What does Stav Hall offer to St. Olaf students. How does the dining experience at St. Olaf cater to diverse dietary needs. Why is Stav Hall considered a hub for culinary innovation and community gathering.
The Culinary Landscape of Stav Hall
Stav Hall, the primary dining facility at St. Olaf College, stands as a testament to the institution’s commitment to providing diverse, nutritious, and innovative dining options for its students. This bustling hub of culinary activity serves as more than just a place to eat; it’s a community gathering spot where students can explore new flavors, embrace healthy eating habits, and connect with their peers.
The dining hall offers an array of options to cater to various dietary preferences and restrictions. From vegetarian and vegan dishes to gluten-free alternatives, Stav Hall ensures that every student can find something to satisfy their palate and nutritional needs.
Dietary Accommodations at Stav Hall
- Vegetarian: Meals containing no meat, fish, poultry, shellfish, or products derived from these sources, but may include dairy or eggs
- Vegan: Dishes that contain absolutely no animal or dairy products
- Made without Gluten-Containing Ingredients: Options that do not contain sources of gluten, although prepared in an open kitchen where gluten is present
- Farm to Fork: Seasonal, minimally processed ingredients sourced from local farms, ranches, or fishing operations
Innovative Menu Offerings and Seasonal Specialties
Stav Hall prides itself on its innovative menu, which regularly features creative dishes and seasonal specialties. These offerings not only provide variety but also educate students about different cuisines and cooking techniques.
Summer Refreshments: Watermelon Sangrita Mocktail
During the warmer months, Stav Hall introduces refreshing beverages like the Watermelon Sangrita Mocktail. This unique concoction combines watermelon and tomato juice, accented with lime and cayenne, creating a slightly spicy and cool summertime drink. It’s an excellent example of how the dining hall incorporates seasonal ingredients to create exciting, alcohol-free options for students.
Plant-Based Innovations: Cajun Tofu Burgers
In response to the growing demand for plant-based options, Stav Hall offers innovative dishes like Cajun Tofu Burgers. These spicy, flavorful burgers are designed to appeal to both vegetarians and meat-eaters alike, showcasing the kitchen’s commitment to inclusive and creative menu planning.
Cultural Awareness and Celebration Through Food
Stav Hall goes beyond merely feeding students; it uses food as a medium to raise awareness about important cultural and social issues. This approach helps foster a more inclusive and informed campus community.
Commemorating Juneteenth
Recognizing the significance of Juneteenth, Stav Hall creates space in its cafés for community partners to observe this important holiday. This initiative acknowledges the ongoing struggle against institutional racism and discrimination faced by Black Americans, using the dining experience as a platform for education and reflection.
Exploring Queer Food Culture
Stav Hall also engages in discussions about queer food culture, moving beyond simplistic rainbow-colored representations. The dining hall explores the deeper meaning of queer food, emphasizing the importance of providing meaningful support to LGBTQ+ communities rather than relying on superficial gestures.
Culinary Education and Skill Development
Stav Hall serves as an educational platform, introducing students to new culinary concepts and techniques that they can apply in their own cooking adventures.
Vegetable Butchery: A New Twist on Plant-Based Cooking
One innovative concept introduced at Stav Hall is vegetable butchery. This technique involves treating vegetables with the same respect and precision traditionally reserved for meat. Students can learn about creating dishes like beet “brats” and smoked carrot “lox,” expanding their culinary horizons and gaining new perspectives on plant-based cooking.
Seasonal Cooking: Corn Salsa
Stav Hall also encourages students to embrace seasonal cooking. For instance, during corn season, the dining hall might feature a vibrant corn salsa recipe. This not only introduces students to new ways of enjoying seasonal produce but also promotes the use of local, fresh ingredients.
Nutritional Transparency and Dietary Guidance
Stav Hall prioritizes nutritional transparency, providing detailed calorie information for each dish. This practice helps students make informed choices about their meals and supports those who are monitoring their calorie intake for various health reasons.
Calorie Breakdown of Popular Items
- Main dishes: Ranging from 150-450 calories
- Side dishes: Typically between 50-200 calories
- Desserts: Generally 100-300 calories
- Beverages: From 0 calories (water) to around 150 calories for sweetened drinks
By providing this information, Stav Hall empowers students to make balanced meal choices that align with their nutritional goals and dietary requirements.
Sustainability Initiatives in Dining Services
Sustainability is a key focus at Stav Hall, reflecting St. Olaf College’s commitment to environmental responsibility. The dining hall implements various initiatives to reduce its ecological footprint and promote sustainable eating habits among students.
