Description of the attraction
The Sestroretsky Swamp Wildlife Refuge is a specially protected natural area located in the Kurortny District of St. Petersburg, directly adjacent to the Sestroretsky Razliv reservoir. Its area is about 10 sq. Km. The Black and Sestra rivers flow through the territory of the swamp before their confluence with the Sestroretsky Razliv reservoir. The reserve is located in three settlements: Sestroretsk, Beloostrov and Pesochny.
Flooded dunes, covered with spruce and pine forests with the inclusion of birch, rise above the swamp. These dunes divide the swamp into 2 parts: the eastern, where the swamps are centuries old and older than the reservoir, and the western, where the swamp was formed on the shallow waters flooded by the reservoir.
In 1703, the district of the future St. Petersburg was a continuous swamp. Only by the end of the nineteenth century were the swamps pushed to the city outskirts. By the end of the twentieth century, only the marshy lands in the Yuntolovsky zakaznik area of Lakhta remained within the city limits, which were gradually absorbed by urban development.
The Sestroretsk bog never dries up, because it is constantly fed by water from the reservoir, in which its level is maintained at elevations from 7, 8 to 8, 3 m of the Baltic system of heights.
During the Great Patriotic War, the swamp was part of the system of the Karelian fortified area. The fascist aviation made repeated attempts to destroy the dams that kept the water in the Sestroretsk Razliv at a high level, which interfered with offensive and sabotage operations, contributing to the defense of Leningrad. A bunker APK-1 "Elephant" was created on the shore, in which in 2009 a collective of internationalist soldiers formed the "Sestroretsk Border" museum.
The Sestroretsk bog is one of the rare natural objects, practically unaffected by human impact. The swamp was not drained, so those typical bog systems, very valuable, have survived here, giving an idea of the area on which the city of St. Petersburg was born. An important component is the existence of bird camps in the lower reaches of the Chernaya and Sestra rivers, in the north of the Sestroretsky Razliv.
In mid-February 2011, a decision was made, which approved the formation of the largest nature reserve of regional importance in St. Petersburg. This was done in accordance with the general project to improve the ecological situation, maintain natural balance and revive the landscape and biological diversity on the territory of Sestroretsk.
In the reserve, any activity that causes harm to natural objects and complexes is prohibited: construction of buildings, structures and structures, pollution of soil, soil, ground and surface waters, various earthworks, disturbance of soil cover, felling of trees and shrubs, violation of vegetation cover, pollution of the territory, making fires, burning dry grass and leaves, driving and parking power-driven vehicles and motorized boats, etc.
The reserve is a unique untouched corner of the marshland, where many birds stop on the White Sea-Baltic migration route. Among the herbaceous representatives of the SPNA "Sestroretskoe bog", three-leafed watch, cranberry, cranberry, sedge, cotton grass, sphagnum moss and others should be distinguished.
