View on Neva, Leitenant Smidt Embankment, St. Petersburg, Russia
As a continuation of the famous Universitskaya Embankment, Lieutenant Schmidt Embankment also boasts many old buildings that have stood here since the earliest years of St. Petersburg. Extra charm is added by the broad expanses of the Neva River, which is deep enough here to receive large sea ships. For many who came to Saint Petersburg in the 19th and 20th centuries, their new experience began on this waterfront.
At the beginning of the 18th century, the entire southern shore of Vasilevsky Island was called the Bolshoy Neva Embankment. Here stood not only palaces for the nobility, but also more modest homes built to templates by the French architect Jean-Baptiste Leblond. These include the Esterreykh Mansion (No. 3), the Umnova House (No. 5), and the Keyserling House (No. 7). A peculiar feature of these structures on what was to become the Lieutenant Schmidt Embankment is that the houses are all tiered following the lines of the concave river banks of the Neva.
Epic Russia Culture & Adventure Route © Monika Newbound
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