Wednesday Walk along the shore of the Middle Nevka River

The Neva River Delta is several dozens of rivers, rivulets, branches, canals and channels through which the water of the Neva River reaches the Gulf of Finland. The largest rivers in the delta inherit the name of the main river. The main river is called the Neva River, it branches into the Big Neva, the Small Neva, the Big Nevka and so on. I went for a walk along the bank of one of these rivers. It is called Middle Nevka and is located, as it is easy to guess, between the Big Nevka and the Small Nevka.

This is one of the few rivers in my city whose banks retain their natural shape. The bank is reinforced with wooden walls in some places, but this is where the visible changes end. Most of the riverbeds in St Petersburg are reinforced with granite or concrete. Granite embankments are very beautiful, but sometimes you want to walk along the ordinary river bank, along the path that winds along the water.

My route was along the southern bank of the Middle Nevka. On the opposite bank there is Yelagin Park, and from my bank there was a beautiful view of Yelagin Palace. Yelagin Palace is a summer imperial palace, the construction of the palace and palace pavilions was carried out by great architects of XVIII - XIX centuries: Giacomo Quarenghi, Carl Rossi and others. The best view of the eastern facade of the palace can be seen from the Middle Nevka.

You can cross to Yelagin Island by the nearby bridge, but this time I chose a different route to continue my walk. My goal was to visit a small island that has no other name than "Nameless Island". So I turned not towards the bridge, but in the opposite direction. In this place a small channel - the Krestovka River - branches from the Middle Nevka River to the Small Nevka River.

The Kamennoostrovsky Theatre is located on the square near the confluence of the two rivers. It is a monument of wooden architecture of the Classicism era. Now the building belongs to the Big Drama Theatre and is used as a second venue for performances. In the XIX century it was a summer theatre, and visiting this theatre was one of the favourite entertainments of the inhabitants of the palace on the opposite bank.

Nearby is the mansion of Countess Kleinmichel, a monument of Art Nouveau architecture. The salon at the Kleinmichel dacha was frequented by the imperial family and the highest aristocracy. Many sought an invitation to this house, and the masquerade balls that were organised at the dacha were widely discussed. I cannot see the dacha, it is hidden behind a high fence and greenery, but I can admire the fence: skittish salamanders scurry among the forged plant ornaments.

A narrow footbridge leads to the Nameless island. This bridge also doesn't have a specific name other than "Nameless". But nevertheless, I really like this place. The island has an elongated shape, it is less than 15 metres wide at its widest part and 200 metres long. On the opposite shore there is a training rowing base. Until recently there was a sculpture of a girl with an oar in her hands on the cape, but now it has been moved to another point.

This is my entry for the #WednesdayWalk challenge by @tattoodjay.