Saint Petersburg as a historical place or as a tourist attraction is one of the greatest cities in the world. The city also shows a variety of both modern or traditional recreational opportunity for tourists and citizens of St. Petersburg through its existence. One of those attractive occasions is Yelagin Island.
Before the Saint Petersburg formed and named capital by Peter the Great, the Yelagin Island which called the Mustela Island in Finland was populated by a group of fishermen, before 1713. After that Peter I's reign began, he gave away the estate around the city to his loyal followers as a gift and the Mustela Island awarded to his Vice in Command, Baron Shafirov. The island witnessed over 9 noblemen governing it and took its name after its fifth owner, Ivan Yelagin who was famous for his kindness and generosity. For years, any person who owned the land of Yelagin attempted to convey the beauty of the island in their own way, therefore, lots of artists invited to the island over the years to design a new face for the gardens and the palace itself.
The preservation of the island became very expensive, in 1817, so the owner of the island at the time, Grigory Orlov sold the island to the imperial court. Alexander the first appointed a committee with the administration of great Italian architect Carlo Rossi to reconstruct and restore the island and its palace. He not only restored the palace and the gardens around it but also rebuilt the entire island appearances. For around a hundred years, the Yelagin island was the favorite resting place for Romanov family and imperial court, until 1917.
When the Soviet government took power in Russia, they created a central park in Yelagin Island which named after Sergi Kirov, one of the deceased members and leader of the organization. This park which later became the favorite resting place of the Leningrad comrades had been damaged severely during the Second World War. The renovation of the palace and its gardens started quickly after the war, but because the place was the central recreational zone for everyone in Saint Petersburg, again degraded gravely.
In the 21st century, the island with all the plants and creatures inside it, and of course, for its spectacular landscapes recognized as a natural protected area. At the beginning of this century, the island gently grew to be one of the magnificent tourist attractions of St. Petersburg, and organizations began to hold a variety of festivals inside it.
As mentioned earlier, Yelagin Island, or as called before the Kirov Central Park is a natural protected area at the bed of Finland Gulf near the Neva River. This place became an astonishing tourist attraction at the northwest of the St. Petersburg. The lack of industrial machinery and noisy automobiles, and also the extraordinary nature of the island lead the way to be a busy place full of tourists and visitors for having a relaxing time and fun hours in all seasons.
This four-season island has something exciting to offer in each season, presenting a magnificent fresh place without any industrial contamination for all ages from youngest to elders to have a fun and healthy time.
In the spring the blossom on the trees furnishes the island a new stunning appearance. The spring activities include book clubs in the open air, bicycling and skating, jogging, and the dance floor with live music are very popular amongst visitors.
When the summer comes with the weather getting warmer, in addition to the spring ventures, the water sports and activities such as swimming, renting a boat, and fishing get more recognized by the visitors. Jogging through the ponds, and feeding the fishes or other animals is one of the enjoyable things to do on the island during summer. Since more tourists visit St. Petersburg during the summer, the events and programs on the island are expanding too, for instance, at the side of the Yelagin Palace, there are people with formal clothes of the island, between 18th and 20th centuries which you can take a picture with them if you want. There are a mini zoo and a small amusement park to entertain children or even their parents. The tennis and volleyball courts are very popular during the summer too.
However, if you want to take pictures of wonders on the island, you have to visit it during the autumn when the landscape changes with lots of colors and beauty.
Against most of the tourists' imaginations, the island would be quite busy during the winter too as it was during the summer. With the atmosphere ready for the winter activities on the island, the winter sports such as figure skating, skiing, or simply playing in the snowfield grow a quite enjoyable thing for the visitors since the island owns a few natural or artificial ice field during the winter. The white dress of the island in winter is as enjoyable as the other seasons face. Christmas is an exciting time on the island, the ice field around the Christmas tree which people can skate around it, and festivals that took place there are truly delightful things for everyone. Also, the party and ceremony of the Christmas around the island Christmas tree would be a fun thing to do even if you aren't a Christian.
Of course, there are a few permanent activities that are not related to the season too such as health club for everyone but particularly for elders to stay healthy and in shape which is extremely popular. The book club which can be host in the open air or closed space regarding the weather. Educating people about the plants and animals on the island since it is a natural protected area. The Yelagin museum and Palace which is at the center of the island. Also, there are many Russian or international festivals which took place on the island such as the flower festival, the street theater festival, the music concerts, and many other festivals that take place on the Yelagin Island .
There are several other tourist-target places like Yelagin Island, which you can find more about on our blog pages at Star Travel Group. We also have several mini-Guide such as Visit St. Petersburg in our blog section.
