Sestroretsk (; ; ) is a municipal town in Kurortny District of the

federal city The term federal city is a title for certain cities in Germany, Switzerland, Russia, and several national capitals. Germany In Germany, the former West German capital Bonn has been designated with the title of federal city (''Bundesstadt''), ma ...

of St. Petersburg,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, located on the shores of the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and Estonia to the south, to Saint Petersburg—the second largest city of Russia—to the east, where the river Neva drains into it. ...

, the Sestra River and the Sestroretskiy Lake northwest of St. Petersburg. Population: 30,500 (1975).

Munitions factory

Sestroretsk was founded by

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

in 1714 due to the construction of a

munitions Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of ...

factory (today's ''Sestroretsk Toolmaking Factory'').

Healthcare

The town is known as a balneologic and climatic resort. A large

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

and rehabilitation center is situated within the boundaries of the town. It is the City hospital No. 40 of Saint Petersburg.

Political history

In 1812, the town was incorporated into the

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

, along with Old Finland. In 1864, the town was transferred to Russia in exchange for a promise of compensation, supposedly in the form of access to the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceanic divisions. It spans an area of approximately and is the coldest of the world's oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, ...

at Petsamo. The representative body of local self-government - the municipal council - has been operating since 28 September 1997. In the elections on 14 September 2014, the 5th convocation was elected (10 deputies: 9 from

United Russia The All-Russian Political Party United Russia (, ) is the Ruling party, ruling List of political parties in Russia, political party of Russia. As the largest party in the Russian Federation, it holds 325 (or 72.22%) of the 450 seats in the St ...

; 1 self-nominated).

Transportation

Railway stations

* Sestroretsk railway station * Sestroretsk railway station (1871–1924) *

Kurort Kurort () is a railway station in Sestroretsk, Russia. This station is intensively used by people from St. Petersburg to access the beaches at the Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It ...

railway station for the sanatorium

Electric railway

In 1875, Fyodor Pirotsky experimented with electrically powered railway cars on the Miller's line railway. The electricity was transferred over a distance of approximately one kilometer. Although the experiment did not last, this was the first use of electricity to power any railway in the world. Another local railway line of historical interest is the Sestroretsk spur line.

Vodoslivnyy canal

The Vodoslivnyy canal runs across the town from east to west and connects the Sestroretskiy Lake with the

(

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

Sister cities

The following cities are twinned with Sestroretsk: *

Äänekoski Äänekoski () is a town in Finland, located in the Central Finland regions of Finland, region, about north of Jyväskylä, the region's capital city. Äänekoski has a population of , as of , and covers an area of of which , or 22%, is water. ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Gallery

References

External links

Official website of Sestroretsk
{{Authority control Cities and towns under jurisdiction of Saint Petersburg Karelian Isthmus Kurortny District 1714 establishments in Russia Sankt-Peterburgsky Uyezd