Monrepo Park Museum-Reserve

Monrepo Park is a natural park that is located on the island of Tverdysh. The main “attraction” of this place is, of course, nature with its unique landscapes. Picturesque landscapes of the only rock park in the Russian Federation will charm everyone who visits here at least once. Its beauty was admired by Russian emperors and their entourage, royal families of Sweden and Prussia. Artists and poets drew their inspiration in Monrepo, prominent figures of science came here. Currently, the park is a museum-reserve of national importance, which is visited by thousands of tourists.

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Video: Monrepo Park

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History of Monrepo Park

In the 16th century, the Lill Ladugård, which belonged to the Swedish Crown, was located here, where the inhabitants of Old Vyborg grazed their cattle. After the victory of the Russian army in the Great Northern War, these territories were ceded to Russia. Since 1760 the estate was in the possession of the commandant of the Vyborg fortress P. A. Stupishin, who began to improve it and decided to build a country house. In addition to construction works, the swamps were drained, the ground was leveled, fruit and deciduous trees were planted, and a greenhouse was created. The name “Monrepo” was given to the estate by its next owner – the Prince of Wurttemberg. In French, it means “my peace.”

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The golden period of Monrepo Park is associated with the Nicolai family. They became masters of the estate from 1788. First the father – Ludwig Heinrich – and then his son Paul, did much to transform the territory surrounding the estate into a picturesque park, where the creations of man and nature organically merged. Famous architects were employed to create exquisite structures, including a family friend, the Italian Giuseppe Martinelli.

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In the twentieth century, due to wars, constant changes of state belonging to the local territories and the owners of the estate, there was a period of gradual devastation. Before the outbreak of hostilities here organized a rest home for Red Army soldiers. In 1941-1945 it was replaced by a Finnish hospital for wounded soldiers. The forests in the park area were cut down and the monuments destroyed.

In the post-war years, the territory of the Monrepo estate housed both a kindergarten and the Rest House of the Military Academy of Communications. The library wing was given to a residential house. Since the 60s, the Central Park of Culture and Recreation was laid out here. Twenty years later it looked quite deplorable. Violation of the drainage system entailed draining some ponds and turning others into swamps. Rotten buildings, ruined monuments and pavilions of the park, devastated and desecrated graves of the family necropolis of the Nicolai family – this is how the famous Monrepo Park could be seen at that time.

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In 1988, with the efforts of D. S. Likhachev and as a result of his campaign to preserve a unique monument of nature and architecture, a museum was established here. First of all, all the attractions were removed from the estate, after which restoration work began to restore the architectural structures and landscape.

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At present, part of the monuments have been restored, the homestead territory has been put in order, and Monrepo Park, as before, invites visitors. Here you can spend the whole day and not notice how the time flew by while strolling along the picturesque paths in the shade of trees between mossy boulders. And it’s good to do this at any time of year: the park is always magnificent – just like the bay and the Ludwigstein Rock, which you can admire from above.

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Sights of the park

If you want to wander around the territory of the park for a longer time and see all its memorable places, you should study their location on the scheme at the entrance in advance, and even better – buy the official guide to Monrepo. Then you will definitely not miss anything!

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Main gate

Theater, as you know, begins with the hanger, and Monrepo Park – with the main gate. They were built in 1821 under Paula Nicolai. At that time, Russia and Europe were under the influence of neo-Gothic. An unknown architect created the gates in the same style. Perhaps it was Carl Ludwig Engel, a Finnish architect with German roots. By the middle of the 20th century, nothing remained of the historic gate. They were replaced by an unpretentious metal construction with a small wicket. The gate was completely reconstructed in 1982. They repeated the original prototype with a slight difference in decoration and the absence of the family coat of arms on them.

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Granite Lion

From the main entrance, take one of two roads – the central avenue or a small romantic path that runs between two hills – to reach the granite sculpture “Lion”. It is a fragment of the monument to Finnish Independence erected in 1927 in honor of its tenth anniversary. At that time he took the place of Peter the Great, who was thrown off the pedestal in the Petrovsky Park in Vyborg. When these territories were ceded to the Soviet Union in 1940, the Russian tsar returned to his place, and the lion was partially destroyed and lost. The monument was found accidentally in the 80s buried in the territory of Monrepo Park, and now it takes its place among its attractions.

