Viewpoint
Paulstein Rock and Terrace
- Mon
- 09:00–18:00
- Tue
- 09:00–18:00
- Wed
- 09:00–18:00
- Thu
- 09:00–18:00
- Fri
- 09:00–18:00
- Sat
- 09:00–18:00
- Sun
- 09:00–18:00
- Hours
- From October 1 to April 30, entry is open until 18:00; from 18:00 to 20:00 only exit is allowed. In summer, May 1 to September 30, entry is open until 20:00.
- Price
- Adult admission is 500 RUB; foreign visitors over 16 pay 1000 RUB; children under 16 enter free.
- How to visit
- Enter the park area through the central gate; tickets can be bought at the ticket office or terminal. Stay on marked paths and away from cliff edges; pets are not allowed. Amateur photography for personal use is allowed; drones and professional commercial filming require permission.
- Hours
- Ticket required
- Hours
- About 30 min
Why it is worth the detour
Ludwig Nicolay named this high rock for his frequently absent son Paul and built him a small pavilion with a private garden scented by roses and mignonette. The pavilion vanished in the 1940s, leaving the restored terrace and plantings as the trace of a father's attempt to lure his son home.
Paulstein Rock and Terrace is a hidden gem viewpoint in Vyborg, Russia, known for its historical connection to Ludwig Nicolay and the vanished pavilion he built for his son. The site offers a restored terrace and garden with scenic views.
The people behind this address
Documented connections, not celebrity trivia.
Ludwig Heinrich von Nicolay
He designed the retreat, named it for his son and celebrated the site in his Monrepos poem.
Paul von Nicolay
The pavilion and garden were prepared as his personal retreat and became known as his favorite corner of the estate.
What else is close by
The nearest places we have written up, with straight-line distance from here.
200 m
Temple of Neptune
The pavilion began as Nicolay's Temple of Piety, containing a figure of the Roman goddess Pietas with a child; only later did a statue of Neptune move inside and give it its present name. The decayed original was dismantled in 1948, a 1999 reconstruction burned in 2011, and the temple was recreated yet again in 2018.
200 m
Ludwigstein
A rocky necropolis island in the Mon Repos Park, known for its neo-Gothic chapel and historical significance.
200 m
Monrepos Library Wing
This modest wing eventually housed the Nicolays' collection of more than 9,000 volumes, one of the largest private libraries in the Grand Duchy of Finland. Its nucleus was the romantically named "Library of Two Friends," begun by Ludwig Nicolay and Franz Hermann Lafermière as students; the collection was later given to the University of Helsinki on condition that it remain undivided.
250 m
Narcissus Spring
Ludwig Nicolay turned an older belief that the spring cured eye ailments into the tale of the nymph Silmia, whose waters restored the sight of her lovesick shepherd Lars. Anna Kern praised its exceptionally cold, clear water after visiting in 1829 with Mikhail Glinka and Anton Delvig; wartime and later construction damage disrupted the spring, which flowed properly again after the 2017–2022 restoration.
250 m
Tea Pavilion
The late-19th-century pavilion disappeared around the middle of the 20th century and was rebuilt on its original foundation in 2002 using photographs because no drawings survived. Its recovered Romantic view later became a film set for a love scene in Eldar Ryazanov's 2006 Hans Christian Andersen drama "A Life Without Love."
250 m
Monrepos Manor House
Ludwig Heinrich von Nicolay wrote his 1804 poetic guide to the estate in his study here, turning the house and surrounding park into a single literary composition. After wartime upheaval it served as a military rest home and kindergarten, suffered a serious fire in 1989, and was restored in 2017–2022; its permanent museum exhibition opened on January 22, 2025.
Walk it with the stories
This address is one stop among many. Our routes and quests link them into a walk that makes sense on the ground.