Sestroretsk, Saint Petersburg, Russia

🇷🇺 Sestroretsk (Сестроре́цк; Siestarjoki; Systerbäck) is a municipal town in Kurortny District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, the Sestra River and the Sestroretskiy Lake 34 km (21 mi) north-west of St. Petersburg.

Munitions factory Sestroretsk was founded by Peter the Great in 1714 due to the construction of a munitions factory (today's Sestroretsk Toolmaking Factory).

Healthcare The town is known as a balneologic and climatic resort. A large hospital and rehabilitation centre is situated within the boundaries of the town. It is the City hospital No. 40 of Saint Petersburg.

Political history In 1812, the town was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Finland, along with Old Finland. In 1864, the town was transferred to Russia in exchange for a promise of compensation, supposedly in the form of access to the Arctic Ocean at Petsamo.

The representative body of local self-government - the municipal council - has been operating since 28 September 1997. In the elections on 14 September 2014, the 5th convocation was elected (10 deputies: 9 from United Russia; 1 self-nominated).

Transport: Rail • Sestroretsk railway station • Sestroretsk railway station (1871–1924) • Kurort railway station for the sanatorium.

Electric railway

In 1875, Fyodor Pirotsky experimented with electrically powered railway cars on the Miller's line railway. The electricity was transferred over a distance of approximately one kilometer. Although the experiment did not last, this was the first use of electricity to power any railway in the world. Another local railway line of historical interest is the Sestroretsk spur line.

Vodoslivnyy canal The Vodoslivnyy canal runs across the town from east to west and connects the Sestroretskiy Lake with the Gulf of Finland (Baltic Sea).