The tactile map in the heart of St. Petersburg
On this map, you can fully observe St. Petersburg's historical center, because on the 16th of October the tactile map of sights of the Russian northern capital was placed in the Alexander Park. The map provides information with miniature bronze figures of the Peter and Paul Fortress, St. Isaac's Cathedral, the Alexander Column on the Palace Square, and other architectural landmarks. Accordingly, blind and visually impaired citizens and Saint-Petersburg guests can learn about the location of cultural points and the city plan.
The message from the Saint-Petersburg administration notices: “The bronze map consists of twenty convex representations of the main architectural dominants in the historical center of St. Petersburg with topography and braille lettering. This map enables persons with visual impairments to become familiar with city planning structure and cultural heritage of the city on the Neva river”.
The tactile map was made only because students of K. K. Grot boarding school № 1 came up with this idea. Their project “The city in the palm of your hand” won in the annual interregional festival “The mission is to save”. The tactile schema became one of the “Mini-gorod” (Saint-Petersburg in Miniature) park’s object.
Translated by Margarita Makhanova