The Swan Lake is not far from the Crimean Tower of the Astrakhan Kremlin. The better path to the Swan Lake is the one including the Lenin Square, stretching along the southern side of the Astrakhan Kremlin.
The Swan Lake is a small section of the old Volga river bed, which began to quickly shallow in the middle of 18 century. Earlier the Volga came close to the walls of the Kremlin. A landing was near the St. Nicholas Gate. By 19 century this river bed completely dried up even though the citizens tried to preserve it digging a channel.
Today only the Swan Lake remained of the channel and the main river bed drew back 600 m. A whole city district called Kosa (Spit) was built in this place.
The Swan Lake has a rectangular shape. The shores of the lake are lined with granite slabs. Several pairs of swans always lived on the lake so it was called the Swan Lake. A beautiful rotunda is in the middle of the lake. But only newlyweds are let there for photo sessions.
People often come to the Swan Lake to spend time in the nearby Friendship Park. You can also visit a planetarium there. The beautiful Geydar Aliev Square is along the Varvatsy channel near the Swan Lake. It was created by a local Azerbaijani community.
