Caturday: Cat from Kanonersky Island

This stone cat stands in the back of the square, in front of the entrance to the port administration building. Only locals (and me:) know about this kitty. The stone sculpture is the size of an ordinary cat and it's hard to notice when passing by the square on the street.

This sculpture appeared as a memory of the old name of the island. Nowadays the island is called Kanonersky, it is consonant with the Russian name of Kanonersky boats, Gun boats. A gunboat is a class of small warships designed for rivers, lakes and coastal marine areas. In the world of Star Wars, small combat starships with the same name are common. Therefore, many people think that the island is home to a factory for the production of gunboats, hence the name. In fact, it's a little different. The name of the island comes from the word "cannoner", "gunner" and appeared before the shipyard was located on one of the neighboring islands, and on the other - a commercial port. Before the development of these territories, the deserted islands in the Gulf of Finland were used for training firing.

But even before the city, the island was called "Kissaari", this word can be translated from the Finnish as "Cat Island". To commemorate this name, a sculpture of a cat appeared. The name of this cat is Skipper.

By the way, to the story of the origin of the name. A little north of St. Petersburg, in the small town of Sestroretsk on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, there is another historical area called "Kanonerka". This name comes from the Swedish word Karokanna. There were artillery units in Sestroretsk, and the Swedish name was reinterpreted in a new way.

The territory of St. Petersburg and its surroundings have been the subject of military disputes between Russia and neighboring countries for many centuries, people of different nationalities lived here and this is reflected in the toponymy of the area. The most vivid architectural embodiment of military confrontation are two ancient forts on the opposite banks of the Narva River, about 150 km to the west of Saint-Petersburg. Ivangorod Fortress is located on the eastern bank, while the Narva Castle is on the western bank. There are legends that underground passages were laid under the river for clandestine penetration, and once in such an underground passage an entire battle unfolded. These lands finally became the territory of Russia after the Great Northern War in 1700 - 1721, and along the Narva River now runs the state border.

There is only one thing that confuses me about the Finnish name of the island. What were cats doing on this deserted island in those ancient times? During the autumn storms, the low-lying part of the island suffers greatly from flooding, and could hardly ever have been a cozy corner for any members of the animal kingdom.

The building with the stone cat near the entrance is the port office building. It was built in the early 20th century. The other facade of the building overlooks the Sea Canal, on the banks of which you can see fishermen at any time of the year. So I have only one idea for the name - where the fishermen, there are fish, and where the fish, there are cats.