Why this ride
150 km from Kronstadt to Kronstadt, about 3 h 15 of riding. On the way it passes Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof, A.F.Orlov's Datcha, The Palace and Park Ensemble «Sobstvennaya and Oranienbaumsky Springboard.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The Historical Part of the Town of Kronsta and Oranienbaumsky Springboard
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 150 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 15
- 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.
Scenic road chapters
Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
For about 30 km this is Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it — expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 30 km
- Named road
- Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
Water arrives beside the road and stays for 17 km. The line follows the shore because there is nowhere else for it to go. Slow enough to look. The surface follows the shoreline, so the corners arrive where the water decided, not where an engineer did.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 14 km
- Named road
- Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. The Historical Part of the Town of Kronsta
Kronstadt's gold dome is visible from a long way off, and it belongs to the Naval Cathedral of Saint Nicholas, a great Byzantine-style church that was finished in 1913 for the sailors of the Baltic Fleet. The Soviets turned it into a cinema and then a sports hall, and a long restoration returned it to its original purpose in 2013. It now stands in the centre of a town that looks like an eighteenth-century naval base surrounded by sea.
Read the complete The Historical Part of the Town of Kronsta write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Historical Part of the Town of Kronsta is where the day begins. Next is Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof.
2. Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof
Peter the Great wanted a palace by the sea that would rival Versailles, and he chose this stretch of the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, about thirty kilometres west of Saint Petersburg. What became Peterhof is a town built around an imperial residence: the Grand Palace on a terrace above the sea, the Grand Cascade of gilded statues and fountains falling toward a canal that runs straight to the water, and parks full of pavilions, including Peter's own small Dutch style house, Monplaisir, right on the shore. The fountains run on gravity, fed by springs on the higher ground inland, a feat of eighteenth century engineering.
Read the complete Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof comes up about 30 km into the recorded legs. Next is A.F.Orlov's Datcha, 16 km on.
3. 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.
Read the complete A.F.Orlov's Datcha write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 45 km into the recorded legs you reach A.F.Orlov's Datcha. Next is The Palace and Park Ensemble «Sobstvennaya.
4. The Palace and Park Ensemble «Sobstvennaya
Peterhof is the one everyone has seen in photographs, with the golden statue of Samson tearing open a lion's jaws and the long canal running down to the Gulf of Finland. The Sobstvennaya Dacha, the Tsar's Own Dacha, is a quieter corner of the same ensemble, tucked into the parkland on the southern shore of the gulf. The ground here is the Izhorsky bench, a limestone shelf running east to west with a sudden step down toward the water.
Read the complete The Palace and Park Ensemble «Sobstvennaya write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Palace and Park Ensemble «Sobstvennaya, about halfway. Next is Oranienbaumsky Springboard.
5. Oranienbaumsky Springboard
The Oranienbaum Springboard is not a single building but a piece of ground, and once you know the story the low woods and fields south of the Gulf of Finland look entirely different. In September 1941, as German and Finnish forces closed the ring around Leningrad, a pocket of coast around Oranienbaum, today's Lomonosov, held out. It was cut off from the city by land, supplied across the water and under the guns of Kronstadt, and it never fell. In January 1944 the Second Shock Army broke out of this pocket as one jaw of the offensive that finally lifted the siege.
Read the complete Oranienbaumsky Springboard write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Oranienbaumsky Springboard sits at 66 km, about halfway. Next is back through The Palace and Park Ensemble «Sobstvennaya.
6. back through The Palace and Park Ensemble «Sobstvennaya
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Palace and Park Ensemble «Sobstvennaya write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through The Palace and Park Ensemble «Sobstvennaya comes up about 91 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through A.F.Orlov's Datcha, 16 km on.
7. back through A.F.Orlov's Datcha
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete A.F.Orlov's Datcha write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 106 km into the recorded legs you reach back through A.F.Orlov's Datcha. Next is back through Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof.
8. back through Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof, late in the day. Next is The Historical Part of the Town of Kronsta.
9. The Historical Part of the Town of Kronsta
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Historical Part of the Town of Kronsta write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 150 km.
Leg by leg
The Historical Part of the Town of Kronsta to Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof
The Historical Part of the Town of Kronsta → Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof to A.F.Orlov's Datcha
Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof → A.F.Orlov's Datcha is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
A.F.Orlov's Datcha to The Palace and Park Ensemble «Sobstvennaya
A.F.Orlov's Datcha → The Palace and Park Ensemble «Sobstvennaya is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Palace and Park Ensemble «Sobstvennaya to Oranienbaumsky Springboard
The Palace and Park Ensemble «Sobstvennaya → Oranienbaumsky Springboard is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Oranienbaumsky Springboard to back through The Palace and Park Ensemble «Sobstvennaya
Oranienbaumsky Springboard → back through The Palace and Park Ensemble «Sobstvennaya is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Palace and Park Ensemble «Sobstvennaya to back through A.F.Orlov's Datcha
back through The Palace and Park Ensemble «Sobstvennaya → back through A.F.Orlov's Datcha is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through A.F.Orlov's Datcha to back through Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof
back through A.F.Orlov's Datcha → back through Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof to The Historical Part of the Town of Kronsta
back through Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof → The Historical Part of the Town of Kronsta is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.