Kolpino, Saint Petersburg

File:Spb kolpinsky.svg

Location of Kolpino within the federal city of Saint Petersburg (2006)

File:Troitsky-sobor Izhora river and Bridge.jpg

Troitsky sobor, Izhora river, and the bridge

File:Front view Brotherhood Cemetery at Vera Slutskaya Kolpino.jpg

The memorial devoted to victims of World War II. Brotherhood cemetery of about 888 soviet soldiers. Street of Vera Slutskaya, Kolpino.

File:Coat of Arms of Kolpino 1999.png

Coat of arms of Kolpino

File:Flag of Kolpino (St Petersburg).png

Flag of Kolpino

File:Coat of Arms of Kolpino (St Petersburg).png

Old coat of arms of Kolpino (1981)

Kolpino (Russian: Ко́лпино; Finnish: Kolpina, Kolppina, or Kolppana) is a municipal city in Kolpinsky District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on the Izhora River (Neva's tributary) 26 kilometers (16 mi) southeast of St. Petersburg proper. Population: 138,979 (2010 Census); 136,632 (2002 Census); 141,457 (1989 Census); 81,000 (1972); 8,076 (1897).

History

Kolpino was founded in 1722 and was granted town status in 1912. It was one of the chief ironworks of the crown in Russia. Kolpino was also home to an iron foundry of the Russian Admiralty. A sacred image of St. Nicholas in the Trinity Church is visited by numerous pilgrims on May 22 every year.

With the onset of the Great Patriotic War, Kolpino factory workers formed Izhora Battalion, part of the militia, August 24 – September 4, 1941. The front line was held in the immediate vicinity of the plant, which was subjected to heavy enemy shelling. By 1944, only 327 of Kolpino's 2183 houses remained intact. 140,939 shells and 436 aerial bombs fell in Kolpino's neighborhoods and boulevards. According to incomplete data for the war, shelling and starvation in the Kolpino district killed 4,600 people, not counting the dead on the front. By January 1, 1944 Kolpino had only 2196 inhabitants. After the lifting of the siege, people gradually came back from the evacuation and from the army. On January 1, 1945 population was 7404, the beginning of next year - 8914 people.

During the construction of a new residential building, a mass grave was discovered in Kolpino. 888 soldiers and officers of the Red Army were buried in the mass grave in that cemetery. They fell in September 1941.

Economy

Many people of Kolpino work at Izhorsky Zavod.

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Russia

Twin towns – Sister cities

Kolpino is twinned with:

• Druskininkai, Lithuania
• Huai'an, China
• Rauma, Finland

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: 

External links

• Website of Kolpino