Lessogorski: History, Architecture and Remembrance

Lessogorski can be explored through historic buildings and memorial sites. Functionalist architecture, buildings in varying states of preservation and memories spanning several centuries offer different ways to explore the town’s history. When planning your trip, it is worth distinguishing these themes from the landscapes of the wider Vyborgskiy rayon: there, the focus is on mires, hills and a peninsula.

Historical Traces and Architecture

South of the railway crossing stands the restored Jääski savings bank building in the Functionalist style. The town’s former economic life is also reflected in its buildings: the SOK cooperative’s grain silo survives as a ruin, while the OTK mill complex building is partially preserved. These different conditions—restored, preserved as a ruin and partially preserved—offer a concrete comparison if you are interested in the town’s architectural traces.

South of the Jääski church stood a village school built to a design by Jalmari Lankinen. Jääski is first mentioned in 1323 in the text of the Treaty of Nöteborg. The place name probably derives from the Russian name Jaschka.

Memorial Sites and Historical Dates

A monument in Lesogorskiy commemorates Soviet soldiers. A black plaque in the northern part marks the site of an aircraft crash. At the site of the former church, photographs from November 2006 show a memorial cross and a memorial marker. A Finnish monument to those buried in the Jääski cemetery was unveiled on 18 July 1993.

Another memorial stone commemorates 240 residents of Jääski who died of hunger in 1697; it was erected in 1916. The dates provide a timeline for different subjects: from the first mention in 1323, through the famine of 1697 and the erection of the memorial stone in 1916, to the unveiling of the Finnish monument in 1993.

As a technical point of interest nearby, the Lesogorskaya hydroelectric power station is located near Lesogorskiy. It is part of the Vuoksi hydroelectric power complex. Thus, alongside architecture and memorial history, regional energy-generation facilities are another distinct subject in the area.

Landscapes in Vyborgskiy rayon

In the wider travel destination of Vyborgskiy rayon, the Lammin-Suo nature reserve lies in a hilly landscape with numerous sand hills up to 150 metres high and deep hollows. In one of these hollows, at the centre of the reserve, lies the Lammin-Suo raised bog, typical of the Karelian Isthmus.

Two deep lakes lie in the higher western part of the bog. They are remnants of an ancient lake that has silted up, and each is 12 metres deep. Another landscape attraction in Vyborgskiy rayon is the ecological nature trail, which passes through the landscapes of the Kiperort Peninsula. It is the largest peninsula jutting into the Gulf of Vyborg.

To decide whether Lessogorski suits your travel interests, you can weigh local history and remembrance on the one hand against the landscape themes of Vyborgskiy rayon on the other. If you are looking for a holiday apartment in Lessogorski, you can first consider which of these themes you would like to shape your trip.

Discover more destinations:

Pobeda, Ogonki, Koskolovo, Kusino, Vyra, Zamoshye, Ropsha, Vaganovo

For the overview of the wider travel destination: Leningrad Oblast.