Farm to Fork Program
The Farm to Fork program at Stav Hall emphasizes the use of seasonal, minimally processed ingredients sourced from local farms, ranches, and fishing operations. This initiative not only supports local agriculture but also reduces the carbon footprint associated with long-distance food transportation.
Waste Reduction Efforts
Stav Hall actively works to minimize food waste through careful portion control, composting programs, and educating students about the importance of taking only what they can eat. The dining hall might also implement strategies such as trayless dining to discourage overloading and reduce water usage in dishwashing.
Community Building Through Shared Meals
Beyond its role in providing nourishment, Stav Hall serves as a crucial space for community building and social interaction on the St. Olaf campus. The shared dining experience fosters connections among students, faculty, and staff, contributing to a sense of belonging and community spirit.
Special Event Dinners
Stav Hall regularly hosts special event dinners that celebrate various cultures, holidays, or themes. These events not only provide culinary variety but also create opportunities for cultural exchange and learning. For example, during cultural heritage months, the dining hall might feature cuisines from different parts of the world, accompanied by educational materials about the featured cultures.
Collaborative Cooking Demonstrations
To further engage the community, Stav Hall could organize collaborative cooking demonstrations where local chefs, nutritionists, or even talented students and faculty members share their culinary expertise. These events would not only provide entertainment but also valuable cooking skills and nutritional knowledge.
In conclusion, Stav Hall at St. Olaf College is more than just a dining facility; it’s a multifaceted institution that nourishes both body and mind. Through its diverse menu offerings, commitment to sustainability, cultural awareness initiatives, and community-building efforts, Stav Hall plays a crucial role in enhancing the overall college experience for St. Olaf students. As culinary trends evolve and student needs change, Stav Hall continues to adapt and innovate, ensuring that it remains a beloved and integral part of campus life.
Stav Hall – St. Olaf
Watermelon Sangrita Mocktail
The combination of watermelon and tomato juice, accented with lime and cayenne, makes for a slightly spicy and very cool summertime drink.
Read More
Cajun Tofu Burgers
Spice up your plant powered barbecue with these Cajun tofu burgers that will impress even your meat lovin’ guests.
Read More
Commemorating Juneteenth
Black Americans are still the victims of institutional racism and often unchecked discrimination, and we want to create space in our cafés this Juneteenth for community partners to observe this holiday how they want to.
Read More
The Buzz: Vegetable Butchery
From beet “brats” to smoked carrot “lox,” picking up vegetable butchery can provide a new twist on getting your vegetables.
Read More
Corn Salsa
Spice up your local and seasonal sweet corn by trying out this vibrant fresh salsa.
Read More
Queer Food Isn’t About Rainbows
Although rainbow-colored merch, food, and ads aren’t necessarily bad things, there has been a trend of using rainbows to build credibility without providing meaningful support to LGBTQ+ communities. We explore this concept and what queer food really is.
Read More
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Vegetarian: Contains no meat, fish, poultry, shellfish or products derived from these sources but may contain dairy or eggs
Vegan: Contains absolutely no animal or dairy products.
Made without Gluten-Containing Ingredients: does not contain ingredients that are sources of gluten, but is prepared in an open kitchen where gluten is present.
Farm to Fork: Contains seasonal, minimally processed ingredients from a local farm, ranch, or fishing boat.
Seafood Watch: Contains seafood that meets the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch guidelines for commercial buyers.
Humane: Contains humanely raised meat, poultry, or eggs. Must be certified by a credible third-party animal welfare organization.
Organic: Contains at least 95 percent organically produced ingredients (by weight) from a USDA certified source
Contains specialty food items and/or fresh ingredients expertly prepared by women and/or minority-owned businesses.
Student Group Pack-Outs
Things to Remember
- Order must be placed 72 hours in advance
- Include dietary restrictions
- Unit number required
- Disposable-ware included
- Pick up at Buntrock Commons loading dock – call 3052 for assistance
- Food should not be left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours
- Always wash your hands before handling food
ORDER NOW
Bon Appétit at St. Olaf is fighting food waste and hunger by recovering surplus perishable food from our campus that would otherwise go to waste and donating it to people in need through the Area Learning Center.
Northfield Public School’s – Area Learning Center provides a positive, safe and structured learning environment with block scheduling.
They offer independent study for students who are unable to attend during normal school hours and can complete coursework with minimal teacher direction. The Teen Parenting Program provides support, information and skill-building opportunities to expectant teens and teenage parents. With dual enrollment, students can be enrolled in the ALC and another school at the same time.
