Excursion to the Peter and Paul Fortress

From the founding of the city to the present day. Architecture, fortification, historical events.

Hare island on which the Peter and Paul Fortress is located
This is where the construction of St. Petersburg began. One of the legends says that Tsar Peter saw this island in the delta of the Neva River, landed on it, soldiers cut down the cross as a sign that the island remains for the Russians and said: "Here will be a city!". At this point, an eagle appeared in the sky, which was perceived as a good sign. Thus began the construction of the Great City. It's one of the most beautiful urban legends, but what was the reality?

From the 8th-9th centuries the banks of the Neva River belonged to Veliky Novgorod and the Novgorodians controlled the ancient trade route "from the Varangians to the Greeks", but these territories, which had such an important geographical position, attracted close attention and neighbors of Novgorod in the Baltic Sea. First of all, the Kingdom of Sweden tried to control these lands and made numerous attempts to gain a foothold on the banks of the Neva. However, Novgorod was strong and gave a worthy rebuff to the enemy. In 1323, the status of the lands around the Neva and other territories was fixed by the Orekhovets Peace Treaty with Sweden. The terms of this agreement have been in force for several centuries. By the early 17th century, however, the geopolitical situation had changed. The Moscow kingdom after the reign of Ivan the Terrible was in a state of Troubles and the Swedes did not miss a chance to take advantage of the situation. Sweden became an ally of Moscow in the war against the Polish invaders, but the alliance had to be paid for. The Swedes occupied the territory of the modern Leningrad region, reached Veliky Novgorod and took it. The new peace treaty of 1617, concluded in the village of Stolbovo (Stolbov Peace) near Tikhvin, fixed the loss of Russia's access to the Baltic Sea. This situation had an extremely negative impact on the economic and social development of our country and the problem had to be addressed. With the accession of Peter Alekseevich, after diplomatic preparation, the Great Northern War of 1700-1721 began in the spring of 1703. The Northern War against Sweden for the return of Russian lands was in full swing. In 1702 the fortress of Noteburg (Oreshek) was liberated, on May 1, 1703 the fortress of Nienshanz (above the Neva River) surrendered. However, in order to gain a foothold at the entrance to the Gulf of Finland, Peter decided to establish a new fortress, rather than strengthen the old ones. The island of Yenisaari was chosen, which in Russian means Hare.

The island is 600 m long, about 350 m wide. The first builders arrived on May 16 (27), 1703. This date is considered the day of the founding of the city. Work on the construction of the fortress was headed by Peter’s closest associate, Alexander Danilovich Menshikov. The fortress became the first building of the future capital.

Peter 1 designed the fortress personally with the help of the French engineer Lambert. The fortress is an irregular hexagon, on the corners of which five-pointed bastions are built. The bastions are connected by curtains.

The first bastion was built under the leadership of Peter himself, so it was called the Sovereign. The remaining bastions were built under the leadership of the closest associates of the tsar, and they were given the appropriate names: Naryshkin, Trubetskoy, Zotov, Golovkin, Menshikov.

Initially, the fortress was built of wood and earth, as the Swedes were close, and it was necessary to hold the defense. However, almost immediately began work on the transformation of the fortress into stone. The height of the curtains and bastions reaches 9-12 meters, and the width is 16-20 meters. Inside, casemates were arranged - special rooms for storing ammunition and placing a garrison.

Later, in the 1730s, two ravelins were built on the western and eastern sides, called Alekseevsky and Ioanovsky. Ravelins served as additional defensive structures, protecting the fortress from vulnerable sides. However, the greatest danger could threaten from the north, since from the coast of the Neva island is separated only by a small channel. This problem was solved through the construction of the crownwork – an additional complex of defensive structures on the banks of the Neva River. Kronwerk was a canal (which has survived to this day), redoubts and curtains. In the 19th century, when it became clear that the fortress could hardly threaten anything, and a building was built on this site, in terms close to the outlines of the bronwerk. There is now the Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineers and Communications Forces.

Thus, the fortress was built according to all the rules of military art and fortification of the 18th century. The bastion system of fortifications, developed by the French engineer-fortifier Vauban, was common in Europe, and our fortress was built on this principle.

The Peter and Paul Fortress was never used for its intended purpose, its bastions were not attacked by the enemy, but the infamous casemates of the Trubetsk Bastion housed the main political prison of the Russian Empire. One of its first prisoners was Prince Alexei, whom Peter accused of conspiracy. However, the dark days of prison life have long passed and now the Peter and Paul Fortress is rightfully considered one of the main attractions of St. Petersburg.

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