Copper Lake - one of the favorite places for rest of Petersburgers

Located on the Karelian Isthmus near the village of Copper Plant in the Vsevolozhsk District of the Leningrad Region, this lake is of an artificial origin. The idea to build a dam on the Black River for the needs of a copper smelter belongs to the Russian manufacturer A.V. Olkhin - the owner of several enterprises in the vicinity of St. Petersburg, who lived in the XVIII - early XIX century. Copper Lake (also called Mednozavodsky Razliv), which has an area of 139 hectares, was built in the second half of the 18th century and exists to the present day.

In the prewar years, near the lake, there was a line of the 22nd Karelian fortification, also called the Stalin Line. On one of the islands, located on Mednom Lake, one of the machine-gun bunkers is still located. The nearby territory is now planted with gardens, there is a recreation center with the same name, and a cottage village is being built.

Rest on the Boney

The area around the lake is quite picturesque, on the shore there are several sandy beaches, which makes it an unusually popular place for summer holidays for the residents of the northern capital.

For the most part this is an artificial reservoir of shallow water, which has a dark color due to the inflow of organic wetland waters. Quite a legitimate question arising from tourists arriving at the Copper Lake: is it possible to swim in such water? The answer is yes. Copper-brown water, brought here by forest streams, has a beneficial effect on the skin condition. In extreme cases, you can go to the east coast of the lake, where the river Black Water is cleaner and the bottom is deep enough.

In the period from 1998 to 2005, The Youth Festival "Copper Lake" was held here. Venues for events were located directly in the open air. The main focus was on the current trends of Russian music, and therefore the musicians from all over Russia gathered here.

Thanks to wide coverage in the media, the event, which initially collected a small number of visitors, quickly gained popularity. So, in 2005 this musical event was visited by more than 35 thousand people. However, later the venue of the festival was moved to the airfield in Kasimovo, as the former "ceased to correspond to technical and aesthetic requirements."

Range for airsoft

To the north of Lake Mednoe is located the famous polygon for fans of airsoft. Until the mid-nineties, this zone was a specially protected area, since there was an army shooting range, as well as many objects related to the Karelian fortified. Since 2005, the neighborhood of Copper has been adapted to the needs of the Squadron I team, and the first competitions were held at the same time.

The range, located in a clean pine forest, with thick windbreaks, ravines, marshes and streams, is in place of the former fierce battles of the Great Patriotic War. That is why the remains of trenches, dugouts, crumbling trenches are preserved here. In addition to fans of airsoft, the territory of the shooting range is used by hunters. It should be noted that the entrance to the Copper Lake test site is guarded, and therefore it is possible only with legal firearms, if there is a permit and a hunting ticket, with the statement of the commander of the military unit and with the permission of the regional department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Copper Lake: how to get there?

You can get to Copper Lake and back by public transport. From the metro station "Prospekt Prosveshcheniya" to the lake there are buses №435, №439 and №567. However, this method is not very convenient, because buses do not always go regularly. Because it is better to get there by private transport.

To do this, you need to move along the Vyborg highway in the direction of Sertolovo. Passing the Black River, you must continue to the Elizavetinka sign, followed by a right turn. After passing the Copper Lake, you need to get to the Y-shaped fork (on the rise), where turn left. Follow the signs indicated on the trees with a keeper's tape.