History
The history of this place — here we will collect archival and modern photographs, notes and memories about the birch grove. We also plan to commemorate the names of notable people of the city, record named trees that have been planted and track their growth.
Archive photographs
Photographs from the past — the Sõtke river and the birch grove through the eyes of residents.
Historical development
Working with historical sources was difficult because Sillamäe was a closed city during the Soviet era, and information about it was absent even from maps. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that the area was never built upon and was used as pasture by nearby farms. Based on the landscape features, it is likely an ancient river valley characterised by elevations and deep ravines.
Early history of Kasesalu park
In 1964, the city leadership proposed creating a Victory Park on the wasteland along Tallinn Highway. All the organisational work for establishing and planting the birch park was undertaken by war veteran Vladimir Ivanovich Mednikov, chief power engineer at the oil shale chemical plant. It was his initiative, supported by plant director Georgi Vasilievich Dubovsky, trade union committee No. 13, and the city committee.
A suitable 5-hectare plot was chosen south of Tallinn Highway, on the eastern edge of Sillamäe, near the peninsula by the dam, along the Sõtke river and Tallinn Highway up to the turn towards the road to Vaivara. At the suggestion of Margarita Sergeevna Baldina, it was decided to plant white-barked birches as a memorial to the soldiers who fell at Sinimäed.
All city residents took part in the planting. Approximately 7,000 birches were planted in total. The young trees were dug up by hand from a birch grove located to the right of the road towards the village of Sirgala.
The installation of the boulder along the birch alley and the landscaping of the area was carried out by Leonid Ivanovich Ivanov, head of the city's municipal greening and maintenance service. Such a large boulder was found near the village of Päite, 5 km from Sillamäe. Two thirds of the boulder were underground, and extracting it was a complex task.
The inscription carved on the boulder reads: "Kasesalu was planted by the workers of Sillamäe to mark the 20th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945."
The birch grove quickly became a favourite recreation spot for the city's residents.
Named objects
As part of the SOE koht project, anyone can dedicate a tree, bench or other object to someone important. Below is an example of a named object card.
Key milestones
We will add a timeline and important project events.