The snow-white palace was conceived as a resting place for Empress Maria Feodorovna. Today the building houses a museum of Russian decorative and applied art and interior design of the 18th–20th centuries.
Elagin Island, 4The “Creative Dacha” now operates in the Cavalry Corps, renovated after restoration. Lessons are held here in three areas: the development of musicality, intelligence and artistic and aesthetic skills. Anyone can sign up for classes, regardless of age. Workshops provide students with all the necessary conditions and materials for creativity.
Before getting to the spit of Elagin Island, the ill-fated lions managed to change their place of residence three times. Initially, the sculptures were installed at the dacha of Count Stroganov, who then transported them to his estate near the Chernaya Rechka. At the beginning of the 20th century, the new authorities ordered the installation of sculptures in front of the building of the Putilov plant, and only after the severe flood of 1924 they decided to decorate the embankment of Elagin Island, which was destroyed by the elements, with lions.
Museum of Art Glass
The only museum of its kind presents visitors with a collection of works made by masters of the Leningrad Art Glass Factory, as well as works of glassblowers from other cities in Russia and abroad. Having been inspired by the museum’s exhibits, you can go to the creative master class “Glass Painting”.
Elagin Island, 4Mini zoo
In the small zoo you can meet reindeer, Alice the fox and a donkey named Camilla. Dwarf Cameroonian goats, charming sheep, ornamental chickens and pheasants, turkeys and guinea fowl also live here.
Elagin Ostrov, 4
In the warm season, the Central Park of Culture and Culture traditionally opens a small open-air summer library. The reading room consists of several bookshelves under a white tent and a small seating area in front of it. Visitors are not required to have a library card; they are allowed to retire with a book to secluded corners of the park or continue reading at home.
Animal lovers will certainly be delighted by the sociability of the island's little inhabitants. It is almost impossible to scare local squirrels, and it is just as difficult to deceive them: if the animal sees that there is no treasured treat in the outstretched hand, it will hasten to leave with contempt. Seasoned ducks behave in exactly the same way. Therefore, you should stock up on treats in advance. Instead of the usual bread, it is better to take nuts or cereals with you - the yeast contained in baked goods is harmful to the stomach of animals.
You can explore the park from the water by riding a boat or pedal boat. This opportunity will be appreciated not only by romantics, but also by lovers of physical exercise. The ponds surround the entire island and connect with each other, so you won’t get bored on board.
Another place shrouded in romance is a small gazebo “about four stone pillars”, located on a small island in the third southern pond. Built back in the 18th century by Ivan Elagin, it was subsequently reconstructed by the famous architect Carlo Rossi in the style of late classicism.
The sculpture by Alexander Taratynov, based on the painting of the same name by Henri Matisse, periodically changes its location. Initially, it was installed in Oranienbaum as part of the “Painting in 3D version” project, then it moved to Elagin Island - first to the Konyushenny building, and then was moved to green spaces.
The first concerts took place in the Music Pavilion back in the 19th century, and the park still preserves this good tradition. On weekends you can listen to the brass band of the Leningrad Military District here. Dancing couples twirl here, as before, to the melodies of past years.
Questions have arisen:
Who called the pavilion “Milovida” and when?
There is no imperial flag; there may be an imperial standard, but it was raised only on ships and (in the palace version) above the palace where the emperor resided. The pavilion does not fall into these categories. It is well known that St. Andrew's flag was raised over it.
On the eastern spit of the Elagin Island, where the Bolshaya and Middle Nevkas diverge, after restoration, the “Pavilion under the Flag” opened - one of the earliest works of Carl Rossi.
The granite jetty pavilion with access to the water is located in a relatively unknown part of the park; its main façade faces directly onto the Ushakovsky Bridge. This building is decidedly not similar to the empire-style buildings of Russia: rather, it is a style designated by Igor Grabar as “strict classicism.” This is Russian Palladianism: Quarenghi, Starov, Cameron: a rectangular volume and a semicircular colonnade. A six-column open semi-rotunda overlooks the turnout, under the roof of which there is a surprisingly ringing echo. The façade facing the park is framed by eight Doric colonnades.
The Pavilion has a vestibule and two small rooms symmetrical to it. The Elagin Palace ensemble was built by Rossi in 1818-1822 for the widowed (after the death of Paul I) Empress Maria Feodorovna. By this time, the porphyry-bearing widow - already a middle-aged woman of sixty - was reluctant to drag herself to her main country residences - Pavlovsk and Gatchina. She spent the winters in the Anichkov Palace, and in the summer she went to Elagin. The “Pavilion under the Flag” was the actual pier building; the islands were usually reached by water. St. Andrew's flag was raised on the roof just when Maria Feodorovna was moving to Elagin Island. Here one could have a meal with the courtiers and family; here, on rainy days, the empress painted, embroidered, and carved bones. After the death of Maria Feodorovna, Nicholas I lived on the island, and in the second half of the 19th century it remained a reserve residence; the grand dukes stayed here and the crowned guests of the Romanovs stayed. Since 1906, the Elagin Palace became the residence of prime ministers: so the restored pavilion remembers Sergei Witte, Pyotr Stolypin, Ivan Goremykin.
