The city located near the Russian-Finnish border
About my small trip to Vyborg.
Vyborg (on Russian: Выборг, on Finnish: Viipuri) is a town and the administrative center of Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of the Vyborg Bay, 130 kilometers to the northwest of St. Petersburg and 38 kilometers south of Russia’s border with Finland. The population is relatively small — 80,000 people.
The town lies in the boundary zone between the East Slavic/Russian and Finnish worlds and has changed hands several times in history, most recently in 1944 when it was taken by the Soviet Union from Finland during World War II.
We were not lucky with the weather. We understood this when we arrived there. Although the weather forecast showed excellent and warm weather. So photos from the trip a little bit gray.
In Vyborg we went by train. Almost missed it. I must admit that it was my second trip by train. And I immediately noticed a special atmosphere that exists in the train. Each trip — it is a little story.
We arrived late at the final station, approximately 2 hours after departure. The view outside the window almost didn’t change during the whole trip: forests, houses, paths, pillars. Sometimes we saw people. I don’t know where they were going. (Thoughts from a train’s window. I think you know what I mean.)
We didn’t plan a route in advance, so immediately after arriving, we just went for a walk around the city.
Vyborg’s most prominent landmark is the Vyborg Castle.
The Vyborg Castle was founded during the so-called “Third Swedish Crusade” in 1293 by marshal Torkel Knutsson. The castle was fought over for decades between Sweden and the Novgorod Republic. By the Treaty of Nöteborg in 1323, Vyborg was finally recognized as a part of Sweden. The town’s trade privileges were chartered by the Pan-Scandinavian King Eric of Pomerania in 1403. It withstood a prolonged siege by Daniil Shchenya during the Russo–Swedish War of 1496–1497.
The Castle is well preserved. But since its foundation has been more than seven centuries. Incredibly.
There are also Russian fortifications, completed by 1740, as well as the monuments to Peter the Great (1910) and Torkel Knutsson. Tourists can also visit the house where the founder of the Soviet state Vladimir Lenin prepared the Bolshevik revolution during his stay in Vyborg from September 24 to October 7, 1917.
Next we went into the depths of the city. Some Vyborg’s streets reminded me typical streets of many cities in Europe.
But there are typical Russian streets.
On the way we saw the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral, which was founded in 1787 on the orders of Catherine II the Great.
The last point was a large park, which is located in the heart of the city. There were few people. We felt a loud silence. It was a little scary.
The whole city can be easily reached on foot in a few hours. Many tourists who come to St. Petersburg, very much want to visit Vyborg. Round-trip ticket on the train and the bus costs the same — about $18 per person. In addition, you’ll spend quite a bit of money on tours and food.
I was inspired on a trip by impressive movie “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” and my friend from China Ishmael Chao. I know it is a very small trip. But it was a very important for me. Leave the boring town. See something new. I think you had or have a similar desire. I promise that I will explore a lot our beautiful world. And I recommend it to you if you didn’t do it yet. As they say in the movie:
“To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, to draw closer, to find each other and to feel. That is the purpose of life.”
Unfortunately, we were not able to see all the sights, because it became very cold. In addition, it began to rain. So after 3 hour walk we went home.
Let me know what you think about my trip. Send me an email on f.sadykov@yahoo.com.
Thanks for reading!
