Fontanka

The Fontanka (Russian: Фонтанка), a left branch of the river Neva, flows through the whole of Central Saint Petersburg, Russia – from the Summer Garden to Gutuyevsky Island [ru].

In 1719 the river received its present name, because water from it supplied the fountains of the Summer Garden.

Until the mid-18th century the Fontanka River marked the southern boundary of Saint Petersburg.

In 1780–89, architect Andrey Kvasov supervised the construction of the granite embankments and approaches to the river.

Some of the mansions contain museums of the writers and composers who lived there: Gavrila Derzhavin (1743–1816), Alexander Pushkin (1799–1837), Ivan Turgenev (1818–1833), Anna Akhmatova (1889–1966) and others.