The biggest mystery of the “Pavilion under the Flag” is the perfectly preserved basement of the 18th century discovered during the restoration. It appeared under Ivan Elagin, who owned the island from the 1770s to 1807. Apparently, already under him there was a certain building on this place, which Rossi rebuilt. Meanwhile, Ivan Porfiryevich Elagin, a favorite of Catherine II, a statesman, theatergoer, writer, collector of ancient Russian literature, was also the head of Russian Freemasonry. He created a whole system of so-called Elagin lodges. They were famous for their openness; their meetings were accompanied by music playing. When the Freemasons were subjected to repression in the 1790s, Elagin and his comrades continued to gather quietly.
A version appeared in the media: the basement is nothing more than a room where a Masonic lodge met under the leadership of Ivan Elagin. And the dungeon was connected through secret passages to the Elagin Palace and Stone Island. This is, of course, nonsense. Firstly, the height of the basement - about one and a half meters - does not allow a person of even average height to be here freely. Secondly, the Freemasons were not like the friends of Gaidar’s Timur, whose team, as is known, gathered in a specially equipped attic. The Freemasons met in palace drawing rooms, not in the dungeons of Gothic novels. The restorers did not find any underground passages. However, the purpose of the basement is really not clear (pantry? wine cellar? torture chamber?). The Rossiyev pavilion, restored with English money, is mysterious in itself, without the Freemasons.
LEV LURIE They dug up a basement under the flag // Newspaper "Kommersant St. Petersburg", No. 120 (2489), 07/12/2002
How to get to Elagin Island? There are many ways, but this is not the main thing. Why do you need to go there, that is the question. And Elagin Island in St. Petersburg is attractive to many. Let's start from the beginning.
Let's start with amazing landscapes
The natural beauty of Elagin Island is due to the peculiarity of its location. It is located in the Neva delta, near its very mouth. It is washed on both sides by the Neva branches: the Bolshaya and Srednyaya Nevka, and on the seaside side by the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea.
Since ancient times, the coastal lands were low and marshy. Elagin Island is no exception. Over time, its territory, like others, was drained. As for the natural vegetation, it was previously represented by conifers, but over time, “exotics” - broad-leaved trees and various shrubs - began to be planted here. It is believed that the very first “exotic” trees were planted here under Peter I himself - oaks. Now the diversity of the island's flora is very great. I would especially like to note those places on the coastline along the network of inland water channels where willows lean over the water, forming natural silver arbors.
The park ensemble that has formed over time on Elagin Island is annually supplemented with fields and flower beds of various flowers in the spring and summer. The period when the tulip festival comes to Elagin Island is especially noteworthy. And this is truly a holiday! First of all, for the eyes and soul. It is impossible to remain indifferent to such beauty!
Elaginoostrovsky "zoo"
The natural fauna of Elagin Island in St. Petersburg is represented by a wide range of different types of fauna: fearless squirrels scurry back and forth along the paths and trees - red and blue, field and house mice, shrew and shrew, weasel and ermine, you can see a muskrat in the water. In the bird kingdom, in addition to the usual city “residents” - pigeons, crows, tits, sparrows, ducks, there are also migratory birds - chaffinch, nuthatch, blue tit, gray flycatcher, thrush, rook, nightingale, wagtail, woodpecker, duckling, mallard. In warm weather there are quite a large number of insects near the water.
Thanks to man, a small zoo was founded in the Elaginoostrovsky corner of St. Petersburg, where in aviary cages you can see: a black raven, a variety of chickens, pheasants, running ducks, mute swans, geese, reindeer, a Cameroon goat, the fox Alice, and a pet donkey Camilla and the sheep Masha.
It was located in the historical part of the park, on the site of a 19th-century farm, and from 2005 to 2010 it hosted zoological themed exhibitions. The mini-zoo has its own name - “Zoosphere” and is an interactive educational project, within the framework of which the Animal Trail is laid out.
A little history
Elagin Island in St. Petersburg in ancient times, when it was still inhabited by Finno-Ugric tribes, had a Finnish name. In many sources it is given as "mistula saari". However, the proposed meaning of this toponym as “bearish” or “black” does not correspond to the translation from. The version “black island” can be considered closest in sound and spelling, only in this case its Finnish name will not be “mistula”, but “mystu”. Let us take as a starting point that the original Finnish name of the island was “Mistu-saari” - “Black Island”. According to legends, the guardsmen of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, at the beginning of Peter I’s exploration of these lands, called the island “Mishin”, since bears lived here.
