Vasilyevsky Island - arrow, rostral columns, stock exchange. Memorial sign "The Spit of Vasilyevsky Island" What is the territory of the Spit of Vasilievsky Island
Strelka is a small cape in the southeastern part of Vasilyevsky Island, washed by the Bolshaya and Malaya Neva. The huge expanse of water allows you to see the ensemble of the arrow in all its splendor. According to Peter I, Petersburg was to become both a sea fortress and a trading port. Initially, the center of the new capital arose on the Petrograd side, but the port near the Peter and Paul Fortress could not develop due to shallow waters. Then Peter decided to move the center of St. Petersburg to Vasilyevsky Island, and, in particular, to its eastern tip.
According to the project of the architect Domenico Trezzini, in the south-eastern part of the island it was planned to create a square built up along the coastal arc with residential buildings. He even made a wooden model of this square. From the west, the square was to be limited by the extended building of the Twelve Collegiums, behind which a canal was planned connecting the Bolshaya and Malaya Neva. In addition, according to Trezzini’s plan, the navigable Grand Canal ran from west to east of Vasilyevsky Island. Thus, he divided the arrow into two unequal parts. In the southern part it was planned to build a main square. The Grand Canal ended in a harbor, near which a majestic church was planned to be built. To the north, on the banks of the Malaya Neva, there were a Mytny and Gostiny Dvor with residential buildings. Myto is a duty, a tax for the import and export of goods, and the washing yard, accordingly, is the place where the imported goods were stored and the duty was collected. With the exception of the canals and the church, all other structures designed by D. Trezzini were built.
Thus, within two decades, on the spit of Vasilyevsky Island, the buildings of the Twelve Collegiums (1722 - 1742), the Kunstkamera (1718 - 1734), the Novobirzhevoy Gostiny Dvor (1722 - 1735) and the palace of Tsarina Praskovya Feodorovna (the wife of Peter’s brother Ivan), and other buildings appeared . The seaport was firmly established on the spit: dozens of ships and boats transported people and cargo across the waters. In 1781, on the spit of Vasilievsky Island, under the leadership of G. Quarenghi, construction of the exchange building began. However, with its main façade it faced the Winter Palace, and thus did not fully fit into the ensemble of the square. Therefore, four years later the building was dismantled. The project of the new exchange was developed by the French architect J.F. Thomas de Thomon. The building, made according to the type of temples of Ancient Greece, was built in 1804 - 1816. The attic of the facade is decorated with the sculptural group “Neptune with Two Rivers”, and on the opposite side of the exchange is the sculptural group “Navigation with Mercury and Two Rivers”. Since 1940, the Central Naval Museum has been located here - one of the oldest in St. Petersburg.
In 1826 - 1832, according to the design of the architect I.F. Lukini, on both sides of the Exchange building, the southern and northern warehouses were built - closed warehouses. The southern warehouse now houses the Zoological Museum. Behind the northern stock exchange warehouse, symmetrically to the Kunstkamera building (in relation to the arrow ensemble) is the Customs building, also built by the architect I.F. Luchini in classic style. Since 1927, the Institute of Russian Literature - Pushkin House has been located here. The ensemble of the arrow also includes the Main Building of the Academy of Sciences, which is located between the Kunstkamera and the building of the Twelve Collegiums.
According to the design of Thomas de Thomon, two rostral lighthouse columns were also included in the ensemble of the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island. The columns were installed on the switch in 1810. One of them served for a long time as a lighthouse for ships on the Malaya Neva, and the other pointed the way to the Bolshaya Neva. The lighthouse columns operated until 1885. The columns are a monument to naval glory, a symbol of Russia's maritime power. The columns are decorated with rostras, with each rostra decorated with a figure of a naiad (river deity). At the foot of both columns there are two male and two female figures made of Pudozh stone, symbolizing the Russian rivers - the Volga, Dnieper, Volkhov and Neva. Exchange Square was formed after the needle was raised by adding soil, and the Neva was “pushed back” by one hundred meters. The Spit of Vasilievsky Island has been and remains a popular place for folk festivals. The ensemble of the arrow is organically connected with the spire of the bell tower of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, with the buildings on the embankments of the Bolshaya and Malaya Neva.
Spit of Vasilyevsky Island.
General information and attractions
One of the most inspiring and recognizable places in the Northern capital, where architecture and landscape harmoniously complement each other, is the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island. This is the name of the eastern cape, which, cutting into the river, divides it into two branches: the Bolshaya and Malaya Neva. Vasilyevsky Island itself became a place of concentration of culture and science: institutions, museums, architectural masterpieces, and the cape facing the sunrise became its majestic facade.
Spit of Vasilyevsky Island (top view).
Vasilievsky Island began to be actively developed during the reign of Emperor Peter I. At first, workers and artisans settled here, windmills and sawmills were installed. Then, on the southern bank, they rose: the building of the Twelve Colleges, and the palace of the Dowager Empress Praskovya Fedorovna, which was later transferred to the Academy of Sciences. The Kunstkamera was built nearby. On the northern shore, Gostiny Dvor and the house of the Stroganov barons were built. The city port was also moved here in the 20s of the 18th century. Almost simultaneously, construction of the exchange and customs buildings began in the central part of the cape.
However, the construction of the exchange was delayed - the unfinished building did not decorate the city and it was dismantled. Swiss architect Thomas de Thomon took upon himself further care of the design of the cape.
The architect managed to subtly feel the austere beauty of St. Petersburg and, inspired by classical examples of Greek and Roman architecture, he set to work. By 1810, a majestic building rose above the most prominent place on the eastern cape, which some dubbed the “Russian Parthenon.”
