- Vasilievsky Island
Infobox Islands
name = Vasilievsky
image caption = Spit of Vasilievsky Island with theOld Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange and Rostral Columns . The dome of thePushkin House hovers in the background
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Location map|Russia Saint Petersburg|lat=59.94|long=30.26
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native name = Васи́льевский о́стров
native name link = Russian language
nickname =
location =Gulf of Finland
coordinates = coord|59.94|N|30.26|E|display=inline
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country = Russia
country admin divisions title = City
country admin divisions =Saint Petersburg
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population = 202650
population as of = 2002
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ethnic groups =Russians
additional info =Vasilievsky Island is an island in
Saint Petersburg , bordered by the riversBolshaya Neva andMalaya Neva (in the delta ofNeva ) from South and Northeast, and by theGulf of Finland from the West. Vasilievsky Island is separated fromDekabristov Island by theSmolenka River . Together they form the territory of Vasileostrovsky District, an administrative subdivision of Saint Petersburg. The population was 202 650 in year 2002 [ [http://vpiter.ru/36 Василеостровский район ] ] .Situated just across the river from the
Winter Palace , it constitutes a large portion of the city's historic center. Two of the most famous St Petersburg bridges,Palace Bridge andBlagoveshchensky Bridge , connect it with the mainland to the south. TheExchange Bridge andTuchkov Bridge acrossMalaya Neva connect it withPetrogradsky Island . Vasilievsky Island is served by theVasileostrovskaya station ofSaint Petersburg Metro .Geographically, the island consists of two main parts. The south and east of the island are old, with buildings mostly from the 19th century. The southern embankment has some of the oldest buildings in the city dated from 18th century. That part of the island is notable for its rectangular grid of streets (originally intended to be canals, like in
Venice ), with three prospects - "Bolshoi" ("Big"), "Sredniy "("Middle") and "Maly" ("Small") - going roughly from east to west, and with 30 "Liniya" ("Line") streets going perpendicularly from south to north.The easternmost tip of the island, called "Strelka" (Spit, literally "Arrow"), features a number of museums, including the Old Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange ("Bourse") as well as two
Rostral column s, and is a popular tourist attraction. The edifices lining the Universitetskaya Embankment along the Bolshaya Neva include theKunstkamera ,Twelve Collegia ,Menshikov Palace ,Imperial Academy of Sciences , and St. Andrew's Cathedral - all dating from the 18th century. Another notable attraction is an animatedmusical fountain located just off the Spit.The western part of the island was developed much later, in the late Soviet times, and has mostly typical Soviet apartment blocks. In contrast with the beautiful Neva embankments in the historical center, the sea coast in that part of Vasilievsky island is still an uncultured wasteland that is not easy to walk on, even despite the fact that the fully populated multi-story apartment blocks are about 100 meters from the shore. A monument to Vasiliy, a legendary peasant after whom the island had been named, was opened in
2003 .The principal buildings of
Saint Petersburg State University are located on the island and include theTwelve Collegia byDomenico Tresini (1722-44) and the former palace ofPeter II of Russia .References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.