Obvodny Canal, Canal in Kronstadt, Russia

The Obvodny Canal is a waterway running through Kronstadt with iron railings along the embankments and several bridges spanning its width. The canal divides neighborhoods and creates natural edges that organize the city's layout in distinct sections.

Work on the canal began in 1783 to separate the Admiralty from the town's buildings, with warehouses, a cast-iron fence and an outer street for officers' houses planned; the project was only partly carried out because it was approved without funding. It was first called Admiralteysky, then renamed after the Obvodny Canal in Saint Petersburg. Its granite-lined walls run 3,041 m from the Italian Pond to the harbour, and the fence was cast at Charles Baird's plant.

The canal's name changed from Admiralteysky, for the Admiralty it was dug to serve, to Obvodny after the larger canal in Saint Petersburg. Its cast-iron railing, with vertical bars between posts topped by urn-shaped vases, was cast at Charles Baird's factory and is itself a listed monument. Near the Blue Bridge stands a 2005 monument to the blockaded stickleback, the fish that helped Kronstadt residents survive the siege.

The canal is easy to reach by taking public buses from central Kronstadt and then exploring on foot along the embankments. The paths around the water are mostly flat and open, making it simple to walk at your own pace without obstacles.

The canal mirrors old warehouses and bridge structures that trace back to the 1700s, reflecting the city's past in the water's surface. These stone buildings are connected to the original purpose of moving navy supplies and materials through the center of town.