The village of Repino has a long history. In the Middle Ages, the village of Kuokkala was located on this site. It was mentioned back in 1323 in the Orekhovets Peace Treaty between Novgorod and Sweden, according to which the Novgorodians received the right to fish in local places rich in fish.
It is no coincidence that the name Kuokkala itself is believed to be translated from Finnish as fish hook. Russians and Finns have lived here for centuries in good neighborhood. During the era of Peter the Great, an arms factory was built here.
After the completion of the construction of the Finnish Railway, local lands began to be bought up for dachas, many of which belonged to famous Russian cultural figures: Repin, Chukovsky, Andreev and others. The village survived three wars. In 1948 it was renamed Repino after the Russian artist Ilya Repin.
“Penates” (I. Repin Estate Museum)
Address: Primorskoye Highway, 411 Phone: Website: museum.ru/M267, nimrah.ru/musrepin Opening hours: summer: 10.30-18.00, winter: 10.30-16.00, closed: Monday, Tuesday Cost: 200 rubles
Repin himself created drawings, diagrams and blueprints for the construction of the dacha. It was important for him to ensure maximum illumination of the workshop premises, so the windows were made from floor to ceiling. Repin moved here permanently with his entire family in 1903. Here he died in 1930. Stasov, Mayakovsky, Kuprin, Mendeleev, Chaliapin, Yesenin, Likhachev visited the house.
In 1941, all original items from the museum were evacuated, and after the war the house and garden were restored. Now paintings and household items of that time that belonged to Repin’s relatives and himself are exhibited here.
In the park on the hill, according to the artist’s will, his grave is located. Two of Repin’s workshops on the second floor of the house, the artist’s office, a living room and a veranda on the first floor are available for inspection.
In the park you can see an artesian well, gazebos and ponds.
The museum has a store, a lecture hall, a cinema, and various art exhibitions are constantly held.
Among the most important sights of the village it is necessary to highlight the estate of Ilya Repin
It is located in a secluded picturesque place, on the site there is a beautiful house with carved decorations, with balconies, verandas, a very cozy park area with beautiful alleys, bridges, ponds, and there are several gazebos. A coniferous forest rises around the estate, although geographically it is located only a couple of kilometers from the city center.
Everything in the estate breathes the artist’s creativity, his personal belongings, an office with a library and a desk; a living room with a piano (Chaliapin sang here, and Glazunov and Astafiev read their works); a dining room with the famous round table “with a secret”, the middle of which spun non-stop, giving guests the opportunity to try any dish. And what brilliant guests gathered at this table! The estate was a favorite place of Maxim Gorky, Ivan Bunin, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Fyodor Chaliapin, Sergei Yesenin, Alexander Kuprin, Korney Chukovsky and many other famous people of that time.
The workshop is of particular interest - after all, this is where the artist spent most of his life.
On the walls in the rooms are presented not only paintings by the great master, but also paintings by other famous Russian artists: Brodsky, Malyavin, Kustodiev, Kulikov. One gets the feeling of the presence of Ilya Repin himself. At one time, the estate was visited by many great figures of Russian culture. Nowadays, the estate museum is a branch of the Scientific Research Museum of the Russian Academy of Arts.
A monument to the artist was erected in Repinsky Park in 1957. It is one of the attractions of the village. This is a 1.2 meter high bronze bust mounted on blocks of light gray granite. The author of this monument is the architect Manizer M., and his assistant Klein B. When in Repino, this place is a must-visit.
You can take a walk in the Central Park (this is also a landmark of the village), which is located near the Repino sanatorium. It was organized in a vacant lot; the park area is very large. There is a Lovers' Pond and many benches where you can relax and admire nature. The central alley runs through the entire park, along which Repino’s guests love to walk, from ordinary tourists to famous creative people: composers, poets, writers.
Location of K. Chukovsky’s dacha “Chukokkala”
Address: Kronstadskaya, 10
In 1912, Korney Chukovsky purchased a dacha in the style of an English country cottage in a village on the shores of the Gulf of Finland. Many poets and writers visited Chukovsky here. After the revolution, the house belonged to the Department of Dacha Services of the Leningrad Executive Committee. In 1986 it completely burned down. Currently, the place where the dacha was is empty; employees of the Penates Museum are trying to restore it.
Pages of history
The village did not always bear the name “Repino”, but received it relatively recently - already in the twentieth century. Before this, the village bore the unpronounceable Finnish name “Kuokkala”; historians write that a settlement on this site has been known since the fourteenth century. But at the end of the nineteenth century, a truly fateful turn in history took place - the Finnish direction of the railway and a station near the village opened. Then the village attracted the attention of summer residents, but not ordinary, but very wealthy St. Petersburgers, who built the village with exquisite wooden villas in the spirit of northern modernism - with sophisticated openwork carvings and decorative turrets. Here was also the dacha of the great Russian artist Ilya Repin - “Penates”, where he lived for almost thirty years of his life. Thanks to him, the new name of Kuokkala was born. Of course, the painter’s estate is the main attraction of the resort, but it is far from the only one.
