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, monuments of ancient Russian architecture. As well as modern high-rise buildings with glazed facades, countless museums and art galleries. But this is not the whole list of what the famous region is rich in.
Naval Nikolsky Cathedral
In the city of Kronstadt, in the Leningrad region, there is a marvelous monument of architecture - the Naval Cathedral of St. Nicholas. The construction of this Orthodox church lasted ten years. The work was completed in 1913. Engaged in raising funds for the creation of the structure, mainly Admiral Makarov and John of Kronstadt.
Anchor Square was chosen for the construction of the temple. Previously, there were anchors that no one needed. The location of this area made it possibleto equip a square for church parades and a park around the future architectural miracle. There was one condition for bringing the construction work into action. According to him, the cathedral was supposed to serve as a landmark from the sea. Today Naval Cathedral of St. Nicholas is the tallest building in the city. Its height reaches 71 meters. And the first thing 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 complex 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 burial mounds, ancient canyons of the Sablinka and Tosno rivers. Also, this place is famous for the Pustynka farm, which was once the estate of Count Alexei Tolstoy himself and Alexander Nevsky's staging post before his battle with the Swedes.
There are incredibly many different caves in the Sablinsky Reserve. The largest of them is the Left Bank. It is protected by law and is available to tourists accompanied by speleologists. Bats live in local caves during the winter. Butterflies sometimes join them.
2, 5 hours lasts the most popular tour of the Sablinsky natural monument. This includes a 45-minute stay in the caves. And for the remaining time, you can explore the rest of nature.
The glorious city of Ivangorod
This inhabitedthe point and fortress Ivangorodskaya is another amazing place that attracts tourists to the Leningrad region. Ivangorod is located on the very Estonian border. Therefore, since 2002, the city has officially been included in the border zone. There is a checkpoint in front of it. Here they check the documents of everyone who tries 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 Ivangorodskaya, founded in 1492. When Russia was going through difficult days, this building served as a kind of shield for it. The structure is still considered the main city attraction today.
At a time when the city of Rugodiv was located on the opposite bank of the Narva, Ivangorod served as a border place. In the modern world, Narva (former Rugodiv) became part of Estonia. That is why Ivangorod again had to turn into a border zone.
Construction of a defense facility
The Ivangorod fortress was built 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 B altic Sea. The city-fortress was built at a rapid pace. So, the first stone was laid on June 21, 1492, and on August 15 everything was ready.
The object was built by architects from Italy. That is why there aredetails that are not found in any other fortress in Russia. You can both climb the fort wall through the tower and climb the attached stairs. The fortress had a square shape and towers at the corners.
The building had a small size, so it was impossible to place the garrison needed for defense in it. In 1496, construction resumed again on the free square of Maiden Mountain. The foremen were Mikhail Klyapin and Ivan Gundor. All work took 12 weeks. On the eastern side of the previously built fortress, the Great Boyarshiy City was completed, the height of the walls of which reached 19 meters, and the towers - 22 meters. The territory of the new part of the fort exceeded 250 thousand km2. Before that, in Russia, no one had created anything like this in such a short period.
How to get there
Unfortunately, there is no direct bus or train connection St. Petersburg - Ivangorod, thanks to which it would be possible to get to the famous sight. Therefore, if you nevertheless 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 on the local central square, suburban buses leave for Kingisepp every hour. This is how you can get to Ivangorod and its fortress.
Unique Museum
Ivangorod fortress (how to get into it, described above) invites tourists to visitmuseum nestled in its open spaces. The Ivangorod Art Museum was opened in late spring 1980. M. N. Pototsky has a direct relationship to its creation and development. He once 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 as well.
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 equipped. In 2000, a program called "Virtual Fortress" was developed specifically for this institution. It is based on multimedia technologies.
Tour
Ivangorod fortress, a tour of which will take no more than an hour, will make a wonderful impression. The structure of the tourist route includes a tour of the Peredniy town, as well as the Big Boyar City. Guests will be offered to climb walls and towers. From here, they will have a charming view of the bastions and the Narva Castle. In the summer season, the Nabatnaya Tower hosts a thematic photo exhibition. It is called "Ivangorod in the Past and Present".
Fortress today
Ivangorodskaya Fortress today is in a rather difficult situation. As already mentioned, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it became part of the border zone. And it is simply impossible to get here without special documents. The property was in need of extensive restoration.which did not have time to finish before the collapse of the USSR. This is not possible these days.
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 down an excellent tent, located on the Nabatnaya Tower. And there is no money to restore it.
