Why this ride
From Krasnoye Selo it runs 98 km to Krasnoye Selo; allow about 2 h 06 of riding. It goes by way of Pulkovskaya Observatory, Historical Centre of the Town of Pavlovsk and back through Pulkovskaya Observatory.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Dudergofskaya Elevation and Historical Centre of the Town of Pavlovsk
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 98 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 06
- 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Dudergofskaya Elevation
The land around St Petersburg is almost perfectly flat, so any hill gets noticed. The Duderhof Heights, a pair of wooded hills rising south of the city near Krasnoye Selo, are the highest ground for many kilometres around, with the higher one, Voronya Gora or Crow Hill, reaching a little under two hundred metres above sea level. From the top, on a clear day, you can see the gilded domes of the city and the waters of the Gulf of Finland.
Read the complete Dudergofskaya Elevation write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Dudergofskaya Elevation is where the day begins. Next is Pulkovskaya Observatory.
2. Pulkovskaya Observatory
On the Pulkovo heights, the low ridge south of St Petersburg, an observatory has been watching the sky since 1839. It was founded by Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, the German-born astronomer who became its first director, and it quickly became one of the leading observatories in the world, with the largest refracting telescope of its day. The Pulkovo meridian, running through the observatory's main building, served as the reference for Russian maps for many years. Struve also led the measurement of the Struve Geodetic Arc, a chain of survey triangulations stretching from the Arctic Ocean to the Black Sea, which helped determine the size and shape of the earth and is now a UNESCO site.
Read the complete Pulkovskaya Observatory write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Pulkovskaya Observatory comes up about 31 km into the recorded legs. Next is Historical Centre of the Town of Pavlovsk.
3. Historical Centre of the Town of Pavlovsk
Pavlovsk was a gift. In 1777 Catherine the Great gave her son Paul, the future emperor, a stretch of forest and meadow south of Saint Petersburg, and he and his wife Maria Feodorovna turned it into one of the most elegant country residences in Russia. The Scottish architect Charles Cameron designed the palace, a pale yellow building with a shallow dome and a colonnade, and the park, which spreads over some six hundred hectares, was laid out in the English landscape manner, with winding paths, little bridges and pavilions half hidden among the trees. It is among the largest landscape parks in Europe, and walking in it on a quiet morning is a joy.
Read the complete Historical Centre of the Town of Pavlovsk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 53 km into the recorded legs you reach Historical Centre of the Town of Pavlovsk. Next is back through Pulkovskaya Observatory.
4. back through Pulkovskaya Observatory
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Pulkovskaya Observatory write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Pulkovskaya Observatory, late in the day. Next is Dudergofskaya Elevation.
5. Dudergofskaya Elevation
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Dudergofskaya Elevation write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Dudergofskaya Elevation. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Dudergofskaya Elevation to Pulkovskaya Observatory
Dudergofskaya Elevation → Pulkovskaya Observatory is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Pulkovskaya Observatory to Historical Centre of the Town of Pavlovsk
Pulkovskaya Observatory → Historical Centre of the Town of Pavlovsk is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Historical Centre of the Town of Pavlovsk to back through Pulkovskaya Observatory
Historical Centre of the Town of Pavlovsk → back through Pulkovskaya Observatory is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Pulkovskaya Observatory to Dudergofskaya Elevation
back through Pulkovskaya Observatory → Dudergofskaya Elevation is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.