There is a unique miraculous reservoir in the Gatchina park (Gatchina Museum-Reserve). It is fed by powerful, inexhaustible underground springs. The cold, purest water shimmers with an emerald color, a miracle happens: a component of the hydrosphere, located in the Leningrad Region, takes on the form characteristic of water pearls of mountainous regions. This is Silver Lake. Probably, the reader has already understood that it is about him.
Water is pure emerald
Crystal clear emerald tone gives the reservoir a greenish clay lining the bottom. Transparent water, as if filled with magical light, beautifully silvery, is a kind of visiting card of an unusual object popular among tourists. It is thanks to the effect of a sparkling glow that it is called briefly and nobly - Silver Lake. By the way, the “neighbor” (White Lake) also boasts an indescribable purity of water. But the main "drinker" of the inhabitants of the city of Gatchina is still Lake. Silver.
The bowl of "splashing emerald" is not round, but in the form of a growing moon (hascrescent shape). The depth of the lake is fourteen, the length is two hundred and fifty, the width is up to 60 meters. The Polish-Russian scientist, inventor Stepan Karlovich Dzhevetsky, demonstrated here an underwater mine apparatus (a prototype of a submarine). His Highness Emperor Alexander III monitored the course of the tests (his love for these places turned into the nickname “Gatchina recluse” for him).
Underground passage
Especially beautiful Silver Lake looks from the palace towers. The panoramic view emphasizes its organic nature, presented by nature itself, complemented by the “cutting” of human creations. They say that under Count Orlov (one of the owners), the palace looked like a medieval English castle. There was an underground passage leading to the Silver Lake. A cave is visible on the shore, the gaping "eye" of which is covered with branches of shrubs. This is the exit from the gloomy cave called Echo. It is believed that the name appeared due to the unusual acoustic features of the structure.
The voices and steps of those walking on the stone slabs were repeated many times, breaking into echoes. The reflected sound created the illusion of the invisible presence of many people, which terrified a small group or even loners staying in a dark enclosed space. After such a test of fear, Silver Lake seemed to everyone a bright paradise on Earth.
Rose is not afraid of frost
But don't raise echophobia to unprecedented heights. There is evidence that in the 18th century, when there were no electronic games, one of the entertainments was to make a lot of noise ingrotto. There were even special chants for visitors (probably so that they would not “break away” into the forest, some for firewood).
There is evidence that the children of Pavel Petrovich Romanov (Emperor Paul I) adored the Gatchina echo. Coming to the session, they shouted something like: “What flower is not afraid of frost? - Rose! One can imagine with what delight the young screamers listened in response: “Rose, oz, for!” Later, they probably remembered the entertainment, sitting by the Silver Lake.
Modern tourists especially love the chant: “Who ruled us? - Pavel!" In general, go to Silver Lake (Gatchina), do not forget to look into the Echo. Here are the blank exclamations for you (gift!): “What is looking in your window? - The sun!"; “Our frame is not washed! - Mum!"; “Who gnaws reeds in the morning? - Mouse!". “Who plucked my flowers? - You!". Then on your own.
Lake Hide and Seek
In the 1770s, a stone pier appeared on Silver Lake. A secret staircase, an underground grotto and a pier are the components of a mysterious, mysterious complex. Silver Lake (Gatchina) likes to play hide-and-seek with people: if you look at it from Long Island, it is either perfectly visible or disappears. This is an illusion that I really want to consider magic.
In September 1797, Catherine II received an honored guest, the Polish King Stanislaw-August Poniatowski. Walking in the park without a year 210 years ago, the eminent Pole was struck by the beauty of the emerald pearl. In his travel diary, he noted that he saw the bottom ofdepth of three fathoms (almost 5.5 m).
If you descend from heaven to earth, it can be noted that at present the Gatchina residents cannot claim that the water from the Silver Lake is as crystal as in the old days. Although the daily water intake is large and amounts to 12 thousand cubic meters, this does not change the situation: almost all natural objects of the complex (including the unique Silver Lake) have been polluted.
