Dr. Osteneck-Vostokov (1781-1864) whose 240th anniversary was on March 16, 2021, was an outstanding specialist in Slavic studies and a member of St. Michael’s Lutheran Congregation. Baltic German by blood and Russian by soul, this humble man had many accomplishments in his life. To name a few, he compiled a dictionary of the Church Slavonic language, wrote a Russian grammar, and researched the Ostromir Gospels, the oldest dated East Slavic book. Unfortunately, however, his tombstone was destroyed during landscaping works in the late 1980’s. Two fragments of the big tombstone had lain in the grass for years until enthusiast Ilmari Lahti inspired Tektonika Architectural Bureau to not only restore the tombstone, but also build a memorial complex on the small gravesite.

 

At the height of the pandemic, St. Michael’s Church developed an audio guide for the burial site. In time, when the restoration of the memorial is complete, each visitor will be able to use a phone app to hear the story of the big family of Dr. Osteneck-Vostokov. As we’re getting the knack of this modern technology, we’d like to present a few parts of the audio tour already now (only in Russian). Click this link to listen.

 

In the near future, we’ll upload a complete audio tour of St. Michael’s Church on izi.TRAVEL Follow our updates!