Soviet Union - North West

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Vistula Spit / Krynica Morska
The last part of the border runs over the Vistula Spit (Mierzeja Wiślana), a narrow sandy peninsula that separates the Vistula Lagoon (Zalew Wiślany) from the Gulf of Gdansk (Zatoka Gdańska). The peninsula extends from the vicinity of Gdańsk in Poland to Baltiysk in Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast. Krynica Morska is the largest Polish village on this peninsula.
The numbering of the border markers is still like it was in 1957 when the treaty of the demarcation of the border between the Soviet Union and Poland came into force.
The area is not accessible and highly guarded. In the past it was different. Some local visitors were accepted, they even were allowed to take pictuers. In 2014 some local people were there and made pictures. Mr. Stanisław Szewczak gave me permission to use his pictures.

Map 2435 - 2439
The small peninsula called Vistula Spit (Polish: Mierzeja Wiślany) with markers 2436 - 2439. The Vistula Lagoon (Polish: Zalew Wislany) is marked with the buoys 2418-2435.
This Polish map doesn't display the eastern Russian side Baltiyskaya Kosa (Балтийская коса) which is only accessible by boat, but this is the only digital map which mentions the numbers of the border markers.

III-1 20140407 The path along the fence
The path from the south bank (the Vistula Lagoon) to the north beach (Gulf of Gdansk) is about 860 meters long. It runs about 320 to 375 meters from the border. At the right side of the fence you see the tracks and traces of the Landrovers of the Polish Border Guards. I was there in 2015.
Fence with warnings
It's clear you are not allowed to enter the last 350 meters of the border zone. This was the situation in 2015 but I think now (2026) it will be overloaded with barbed wire and CCTV cameras.

Border marker 2436
The same shape of single border marker as 2417 on the other side of the Vistula Lagoon, about 10.740 meters from here. The marker has a slot through which you can see the triangled leading mark which is pointing at the same mark on the other side. You see it on the pictures below.

This picture is taken from the Russian side: you recognize the Polish coat of arms on the marker and on the right side there is a Polish border warning sign. I wonder why and for whom, the area is not accessible. But it means the visitors were allowed to step over the 'imaginary' border line over land.

Second picture is old: in the past these white markers were dark. I think it's the original color of granite.
I took this second picture from the digital Polish border museum at https://muzeumsg.strazgraniczna.pl/

The triangle leading mark

This marking construction is used when the border runs over water for a long distance. Looking through the slot in the border marker to the top of the triangle gives a straight and direct imaginary line to the next marker on the other side of the water. This imaginary line is the border. The triangle on the bank of the Vistula Lagoon. In the background you see the last border buoy 2435 which is on the imaginary line.

The second picture gives a view through the slot.

View through the border line
A view through on the border line from south to north. On both sides of the island there are watch towers on Russian side. This one on the southern part has a kind of a platform.

Border marker 2437
Also some normal pairs of border markers on the peninsula.

Watch tower at BM 2437
The border markers are just in front of the watch tower.

Border marker 2438
The very last pair of Soviet-style border markers on the former Soviet outer border.

Border marker 2439 with watch tower
The last border marker is again a single marker with a slot to indicate the border over water. It's very close to the Russian watch tower on the northern part.

Border marker 2439
Some details: this single border marker is the very last one. On the Polish side you see the Russian coat of arms, and the inscription 'Установлен в 1957 г.' which means 'Established in 1957'.
On the Russian site you see the Polish coat of arms. It contains the Polish text "Ustawiony 1957", which means the same. It reflects the execution of the treaty for the demarcation of the Soviet-Polish State Frontier in the Sector Adjoining the Baltic Sea of 5 March 1957.

'0' as reference
Here not a triangled sign but two with a "0". I couldn't find its meaning but I think it's something similar to the traingled sign. I am trying to figure it out.

On the beach
The end of the land border of the former Soviet Union. And nowadays it's the end of the border between Poland and Russia. The fence on the beach is placed in line with the public path, 350 meters from the state border.
The second picture I made in 2015 with a telelens from the beach. You see the short distance betweenthe watch tower and the beach.

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