Peter and Paul Fortress

Excursion to The Peter & Paul Fortress

Address:
3 Petropavlovskaya Krepost
Open: 11.00 - 17.00 (from 10:00 summer time)
Closed on WED

 Actual visit 1 hour.
 The cornerstone of this monument was laid in 1703, and from that day the city dates its existence. The first fortress was an earthen structure. The Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul took 21 years to build and had a hipped roof and a cupola of modest dimensions over the altar. The interior of the cathedral resembles a palace hall. The iconostasis is an incomparable example of Russian wood-carving. After the Revolution it was transformed into a museum.
    Considered to be the birthplace of St. Petersburg, was founded in May 1703 by Peter the Great on a small island in the delta of the Neva River. Originally constructed with the intention of being a military defence structure, it was never fired upon by any enemy and was later converted into a political prison. One of the first persons to be held in this prison was Peter the Great's son, Tsarevich Alexis. Through its history, the fortress held such famous figures as the celebrated 19th century Russian writer Dostoyevsky, and participants of the 1825 Decembrist uprisings. In addition political activists Leon Trotsky and Maxim Gorky, the famous Russian- Soviet writer, were detained there after the Revolution of 1905. The most valuable architectural monument on the grounds of the Fortress is the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Its gilded spire stretching more than 197 feet into the sky serves as a distinctive and majestic city landmark. Over the course of two centuries, the Cathedral was the burial ground for many members of the Romanov family including Peter the Great and Alexander III.

Fortress of Peter & Paul is a small ancient city in the center of modern megalopolis. From each side the fortress is enclosed by water and high gloomy walls. If you visit this place, soon you'll forget in which century you are, in twentieth or eighteenth? cobblestoned paths, cells with lattices on windows, fortified bastions. Passing through Peter Gate, you hear strange sounds, may be echo of your steps, or may be they are the ghosts of the fortress...
In a center of the fortress lies the oldest church of the city, Peter & Paul Cathedral. On it stands steeple with an angel holding a cross, which became one of the symbol of St. Petersburg long time ago.
Inside the cathedral burial-vault of Russian Kings is present. About one-third of the Russian Emperors became victims of rebels and conspiracies. People say that around their gravestones miracles take place... Behind the Cathedral Square, original and impressive building of Mint is situated. Not far away, Commandant House is locate, where interrogations of the rebels used to take place. Even now, the fortress cells are hounted by deadly silence. For many prisoners this silence was more terrible than most the horrible tortures...
Few years back, a monument of Peter I was place inside the fort, which was made by Michael Shemyakin.
Some visitors, who have already seen portraits of Peter, are shocked when they see this one. To get out of the this condition, a deafening cannon-shot helps out, which is heard at 12 o' clock everyday...