Svetlanovskaya Square (St. Petersburg)

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

Svetlanovskaya Square is one of the largest in St. Petersburg. It is a major transport hub of the Northern capital. It crosses several large city arteries. This is Testers Avenue, Engels Avenue. As well as Svetlanovsky and Second Murinsky avenues. The square received its official name in 1975. It was formed from the nearby plant "Svetlana", which was engaged in electrical instrumentation.

History of the Square

Svetlanovskaya Square did not exist before the October Revolution. In its place was a large intersection of Vyborgskoye Highway and Murinsky Prospekt. Nearby there was a courtyard that belonged to the Arzamas Novodevichy Convent.

In 1906, a monastery chapel appeared on this site. Later it became the temple of St. Alexis. In 1920, they were allowed to serve liturgy in it, but not for long. The Soviet government insisted on its closure. Services there were interrupted in 1930.

During the Great Patriotic War, a large evacuation point was organized on Svetlanovskaya Square. The hungry and sick were collected from the surrounding houses, soldered with soy milk, and, if possible, sent to the mainland along the Ladogalake. Thus, it was possible to save the lives of hundreds of Leningraders. The chapel was demolished in the 60s, when the local architectural ensemble was finally formed.

The birth of the square

Svetlanovskaya Square got its start thanks to the tram ring, which appeared on this site near the Svetlana enterprise in 1929.

By the 60s, the actual formation of the eastern part of the square was completed. Before it was extended, in particular, Svetlanovsky Prospekt. The tram ring was liquidated by this time.

By that time, a large food market was operating here. According to the general plan for the development of the city, the building of the district executive committee was to appear in its place. It was supposed to be a key part of the square. A fountain was planned in the center. But these projects never came to fruition.

But at the end of the 70s the market was liquidated after all. New tram tracks have been laid here. The lawns were cleared and seedlings were planted. The square has acquired its current state.

Architectural ensemble of the square

The architectural ensemble of Svetlanovskaya Square in St. Petersburg is actually formed by three buildings. They are located in a semicircle. These are houses on Engels Avenue with numbers 21, 23 and 25.

Their authors are famous Soviet architects Savkevich, Belov and Schroeter. According to their design, these buildings were built in the 50s of the XX century.

Originally in the central building of this architectural ensemblewas located radiopolytechnicum. Today, an educational institution with a similar profile has opened in its place. This is an electronics engineering school.

The other two buildings house shopping facilities (in the Soviet years they were all combined into the famous Svetlanovsky department store), and the other - a laboratory building that belonged directly to the Svetlana enterprise.

There is no development on the opposite side of the square. On the even side of Engels Avenue, only two inconspicuous buildings remain, which are visually separated from the traffic artery by squares and small parks. A green zone is located in the central part of the square.

Architectural arrangement of the square at present

Currently, Svetlanovskaya Square in St. Petersburg has changed somewhat.

Its architectural ensemble complemented the high-rise building on Zelenogorskaya Street. He immediately made it civilized and modern. At the same time, it caused dissatisfaction with many human rights activists who advocate the preservation of the historical appearance of the Northern capital.

But many still like Svetlanovskaya Square in St. Petersburg. The Vyborgsky district, in which it is located, considers it its decoration.

Square on Engels Avenue

This place in St. Petersburg is well known due to the conflict between local residents and developers, which arose in 2007. It was planned to build a shopping center with a restaurant in the green zone near house number 28 along Engels Avenue.

Speakersagainst this project, residents of neighboring houses found a lot of violations in the preparation of permits for work. For example, a developer tried to start illegal excavation of a pit. The officials responsible for issuing these permits partly admitted their mistakes.

As a result, the consequences of illegal work were eliminated. And in 2009, a square was still laid out on this site. Svetlanovskaya Square in St. Petersburg, the photo of which is in this article, this square, of course, decorates.

By the way, the square was named after Dmitry Medvedev, who at that time was the president of the country.

In 2009, there was an initiative to install a memorial sculpture "Siege Madonna" in the square, the project of which was prepared by St. Petersburg sculptor Mikhail Zvyagin. It was supposed to remind of the most difficult months in the life of the city during the Great Patriotic War. But the project has not yet been implemented.