Repino Central Park
Address: st. Nagornaya
The park was built on the site of Rodinger's dacha, on the territory of which there was a church and a garden.
Now there is a small canal in the park that flows into the Lovers' Pond.
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How to get there by train/bus from St. Petersburg
The easiest way to get to Repino is by train from Finlyandsky Station. The nearest metro station is Ploshchad Lenina. If Udelnaya is closer, then trains run from there. The interval of trains is from 15 to 45 minutes. The cost is from 68 to 86 rubles, the journey takes 32-44 minutes. You can get to Repino by bus from the metro:
- “Lenin Square” (minibus No. 400);
- “Running” (No. 600);
- "Old Village" (No. 305);
- “Prospekt Prosvesheniya” (No. 680).
Travel to the Repino stop will cost from 60 to 90 rubles.
Infrastructure
Entrance to the Chudny public beach in Repino is free, its territory is open to entry 24 hours a day. This beach was once the property of a sanatorium of the same name “Repino”, but later, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it fell into disrepair.
The water on Chudny Beach can be quite dirty and cold, like the entire Gulf of Finland, but the beach itself is considered relatively clean and there are practically no algae here. The beach is covered with soft and pleasant sand. The entrance to the water is very flat, the bottom is sandy, and the shallow depth here remains right up to the buoys, so Chudny Beach is perfect for families with small children. The length of Chudny beach is about half a kilometer. In the immediate vicinity of the beach there is a wide and dense forest strip with its own unique microclimate, separating the beach from the noisy Primorsky Highway.
On the territory of the Chudny beach in Repino there is a beach volleyball court. There is no equipment available, so if necessary you will have to bring it with you. Also on the beach there are free changing cabins for vacationers, public toilets, benches, there are sun umbrellas and sun loungers that can be rented here, and children's playgrounds. There is also a large convenient parking lot for cars near the Chudny beach.
© R&R
What to see in Repino?
"Penates"
Of course, a traveler who wants to enjoy the historical landscapes of the area should start his route from the above-mentioned dacha. The dacha, by the way, does not have a simple name: it comes from the expression “return to one’s native penates,” that is, one’s own home, and all because Penates were the name of the ancient Roman goddesses responsible for comfort and home. The artist’s estate is truly distinguished by a feeling of cozy family warmth. Repin moved here at the age of fifty-six, already an accomplished author at the peak of his fame. The painter’s guests were also appropriate - such famous personalities as Sergei Yesenin, Maxim Gorky and Fyodor Chaliapin, as well as numerous members of Ilya Efimovich’s workshop, stayed and rested here. Partly thanks to him, the place gained popularity precisely as bohemian and artistic.
Unfortunately, the current building is not original, but completely restored, since the home of the painting genius was destroyed during the Great Patriotic War. Now you can walk around the area surrounding the house and explore its interiors - believe me, you will like them. The estate, in addition to the residential building itself, also includes other decorative wooden buildings - for example, the gazebo “Temple of Osiris and Isis”, in the decor of which Egyptian motifs are clearly readable - here the family and friends of Ilya Efimovich gathered in the warm season, held lectures and concerts . Scheherazade Tower is an observation deck overlooking the Repin expanses.
Vyrubova's dacha
A stunning monument of wooden Art Nouveau, a mansion that belonged to a close friend of the Empress, her court maid of honor Anna Vyrubova, whose name is familiar to many from the series “Rasputin”. Unfortunately, the touching small building with an elegant turret crowning its roof has also not survived to this day, as it was badly damaged during the Second World War. It was restored by turning to archival documents and carefully studying them by private investors already in our century. On the ground floor of the building there is a restaurant where you can enjoy a cup of coffee or a cooling lemonade in hot weather overlooking the bay. And the cuisine here is very decent, because this is one of the establishments of the popular GINZA Project. Therefore, the menu can be called successful - Russian cuisine, improved by experienced chefs, refers us to the prose of Chekhov and Bunin, which has become a symbol of Russian culture in many countries around the world.
Embankment and “Wonderful” beach
This is one of the most pleasant places to enjoy the sea views of the bay. The beach used to be a sanatorium, but after the collapse of the USSR it fell into complete disrepair. But today landscaping is gradually beginning here, in addition, it is surrounded by evergreen pine trees. Entrance to it is free, so in summer you can choose it as a location for sunbathing and even swimming. There is also a Central Park in Repino, a walk in the silence of which after the noisy city can bring real bliss. And for couples in love, a bridge was installed in the park area, which was called “Bridge of Lovers.” Also on the way, vacationers may encounter the boarding house “House of Composers’ Creativity,” which has been open and operating since the forties of the last century and has preserved the charm of those times. You can stay overnight in one of the cottages by renting it to fully experience Repin’s spirit.
What to do in Repino?
In addition to cultural attractions, you will find a lot of entertainment here. For example, the above-mentioned beach has a volleyball court. There is also a rope park called “Tritutri” with four trails of varying difficulty. For all extreme sports enthusiasts, there is the opportunity to make a twenty-meter rope jump. So Repino can be an excellent location for an extreme date.
