Philosophy of the historical and cultural space of St. Petersburg: the example of the heritage of Kamenny and Elagin islands

The article considers the philosophy and semantics of the cultural space of St. Petersburg on the example of architectural and artistic features of Kamenny and Elagin Islands, actualizes the historical-social and historical-artistic view of the process of formation of island territories. An appeal to the spiritual and material heritage confronts the authors aim to reveal the richness of the world of Russian estate, to show the charm of the natural landscape, to remember the names of the architects, designers, top officials and representatives of the St. Petersburg aristocracy, by which the islands of the Neva Delta were filled with spiritual and aesthetic meanings. The patriarchal lifestyle of the wealthy part of Russian society, its contemplative and philosophical attitude to nature expressed in images of Beauty and Harmony, became sources of development of a special atmosphere of friendly communication and leisure, the emergence of new architectural styles of estate construction. Compositional techniques for creating parks and gardens, decorated with flower beds, alleys and reservoirs, significantly transformed the spatial perspective of the islands, along with the architectural diversity of country residences and country estates. Garden and park estate art is inextricably linked with the harmony of natural and human relationships, which opens up new facets of the cultural heritage of St. Petersburg.