Museums of St. Petersburg are famous all over the world. Every year, thousands of tourists come to the Northern capital to get acquainted with its sights and visit museums, of which there are more than 200 in the city.
One of the attractions of St. Petersburg is the Water Museum. He is relatively young, he received his first excursionists in 2003, however, his expositions are very popular among both St. Petersburg and city guests.
Water carriers of St. Petersburg
According to the plan of Peter the Great, St. Petersburg was built on the water, so the Neva and other rivers served as the first urban water supply system. Water was taken from the Neva for drinking, and Fontanka and other small rivers supplied the population with water used for household needs.
The first primitive water supply system appeared in the capital in the XVIII century. It was wooden and supplied water only to the Summer Garden and a couple of palaces. The rest of the city’s population either went to the river to get water, or bought it from water carriers delivering water from 37 water pumps operating in different districts of St. Petersburg at the beginning of the 19th century.
Barrels of water carriers differed in color: in white they sold pure Neva water, in yellow - the worst quality from Fontanka, in green - from canals, where the population dumped waste. In the end, authorities banned the intake of unusable water from canals. Is there a attraction dedicated to the representatives of this profession in St. Petersburg? You need to visit the Water Museum at least to see a monument to the St. Petersburg water carrier.
History of the water supply system of St. Petersburg
The first water pipe with a steam pump in the capital of the empire was laid in 1846. However, without meeting expectations, the loss-making enterprise soon closed. 12 years later, on Shpalernaya Street, the Joint-Stock Company of St. Petersburg Water Pipelines built a pumping station and a water tower.
Near the Main Tower there was a reservoir, from where water pumped from the Neva by pumps was delivered to houses located in the city center. The capital's water supply system started operating at full capacity in 1866. In subsequent years, other joint-stock companies began to supply water to Vasilievsky Island, the Vyborg Side and other areas of the capital.
At the end of the 19th century, city authorities bought water pipes belonging to joint-stock companies. In Soviet times, the Leningrad Vodokanal significantly expanded the city's water supply and sewer system. And on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the founding of St. Petersburg, Shpalernaya Street in the Water Tower opened the Water Museum (St. Petersburg), dedicated not only to the history of St. Petersburg water supply, but also to the world of water in general.
Water tower
Interestingly, the idea of ​​creating a museum of the history of urban water supply was born long before the authorities in St. Petersburg started implementing it in 1999. In the summer of 1901, it was decided to arrange a small exposition in the Water Tower, which by that time was no longer used for its intended purpose.
The current Water Museum (St. Petersburg) is located in this building, built in 1861. During the reconstruction, its historical interiors were preserved, only the second elevator and fire escape were carried to the glass vertical attached to the side - a symbol directed upward of the water.
The expositions are located on the third, fourth and sixth floors of the Water Tower, and a fountain is installed in the hall, in which water is practically not consumed: flowing down the strings, then it rises up to beat the fountain again.
Underground tank
In the 80s of the XIX century. on the water pipelines of St. Petersburg began to install cleaning systems. To store filtered water, a storage tank was built near the Water Tower. Its enormous size is evidenced by the fact that the workers serving the filtration station had to sail around the tank in boats.
Today, the Universe of Water Museum (St. Petersburg) is located here, opened in 2008 to the 150th anniversary of the St. Petersburg Vodokanal. The first thing that impresses visitors is the labyrinth of columns supporting a low ceiling vault. This architectural feature of the room is explained by the fact that engineers were required to design a completely airtight roof for a flat structure of a huge area.
What to see in the museum
The expositions located on the third and fourth floors of the Water Tower familiarize visitors not only with the history of the Vodokanal of the Northern capital, but also with the development of sewage and water supply from different peoples in different eras. Here are collected documents, ceramic washstands, photographs, copper washbasins, wooden pipes, wells, etc.
The sixth floor is dedicated to the heroic work of the employees of the Leningrad Vodokanal during the difficult blockade years. In addition, there is an exposition telling about how drinking water is prepared and delivered to the houses of Petersburgers today, as well as how the disposal of wastewater in a big city is ensured.
In the Underground reservoir, a multimedia exposition The Universe of Water acquaints tourists with modern scientific ideas about water, its cycle in nature, chemical composition, world reserves of salt and fresh water in different parts of the world. Of course, this is not all that the Water Museum (St. Petersburg) offers its guests. The organization’s working hours are quite convenient: every day, except Mondays and Tuesdays, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Interactive programs for children
The Water Museum pays great attention to the environmental education of children and youth. For this purpose, the Children's Ecological Center has been specially created, which constantly holds contests, thematic interactive family classes and classes for children of different ages.
For example, children from 5 to 10 years old together with their parents can take part in the program “Fun Droplet Travel”. A laboratory lesson on determining the quality of water, as well as a lesson “Baltic Secrets”, devoted to the ecological balance and biodiversity of Baltic waters, was prepared for high school students.
Special programs are being prepared for memorable days. For example, in November, children and parents could take a tour of the sewer tunnel, meet on the way with water and guess historical plumbing from photographs. This program was dedicated to the World Toilet Day, and was prepared by the Water Museum (St. Petersburg), whose address is: st. Shpalernaya, house 56, near the metro Chernyshevskaya.
Interesting facts about the Water Museum
The water tower, which houses historical exhibits, is built on oak stilts. Unlike iron, oak wood in water does not collapse, but only becomes stronger. Therefore, there is no reason to fear for the stability of the Main Tower, still firmly standing on stained oak stilts.
What other features does this landmark of St. Petersburg have? The Water Museum has an interactive layout of a person who clearly demonstrates how much water is contained in each of our organs. The smallest amount of it in tooth enamel is 8%, and most of it is in eyes, which are 98% water.
The granite columns of the Underground Reservoir, designated today for the exposition “The Universe of Water”, were brought from Finland and installed on the foundation from buta. Thus, by making granite rather than brick columns, engineers saved the space of the underground room as much as possible.
Water Museum: reviews (St. Petersburg)
The museum does not leave anyone indifferent, evidence of this is reviews on the Internet. Visitors are impressed not only by rare exhibits, comprehensively thought-out expositions where simple things are presented in an original form, but also fascinating, lively stories of guides working from the heart.
Many of those who went on excursions do not hide that they are going to return again, even if for this they have to come to St. Petersburg from another city. Particularly distinguished are the reviews of parents who note that even preschoolers well remember the information they heard during children's cognitive programs.
In a word, if you are planning a trip to the Northern capital, be sure to visit the Water Museum in St. Petersburg.