A.F.Orlov's Datcha and The I.Repin Estate «The Penates»
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
163 km
Riding-time estimate
3 h 12
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
From Strel'na it runs 163 km to Strel'na; allow about 3 h 12 of riding. It goes by way of The Palace and Park of the Mikhailovskaya, Yukkovskaya Elevation, The I.Repin Estate «The Penates» and back through Yukkovskaya Elevation. The line favours views over speed.
Scenic road chapters
A-121 Ladoga and Sortavala
This part of the ride is 23 km of A-121 Ladoga and Sortavala.
Chapter facts
Length
23 km
Named road
A-121 Ladoga and Sortavala
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. A.F.Orlov's Datcha
Strelna lies on the south shore of the Gulf of Finland, on the road to Peterhof, and it is where Peter the Great first thought of building his seaside palace before he settled on the site a few kilometres to the west.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
A.F.Orlov's Datcha is where the day begins. Next is The Palace and Park of the Mikhailovskaya.
2. The Palace and Park of the Mikhailovskaya
Carlo Rossi did not design a palace so much as a piece of a city. Between 1819 and 1825 he built the Mikhailovsky Palace for Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, younger brother of Alexander I, and at the same time laid out the square in front of it and the streets leading to it, so that the façades all answer one another. Today the palace houses the Russian Museum, which holds one of the greatest collections of Russian art anywhere, from medieval icons through Repin's huge canvases to Malevich and the avant-garde. Behind it the Mikhailovsky Garden runs down to the Moika, shaded and calm in the middle of the city.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Palace and Park of the Mikhailovskaya comes up about 23 km into the recorded legs. Next is Yukkovskaya Elevation.
3. Yukkovskaya Elevation
The Karelian Isthmus, north of Saint Petersburg, was Finnish until 1940, and the place names still carry the echo: Pargolovo, Levashovo, Kuokkala, now called Repino. The Yukki Heights, or Yukkovskaya Elevation, are among the higher ground on this stretch, a ridge of sandy hills and pine forest scattered with summer houses. Many of the datchas date from the late nineteenth century, when wealthy Petersburgers began to build wooden villas with carved trim and glassed verandas among the pines.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 44 km into the recorded legs you reach Yukkovskaya Elevation. Next is The I.Repin Estate «The Penates», 26 km on.
4. The I.Repin Estate «The Penates»
In 1903 the painter Ilya Repin, the most famous Russian artist of his day, moved to a wooden house in the village of Kuokkala on the Gulf of Finland, which he named the Penates, after the Roman household gods. He lived and worked there until his death in 1930, and after Finnish independence in 1917, he found himself living abroad, refusing invitations to return to the Soviet Union. The house, with its glass-roofed studio and eccentric architecture, was destroyed in the Second World War and rebuilt afterwards, and it is now a museum with many of his paintings and possessions.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
A.F.Orlov's Datcha closes the day.
Leg by leg
A.F.Orlov's Datcha to The Palace and Park of the Mikhailovskaya
A.F.Orlov's Datcha → The Palace and Park of the Mikhailovskaya is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Palace and Park of the Mikhailovskaya to Yukkovskaya Elevation
The Palace and Park of the Mikhailovskaya → Yukkovskaya Elevation is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Yukkovskaya Elevation to The I.Repin Estate «The Penates»
Yukkovskaya Elevation → The I.Repin Estate «The Penates» is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The I.Repin Estate «The Penates» to back through Yukkovskaya Elevation
The I.Repin Estate «The Penates» → back through Yukkovskaya Elevation is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Yukkovskaya Elevation to back through The Palace and Park of the Mikhailovskaya
back through Yukkovskaya Elevation → back through The Palace and Park of the Mikhailovskaya is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Palace and Park of the Mikhailovskaya to A.F.Orlov's Datcha
back through The Palace and Park of the Mikhailovskaya → A.F.Orlov's Datcha is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.