New Holland Arch (1765)

Cold weather and thick ice let us approach this artifical island in the heart of Saint-Petersburg. New Holland Island was created in 1720, when the newly-built Kryukov Canal and Admiralty Canal connected the Moika River with the Neva. The triangular island took its name after a number of canals and shipbuilding facilities that rendered its appearance similar to Amsterdam.

During the following centuries, the island belonged to the Russian Admiralty, which would adapt the plot for its various needs. Originally, there was a minor shipyard for rowing boats. In 1732, the Admiralty engaged architect Ivan Korobov to construct a network of basins and wooden warehouses along the island's perimeter in order to store lumber for shipbuilding.

In 1765, Savva Chevakinsky (http://www.encspb.ru/en/article.php?kod=2804008448 ) was ordered to rebuild the warehouses in brick but without customary stucco decoration. By 1788, when the project was halted, Jean-Baptiste Vallin de la Mothe (http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste_Vallin_de_la_Mothe ) had designed and supervised the construction of a highly pitched Neoclassical arch over the canal. This magnificent red-brick gateway to the island, known as the New Holland Arch, is flanked by massive Tuscan columns of red granite.

After the Russian Revolution, the 18th-century buildings of New Holland Island fell into neglect, serving time as military barracks, warehouses and (most recently) offices for various commercial enterprises.

Please read full story athttp://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Holland_Island .