Petersburg: Mansions and Summer Houses of Kamenny Island

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Kamenniy Island is a district in the historic center of Petersburg, known for its unusual mansions, panoramic views, and green recreational areas. The island has changed several times: from a neighborhood of aristocrats with gardens and estates, it transformed into a public park with sanatoriums, and then once again became a place with private residences.

Dacha of E. L. Leonova (Apraksin House)

13 Akademika Pavlova St., Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197022

Petersburg: Estates of the City and Surroundings (Leningrad Region)

Petersburg: Mansions and Summer Houses of Kamenny Island

In 1901, the old dacha located on this plot was transferred to the actress of the Imperial Theatres, Elizaveta Leonova, for whom the architect Anatoly Kovsharov built a lavish two-story mansion with a tower in 1902. The building has a compact plan, symmetrical facade composition, with an architectural design stylized in the forms of early classicism (the so-called "Louis XVI style") and Renaissance.

House of P. I. Goze (Sherman the Scarecrow's House)

Side Alley, 11, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197376

In the Footsteps of Soviet Films

Petersburg: Estates of the City and Surroundings (Leningrad Region)

Petersburg: Mansions and Summer Houses of Kamenny Island

Following in the footsteps of: "Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson," a film walk through Latvia, Estonia, Abkhazia, and St. Petersburg

On Kamenny Island, there are few historical houses left that have remained untouched since the 1990s. The house of Petr Goze, later rebuilt into the summer residence of Mrs. Orlova, is one of the vivid examples of the Art Nouveau era, when buildings were still constructed from wood.

Mansion of V. I. Shöne

Teatralnaya Alley, 3, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197376

Petersburg: Masterpieces of Art Nouveau

Petersburg: Estates of the City and Surroundings (Leningrad Region)

Petersburg: Mansions and Summer Houses of Kamenny Island

Schöne worked on the design of his own house from 1900 to 1903. Initially, his mansion was supposed to represent a complex compositional group united by the symbolic theme of the "temple of labor." The idea was inspired by the work of architect J.-M. Olbrich for the Darmstadt Artists' Colony (1901). However, Schöne's original concept was not realized, possibly due to its high cost. One of the buildings in the complex planned by Schöne was a small wing, which the architect redesigned into a mansion. The city council issued a permit for the construction of this house on May 30, 1903.

The Mansion of Countess Kleinmichel

nab. Krestovka River, 10, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197110

In the Footsteps of Soviet Films

Petersburg: Neo-Gothic

Petersburg: Estates of the City and Surroundings (Leningrad Region)

Petersburg: Mansions and Summer Houses of Kamenny Island

Following in the footsteps of: "Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson," a film walk through Latvia, Estonia, Abkhazia, and St. Petersburg

The mansion of Countess Kleinmichel, a remarkable architectural monument, is located in the northwestern part of Kamenny Island, on the bank of the Krestovka River, a tributary of the Malaya Nevka, which separates Kamenny and Krestovsky Islands.

M. K. Kugusheva Mansion - B. M. Kustodiev Children's Art School

Side Alley, 1, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197376

Petersburg: Estates of the City and Surroundings (Leningrad Region)

Petersburg: Mansions and Summer Houses of Kamenny Island

The dacha is located in the central part of Kamenniy Island. After the "highest" approval of the plan for dividing it into plots for lease in 1897, this area began to be intensively developed. In 1898, the widow of Staff Rotmistr Princess Kugusheva leased a plot between the Middle and Side alleys and the embankment of the Malaya Nevka River for 90 years. In the summer of the same year, construction began according to architect Preis's project of a two-story "large dacha," a temporary house, a stable, a janitor's house, and an icehouse, continuing until 1899.

Follenweider Mansion

Bolshaya Alley, 13, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197376

In the Footsteps of Soviet Films

Petersburg: Masterpieces of Art Nouveau

Petersburg: Estates of the City and Surroundings (Leningrad Region)

Petersburg: Mansions and Summer Houses of Kamenny Island

Following in the footsteps of: "Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson," a film walk through Latvia, Estonia, Abkhazia, and St. Petersburg

At the beginning of the 20th century, Eduard Follenweider, a tailor and supplier to the Imperial Court, turned to Roman Meltzer — an architect who was building a house for himself nearby in this settlement — with a request to design a house for him. The building is the first and most striking example of Northern Art Nouveau. This style was actively developing at the time in St. Petersburg under the influence of Scandinavian architecture. In Follenweider’s house project, the architect used a complex combination of shapes and volumes, as well as finishing materials unusual for the region. Among the locals, due to the particularly prominent large tiled roof in the overall composition, the house quickly earned the nickname "Sugar Head."

Melzer Estate ("Baba Yaga's House," "Fairy Tale House") and the Dispute Associated with It

Polevaya Alley, 8, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197376

Petersburg: Masterpieces of Art Nouveau

Petersburg: Estates of the City and Surroundings (Leningrad Region)

Petersburg: Mansions and Summer Houses of Kamenny Island

At the beginning of the 20th century, the master of St. Petersburg Art Nouveau, Roman Fyodorovich Meltzer, decided to build his own house on Kamenny Island. From 1901, the architect's project underwent multiple changes, and in 1904 it was finalized. The Meltzer mansion, which can be seen from the Krestovka embankment, is one of the key monuments of northern Art Nouveau in St. Petersburg. When constructing the mansion, Meltzer used motifs of ancient Russian architecture and Russian national architecture. Undoubtedly, elements of Finnish national romanticism played a significant role in the appearance of the house. The walls made of roughly hewn stone, massive logs, and the high-rising pyramidal roof give the house a picturesque quality. The most attention is drawn to the gable roof, which becomes the defining part of the silhouette and soars upward.

