Aptekarsky Island

About

Aptekarsky Island (́ ́, pronounced [ɐˈpʲtʲɛkərstkʲɪj ˈostrəf], "Apothecary Island", Korpisaari, "Deep Forest Island") is a relatively small island situated in the northern part of the Neva delta. It is separated from Petrogradsky Island by the Karpovka River, from Kamenny Island and Krestovsky Island by the Malaya Nevka and from the Vyborgskaya region of St-Petersburg by the Bolshaya Nevka. It has an area of approximately two square kilometres. Aptekarsky Island is connected to Petrogradsky Island by seven bridges: Aptekarsky Bridge, Petropavlovsky Bridge, Silyn Bridge, Geslerovsky Bridge, Karpovsky Bridge, Barochny Bridge and Molodyozhny Bridge. It is connected to Kamenny Island by Kamennoostrovsky Bridge and to the Vyborgskaya region by Kantemirovsky Bridge and Grenadersky Bridge. In 1714, Tsar Peter I gave orders to transform the island into a headquarters for the Medical Clerical Office and the Main Pharmacy. The island's name, Aptekarsky, means pharmacy in Russian. On the southeastern part of the island, a garden was set up for the cultivation of medicinal herbs. Over time, it became the Saint Petersburg Botanical Garden and eventually, the Komarov Botanical Institute was founded here. The island expanded from medicinal herbs into medical devices with the founding of the first medical device laboratory. This laboratory has since becom

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.