Ruskeala山地公园的地下湖， 俄罗斯卡累利阿 Underground lake in Ruskeala Mountain Park, Karelia, Russia (© Konstantin Trubavin/Offset by Shutterstock)

Ruskeala山地公园的地下湖， 俄罗斯卡累利阿 Underground lake in Ruskeala Mountain Park, Karelia, Russia (© Konstantin Trubavin/Offset by Shutterstock)

Notes from an underground lake

The Ruskeala Mountain Park is an eerily beautiful reminder of the booming mining industry that thrived for centuries in this area of Russia near the border with Finland. Constructed on top of an abandoned marble quarry, the park opened to the public in 2005. A centuries-old quarry that's been flooded with groundwater since the end of World War II is the park's centerpiece, although some old buildings and kilns from the mines are still intact.

Quarries in this area once extracted and exported limestone, and more importantly, marble, for use in large building projects in Russia. Catherine the Great is said to have had an affinity for the white marble that came from Ruskeala and urged its use in the construction of many of the beautiful buildings in St. Petersburgh during her 18th century reign as empress. Marble from the mines eventually ended up in famous landmarks of the city, including St. Isaac's Cathedral, St. Michael's Castle and the Marble Palace, among others. While the mines finally stopped operations in the 1990s, the park is now a popular day trip for tourists who want to learn more about the history of mining in the region.

地下湖笔记

Ruskeala山公园是一个奇异美丽的地方，它让人想起了几个世纪以来在俄罗斯与芬兰接壤的这个地区蓬勃发展的采矿业。该公园建于一个废弃的大理石采石场之上，于2005年向公众开放。一个自二战结束以来被地下水淹没的有数百年历史的采石场是该公园的核心，尽管一些旧建筑和矿山的窑炉仍然完好无损。

该地区的采石场曾经开采并出口石灰石，更重要的是大理石，用于俄罗斯的大型建筑项目。据说，凯瑟琳大帝对来自罗斯凯拉的白色大理石有着深厚的感情，在她18世纪担任皇后期间，她极力主张在圣彼得堡建造许多美丽的建筑。矿场中的大理石最终出现在城市的著名地标建筑中，包括圣艾萨克大教堂、圣迈克尔城堡和大理石宫殿等。虽然这些矿山在20世纪90年代最终停止了运营，但对于那些想更多了解该地区采矿历史的游客来说，该公园现在是一次受欢迎的一日游。