Dacha Gauswald, the first Art Nouveau house in Russia

Bolshaya Alley, 14, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197376

In the Footsteps of Soviet Films

Petersburg: Masterpieces of Art Nouveau

Petersburg: Unusual and Interesting Houses

Petersburg: Estates of the City and Surroundings (Leningrad Region)

Petersburg: Mansions and Summer Houses of Kamenny Island

The Hauswald Dacha is one of the first buildings in the Art Nouveau style on Kamenniy Island, designed by the then-popular young architects Vladimir Chagin and Vasily Shene. It gained recognition across the Soviet Union and even abroad after the release of the film *The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson*, as this building "played" the role of Irene Adler's house. Additionally, it appeared in the films *Don Cesar de Bazan*, *The Bat*, *Without Family*, and *Maritza*.

The Summer House of Prince Oldenburg (Dolgorukov's Summer House)

nab. Malaya Nevka River, 11, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197376

Petersburg: Estates of the City and Surroundings (Leningrad Region)

Petersburg: Mansions and Summer Houses of Kamenny Island

The Oldenburg Dacha (also known as the Dolgorukov Dacha; Saint Petersburg, Malaya Nevka Embankment, 11) is one of the most important structures on Kamenny Island, a monument of wooden architecture from the era of Russian classicism, built in 1831–1833 by the architect S. L. Shustov.

Dacha of P. S. Petrova

Embankment of the Malaya Nevka River, 12, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197376

Petersburg: Estates of the City and Surroundings (Leningrad Region)

Petersburg: Mansions and Summer Houses of Kamenny Island

The wooden summer house of P. S. Petrova, the wife of a hereditary honorary citizen, was built in the 1880s by the Oranienbaum court architect G. A. Preis. Originally, the summer house was surrounded by a fence. During the Soviet era, communal apartments were located here. In 1995, the building was reconstructed as a holiday resort. The summer house was restored in 2004 (a brick frame with wooden cladding was built) and adapted into a hotel.

Vurgaft's Dacha (Blue Dacha)

Krestovka River Embankment, 2, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197376

Petersburg: Estates of the City and Surroundings (Leningrad Region)

Petersburg: Mansions and Summer Houses of Kamenny Island

The mansion of M. A. Vurgaft is also known as the "Blue Dacha." The architect was Moisey Markovich Sinyaver, and it was built in 1913-1914. In the summer of 1916, the interiors of the mansion were painted by the artist-decorator P. Maksimovich. On the pylons of the central oval hall, he depicted dancing female figures — Evening, Morning, Day, Night.

The mansion of V.N. Yakovenko, "Professor's House"

Petrogradskaya Embankment, building 34, lit. B, room 1-N, office 514, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197376

In the Footsteps of Soviet Films

Petersburg: Estates of the City and Surroundings (Leningrad Region)

Petersburg: Mansions and Summer Houses of Kamenny Island

Following in the footsteps of: "Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson," a film walk through Latvia, Estonia, Abkhazia, and St. Petersburg

A two-story building designed in the style of French Gothic and Renaissance. The professor's house is connected by a passage to the building of the Saint Petersburg Marine Fisheries College.

Mansion of A. L. Stieglitz - Dacha of A. A. Polovtsev

nab. Sredney Nevki River, 6, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197183

Petersburg: Mansions and Summer Houses of Kamenny Island

The Dacha of A. A. Polovtsov is the palace of the diplomat Alexander Polovtsov on Kamenny Island in Saint Petersburg, built between 1912 and 1916 according to a design by Ivan Fomin. It is a prime example of Russian neoclassicism of the early 20th century.

His Imperial Majesty's Own Dacha (Old Dacha)

Krestovka River Embankment, 7, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197376

Petersburg: Mansions and Summer Houses of Kamenny Island

His Imperial Majesty's Own Dacha on Kamenniy Island is a monument of wooden architecture from the Classicism period.

New Dacha (Ministerial)

Krestovka River Embankment, 11, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197376

Petersburg: Mansions and Summer Houses of Kamenny Island

Next to the old dacha (Krestovka Embankment, 7), according to the project of architect Charlemagne, the building of the New Dacha was erected in 1836-1838. After the completion of construction in 1838, the dacha became known as the New Dacha, then Mariinskaya. Since the second half of the 19th century, it has been called the Ministerial Dacha.

Kamennoostrovsky Theatre

Staroho Teatra Square, 13, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197110

Petersburg: Mansions and Summer Houses of Kamenny Island

The Kamennoostrovsky Theatre is the only surviving monument of wooden architecture from the Classicism era in Saint Petersburg. The building was constructed in 1827 based on a design by architect Shustov. Since 2005, the Kamennoostrovsky Theatre has been part of the stage complex of the Bolshoi Drama Theatre.