Shakhmatova Street in Petergof — Live Web Camera Online

Historical Crossroads at the Junction of Two Highways

At the intersection of Shakhmatova Street, Gostilitskoye and Babigonskoye Highways in the Petrodvortsovy District of Saint Petersburg, an online web camera has been installed, offering a view of one of the most colorful corners of Petergof. This location is not just a traffic interchange, but a point where several historical eras intertwine. Gostilitskoye Highway intersects with ten streets, including Babigonskoye Highway, forming a complex transportation artery in the southwestern part of the city.

Interestingly, as early as 1763, at the intersection of Babigonskaya and Gostilitskaya streets, the "Port Arthur" tavern was built. After the 1917 revolution and until the start of the Great Patriotic War, the establishment continued to operate, remaining a landmark for several generations of local residents.

Gostilitskoye Highway: The Road to an Ancient Village

Gostilitskoye Highway originates from Shakhmatova Street, continuing Babigonskoye Highway, and leads toward the Lomonosov District of Leningrad Oblast. The name of the road is directly linked to the village of Gostilitsy, first mentioned in the Census Book of the Votskaya Pyatina in 1500. The village is also known by its ancient names Medvezhy Konets and Medvezhy Ugol.

There are two versions of the toponym's origin: the first is derived from the old Russian word "gosti" meaning merchants, the second from an ancient word associated with a place of meetings and trade. In 1721, Gostilitsy was gifted by Peter I to B. Potemkin, and by decree of October 7, 1743, the estate was given to A. Razumovsky. On the 1792 map of the Saint Petersburg Governorate by A. Schmidt, the village of Medvezhy Konets or Gostilitsy with 86 households was listed at the Potemkin estate.

The modern route of Gostilitskoye Highway from Shakhmatova Street to Chebysheva Street and from Chicherina Street to Staro-Gostilitskoye Highway has existed since the early 1980s. The first building on its site was house 11, building 1, on Chicherina Street, built in 1981. In 1987, house 13, building 1, on Chicherina was completed, and in 1988, house 14, building 2, on Chebysheva Street. The old section of the highway from Chicherina Street to Trinity Mountain was named Staro-Gostilitskoye Highway in 2008.

Babigonskoye Highway: Royal Residences and Model Villages

Babigonskoye Highway runs from Shakhmatova Street to the border with the Lomonosov District of Leningrad Oblast. The name appeared in the 1930s and was given after the location of the Babigonskoye Cemetery, to which the road leads. The cemetery itself is named after the Babiy Gon area.

Babigon is the name of an area in Petergof where the country residence of Nicholas I was located. Under him, in the 1830s–1850s, the "improvement" of villages located on the Babigon Heights took place. According to the emperor's vision, they were to become neat and tidy model settlements. The villages were named after the imperial children and their mother: Olgino, Maryino, Sanino, Kostino, Luizhino — they still exist on the map of Leningrad Oblast today.

There is a theory about the Finnish origin of the name — from "Papigondo" (pastoral parish), from the times when Finno-Ugric tribes lived here. Alexander Benois described Babigon at the end of the 19th century as a place whose journey "was of great interest, as it was adorned with all sorts of attractions."

Shakhmatova Street: A Philologist on the Map of Petergof

Shakhmatova Street, from which Gostilitskoye Highway originates, received its name on November 23, 1970. It is named after the Russian philologist A. A. Shakhmatov — a professor at Saint Petersburg University from 1910 to 1918. Shakhmatov made many scientific discoveries in the history and dialectology of Russian and other Slavic languages.

The street has become an important transportation artery of the Petrodvortsovy District, connecting residential quarters with historic highways. It is here, at the intersection with Gostilitskoye and Babigonskoye Highways, that an online camera has been installed, allowing viewers to observe the traffic and atmosphere of this place in real time.

Oranienbaum Bridgehead: The Memory of the Land

The lands around Gostilitskoye and Babigonskoye Highways are inextricably linked with the history of the Oranienbaum Bridgehead — one of the most heroic episodes of the defense of Leningrad. Cut off from the main forces of the Red Army, surrounded by a double ring of blockade, this bridgehead held back the enemy onslaught from September 1941 to 1944.

The history of the defense of the Oranienbaum Bridgehead and the Izhora Fortified Area of the Baltic Fleet remains understudied not only for military historians but also for researchers. According to 1933 data, the village of Gostilitsy was the administrative center of the Gostilitsky Village Council of the Oranienbaum District, which included 9 settlements with a total population of 1,807 people.

Petergofskaya Street and Staro-Gostilitskoye Highway: A Unified Artery

Petergofskaya Street and Staro-Gostilitskoye Highway in Petergof were historically a single artery. The road appeared to connect Petergof with the village of Gostilitsy, now part of the Lomonosov District of Leningrad Oblast. For centuries, this route served as an important communication link between country residences and adjacent territories.

After the 1917 revolution, the settlement was named after Felix Dzerzhinsky, and the estate became a vacation spot for Cheka employees. Today, a real-time web camera at the intersection of these historic highways allows you to see what one of the oldest transportation hubs in Petergof looks like.

What You Can See on the Camera

Saint Petersburg, Shakhmatova St., Gostilitskoye and Babigonskoye Highways (camera 1) — live broadcast from the crossroads where three significant roads of the Petrodvortsovy District converge. The screen displays a panorama of the intersection of Gostilitskoye and Babigonskoye Highways, stretching in different directions: one highway leads to the Babigon Heights and royal residences, the other to the village of Gostilitsy and the Lomonosov District.

The camera captures a section of Shakhmatova Street, named after the outstanding philologist, and shows traffic along one of the key transportation arteries of southwestern Saint Petersburg. Residential quarters built in the early 1980s and fragments of historic development reminiscent of the "Port Arthur" tavern that stood here in the 18th century are visible. The online camera operates in real time, allowing you to assess road congestion and weather conditions in Petergof.