Learn more about the Food Recovery Network and Bon Appétit’s food recovery efforts
Serving Students with Food Allergies and Celiac Disease
The dining services team is well-trained in food allergy awareness and offer a number of options for students with food allergies and celiac disease. This includes communication about and modification to existing menu items, special preparation of menu items, and access to special products as agreed upon with students.
Daily menus for each café can be accessed at stolaf.cafebonappetit.com. Menu items that are appropriate options for most students with celiac disease are labeled as “made without gluten-containing ingredients” and can be filtered to streamline searching using the dietary preferences filter.
Top-9 allergens are included in menu names and/or descriptions whenever possible. For more on eating with a food allergy in our café, visit this page and review our food allergy and celiac disease guide. Further questions about ingredients can be answered by our trained managers/chefs on-site.
For questions about these services or to request food allergy accommodations, students should contact:
Kent Buell, General Manager
[email protected]
Disability and Access (DAC)
[email protected]
Wellness
When it comes to wellness, Bon Appétit’s focus is on simple, delicious food — that happens to be good for you. To support long-term health, we are bringing more plants to menus every day in a craveable way, while emphasizing healthy cooking techniques. When healthy food tastes good, nourishing your body and mind becomes the easy choice.
Our wellness commitments
Food Allergies
We serve thousands of guests with food allergies and sensitivities safely in our cafés every day.
Our chefs, managers, and dietitians work closely with our food-allergic guests to create reasonable solutions to help them eat what they love. If you have questions about eating for your dietary needs in our cafés, reach out to us: we’ll gladly meet with you.
Food allergies & sensitivities
Sustainability
Wellness also includes the health of the animals, the workers, the community, and the Earth. They’re all connected. Bon Appétit has been committed to “food service for a sustainable future” for decades, and we’ve led the food service industry in tackling many important issues, such as cage-free eggs, antibiotics in animal production, and farmworker rights.
Our sustainability commitments
Meals When Sick
If you are not feeling well, please consider one of the following options:
- Grab a bag lunch, available in Stav between 7:30am – 1:00pm.
- Wear a mask and pick up your meal in Stav and take it to a more private area to eat.
Please return your dishes to the Cage or Stav Hall when you are done (you are welcome to take the dishes to your room and simply return them at the next meal period). - Send a friend to pick up a meal for you. The friend should eat their meal first, and then come back with your card to swipe and take your meal to-go.
Please return your dishes to the Cage or Stav Hall when you are done (you are welcome to take the dishes to your room and simply return them at the next meal period).For those with COVID or experiencing COVID symptoms, please follow the instructions of the St. Olaf COVID Case Management team. For questions, please email: [email protected]
Common Questions
- I’ve been trying to eat a healthier diet. Will I be able to find a healthy food choice in my café?
- Can you tell me how many calories are in the foods in my café?
- How will you handle my concerns about a food allergy?
See All FAQs
Additional dining hall needed as cafeteria crowds – The Olaf Messenger
By Alexa Johanningmeier
Opinions
October 11, 2018
Life at St.
Olaf moves at the speed of light – at times, it’s downright frenetic. Between full course loads, demanding co-curricular activities, the ceaseless hunt for a full eight hours’ sleep and making time to hang out with friends, there is rarely a stress-free day for us as college students. Why, then, must grabbing a bite on campus be so chaotic as well? Whether it’s making it to the cafeteria before a particular meal-time ends, maneuvering through the buffet-style lines when Stav Hall is stuffed with people or trying to find a seat during the peak of the dinner rush, having a meal in our dining hall might just give us all grey hair.
Our comrades over at Carleton – a school with approximately one thousand fewer students – have two cafeteria-style dining halls and two cafés from which to choose when tummies start rumbling. Why is it that the smaller of the two colleges in Northfield has twice the on-campus dining options?
If I had to put myself in the administration’s shoes, I’d guess their primary argument against building another dining hall on the Hill – besides finding the space for one and the fiscal resources to allow for one – would be that spreading students out across two primary dining facilities would take a wrecking ball to the thoughtfully constructed, close-knit atmosphere our single communal dining hall has facilitated.
If I’m being frank, I think the powers-that-be would resist the idea of another dining hall because they value the College’s image as having an intentionally, intensely residential campus more than they value the comfort of its students.
Carleton is significantly closer to downtown Northfield than St. Olaf, giving its students better access to grub within walking distance. Oles without cars face a long trek on foot or a ride on an inconsistent network of shuttles if they want to eat off campus. While this is nothing more than coincidence, it does, in my estimation, provide the College with another argument against giving Oles another cafeteria. When one’s Flex Dollars and Ole Dollars hit end-of-semester lows and transportation is limited, one is quite literally forced to face the caf no matter how overcrowded it may be.
