Prison "Crosses"

The Central Transfer Prison in this place appeared in 1868, its modern building is more than 120 years old. It was built in 1892 as a solitary prison. The author of the project is architect A. Tomishko. The name "Crosses" comes from the cross-shaped shape of two five-storey buildings. On the top floor of one of the buildings was located the temple of Alexander Nevsky.

The history of the “Crosses” is grim and accurately reflects the history of our long-suffering country. At first, criminals convicted of criminal and political crimes are in prison. After the revolution of 1905, it was mainly political, who were liberated by the participants of the February revolution of 1917. After the October Revolution, the "Crosses" were filled with members of the tsarist government, heads of the gendarmerie and the police department.

The further history of this sinister prison complex is not difficult to guess. The temple was closed, removing its crosses and transforming it into a club. In the bloody years 1937-1938, the prison was full of “counter-revolutionaries”, among whom there were many of the best representatives of science and culture. On the basis of the "Crosses" were formed "sharashki", which worked prisoners military specialists, developed in these conditions a lot of samples of military equipment, which were then actively used on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. During the siege of Leningrad, the facility was maintained and guarded by women and the elderly, many of whom died of exhaustion, as well as prisoners.

After the war, in order to raise funds for the overhaul of the prison, which suffered from bombing and time, a carton factory was organized on its territory, where prisoners worked.

The “Crosses” detention center has been in operation since 1964. Suspects and defendants are held here until sentencing. In 2004, crosses reappeared over the prison church and services resumed.