New Holland is an island that three hundred years ago served as a warehouse for timber, rigging and other materials used in shipbuilding. Especially for the storage of construction timber, brick warehouses were built around the perimeter of the island. Tree trunks were placed vertically to avoid deformation. The timber storage buildings had a purely utilitarian purpose, but they were designed by outstanding architects. Now these warehouses are considered to be architectural monuments.
The need to store and dry timber for shipbuilding has long disappeared, modern ships are built of other materials. A new purpose for the old warehouses was long sought and finally found. New Holland Island has become a creative space, one of the favourite recreation places for locals and city guests. Alleys of young trees stretch along the facades of old buildings. In the centre of the island, the space is divided between sports and children's playgrounds, as well as a large lawn with lounge chairs. Cafés and restaurants are housed in the old buildings.
In spring, the island is beautiful: at the end of May, the trees begin to blossom and a walk along the alleys is particularly enjoyable. However, the island is nice in any season, even in winter. In winter you can't sit in a chair with your face in the sunlight, it's too cold for that, but there are other activities. In winter, the lawn is covered with special material and there is an ice-skating rink for ice-skating.
New Holland Island is located next to the Big Neva River. The weather was nice and I decided to continue my walk outside the island. I walked 200 metres along the Admiralty Canal and ended up on the Neva embankment. Leitenant Schmidt Embankment is both a promenade and a working embankment. It is very pleasant to walk here, the embankment is built up with houses of XVIII - XIX centuries and is very beautiful. Besides, you can often see river boats here.
This embankment is located below the last bridge over the Neva River. Here river ships stand at the moorings. They are waiting for the night time to go upstream to Lake Ladoga. They can't make this journey during daylight hours, bridges are in the way. So they wait until night time - at night the bridges are raised, it is the time for navigation. Small tugs also rest here, which will meet the cargo barges downstream and help them overcome the route.
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| Smartphone | Google Pixel 3a |
| Location | Saint Petersburg, Russia |
PS. Looks like this is my last post on Pinmapple. Very sad to part ways. But it's been a wonderful journey of several years!