Strelna

Categories / City Topography/Historical Geography/Historical Districts, Localities, Tracts, Municipal Establishments
STRELNA, formerly a settlement, a municipal unit within the Petrodvortsovy District since 1997; 19 kilometers southwest of Saint Petersburg, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, where it meets the Strelka River. Strelna is the crossing point between the Peterhofskoe, Volkhonskoe, and Novo-Narvskoe Highways. The territory encompasses the settlements of Vikkolovo, Izhorka, Staraya Kikenka (Kamenka) and Novaya Kikenka, Sergievskaya Settlement (Sloboda), Novye Zavody, and a number of others. As of 2001, the population totaled 18,500 people. Records of the first Russian settlement around Strelna date back to the 16th century. In 1637, the Strelinhof farmstead emerged here, belonging to Baron I. Schutte, the Swedish Governor-General of Ingermanland. In the early 18th century, the Strelina farmstead was Tsar Peter the Great's favourite stop-off point during his journeys from Saint Petersburg to Kronstadt. In 1707, the Tsar's Mansion and a church stood there. In 1716, the "Russian Versalia" palace and park were laid out, and included a wooden palace, fountains, and a garden. Around the same time, Peter the Great's confidants' started to build estates around Strelna. In 1713, three kilometers away from the Strelka River Estuary, a brick factory was built, supplying brick for the construction of the Bolshoy Strelninsky Palace, and the Building of the Twelve Collegia in Saint Petersburg. Shortly after followed the establishment of a state-owned ceramics factory producing Dutch-style tile ("kafli") for palace and mansion interiors. Architects involved in designing and creating the palace and park included J. B. Le Blond, B. Rastrelli, А. N. Voronikhin, А. I. Stakenschneider, P. M. Eropkin, and М. G. Zemtsov. Konstantinovsky Palace is at the center of the entire effort. In 1756-63, the St. Sergius Trinity Monastery was built east of Strelna. In 1783, the road to Peterhof was gradually paved. In 1857, a railway line to Oranienbaum was laid across the territory. This boosted residential development, stretching south from the railway, turning Strelna into a popular holiday retreat. In 1914, a tram line was launched connecting the eastern part of Strelna with the area around the Narvskie Gates in Saint Petersburg. In the 1930s, the 55th Metal-Working Plant of the People's Defense Committee, as well as a residential settlement for its employees, was built in the central part of Strelna, on a site that formerly included a parade ground and barracks. In 1941-44, Strelna was occupied by the Germans and suffered serious damage. In the 1950-60s, Strelna saw intense residential development. The southern part, across the railway, became dominated by single-structure residential houses. North of Strelna are academic training facilities of the Makarov State Marine Academy, the Lyceum of Commerce and Economics of the Defense Ministery, the Psychoneurologic Boarding School, and the Defense Ministry's maintenance houses. Many summer cottages have survived into the present day, including ones belonging to P. K. Alexandrov (palace, 1838, architect А. K. Kolman; 69 Sankt Peterburgskoe Highway), Count А. F. Orlov (with a park, 1840s; 78 Sankt Peterburgskoe Highway), as has the railway station (1857, architect N. L. Benois). Since 2002, construction of the State Congress Palace has been under way in Strelna. Konstantinovsky Palace was restored as part of the project, the park was refurbished, the Petergofskoe Highway (route А-121) was expanded, and the Nizhnaya (Tsarskaya) Road was reconstructed.

References: Ардикуца В. Е. Стрельна. Л., 1967; Горбатенко С. Б. Париж - Ганновер - Петербург: Стрельна в ряду ансамблей европ. барокко // Краеведческие записки: Исслед. и материалы. СПб., 2001. Вып. 8. С. 10-27.

Е. А. Bondarchuk, P. Y. Yudin. Alexandrov Pavel Konstantinovich
Benois Nikolay Leontievich
Eropkin Peter Mikhailovich
Kolman Alexander Karlovich
Le Blond Jean-Baptiste Alexander
Makarov Stepan Osipovich
Orlov Alexey Fedorovich, Duke
Peter I, Emperor
Rastrelli Bartolomeo Carlo de
Schutte Johan
Stakensсhneider Andrey Ivanovich
Voronikhin Andrey Nikiforovich
Zemtsov Mikhail Grigorievich
Novo-Narvskoe Freeway/Strelna, village
Sankt-Peterburgskoe Freeway/Strelna, village, house 78
Sankt-Peterburgskoe Freeway/Strelna, village, house 69
Volkhonskoe Freeway/Strelna, village
Ардикуца В. Е. Стрельна. Л., 1967
Горбатенко С. Б. Париж - Ганновер - Петербург: Стрельна а ряду ансамблей европ. барокко // Краеведческие записки: Исслед. и материалы. СПб., 2001 Konstantinovsky Palace (Strelna)
Holy Trinity & St. Sergius Hermitage
1716