The old sphinxes that used to stand on this wharf disappeared without a trace once in the 19th century. The details of this disappearance are not known.
:o I think I even never visited this embankment. It could be I passed one day in the past... long time ago and maybe I was young and drunk. But I don't remember :)
The sphinxes look amazing. The destiny of the original ones can be very interesting... Maybe, one day, someone will discover the story of a grandiose adventurous theft - I imagine it this way - and a curse imposed on the mansion of the person who had ordered this theft. The curse was probably not quick, but rather exhausting, like a wolverine, slowly devouring the family generation after generation: tuberculosis, syphilis, a fatal game of cards, early unsuccessful duels, suicides... The story ends, of course, as it should be in Russia, with a big fire, probably the heir to the estate himself started it after he had realized what was happening to his family and that there is no escape from the curse... Only the sphinxes remained among the ashes... Then, the revolution, the marches of the soldiers of the Red and White Army, back and forth, then quite tall birches were already standing on the site of the estate, when suddenly the ground sank and the whole area plunged into a swamp.
This is how I see... )
Oh... that's great! And secret meetings in the old park - like any self-respecting park, there were not only old trees but also romantic ruins. A terrific novel could have been made.