The emergence of the "New Holland" complex was connected with the development of St Petersburg as a shipbuilding centre on the Baltic Sea.
The small island, called "New Holland" in Peter's rule, came into being after the digging of the Admiralty and Kriukov Canals.
In 1765, S. Chevakinsky built here several brick warehouses for storing timber. The facades of these buildings and the stately arch over the canal were designed by J.-B. Vallin de la Mothe
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From today's
Wall Street Journal (Europe), frontpage and page 7:
Quote:Putin stirs St. Petersburg
Native son works to restore prestige; crime, rats linger
By Guy Chazan
ST. PETERSBURG?-New Holland, an artificial island built in the 18th century, is one of Russia's greatest hidden treasures. A picturesque complex of canals, basins and 200-year-old brick warehouses in the heart of this city, it was for centuries a military zone off-limits to ordinary Russians.
Now, thanks to President Vladimir Putin, it's being revived. In 2003, he ordered the Russian navy off New Holland and turned it over to the city authorities. They have now hired architect Norman Foster to convert it into a spectacular $378 million arts center with concert halls and a five-star hotel, art gallery and outdoor amphitheater.
"Vladimir Putin has done all he can to raise St. Petersburg's status and restore its former grandeur," said city Gov. Valentina Matvienko in an interview.
[...]
But some have dismissed the city's renaissance as skin deep. "They're building a Potemkin village," said Sergei Gulyaev, an opposition member of the local parliament, referring to Grigori Potemkin, who purportedly had elaborate fake villages constructed for Russian Empress Catherine the Great's tours of Crimea during the late 1700s. In this case, 19th-century facades are being restored with "catastrophic speed" in time for G-8, he said. "But if you look in the courtyards of these buildings, it'sanother sight entirely."
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