The Circum-Baikal Railway is the name used during the construction (1899-1905) and in the first years of operation of the 260 km section of the Trans-Baikal Railway. Today, this is a dead end section of Slyudyanka II – Baikal, 89 kilometers long. It is located about 70 km south of Irkutsk and runs along the shore of Lake Baikal.

This railroad has no equal in Russia by the number of engineering structures. Its tunnels and stone galleries are unique. Built according to non-standard projects, they were not rebuilt in subsequent years, retaining the original plan of architects and engineers of the early 20th century. Photos by: Mikhail Tilpunov.

amazing train ride

Tags: Irkutsk oblast · Russian Empire

The Rostral Columns are majestic architectural monuments located in the center of St. Petersburg, on the spit of Vasilyevsky Island, which in turn is one of the most famous architectural ensembles of the city. In the 19th century, these columns were used as lanterns to illuminate the port of the capital of the Russian Empire.

They were built according to the project of the French architect Jean-Francois Thomas de Thomon in 1805-1810 and were decorated with rostra of ships (in Latin, rostra is the plural of rostrum meaning the bow of a ship). Photos by: Yuliya Baturina.

beautiful constructions

Tags: Saint Petersburg city