The study of the territories of historical Saint Petersburg and its immediate environs (nearby counties — Saint Petersburg, Shlisselburg, Peterhof, Tsarskoye Selo) covers the remains of hundreds of estates. Among them, dozens of very large and historically significant estates can be identified. We define such large estates as “estates of the highest nobility” (“near estates of the highest nobility”.). This is a new concept that is practically not encountered in research circles. It defines a special morphological and social phenomenon in the estate construction of estates formed around historical Saint Petersburg for representatives of the upper classes of the Russian nobility, who lived in the accessibility zones around the Russian capital.
The identified type of “near estates of the highest nobility” was a bright decoration of the imperial capital and its environs. Similar in characteristics, but smaller and specially located relative to historical St. Petersburg, natural and man-made landscapes and historical highways in the territories of four distant counties (Novoladozhsky, Gdovsky, Luzhsky, Yamburgsky), such estates should be called “distant estates of the highest nobility”. They are part of the group of “estates of the highest nobility” located around St. Petersburg, but have differences that predetermine their parallel consideration. Estates with similar characteristics are also in other regions of the Russian Federation (Moscow Region, Crimea, Smolensk Region, etc.), but most of them are in the St. Petersburg agglomeration. Similar estates are also typical for European countries. The principle of their preservation and the system of their protection are interesting.
At present, a significant part of the estates under study are either abandoned or in poor condition. Many estates have lost their buildings, and only the overgrown remains of parks with ponds or lakes remind us of their former grandeur.
The study of the stages of formation and construction of the nearby estates of the highest nobility, their typology, morphology and features of formation, description of their current state – all this is not only of historical interest, but also important in terms of developing proposals for the further use of these estates, developing a program for the development of settlements, as well as implementing the program “Estates of the Leningrad Region”. We should not forget about updating the boundaries of the territory of protected objects, clarifying the subjects of protection and establishing protection zones.
The generalization and systematization of archival and bibliographic materials, iconographic sources, field studies, analysis of the information obtained and its structuring make it possible to identify the main vectors on the path to the preservation and modern use of the nearby estates of the highest nobility as one of the elements that influenced the formation of the St. Petersburg agglomeration.