Will there be a solution in the near future for students who, like me, are dissatisfied with the current state of cafeteria crowding? I’d venture to guess there will not be.
If St. Olaf’s Strategic Resource Allocation Project (SRAP) initiative and other cost-cutting ventures are of any indication, the College simply won’t be able to afford to break ground on a second dining hall at the drop of a hat. And, even if our finances did turn around overnight, there are probably much bigger fish to fry than adding another cafeteria – musicians and vocalists have been calling for an auditorium for at least a decade. Until a wealthy donor gives St. Olaf a few million dollars with a dining hall in mind, Stav Hall will remain the place we love to hate during the 6:30 p.m. dinner rush.
Alexa Johanningmeier ’21 ([email protected]) is from Saint Louis, Mo. Her major is undecided.
editorspick
| Category | Adult | Child | Free seat supplement |
|---|---|---|---|
| A two-room cabin with private facilities (shower, bathroom, air conditioning) is designed to accommodate from two to three people. Comfortable living room with a modern interior, upholstered furniture, coffee table, wardrobe, TV with DVD (satellite TV), refrigerator, radio, two viewing windows, electrical outlet for 220 V. In the bedroom: double bed, wardrobe, dressing table, two viewing windows. “>LUX | 169,000 | 169,000 | — |
| One-room cabin with private facilities (shower, bathroom, air conditioning), designed to accommodate from two to three people. Spacious cabin with a modern interior, upholstered furniture – a sofa, two armchairs, a double bed, a wardrobe, a TV with DVD (satellite TV), a refrigerator, a radio, three viewing windows, an electrical outlet for 220V “>Junior Suite A | 143600 | 143600 | – |
One-room cabin with private facilities (shower, bathroom, air conditioning), designed to accommodate from two to four people. Spacious cabin with a modern interior, two separate beds, wardrobe, coffee table, TV with DVD (satellite TV), refrigerator, radio, two viewing windows, 220V electrical outlet.With three and four places – the third and fourth places are located in the second tier. “> Junior suite B | 127 400 | 127 400 | — |
| Single cabin on the boat deck. In the cabin: one bed, wardrobe, radio, TV (satellite TV), shower, toilet, refrigerator, air conditioning, observation window, 220V electrical outlet. | – | ||
| Double single-story cabin located on the boat deck. In the cabin: two berths, wardrobe, radio, TV (satellite TV), shower, bathroom, refrigerator, air conditioning, viewing window, 220V electrical outlet.”> 1A | 86,700 | 73,695 | — |
| Single cabin located on the middle deck. In the cabin: one bed, wardrobe, radio, TV (satellite TV), shower, bathroom, refrigerator, air conditioning, observation window, 220V electrical socket. “>1 sr | 102 800 | – | – |
| Double single-story cabin on the middle deck. In the cabin: two berths, wardrobe, radio, TV (satellite TV), shower, toilet, refrigerator, air conditioning, observation window, 220V electrical outlet. | – | ||
| Double single-story cabin on the main deck. In the cabin: two berths, a wardrobe, a radio, a TV set (satellite TV), a shower, a bathroom, a refrigerator, an air conditioner, a viewing window, an electric socket for 220V.”>1С | 80,700 | 68,595 | — |
| Triple single-story cabin located on the lower deck. The cabin has three beds, a wardrobe, a radio, a TV (satellite TV), a shower, a bathroom, a refrigerator, an air conditioner, two windows, an electrical outlet for 220V “> 2A 4 | — |
LUX | A two-room cabin with private facilities (shower, bathroom, air conditioning) is designed to accommodate from two to three people. |
Junior Suite A | One-room cabin with private facilities (shower, bathroom, air conditioning), designed to accommodate from two to three people. Spacious cabin with a modern interior, upholstered furniture – a sofa, two armchairs, a double bed, a wardrobe, a TV with DVD (satellite TV), a refrigerator, a radio, three viewing windows, an electrical outlet for 220V |
Junior Suite B | One-room cabin with private facilities (shower, bathroom, air conditioning), designed to accommodate from two to four people. Spacious cabin with a modern interior, two separate beds, wardrobe, coffee table, TV with DVD (satellite TV), refrigerator, radio, two viewing windows, 220V electrical outlet. With three and four places – the third and fourth places are located in the second tier. |
1 sht | Single cabin on the boat deck. In the cabin: one bed, wardrobe, radio, TV (satellite TV), shower, bathroom, refrigerator, air conditioning, observation window, 220V electrical socket. |
1A | Double single-story cabin located on the boat deck. In the cabin: two berths, wardrobe, radio, TV (satellite TV), shower, bathroom, refrigerator, air conditioning, viewing window, 220V electrical outlet. |
1 wed | Single cabin located on the middle deck. In the cabin: one bed, wardrobe, radio, TV (satellite TV), shower, bathroom, refrigerator, air conditioning, observation window, 220V electrical socket. |
1B | Double single-story cabin on the middle deck. In the cabin: two berths, wardrobe, radio, TV (satellite TV), shower, bathroom, refrigerator, air conditioning, observation window, electrical socket for 220V. |
1С | Double single-story cabin on the main deck. In the cabin: two berths, wardrobe, radio, TV (satellite TV), shower, bathroom, refrigerator, air conditioning, viewing window, 220V electrical outlet. |
2A | Triple single-story cabin located on the lower deck. The cabin has three beds, a wardrobe, a radio, a TV (satellite TV), a shower, a bathroom, a refrigerator, air conditioning, two portholes, an electrical outlet for 220V |
Comfortable living room with a modern interior, upholstered furniture, coffee table, wardrobe, TV with DVD (satellite TV), refrigerator, radio, two viewing windows, electrical outlet for 220 V. In the bedroom: double bed, wardrobe, dressing table, two viewing windows.