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Manor House and Library wing

The alley will lead you to the Main Manor House and the Library wing behind it. The foundation of the house was built in the second half of the 18th century under P. A. Stupishin, who used it as a summer residence. In addition to spacious haylofts, the building included a large hall, one large and three small rooms. The house was partially remodeled under the Duke of Württemberg, and the modern appearance was due to the efforts of architects Martinelli and Pavlov, who completed the remodeling after the death of the Italian. The wooden structure of the building, which stood on a brick plinth, was badly damaged in a fire in 1989, when the ceiling and the veranda of the eastern wing completely burned down. Partial restoration has replaced the roof, reinforced the walls of the great hall, replaced the building’s cladding and drained the basements.

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The courtyard separates the building from the Library wing, the rooms of which were first intended for guests and servants, and then were assigned to the library. The building is a monument of wooden architecture. Here, as well as in the Main House, the style of classicism can be seen. Due to the emergency condition and ongoing restoration work the outbuilding is closed to the public.

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Obelisk of the Broglio brothers

In the eastern part of Monrepo Park rises Leucadian Rock, the top of which was once decorated with a temple of Cupid, made of wood. Over time it fell into disrepair, and in memory of his wife’s brothers who died during the wars with Napoleon, Paul decided to replace the temple with an obelisk made of greenish marble designed by the Englishman C. Tatam. There are convenient paths leading to the monument, so that after climbing the cliff, you can view the monument and look from above at the park and its surroundings.

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Oriental theme of the park

Chinese motifs, which were popular in the architecture of landscape parks in Europe in the late 18th century, were also reflected in Monrepo. From the cliff to the eastern edge of the park leads an alley, which is in fact a dam made of granite. Its task is to protect the Rosenthal valley stretching through the whole eastern part of the park from flooding. Walking along it, you can get to the Chinese bridges, which at the time of their construction connected the islets, throwing their humped “backs” over the straits between the artificially created ponds. Initially, the bridges were colored and gilded and resembled Chinese fans. They were destroyed in the post-war period and were only rebuilt in 1998 and 2002.

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The bridges take tourists to the island with the Column of the Two Emperors in honor of Paul I and Alexander I installed on it. Nearby you can admire a unique natural creation – the Falling Stone, which was mentioned on maps of Monrepo dating back to the middle of the XIX century. This giant block hanging on the edge of the cliff seems to be about to fall, but unknown forces have been keeping it from falling for a century and a half.

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Tea Gazebo

On the territory of Monrepo Park you can find so-called “ram’s foreheads” – an outcrop of earth rocks that were polished and smoothed by the movement of the glacier millions of years ago. On the top of one of these “foreheads” not far from the shoreline once stood a wooden bench, sitting on which you could admire the amazingly beautiful panoramic view of the bay and the estate. Subsequently, the last building of Monrepo, the octagon-shaped Tea Arbor, was erected in its place. It is a favorite place for tourists who arrange photo shoots here. This pavilion can be seen in one of the scenes of E. Ryazanov’s movie “Life Without Love”. Unfortunately, the historic gazebo has not survived, but you can relax in its exact copy, created in 2002 from surviving photographs.

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Neptune’s Peninsula

Following the coast towards the western part of Monrepo Park, don’t forget to visit the Neptune Peninsula. On the top of this rocky ledge in the 30s of the XIX century was built a temple of the same name in honor of the Roman god of the seas. Next to the pavilion was a marble statue of Neptune, the pedestal under which was decorated with stone dolphins. Two pine trees were planted on both sides of the temple, surrounded by fir trees. Only one of them has survived to this day. In the middle of the last century the dilapidated building was dismantled. In 1999 the temple was completely reconstructed, but twelve years later it was destroyed by fire.

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Island of the Dead

From the top of the Neptune Peninsula there is a beautiful and perhaps the best view of Ludwigstein Island, a granite rock overgrown with vegetation. It was once connected to the shore by a ferry crossing, of which now only the metal gates of the pier are a reminder. On the top of the cliff, reflecting in the waters of the bay, is a white Gothic castle – Ludwigsburg, built in the 20s of the XIX century. The island was the family necropolis of four generations of the Nicolai family and was closed to unauthorized visitors. In the post-war years, the burial vaults were destroyed by vandals. Nowadays the island is also inaccessible to visitors, but some tourists manage to reach it by swimming or by boat. In some places it is possible to wade across after getting soaked to the waist.

