Embankment of the Smolenka River, St. Petersburg: photo, history, description

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:47

This river in the XVIII century had a well-established name - Mayakusha. In the first half of the next century, others began to use: Deaf, Black. To eliminate the name of the same name and to avoid confusion in the names with another Black River, it was called Smolenskaya, after the nearby cemetery of the same name. A little later, it acquired its current name.

This is the Smolenka River. The river embankment (photo, location, description) will be discussed in the article.

Location

The Smolenka River is one of the rivers of the Neva Delta. It is located in St. Petersburg. It originates in the Malaya Neva, the mouth is the Gulf of Finland. The reservoir separates two islands: Decembrists, Vasilyevsky. The course of the river itself is quite winding, and its total length today is 3,700 meters. Before the coastline changed in the Bay Area, the body of water was 33,00 meters long.

St. The embankment of the Smolenka River in the Vasileostrovsky District stretches along the coast, starting from the 4th and 5thline of the island to the Smolensky bridge. In fact, this is a continuation of the Makarov Embankment.

History

Before we turn to the description of the embankment of the Smolenka River, let's recall some moments in the history of this reservoir. Before the founding of St. Petersburg, the village of Chukhonskaya was located on the right coast. At the end of the 18th century, the first industrial production enterprises began to appear here, and in the second half, private enterprises occupied most of the coast, most of which were reorganized and merged into large factories before the start of the First World War. One of these enterprises was the Vasilyevsky branch of the St. Petersburg Cartridge Plant (later the Pipe Plant), which, under the rule of the Soviets, received the name of M. I. Kalinin.

It is known that since 1805, at the Smolensk Cemetery Church on the first day of August, a religious procession was made annually to the river to bless the water. Twice in history the riverbed was changed (in the 19th-20th centuries), as a result of which the waters immediately began to fall directly into the Gulf of Finland. Previously, the mouth of the Smolenka was located near Volny Island, in the Malaya Neva.

In the 70s of the XX century, the northern bank of the river was fortified along the memorial cemetery, called the "Island of the Decembrists". For this purpose, a granite wall-parapet was erected. But on the side of the Orthodox cemetery, the river bank remained the same - unpaved, with visible remains of ancient wooden piles.

Bridges

The embankment of the Smolenka River in St. Petersburg is amazingly beautiful. A total of 5bridges, and 4 bridges were built on artificial branches of the Smolenka, enveloping the island at the mouth of the river. The following bridges are located from the source to the branch:

Ural;
Smolensky (formerly German);
Novo-Andreevsky (pedestrian);
Cash;
Shipbuilders.

At the mouth, bridges are thrown over the sleeves:

1st Smolensky;
2nd Smolensky;
3rd Smolensky;
4th Smolensky.

These numbered bridges may have been temporary (at that time they were going to build the Sea Embankment here). In the 70s of the XX century, quite a few were built in various parts of the city. Many of them are still standing today. Due to the fact that the embankment was not fully built, these numbered bridges remained abandoned, being off the routes, and they are practically unfamiliar to many residents of the city.

Promenade Features

The embankment of the Smolenka River in St. Petersburg, stretching along both banks of the river, originates from the source of the river. Malaya Neva and stretches to the abutments of the Cash Bridge.

The banks are reinforced with wooden piles, which are driven every 3 meters. Wooden fences are installed between them, and the piles are anchored with beams into the natural river bank. Some areas are reinforced with more reliable and durable materials. For example, at the very source of the river, a high wall of granite was installed. Its length is 40 meters. It is similar to the fortification of the neighboring Makarov embankment. A similar wall, but 294 meters long and withone descent, installed on the left bank downstream of the river from house number 6. The sections near the Ural bridge are also fortified.

Historic buildings

There are old houses on the embankment of the Smolenka River:

5-7 - industrial building of the merchant of the second guild Kebke I. G. (1894 construction, architect B. E. Furman).
10 - tenement house, in which its left part was built on in 1899 (project by Mulkhanov P. M.).

In conclusion about the sights of the Smolenka river embankment

In addition to the old bridges (Smolensky and Ural), the following architectural and historical objects located on the embankment are noteworthy:

Schroeder House (cultural center);
Puppet Museum;
Garden "Kamsky" along the street of the same name;
Monument to the Armenian composer and poet Komitas;
Armenian-Gregorian Cemetery;
Khachkar (cross-stone) "St. Petersburg from Yerevan";
Cemetery "Smolenskoe" (Lutheran).

It should be noted that Armenians settled on Vasilievsky Island in the 18th century. At the same time, the Armenian Church of the Holy Resurrection was opened and a cemetery was created, which continued to operate until 1939.