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From a Yard by the Bay to Corn: How Lakhta Center Became a New Symbol of St. Petersburg
The village of Konnaya Lakhta was first mentioned under the name "Kovduya" as part of the village of Lakhta in the search book of the Spassko-Gorodensky Pogost. The name "horse" is a distortion of the Finnish word "kontu", which means "yard", "farm". Literally translated, Kontu Lakhta means "yard by the bay". In 1617, the village became part of Sweden and remained abandoned for several decades.
Permanent residents reappeared in Konnaya Lakhta only in 1680. It was returned to Russia in 1703 during the Northern War. Initially, the village belonged to the state and was assigned to the Dubkovskiy Palace and the Sestroretskiy Arms Factory. As a result, the territory became the private property of Peter I. The wooden palace was surrounded by a beautiful park with centuries-old oaks.
At the end of the 18th century, the land found new owners. Catherine II hands them over to her favorite Grigory Orlov. Two years later, the famous Thunder Stone will be discovered here, which will serve as a pedestal for the Bronze Horseman.
There are many monuments depicting Russian emperors in the northern capital. Of course, the most famous of them is located on Senate Square. It has long been one of the main symbols of our city. However, one of the youngest is considered to be the sculpture "Peter I Saves Drowning People Near Lakhta", located on the northern shore of the Lakhta Harbor not far from the center of Lakhta.
The work is based on the legend about the cause of Peter I's death. According to the scientist Yakov Shtelin, on November 5, 1724, the tsar, returning from a trip, found a ship with people stuck near Lakhta and rushed to save them. I caught a cold in the icy water and fell ill.
The history of the monument dates back to 1907. At an exhibition held in Paris at the time, Emperor Nicholas II liked the sculptor's work - a sketch of a monument to Peter I. The tsar paid all the costs of purchasing and installing it from his own funds. The sculpture was unveiled on the Admiralty Embankment on June 27, 1909, for the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava. However, 10 years later it was recognized as anti-art and melted down, without preserving a single copy.
The new monument is not an exact copy of the old monument. The sculptor's drawings have sunk into oblivion. However, the creators tried to maintain closeness to the original and at the same time express their own modern vision.
In 1882, 19 local farm families and 11 immigrant families lived in Konaya Rakta, a total of 123 people, most of whom were Lutherans. Situated further from the sea than Lakhta, and even further from St. Petersburg, the riding Lakhta was not popular with summer residents, and its inhabitants mostly retained traditional farming occupations. One of the Count's two hunting grounds was located here. In 1899-1900, Count Alexander Stenbock-Fermor built a new stone hunting lodge here with a dining room, bedroom, and rooms for the forester and hunters.
They visited each other, staged plays, rode bicycles and, of course, laid out routes along the Gulf of Finland. It turns out that walking here is a long-standing habit of Petersburgers.
The pedestrian embankment near Lakhta is still popular today. But if earlier people came here only for the sake of the complex, now a whole complex of buildings and art objects has been built on the shore. A planetarium, a panoramic two-story restaurant, a transformation hall, an exhibition hall, a scientific and educational center, a sports complex, a medical center, a restaurant, a cafe, a trading post and, of course, the tower itself. or, as locals call it, "corn".
However, in recent years, Lakhta Center seems to have found its place in the hearts of the villagers. No matter how much you look at it, you can’t hide it, you can’t hide it. It’s not just an architectural element dominating the city, but a new symbol of St. Petersburg.