it is only 750 meters long and 400 meters wide. It is located on the widest section of the Neva River, at the place where it flows into the Gulf of Finland. At one time, the Swedes called this site the Merry Island, because they liked to spend festivities and holidays here. After some time, the island began to be called "Devil's", since during the flood all the people who were on it died. The hare island became with the light hand of Peter I. According to legend, the builders who erected St. Petersburg worked very slowly. The king became angry and arrived on the island to severely punish negligent workers. But at the moment when Peter the Great was disembarking from the boat, a hare suddenly jumped on his boot. The king was very amused and put in a good mood, thanks to which he canceled all punishments and called the island Hare. By the way, not far from it, on one of the pillars of the Ioannovsky Bridge, a small monument to the “bunny who escaped the flood”, whose height is only 58 cm, was recently erected. Tourists visiting Zayachy Island throw a coin at the monument to come back here again.

The Peter and Paul Fortress, located on the island, was founded in 1703. According to legend, it was at this place that Peter I laid two cut layers of earth crosswise and proclaimed: "Here to be a city!" The legend also says that at that moment an eagle descended from the sky, which the king put on his hand and together with him entered the city that did not exist then. True, ornithologists doubt the truth of this version, claiming that eagles have never lived in this area. But the legend assures that the eagle lived in the new city for a long time and even received the honorary status of its commandant.

Thus, the first building of the new city was a fortress, which was designed to protect the Russian lands from the Swedes. It is an irregular hexagon with bastions at the corners and was designed personally by Peter the Great. At first, the fortress was wooden, but three years later the wood was replaced everywhere with brick. In 1731, a tower was erected here, on which they raised at dawn, and withthe Russian flag was lowered at sunset. This tradition continued until the proclamation of Soviet power. Now the flag also flutters over the fortress, but it is no longer lowered. Another interesting old tradition that has come down to our times is a shot from a cannon from the Naryshkinsky bastion, which is fired at exactly noon. Many tourists try not to miss the opportunity to arrive at Hare Island by noon to hear the gunshot. By the way, the gun shoots very loudly, and you can lose your hearing for a couple of minutes from the roar.

The island will be interesting not only for adults. It organizes special excursions for children, where they are introduced to the history and culture of the city in a playful way.