Lake Silver (Gatchina). The Emerald Miracle

There is a unique man-made reservoir in the Gatchina Park (the Gatchina Museum-Reserve). It is fed by powerful, inexhaustible underground keys. A cold, pure water emits an emerald color, a miracle occurs: a component of the hydrosphere located in the Leningrad region acquires a species characteristic of aquatic pearls of mountainous regions. This lake Silver. Probably, the reader has already understood that it is about him.

Water - pure emerald

Crystal clear emerald tone gives the reservoir a clay of greenish shade, covering the bottom. Transparent water, as if filled with magical light, beautifully silvery - a kind of visiting card of an unusual object, popular among tourists. It is due to the effect of the sparkling glow that it is called shortly and nobly - the Silver Lake. By the way, the "neighbor" (White Lake) can also boast of an inexpressible purity of water. But the main "villager" inhabitants of the city of Gatchina still Lake. Silver.

The cup of the "splashing emerald" is not round, but in the form of a growing moon (it has the shape of a crescent moon). The depth of the lake is fourteen, the length is two hundred and fifty, the width is up to 60 meters. The Polish-Russian scientist, inventor Stepan Karlovich Dzhevetsky, demonstrated here an underwater mine apparatus (a prototype of a submarine). The course of the tests was followed by His Highness the Emperor Alexander III (love for these places turned into his nickname "Gatchina recluse").

Underground passage

Particularly beautiful Lake Silver looks from the palace towers. Panoramic view emphasizes its organic nature, gifted by nature itself, supplemented by "faceted" creations of human hands. It is said that under Count Orlov (one of the owners) the palace looked like a medieval English castle. There was an underground passage leading to the Silver Lake. On the shore you can see a cave, the gaping "eye" of which is covered with branches of bushes. This is the way out of the gloomy cave called Echo. There is an opinion that the name appeared due to unusual acoustic features of the structure.

Voices and footsteps walking on stone slabs were repeated many times, broke into echoes. Reflected sound created the illusion of the invisible presence of many people, which drove the horror of a small group or even single people in a dark enclosed space. After such a test, fear Silver Lake seemed to be a bright paradise on Earth.

Rose is not afraid of frost

But do not erect echobyazn to unprecedented heights. There is information that in the 18th century, when there was no electronic game, one of the entertainments was from the heart to make a noise in the grotto. There were even special chants for visitors (probably that they did not "come off" who in the woods, who the firewood).

Preserved information that the children of Pavel Petrovich Romanov (Emperor Paul I) adored the Gatchina echo. Coming to the session, they that there was urine shouted something like: "Which flower is not afraid of frost? - Rose! "You can imagine with what delight the young screamers listened in response:" Rose, pause, for! "Later, probably, recalled the entertainment, sitting at the Silver Lake.

Modern tourists especially love the chant: "Who is our rule? - Paul! "In general, go to the Silver Lake (Gatchina), do not forget to look into the Echo. Here are the excerpts for you (give!): "What looks at your window? - The sun!"; "Our frame is not washed! - Mama!"; "Who in the morning gnaws a reed? - Mouse! ». "Who tore my flowers?" - You!". Next themselves.

Lake hide and seek

In the 1770s a stone pier appeared on Silver Lake. A hidden staircase, an underground grotto and a dock are part of a mysterious, mysterious complex. Silver Lake (Gatchina) likes to play hide and seek with people: if you look at it from the Long Island, it is either perfectly visible or disappears. This is an illusion that you really want to consider magic.

In September 1797, Catherine II received the guest of honor, Polish King Stanislaw August Poniatowski. Walking in the park without a year 210 years ago, a famous Pole was struck by the beauty of the emerald pearl. In his travel diary, he noted that he saw the bottom at a depth of three sazhens (almost 5.5 m).

If you come down from heaven to earth, it can be noted that at present the Gatchins can not claim that the water from the Silver Lake is the same crystal as in the old days. Although the daily water intake is large and amounts to 12 thousand cubic meters, this does not change the case: almost all the natural objects of the complex (including the unique Silver Lake) have been polluted.