Peter I, while rebuilding new territories as a European city of Russia, was very strapped for funds in the conditions of the Northern War, and therefore gave away lands in the vicinity of the new city to his associates, but on the condition that they would drain and improve them at their own expense. Elagin Island was donated to P.P. Shafirov. Over the entire 18th century, nine owners replaced each other here: P. Ya. Yaguzhinsky, A. P. Melgunov, G. A. Potemkin, I. P. Elagin, G. V. Orlov and others.
The greatest contribution to the formation of the Elagino Island ensemble was made by I. P. Elagin, in whose honor this territory would later be named.
In the 19th century, the estate was bought in favor of the state by Emperor Alexander I and for a century was considered one of the favorite suburban residences of the Romanovs. And how to get to Elagin Island was not a question for the previous owners - of course, by water.
Architectural ensemble
Elagin Island is quite large. To explore its architectural sights, of course, you can walk to them through the beautiful park. And if you are limited in time, how to get to Elagin Island so as to immediately get into its historical heart? Don’t get your hopes up, the palace and park buildings of the ensemble are grouped so that you still need to walk to get to them, but the shortest way is: from the Krestovsky Ostrov metro station, enter through the main entrance to the Central Park of Culture and Culture and, crossing the wooden bridge, walk either along the embankment to the right or follow the sign through the park alley.
And here in front of you is a complex of surprisingly slender and laconic buildings in the “antique” style. Only one master could build this way - the architect of St. Petersburg, Karl Ivanovich Rossi. The center of the entire composition is the Elaginoostrovsky Palace. In addition, the ensemble included the Armory, Kitchen and Stable buildings, the Music Pavilion, the Greenhouse, and the Pavilion with a granite pier.
Central Park of Culture and Culture yesterday
In this case, yesterday is a very relative concept. More like in the past tense. Why CPKiO? This is what Elaginoostrovsky Park was called in Soviet times, and this name meant culture and recreation. And even now the old name is used among the townspeople.
After the 1917 revolution, the estate was nationalized. And in 1932, a city park was opened in it, which two years after the opening would be named in honor of the Leningrad political figure Sergei Mironovich Kirov. The park quickly became a place popular among Leningraders, not only because of its beauty, but also because of the abundance of leisure areas: sports, children's and dance areas, various club associations, chess and checkers tournaments, attractions and the possibility of boating.
In the post-war period, in its first decade, the ensemble was revived practically from ruins, and then again returned to the city as a place of active recreation for Leningraders. And a recreation center was opened in the palace. During this time, the park and architectural ensemble suffered greatly from vandalism. And only from the late 1980s did the Elaginoostrovsky ensemble begin its true revival.
Leisure center today
The revival of the historical estate began with the opening of the Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts and Interior in the restored palace building. Over time, the palace began to organize interactive educational programs that were popular among the townspeople, mainly for children and teenagers. And for adults, fascinating excursions are offered both around the palace itself, as well as interesting thematic routes throughout the palace and park ensemble. Various exhibitions and festivals are regularly held here, evenings are organized for those who are for..., there are dance, children's and sports grounds, a rope park and a hiking trail, as well as traditional boating and catamaran rides. Every year in June for the past seven years, street theaters on Elagin Island present their work as part of the annual international festival. In the summer, musical evenings and concerts are held in the Music Pavilion.
Here is another route for those who are looking for how to get to Elagin Island: from the Staraya Derevnya metro station, walk along to Primorsky Prospekt and cross the nearby bridge. And then - wherever your heart desires!
Park on Elagin Island (St. Petersburg, Russia): detailed description, address and photo. Opportunities for sports and recreation, infrastructure, cafes and restaurants in the park. Reviews from tourists.
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Elagin Island is a unique nature-protected complex. This is the northernmost island at the mouth of the Neva, washed from the north by the Bolshaya Nevka, from the south and southeast by the Middle Nevka, and in the west by a narrow cape jutting into the Gulf of Finland. Once a royal residence, Elagin Island came into the possession of the state from the middle of the last century and became the Central Park of Culture and Recreation, from that moment on it opened its doors to everyone.
On the territory of the park, in the Elaginoostrovsky Palace, there is a Museum of Russian Decorative and Applied Arts and Interior of the 18th-20th centuries, with a permanent exhibition on the first and second floors, which displays household items of past eras.
Prices on the page are as of August 2018.
Address: St. Petersburg, o. Elagin.
