Sestroretsky Kurort, Protected natural area in Sestroretsk, Russia.
Sestroretsky Kurort is a protected natural area on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, located in Sestroretsk near Saint Petersburg. The site covers pine forests, mineral springs, and medicinal mud deposits along a sandy beach.
The resort was founded on 19 June 1898 on the initiative of P. A. Avenarius, who led the Society of the Primorskaya Saint Petersburg–Sestroretsk Railway, and it opened on 23 June 1900 as the first resort of its class in the northwest. A 60-year lease of 54 desyatins of state land at the mouth of the Sestra River was granted, and a railway branch from Sestroretsk was built to bring guests. In 1907 it won a Grand Prix at the World Balneological Exhibition in Spa, Belgium.
The resort was once a favorite retreat for writers and musicians from Saint Petersburg, who came here to rest and work. The concert hall on the grounds hosted performances that connected this coastal spot to the city's artistic life.
The area is easy to reach by train, with the Kurort railway station sitting right at the entrance to the site. Comfortable shoes are worth wearing, as the forested paths and the beach promenade involve some walking on uneven ground.
The 420-metre covered gallery that once separated the beach esplanade from the park was glazed on the gulf side and open toward the trees, with a rail line running beneath it to carry supplies from the station to the cellars and ice houses. It has not survived; of the resort's early structures, mainly the grey granite terrace in front of the wooden kurzal remains.
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