Thomas de Thomon also supervised the arrangement of the entire architectural ensemble. According to his plan, the famous semicircular square was created. To do this, soil was poured and strengthened, extending the cape by 123 meters, and the embankment was dressed in granite. At first they planned to build a ceremonial port here, but later it was decided to build a small square with vases and benches along the paths in this place.
Spit of Vasilyevsky Island.
The scale and harmony of the architectural ensemble were given by two Rostral columns, which at that time served as massive lanterns. The opening of the exchange, planned for 1812, was postponed by the Patriotic War; it took place only in 1816. The architect did not live to see this.
Since the 30s of the 19th century, the final appearance of Strelka was formed: the southern and northern warehouses stood on both sides of the exchange building. A customs building was built next to the northern one (now the Pushkin House). The southern one is now the Zoological Museum.
Exchange Square is a great place to relax and take photographs. From here there is a breathtaking view of the widest part of the Neva, which carries its waters to the sea. The Hare Island is visible at a glance. On the right hand lies the Palace Embankment. There are two memorial signs on Birzhevaya Square: almost at the very tip of the cape - a round sign with an image and a brief description of the main attractions of the Strelka; on the opposite side is an anchor from Peter's times, installed here in the year of the 300th anniversary of the city.
Where the square ends, on both sides of it there are Rostral Columns, one of the symbols of St. Petersburg. They are decorated with rostras (Latin rostra - bow of a ship). Thus, following the ancient Roman custom, the architect Thomas de Thomon wanted to show the greatness of Russia as a maritime power. Inside each of the columns there is a spiral staircase. In the 19th century, ministers climbed it to light hemp oil in giant lamps. Now there is gas lighting installed there, which is lit on especially special occasions.
Arrow, Rostral Columns and Exchange Building.
From the Exchange Square park, a wide pedestrian crossing leads directly to the Exchange building - compositional center of the architectural ensemble. Impressive 40-meter wide staircases lead to the building from the east and west. The huge building is raised on a granite stylobate. According to the plan, this elevation was intended to protect the building from flooding. The perimeter of the Exchange Building is surrounded by an impressive colonnade. Inside the building there is a spacious hall, the floor and walls of which are lined with marble. At one time the Naval Museum was located here, now the building has been transferred to the Hermitage.
There are many museums on Vasilyevsky Island. Some of them are on Strelka itself. It is located on the University Embankment in the Kunstkamera building. It contains more than a million exhibits illustrating the formation, development and diversity of various ethnic groups on our planet. Sculptural compositions and busts of great Russian scientists are used in the interior design of the museum.
Next to the Kunstkamera stands the largest Russian museum of this type. More than 15 million representatives of the animal world are represented here, belonging to 30 thousand species: fish and amphibians, animals and reptiles, invertebrates and birds. The magnificent collection of butterflies, skeletons of extinct animals, and the mummy of a baby mammoth, found in 1977 in the Siberian permafrost layer, enjoy constant success. Many exhibitions are made in the form of dioramas, which creates the effect of presence.
On the other side of the Kunstkamera is the Central Museum of Soil Science, which bears the name of Vasily Vasilyevich Dokuchaev, the great son of Russia, who created the doctrine of soil and developed the foundations of soil geography. The exhibition presents a collection of soil monoliths dating back to 1902. There are samples brought from different parts of the planet: from the Arctic to New Zealand.
On the Makarov embankment there is a Literary Museum, which is often called the Pushkin House. Its shelves display more than 300 thousand documents, works of art and household items that illustrate the development of Russian literature from the 18th to the 20th centuries. Separate exhibitions introduce visitors to the works of Pushkin, Derzhavin, Gogol, Zhukovsky, Turgenev, Dostoevsky...
Interactive tour of the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island
How to use the interactive tour window:
by briefly pressing the left mouse button on any of the white arrows in the tour window, you will move in the corresponding direction (left, right, forward, etc.), by pressing and holding down the left button - rotate the mouse in different directions: you can look around without moving from the spot. When you click on the black square in the upper right corner of the interactive tour window, you will be taken to full-screen viewing mode.
Another option, in our opinion more interesting: get to the Admiralteyskaya metro station, then walk through Palace Square, past the Hermitage, then cross the Palace Bridge - and you are there. There is also public transport from the Admiralteyskaya metro station to the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island.
The Spit of Vasilyevsky Island is an observation deck in the very center of the northern capital. The eastern tip of Vasilievsky Island really resembles an arrow dividing the river into two branches - the Bolshaya Neva and the Malaya Neva.
Located at its “edge”, Exchange Square plays a vital role in the panorama of the city. Its facade depicts a sculptural composition headed by Neptune. In front of the exchange building, the architect installed Rostral columns, personifying the power and greatness of the Russian fleet. On the columns there are symbolic bows of the ships - “rostras”, symbolizing the defeated enemy ships, which served as beacons, marking the edges of the island in the fog for the ships. Nowadays, in honor of major holidays, fires are lit on the columns.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the architect J. Thomas worked on creating a square near the newly built exchange building. According to the project, a rounded embankment was made, granite embankments and descents to the Neva were installed. They say that the stone balls located on these slopes were cut out of the rock by the sculptor S.I. Sukhorukov without using any measuring tools.
In 1925, a square was laid out on the spit, according to the design of the architect L. A. Ilyin. For the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, a relief bronze plan of the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island appeared in the park.
Nearby there was another gift for the city's anniversary: a real ship's anchor-cat, made in 1723 at the Olonets factory and found in 2001 on Vasilievsky Island itself.