Crossing borders: Chernobyl part VII - School
No kid is fond of going to school, including children from Pripyat and the surrounding area. We know that it changes over time, we start to appreciate this institution, we acquire useful knowledge, we meet friends and experience first love. That is why today, I would like to tell you about three-level education in Pripyat and show what educational centers in this city look like today.
In the USSR, from 1959, a unified institution for children from 2 months to 7 years old - formerly it was divided into day care centers and kindergartens up to 7 years old. In Pripyat there were as many as 15 such facilities, and interestingly enough, there were not enough of them, because Pripyat was a new city, in which the majority of residents were women of childbearing age.
Strolling between buildings, I am struck by the enormity of period toys - tin cars and trucks, dolls, stuffed animals and toy blocks. I see playrooms, cupboards decorated with mushrooms, fruit and vegetables, as well as sleeping and napping areas. I remember my time when it was so carefree in the kindergarten. After a while, I am struck by the thought that these children were not as lucky as I was.
Kindergarten in Pripyat
Everything remained here as it was on the last day, when the children were playing
And nobody will play with toys anymoreI'm going further. Elementary school - time for fun and first grades. In the corridor of Primary School No. 3 you can see countless gas masks. Believe me, this view dents into the chair of a normal man. However, for a frame hunter, this view is stunning. In the distance I see school newspapers, propaganda leaflets, portraits of Lenin; classroom benches and learning equipment such as test tubes in a chemical room are still standing in the classrooms. I enter the gym - there are only fragments of the floor and a few dusty gym equipment.
On one of the photos on the windowsill lies a fairly new, not looking like a 30-year-old, gas mask. A tourist probably left it. An irresponsible tourist who has not thought about how this affects the value of this place and its Urbex values.
Gas masks in elementary school
View like from Silent Hill
Corridors remembering the noise of playing children
Chemical room
Gym
Gas mask not matching the restThe final stage of education is high school. There were 5 of them in Pripyat, plus 2 technical schools. The buildings often housed gyms, gardens and greenhouses, so students could develop not only in cramped lecture halls.
I am looking at high school No. 1, the oldest school in Pripyat, by the way, in the oldest district in the city. The buildings are in a deplorable condition; as they are the oldest, often subject to meteorological conditions, they destroy after every major storm. Many of these buildings are in danger of collapsing, so entering them is quite a threat, as you can see in the pictures of the collapsing school.
High school No. 1, the oldest in Pripyat
A greenhouse near the school
The oldest school, in the worst conditionSchool is an integral part of our lives. Teachers try to educate us to be honest and good people, prepare for future work and coexistence with other people. We know the future may be different, in the case of Pripyat it was the evacuation of the city. Therefore, let's appreciate what we have. I am approaching the inevitable end of my tale of these fascinating places from my trip to Chernobyl. At the end of our trip, I left some interesting photos - comparative photos, which you will see in a week.
He crossed the borders::
Patryk Qki Kwela
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