.Popular routes | Tourist Information Center of the Vyborgsky District
What must be seen in Vyborg and the Vyborgsky District?
This is the most popular question in the Tourist Information Center) And we always say that one day is not enough for you to see and feel our atmosphere, you must definitely come back to us again and again. Vyborg is a unique city located on the coast of the Vyborg Bay, located in the northeastern part of the Gulf of Finland.
It is a major economic, industrial and cultural center of the Leningrad region, a port on the Baltic, an important junction of highways and railways. People often go to Vyborg for the weekend: the city is just an hour’s drive from St. Petersburg and 35 km from the Finnish border. A “stone” city with a European face – Vyborg is unlike any other city in Russia. On the territory of a small historical part of the city there are more than three hundred monuments (including medieval ones), which makes Vyborg especially attractive for tourists.
Vyborg Castle. Of course, the visiting card of the city is the Vyborg Castle, from which the history began. The Tower of St. Olaf, which in the Middle Ages was the highest donjon in Scandinavia, rises 75 meters above the waters of the bay (the height of the building itself is 50 meters). The walls of the castle and its towers were repeatedly rebuilt due to changing fortification requirements. On the territory of the castle there are permanent and temporary exhibitions dedicated to the rich history of this region.
Theatrical performances held here and the interactive exhibition “Knight’s Hall” will help tourists to plunge into the atmosphere of the Middle Ages. Here they try on armor, participate in jousting tournaments, shoot from a crossbow. In summer, the courtyard gathers participants of the annual jazz festival.
Clock tower. The history of one of the most beautiful buildings in Vyborg is very interesting. On the site of the tower, in 1498, the construction of a Catholic church in honor of the saints Virgin Mary and Olaf was completed, the natural foundation of which was a granite platform protruding from the ground. In the middle of the 16th century, the temple was expanded and partially reconstructed, and a bell specially cast for this purpose was installed on the attached bell tower. In the second half of the 17th century, after a fire, the building was repaired and completed in the style of Olaf’s tower: an octagonal superstructure was erected on a tetrahedral base.
The tower received its current name after the clock was installed on it in 1660.
At the end of the 18th century another fire engulfed the whole of Vyborg. Empress Catherine II allocated money from the state treasury for the restoration of damaged buildings and presented the city with an alarm bell, which was subsequently installed on the tower along with a new clock. Its ringing is still heard over Vyborg today. In 1848, the clock was replaced by adding two more dials.
During the Soviet-Finnish war, the building of the cathedral was destroyed, but the Clock Tower itself miraculously survived. It is located at the address: Krepostnaya Street, 5. Nearby, you can still see the ruined walls of the old Cathedral.
Church of St. Guy atsi nta. Walking from the Clock Tower about a hundred meters along Water Gate Street towards Salakka-Lahti Bay, you can see an interesting building located at an angle, which is surrounded by a low forged lattice.
Partially exposed ancient stonework at the base of the building suggests the historical period of its origin. This is the Church of St. Hyacinth, built at the beginning of the 16th century. Initially, the building housed the school of the Franciscan monastery. In the 17th century, after a partial reconstruction, it was used by the noble assembly of Vyborg, having received the name of the Knight’s House. From the beginning of the 19th century, the Catholic Church of St. Hyacinth was located here, which existed until 1940 years old. As a result of the restoration work, the exterior of the Knight’s House was returned to the building, removing all religious superstructures. It currently houses an art gallery. The Church of St. Hyacinth is located at the address: Vodnaya Zastava Street, 3. The fifth house along the same street is a building with a remarkable foundation, which is a granite block rising almost three meters above the ground. It is called that – the House on the rock, built five centuries ago.
