{"id":10443,"date":"2024-05-31T20:32:41","date_gmt":"2024-05-31T18:32:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/?p=10443"},"modified":"2024-05-31T20:37:06","modified_gmt":"2024-05-31T18:37:06","slug":"svetlogorsk-promenade-a-new-chapter-in-its-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/svetlogorsk-promenade-a-new-chapter-in-its-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Svetlogorsk Promenade a New Chapter in its History"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Promenade Apartments Svetlogorsk Showcase Stylish Living<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

30 May 2024 ~ Svetlogorsk Promenade a New Chapter in its History
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At the point at which the new stretch of promenade on Svetlogorsk\u2019s coastline meets the old, a broad canvas containing an evocative\u00a0black and white photograph of the promenade as it appeared when Svetlogorsk was German Rauschen effectively softens the large metal fence behind which work is ongoing to upgrade the original walkway.
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\"Promenade<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The photograph, which was taken in the early twentieth century at a time which we in England would call Edwardian, harks back to a quieter, more sedate and less populated period in the evolution of the modern world and in Svetlogorsk\u2019s personal history. In those days, people dressed better (that is, those who could afford to do so), and life, at least in the pictures, had a better feel about it and seemed to move at a far more leisurely pace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Oh! I do like to be beside the seaside!
I do like to be beside the sea!
Oh I do like to stroll along the Prom, Prom, Prom!\u2019 ~ John H. Glover-Kind (1907)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fast forward to the third decade of the 21st<\/sup> century:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walking along the \u2018Prom, Prom\u2019 ~ as there are (or nearly are) two in Svetlogorsk ~ has not been the easiest thing to do in the Kaliningrad region\u2019s coastal town for quite some considerable time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, there was the Sovietised prom left behind by the Germans; then there was a quiet, narrow stretch of beach left behind by perestroika; then there was the construction of a new promenade; then the promised construction of a sparkling, spanking new set of des-res apartments hugging the new prom coastline; and then \u2026 and then it stalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the first stage of the new promenade reached accessibility, those of us who had not grown impatient and swapped allegiance for Zelenogradsk, strolled along the \u2018prom, prom, prom\u2019; some of us marvelling at what was to come and some, no doubt, bemoaning the loss of the rocky ribbon of beach, with its golden memories of long hot days, the basking bodies of former girlfriends, the odd kapoosta pie or two and a couple of tins of lager. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this juncture in Svetlogorsk\u2019s transformation from sleepy spa retreat to resort boutique, the old legacy prom with its cafes, restaurants, outside bars and amber-selling stalls was still firm favourite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, possibly a couple of years ago (the memory grows dim), one evening, when the sea was particularly tantrum prone, a section of the old prom surrendered to its attitude problem and promptly fell apart, as old proms and seaside piers have the disturbing habit of doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The missing piece was soon replaced, but shortly afterwards came the announcement that the old prom would temporarily close for a period of refurbishment. And that is the way it has been for a proverbial month of Sundays and considerably more than a month of sunny summer days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Behind the ubiquitous blue and white building-site fences, obscuring both prom and the sea, an extensive restructuring programme to defend the platform from the sea\u2019s worst excesses labours on relentlessly, incorporating a face lift which, when it is finished, I should imagine, aims to bring the old prom cosmetically into line with its glossy, upmarket prot\u00e9g\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The simultaneous reconfiguration of both of Svetlogorsk’s proms led to the loss of the beach from one end of its coastline to the other. The collateral damage was marked by a substantial tourist exodus from Svetlogorsk to Zelenogradsk, the Kaliningrad regions second resort, and indeed to the other resorts that share the Baltic coastline. Fortunately ~ for Svetlogorsk that is ~ stunning sea views from the uppermost reaches of the coastline\u2019s steep embankment and a seamless stream of investment into the town\u2019s inland facilities and its tourist attractions cushioned the brunt of the blow. And some of us kept coming back just to see how things were progressing. I was one of those someones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Svetlogorsk Promenade a new chapter in its history<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I returned to Svetlogorsk earlier this May, approaching the seafront via the Central Staircase, the great parade of steps that since 1974 has led to the giant sundial. The steps still go where they have always gone, but the sundial, including its brilliant tessera mosaic based on the signs of the zodiac, appears to have been uprooted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Svetlogorsk<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Above: Svetlogorsk Sundial in June 2021
Below: The same location as it is today, photographed from the Central Staircase<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Central<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Where<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In a less exuberant period, before Svetlogorsk was \u2018discovered\u2019, when a \u2018permit\u2019 was needed to enter the town by car, as it was then considered a health resort in which the ozone air was sacrosanct, the sun dial, designed by Nicholas Frolov, was counted along with the water tower as one of the town\u2019s star attractions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On an evening in the year 2000 ~ it was the month of December and blisteringly cold ~ I took \u00a0hold of the sundial gnomon, the upright blade that casts the shadow. \u201cI shouldn\u2019t have done that,” I thought. “My hand is freezing to it!\u201d And then I thought, \u201cI am actually here. I am actually here in Russia!\u201d That moment was quite symbolic; quite a personal moment. Let\u2019s hope they put the sundial back. They ought to, don\u2019t you think? If only just for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Svetlogorsk Promenade a new chapter in its history<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As it is no longer possible to access the old promenade due to its debasement as a construction site, a temporary boardwalk filters pedestrians onto the new promenade (Novyy Promenade), where ~ lo and behold! ~ after what seems like a brief eternity, or the torturous interval we had once to endure between the opening times of English pubs, the foundations for a three-phase series of swanky new apartments are finally metamorphosising into the shape of things to come. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can see what this stretch of coastline looked like in the earlier stages of the apartments\u2019 construction by clicking on the following links:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

> Svetlogorsk, a tale of two lifts<\/a>
> Svetlogorsk promenade ~ perchance to dream<\/a>
> Whenever I need a lift, I go to Svetlogorsk<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the closet that I have been to a high-rise building site in years, and it must be said, for want of a better reason, such as getting onto the beach, it is worth toddling off to Svetlogorsk to see exactly how they do it, build buildings that high, I mean, and by becoming a casual observer catch history in the making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Svetlogorsk<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Before gawping skywards, it is interesting to study first the full-colour canvas banners strapped to the baseline hoarding, each containing artist\u2019s impression of how the built coastline will look when the job is completed. Then, when you have matched the buildings in the illustrations to their skeletal incarnations, marvel at the blokes aloft, hauling heavy and awkward building materials from one man to another up different levels of scaffolding and the audacity of those above them, who, defying the laws of gravity, precariously perch on slim steel girders, working away with hammer or drill some seventy feet above your head. It\u2019s enough to remind you of what you could do, although you never would.<\/p>\n\n\n\n