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The island Pellotsaari «the History of one island»
excursion route project organization

At the present time there is no green parking on the Northwest region cruise ships navigation routes. At the same time the level of recreational load in the places of traditional parking - the Balaam and the Kizhi islands - essentially exceeds allowable, that results in artificial restriction of vessels stay in these locations. So that to solve the problem till 1997 there was an organized parking of cruise ships on the island of Pellotsaari in Ladoga Lake, located in 25 kilometers from Sortavala. Since 2006 the State Organization «the Information Tourist Center of the Republic of Karelia» carries out works on its restoration. The arrangement of the specialized excursion route on this parking will allow to expand essentially the ideas of tourists about this region, and to regulate the recreational load to the Balaam Island, to create the additional seasonal workplaces for the local population.

The project objective

The objective of the given project is - the creation of the infrastructure allowing the tourist to take a closer look at the nature of the islands of Ladoga Skerries, the cultural heritage and a life of the local population, to be engaged in the productive leisure.

The project BACKGROUND (Substantiation)

The island Pellotsaari is located in the central part Ladoga Skerries, on the territory of the planned «The Ladoga Skerries» national park. Despite of the rather small size (approximately 3 kms х 4 kms), the island is characterized by a wide variety of landscapes, as well as flora and fauna. The most part of island is covered with woods, and their distinctive feature is the prevalence of coniferous breeds of trees and their age (up to 200 - 300 years). Such attributes are peculiar to the virgin minimum- disturbed taiga woods which are very little preserved in Karelia. At the same time there are sites of deciduous woods (birch forests and alder thickets) on Pellotsaari, as well as the meadows, being one of the unique ecosystems of Ladoga Skerries islands. The meadows are characterized by extremely rich and motley herbage: various cereals, clovers, handbells, buttercups, plantains and a set of other plants grow here. The rocky communities of plants, some kinds of which are entered to the Red Books of Russia and Fenno-Skandia, are widely submitted on the island.

The fauna of island is also various. More than 15 kinds of mammals lives on Pellotsaari  (including - lambs, fibers, martens, foxes, whose presence is well appreciable for the visitors of the island), as well as amphibians (frogs and toads) and reptiles (adders and the grass-snakes). The abundance of the woods creates fine opportunities for stocks of wood birds dwelling (various kinds of woodpeckers, singing birds, owls). At the coast of the island it is possible to observe the peri-warteral species and water birds, including representatives of such rare kinds as broody hens and the Caspian tern, it is frequently meet in Ladoga the ringed seals, to observe which is possible in the immediate proximity.

As well as on the majority of the islands in skerries, the hamlet farms were settled down on Pellotsaari till 1944. Up to the 20s years of the last century, on our data, there were living up to 9 families on island, as well as Finnish, Swedish, and Russian. On maps of that time the places of their residing with the owner surnames indication are precisely designated. So, in one place, on the area less than 3 hectare the families of Markov, Titov, Lamberg, Pohjalainen, Ohvo, Fedorov lived. Till now the bases of houses and some constructions, the ruins of separate buildings, the fragments of fences, reclamation works, plantings of some kinds of plants were kept. It is possible to consider a unique feature of the island the presence of small open quarries and the access roads to them, testifying about the quartz extraction, which was conducted by the local population.

At present time the consent and the guarantees of the leading navigable cruise ship companies transporting the tourists to the Balaam Island is received, about the arrangement of the cruise ship calls at the given green parking (up to 40 calls only during a summer season of 2007 with the subsequent increase in the amount) in case of the corresponding tourist routes and an exposition creation.

The description of the project

The planned excursion route will include the following objects:

• The Old farm - the clearing of old manor sites is planned, as well as the reconstruction of some buildings, the creation of the exposition acquainting the tourists with the features of a life of the islands  inhabitants at the end of nineteenth - the beginning of the twentieth centuries.
• An ecological track - the route at the passage of which the visitors of the island would receive an opportunity to get closer acquainted with the nature of the islands, their geological history and the modern landscapes, with the most interesting representatives of flora and fauna. The special attention during the excursions would be given to the mutual relations of the human being and the Nature, developed on the Northern Ladoga Lake islands. It is supposed the creation of places of rest and information stands on the route.
• Stone quarries - the clearing of the available stone quarries and the tourists acquainting with the history of minerals extraction in Ladoga Skerries, the methods of carrying out the similar works, the history of the Pellotsaari development  exposition creation is planned.

The description of works:

• The development of an ecological track - the marks of the track, the excursion routs and the information stands development.
• The arrangement of the tourist route - clearing of the track, the construction of the transitive bridges and ladders, the arrangement of places for rest, the installation of toilets.
• Gathering materials for the ethnographic exposition of data features of a life of inhabitants of islands creation, their economic activities, whenever it possible - a history of the families lived on the island.
• Clearing the bases, restoration of the fences, preservation of the constructions kept till now.
• The restoration of one of the manors.
• Creation of the stands containing the information on the history of the families, lived on the island.
• Clearing stone quarries.
• Gathering materials for the "Stone quarry" exposition creation.

Planned results

Planned attendance of green parking by 2008 - up to 7 - 10 thousand tourists during the season.

The realization of the given project will allow:

• To arrange the new organized tourist-excursion object and a place of rest in the Northern Ladoga region.
• To create the additional workplaces for the region inhabitants.
• To acquaint a wide audience with the nature of the Northern Ladoga region, the history and culture of peoples, inhabited the given region.
• To regulate the process of visiting the island, to provide the fire safety control.

The further measures are planned to be taken on the island:

• Carrying out the children's ecological camps on the basis of the projected excursion route.
• Parking arrangements for the individualized tourists.
• Carrying out the given island and the territories next to it further researches.
• The expansion of an ethnographic part of the exposition - restoration and memorialization of the desolated constructions.