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Narcissus Spring

Moving along the path further, you will come to a spacious clearing with a small pavilion in the center, from the stone base of which through a mask in the form of a lion’s head spring flows. It was originally called Silmä (Finnish for “eye”), as its water was considered to heal eye diseases. The famous architect Auguste Montferrand worked on the design of the spring. The niche under the pavilion’s vault was decorated with a sculpture of the ancient Greek mythical hero Narcissus, after whom the spring was named. Its radon-enriched water is classified as weakly mineralized.

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Lonely hut

Solitary hermit huts are a common element of landscape parks. One such adorned the west side of Monrepo around 1790. It looked like a log pavilion with a roof in the form of a small turret. The walls were decorated with illustrations on biblical themes. A bridge across the creek led to the building, and it stood in a quiet corner where one could sit and think. You will find the Hermit’s Hut restored with a slight difference on the same historical site.

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Wishing Grotto

The path that follows is very much like a fairy tale trail. Surrounded by picturesque and mossy emerald-colored granite boulders, it leads tourists to the Wishing Grotto. There is a legend that any wish made inside the grotto is sure to come true. Looking into the depths of this natural creation, you can find out whether the popular rumor is true.

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Hero of “Kalevala”

Past the huge rocks and the shores of the bay the way lies to the outskirts of Monrepo Park, where a natural granite pedestal is crowned with a sculpture of Väinemöinen – the hero of Karelian-Finnish tales. The plaster sculpture was first installed here in 1831. Twice in its history it was destroyed by vandals. The idea of the need to reconstruct the monument was voiced by D. S. Likhachev in the document. S. Likhachev in the documentary “Monrepo”. The grand opening of the restored sculpture took place in June 2007.

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Behind the monument to the hero of the epic you will see granite steps leading to a small platform, intriguingly called “The End of the World”. This is the end point of the journey through the historical part of Monrepo Park.

Visiting Monrepo Park

Monrepo Park is open to visitors daily from May to October from 9:00 to 22:00, and from November to April from 10:00 to 18:00. The cost of an adult ticket is 100 rubles. Pensioners and young people from 16 to 18 years pay half as much. Children under 16 years old and privileged people pass free of charge. It is possible excursion service for groups of tourists (up to 25 people) – 1200 rubles for adults and 800 rubles for children under 18 years old.

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Souvenir store

You can leave something to remember your amazing journey by visiting the souvenir store, whose doors are open from 12:00 to 17:30. Here you can buy themed products dedicated not only to the Monrepo estate, but also to Vyborg. These are various ornaments in the form of rings, pendants, bracelets; earthenware – plates, vessels, pots – stylized as products of potters of the XIX century; modern decorative plates with images of local attractions, mugs, glasses, ashtrays. You can put your jewelry in a decorative box, which is sold here. Prices are quite affordable.

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Where to eat

If you suddenly forget to stock up on sandwiches, you can have a snack at the Montrepo Cafe. Under it is adapted former cellar, dug in the early XIX century, so it is cool even in the summer. Visitors of the cafe are welcomed by rather cozy interior. Fast food is served in plastic dishes. The choice of dishes and drinks is typical for such establishments, whose task is not to create the atmosphere of a romantic evening, and the only goal is to satisfy the feeling of hunger. Many cafe visitors prefer to take food out and go to eat to the shore of the bay, where you can at the same time enjoy the scenery.

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How to get there

The natural attraction is located at the address: Leningrad region, Vyborg, museum-reserve “Monrepo Park”.

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You can get to the park by private vehicle, making a journey of 140 kilometers along the highway “Scandinavia” (A-181) from St. Petersburg to Vyborg. Tourists can get to Monrepo by bus No. 850, coming from the metro station “Parnas”, or No. 810, which starts from the metro station “Devyatkino” to the bus station in Vyborg. Then by bus No. 1/6 to the central district hospital, from which you will have to walk about 700 meters along Parkova Street to the Main Gate of the park.

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By train “St. Petersburg – Helsinki” or by electric trains you can get to Vyborg railway station, located next to the bus station. If you want to walk from the stations to the park, you will have to walk about 3.5 kilometers past the Vyborg Fortress on the bridge over the strait.

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