Most likely, it once belonged to a wealthy merchant.
Market Square. One of the most beautiful squares in Vyborg appeared as a result of the demolition of fortifications at the end of the 19th century. On one side, it is washed by the waters of the Salakka-Lahti bay. The entrance to the building of the Vyborg Market, decorated with a small clock tower, opens on the square. Being built in 1906, it was at that time the largest in Scandinavia.
On the opposite side of the market, a red brick building in the Gothic style attracts attention. It was built just over a century ago. The Vyborg branch of the Bank of Finland was located here. The building is currently occupied by the Education Committee.
Round tower. Of course, the central object of the Market Square is the Round Tower. Built in the middle of the 16th century at a short distance from the main wall, it was intended to strengthen the defense capability of the fortress. Its powerful walls, reaching four meters thick, reliably covered the cannons located on three tiers.
After the fall of the fortress in 1710, the tower was renamed Petersburg. Later, it was used both as an armory and as a prison facility.
Due to the unwieldiness of the structure, at the beginning of the 20th century they wanted to demolish the tower, but the Finnish architect Uno Ullberg came up with a way to save this medieval monument by offering to open a restaurant in it. By the way, tourists stop in it if they suddenly get hungry while traveling around the city: the institution is still open.
Town Hall Tower – is another surviving tower that was built in 1470 along with the ramparts and the other nine towers. The building, about ten meters high (excluding the pyramidal roof), consisted of three tiers, the lower of which was equipped with a passage gate, and the walls of the upper two had loopholes. To conduct flanking fire on the enemy storming the fortress wall, the tower stood out from its line. For about two centuries, it reliably hid the defenders of the city, fulfilling its role as a defensive structure.
In the middle of the 17th century, after the addition of two tiers, the tower began to play the role of a bell tower.
Bastion Panzerlax . At the end of the 16th century, the fortress was completed on the eastern side, where, moreover, two additional bastions were erected. After that, the fortress was often called Horned: the very new structures located in the corners looked like the horns of a fantastic animal. One of the bastions survived – Panzerlax, which can be reached by moving from the Town Hall tower along Vyborgskaya Street (towards the mainland) to its intersection with P.F. Ladanov Street. After the restoration of the premises of the bastion, which lasted three years, they housed the exhibition center “Hermitage-Vyborg” and the Museum of Archeology – branches of the State Hermitage.
Old Town Hall Square . Main, City, Town Hall, Thorgils Knutsson Square – no matter how they called the cozy and picturesque Vyborg Square. We are talking about the Old Town Hall Square, which is located on the embankment at the beginning of the Fortress Bridge and is the oldest in the city.
It has not changed much since its foundation in the 17th century.
A bronze sculpture of Marshal Thorgils Knutsson rises on a pedestal in the center of the square. In one hand, the commander clutches a sword, and in the other he holds a shield on which a lion is depicted. The monument was erected at 1908, and forty years later it was dismantled after long disputes. Found in the basement and restored, the monument “returned” on the seven hundredth anniversary of the founding of Vyborg. As before, the marshal looks across the strait, admiring the castle.
Behind the monument, decorating the square, there is a four-storey building of the former City Hall. Initially, it was a two-story building, erected in 1963 on the site of a burned-out wooden building. Burgomasters and members of the city council (magistrate) met here. During the siege of 1710, the building suffered significant damage, and the magistrate moved to a new building. For two centuries, the former town hall was used for various purposes, and at the end of the 19th century, having received two floors in the Neo-Renaissance style as a result of reconstruction, it was used as the Vyborg Museum of History and Ethnography.
There are two more historic buildings on both sides of the square. One of them is the home of Johan Vekrut, a wealthy mid-18th-century Vyborg businessman, owner of real estate, sawmills, and a small flotilla of merchant ships. The second is the building where the guardhouse of the Vyborg fortress was located in the 18th-19th centuries.
Monument to Peter I . Leading the siege of Vyborg in 1710, Peter I watched the battle from the highest point of the neighborhood – a mountain located on the island of Tverdysh, where the headquarters of the Russian troops was located during the battle. Having decided to perpetuate the centenary of this event, Nicholas II ordered a monument to the great tsar and emperor to be erected here. Standing on a pedestal, Peter I looks towards the Vyborg Castle, meeting the eyes of the Swedish Marshal Knutsson.
In 2010, at the foot of the mountain on Petrovsky Square near the Fortress Bridge leading from the mainland to the island, a monument was erected to Admiral General F.
