This summer, Oleg Petrov and Irina Romanenko conducted their first excursion to Shuvalov Park. Oleg is an accountant, Irina is a museum worker on maternity leave. Both of them live in the Pargolov area, and in their free time they tell the locals about the history of Dacha Mesmakher and the Gothic church.
Where are the secret undergrounds in Shuvalovsky Park, how these places are connected with Pushkin and Gogol, and where is the crypt in the park - "Paper" talked with the organizers of excursions about how to love your area and why the outskirts of St. Petersburg are no less interesting than its center.
Photo: Egor Tsvetkov / "Paper"
Crypt and children's horror stories
In the village of Pargolovo, on the territory of which the Shuvalov Park is located, Oleg lived his whole life. First - at the Prigorodny state farm, a 15-minute drive from the current Parnas metro station, then - on Shishkin Street, along which the northern border of the park runs. There he spent his childhood. Oleg's house was a stone's throw from Shuvalovsky Park, and he often went for a walk there. With friends, they rode bicycles on slides and narrow paths, played hide and seek, caught frogs near the pond and scared each other with stories about ghosts and monsters that live in abandoned palaces.
“As a child, this park made a great impression on us,” says Oleg. - Crypt, palace, old church - everything is shrouded in secrets.
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Photo: Egor Tsvetkov / "Paper"
Then, in the 90s, the park was practically empty. Huge residential complexes have not yet been built nearby, and during the walk you could only meet mushroom pickers. Otherwise, over 20 years, according to Oleg, almost nothing has changed: the same dilapidated houses, overgrown paths and century-old trees.
The attention of children was attracted not only by the park itself, but also by its mysterious dungeons. They are still reminded of the passages hidden in some places behind dense foliage. Once Oleg, together with a friend, climbed there, but failed to get into the dungeon. They walked a little forward and stumbled upon a wall - further the path is closed.
Photo: Egor Tsvetkov / "Paper"
The children were curious to know who and why dug these passages under the park. But then there was very little information, says Oleg. Neither friends nor relatives could tell him anything. The fact that the first owner of the park - Count Pyotr Shuvalov - was a Freemason and that, according to legend, the underground passages were used for Masonic ceremonies, Oleg learned only a few years later, when he became interested in the history of his native Pargolov.
From rolling cheesecakes to Count Shuvalov
The history of excursions actually began with the rental of cheesecakes. Oleg is an accountant by profession. When he had free time this winter, he decided to do something new - he rented a space in the park and started renting out cheesecakes to those who wanted to ride. Many who came for cheesecakes were interested in the park, asked questions about the church and the crypt. And then Oleg came up with the idea of excursions.
“When I told my friends and relatives that I was going to take excursions, they were, to put it mildly, at a loss,” recalls Oleg. - Nobody understood why I needed this, because there was no smell of profit here. But I was wondering.
Photo: Egor Tsvetkov / "Paper"
For help, Oleg turned to local historian Elena Alexandrova, an expert on Pargolov. She advised him to have a guide - Irina Romanenko, who herself had recently moved to the area and was also interested in Shuvalov Park. Together they worked out the route and in the summer made the first excursion.
“As it turned out, people know almost nothing about Shuvalov Park,” says Irina. - Some admit that they did not even know about its existence. But having been here once, everyone wants to return, because the park is really unique.
Zamanilovka and Yellow Dacha
There really is something to tell here. In the 19th century, the Shuvalovs began to rent out plots of their estate for summer cottages, so many famous people of that time visited these places: someone rented a house, someone came to visit. It is known that one of the first summer residents was Nikolai Gogol, he lived on Poklonnaya Hill. There is a version that one of the characters of "Dead Souls" - the landowner Manilov - was named after the village of Zamanilovka, which is located nearby. These places are also connected with Pushkin, who came here with his family to stay with relatives.
Dachas were built not only on the territory of the estate, but also in the park itself. The most famous of them is Georg Mesmacher's Yellow Cottage.
“They like to call it a haunted house,” says Irina, “but it’s more scary because of the state of this building.
Another building in a similar style is the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. The history of its creation is especially popular among tourists. The fact is that Countess Varvara Shuvalova-Polye built a temple in memory of her beloved husband, Adolf Polje. Near the church there is a crypt, which is called the Tomb of Adolf. In this crypt, the inconsolable widow of Shuvalov spent days and nights: she prayed, cried and talked with her husband.
There is another local landmark nearby - the Block's bench. At the time of the poet, a beautiful view of the city opened up from here, the guide says, and Blok admired him for a long time, thought and made notes in his notebook.
Photo: Egor Tsvetkov / "Paper"
Know and love Pargolovo
“The more you learn about these places, the more you understand how everything is connected,” says Irina. - The city is a single organism.
Irina herself moved here three years ago from Gatchina and at first was not delighted with the new district.
Photo: Egor Tsvetkov / "Paper"
- First impressions were not very rosy, - she admits. - I am used to living in a small town, where there is a certain integrity, but here everything is different. But I understood that I needed to find here for myself something that would interest me and that I could love.
Shuvalovsky Park became such a place for Irina. Together with Oleg, they plan to develop excursions further and hope that over time there will be even more visitors.
- I would like people to know their history and their roots, - Irina reflects. - The center of St. Petersburg is, of course, beautiful, but it is important to understand that the place where you live is also valuable.