M. Apraksin, who commanded the Russian army that stormed the city. Walking from the monument for about two hundred meters along Petrovsky Street, tourists get to the perfectly preserved Annensky fortifications.
Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral. On Cathedral Square stands a snow-white handsome man with roofs matching the color of the sky – the Transfiguration Cathedral. This is the main Orthodox church of Vyborg and the cathedral, one of the best architectural monuments of the Renaissance, built by order of Catherine II. The famous Russian artist and architect N.A. Lvov was the author of the sketch of the cathedral. Originally a temple, the construction of which ended in 1793, did not have a bell tower, and its role was played by the Clock Tower standing five hundred meters away. And only a century later, a three-tiered bell tower was built, connected to the main building of the cathedral. Almost every tourist who comes to see the sights of Old Vyborg visits the temple, where services are regularly held.
Mon Repos Park. Undoubtedly, the most famous is the only natural rock park Monrepos in Russia. It will enchant you with its unique landscapes that delighted the emperors of Russia and the kings of European states. On the territory of the park there are many architectural monuments, acquaintance with which begins right from the entrance, from the main gate, made in the Gothic style. Special viewing platforms offer stunning views of the Monrepos estate, Zashchitnaya Bay and the majestic rocky island of Ludwigstein reflected in its waters – the necropolis of the barons Nikolai, who founded this wonderful park at the end of the 18th century.
Esplanade Park. Another picturesque park where citizens and tourists love to stroll is the Esplanade Park. It owes its appearance to the expansion of the territory of the growing city, for which in the middle of the 19th century the ramparts were demolished and the ditches of the Horned Fortress were filled up.
A park was laid out on the vacant site and more than two hundred trees were planted. Later, fountains appeared here, and the paths of the park were decorated with sculptures, the most famous of which are “Elk” and “Forest Boy”. In the center of one of the alleys you can see the wooden sculpture “Holy Family” – a dried tree trunk with faces carved on it. The Peter and Paul Cathedral is located in the park, and next to it, a bust of Mikael Agricola, a Lutheran bishop and the creator of Finnish writing, is installed on a pedestal.
Lenin’s House Museum is located in a wooden Finnish house of the late 19th century. It was here, in the former working-class suburb of Vyborg – Talikkala, that Lenin hid for two weeks on the eve of the October Revolution of 1917. In the museum you can see the memorial room where Lenin lived, learn about the events of the revolution and the civil war in Vyborg, understand why and how Finland gained state independence. The exposition tells about the life of the “Red Finns” in Soviet Russia after the defeat in the civil war on the example of the fate of the owners of the house, the Haikonen-Latukka family, who not only provided refuge to Lenin, but found themselves in the thick of the revolutionary events of the 20th century.
Interactive museum programs introduce the life and culture of the inhabitants of Vyborg in the first half of the 20th century.
Chocolate Museum is a unique place that combines a museum with exhibits of Vyborg sights and a chocolate shop of its own production. You will plunge into the atmosphere of magic and joy, you will be able to look at sculptures, taste the highest quality Belgian chocolate, drink a cup of tea, coffee or hot chocolate, take part in chocolate art workshops, tasting evenings and themed events! And, of course, to purchase chocolate products made with love by the chocolatier within the walls of the museum!
A. Aalto Library – the central city library of Vyborg, built in 1933-1935 according to the project of the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. The construction of the library began in 1927 with funds bequeathed by the widow of the Vyborg philanthropist Juho Lallukka, a wealthy city dweller Maria Lallukka. On October 13, 1935, its grand opening took place.
The library soon became known throughout the world as a reference library building. Here Alvar Aalto was able to take into account all the features important for this field of activity: modes of book storage, features of the work of librarians, and of course the needs of readers. The undulating ceiling of the reading room is unique, which is a distinctive feature of Alvar Aalto’s architectural style. A system of shadow-free lighting of the library, independently developed by him, with the help of funnel-shaped lamps.
The library existed in its original form until 1939. A war broke out between the Soviet Union and Finland, and in 1940 Vyborg was occupied by Soviet troops. In those years, the library was equipped with Swedish, Finnish, German literature, but after the war it turned out to be empty and changed its status, becoming a branch of the State Public Library. Saltykov-Shchedrin. Her collections were replenished with books in Russian, which are still preserved in the funds.
In 1944, Vyborg again became part of the Soviet Union, and the library was abandoned for a long time. In order for local residents to be able to use the services of the library again, its reconstruction was required, the money for which appeared only in 19In 1954[2], restoration work was carried out in the library. But the lack of original drawings and necessary materials from the restorers did not allow to restore this building in its original form. In 1961, the library reopened to visitors, but changed its name to the Central City Library. N. K. Krupskaya. During the years of perestroika, the financing of the library practically ceased. But thanks to the opening of several branches of St. Petersburg universities, the circle of readers has expanded significantly. To maintain the existence of the library, a paid subscription had to be introduced, but over time, the need for it disappeared, and the library became free to visit again. At 19In 1998, the library acquired its modern name — Alvar Aalto Central City Library in Vyborg.
In addition to architectural features, the library has a unique book collection: for example, the collection of the department of local history literature, which was formed – and continues to be formed – on the basis of a fund donated by the library of the Finnish city of Lappeenranta. These are books about Vyborg and Karelia in Finnish, Swedish, German and other languages. During the years of restoration of the library building, this collection has been replenished with, perhaps, the most complete collection of books in Russia about the work of Alvar Aalto and about the library building itself. Among them, for example, a three-volume book by the biographer Alvar Aalto Goran Schildt with the author’s autograph [3]. Currently, the building of the Alvar Aalto Library has been put under state protection.
Exhibition Center “Hermitage – Vyborg” opened on June 16, 2010 at the initiative of the municipal formation “Vyborgsky District” of the Leningrad Region, the Government of the Leningrad Region and the State Hermitage Museum.
As a result of their agreement, the center was created, housed in the historic building of the former Museum of Fine Arts and School of Painting – the creation of the Finnish architect Uno Werner Ulberg. (1930). Thus, this charmingly light, concise and reasonable monument of the era of constructivism has rightly returned the purpose lost in the Soviet period. Once again, the unique complex houses an art museum with collections from the funds of the State Hermitage and a children’s art school under one roof.
The House of the Merchants’ Guild of the Holy Spirit is an old building in the center of Vyborg at the corner of Vyborgskaya Street (house 8) and Novaya Zastava Street, a medieval architectural monument.
The exact date of construction of the house is unknown, but the researchers presumably attribute it to the XIV century. The house was part of a medieval merchant’s estate, which included housing and outbuildings. This stone building, one of the few built before the urban redevelopment carried out in the 1640s, is considered the oldest surviving civil building in Vyborg.
Both before and after the redevelopment, it was located in the depths of the site, surrounded by other buildings. A low cube-shaped house with thick walls made of granite boulders, along with a similar burgher’s estate, a townsman’s house and another guild house, is one of the four medieval burgher houses – small private “fortresses” of the XIV-XVII centuries, which can only be seen on the territory of Russia in Vyborg. Initially, the house was two-story: a warehouse of goods was located on the first floor, and the second floor with narrow windows was residential; an external stone staircase led up to it. In the 16th century, the merchant guild of the Holy Spirit acquired the house, and the second floor was used for trade negotiations.
Burger’s Manor – a complex of ancient buildings in the center of Vyborg at the corner of Progonnaya Street (house 7a) and Vodnaya Zastava Street (house 5), a medieval monument of architecture. The estate consists of a three-story townsman’s house and a two-story carriage house.
Foundations have been preserved from other buildings. The exact date of construction of the estate is unknown; presumably it belongs to the XVI-XVII centuries. The former home of a wealthy citizen is one of the rare examples of the oldest urban development that took shape before the redevelopment of Vyborg, carried out in the 1640s. Therefore, it is located in the depths of the site, away from the red line of Progonnaya Street. The walls of the tower-type building are made of boulders. The estate was owned by wealthy merchants or artisans. Despite the fact that the building looks impressive, its interior spaces are small in size. The first floor of the fortress house was occupied by a warehouse and a workshop, the second was a meeting room and a small kitchen, and the third was occupied by bedrooms. The windows were originally small in size, but expanded during later reconstructions. At 19In 79, according to the project of the architect M.A. Dementieva, the estate was restored with the aim of stylization in the medieval spirit.
The vaulted and wooden ceilings have been recreated in the interiors, the fireplace has been repaired. In addition, the peaked roof was reconstructed, on which a weather vane with the year of restoration was installed. The medieval house of the merchant guild of the Holy Spirit was reconstructed in a similar way. Stables and carts were located in the carriage house located next to the townsman’s house, as evidenced by the gate with forged details. The second floor was occupied by utility rooms for storing hay and equipment; a wide balcony with access to the hillside was used to load inventory and hay. Currently, the estate houses a tourist information center with a museum exposition and a restaurant. A similar house of a city dweller on Krepostnaya Street is still residential.
Tram-monument is a recreated tram car installed as a monument in the center of Vyborg in the park on Teatralnaya Square in memory of the tram traffic that existed from 1912 to 1957. The idea of installing a tram in Vyborg as a landmark was discussed for a long time time.
