Peter-Pavel's Fortress. Interesting facts about the Peter and Paul Fortress
S. Andreevsky
Working with parents:
So the journey began.
Not far from the place where the Neva divides into two branches - the Big and Small Neva, there is a small island - Zayachiy Ostrov. It was here that on May 16 (27), 1703, by order of Peter I, soldiers swam across a narrow channel, landed on the island and founded a fortress. This day is considered the birthday of our city.
The fortress is called Peter and Paul fortress in honor of the apostles Peter and Paul. They built the fortress quickly, because there was a war going on and it was necessary to gain a foothold by the sea. The original plan of the fortress was drawn by Peter I with his own hand. It was impregnable thanks to the favorable location of the bastions, ravelins, and crownwork. The cannons looked menacingly at the Neva from the walls of the fortress, c Now there is only one signal left.
The cannon fires at noon,
no one is scared
It's fun for him to look at the city, S. Skachenkov
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At the very waters of the rolling Neva, face to face with the elegant capital
A granite shaft with an impressive spoke darkens in the menacing memory of rumors.
S. Andreevsky
Working with parents:
Consultations for parents on planning a joint excursion with their children.
Excursion to the Peter and Paul Fortress.
We already know that we live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, whose name is St. Petersburg. Every citizen has his own favorite place in the city. I want to invite you to take a second trip around the city.
So the journey began.
Not far from the place where the Neva divides into two branches - the Big and Small Neva, there is a small island - Zayachiy Ostrov. It was here that on May 16 (27), 1703, by order of Peter I, soldiers swam across a narrow channel, landed on the island and founded a fortress. This day is considered the birthday of our city.
The fortress is called Peter and Paul fortress in honor of the apostles Peter and Paul. They built the fortress quickly because there was a war going on and it was necessary to gain a foothold by the sea. The original plan of the fortress was drawn by Peter I with his own hand. It was impregnable thanks to the favorable location of the bastions, ravelins, and crownwork. The cannons looked menacingly at the Neva from the walls of the fortress; now only one remained - the signal one.
For a long time, it has been a custom in our city that a cannon shot rings out at exactly noon at 12 noon.
The cannon fires at noon,
Hides in the smoke when the gun doesn't fire
No one is scared
The river wave makes noise at the fortress wall,
But the gun is hand-held - it’s not for war.
Walk with your child along the Ioannovsky Bridge and approach the Petrovsky Gate. They were created according to the design of the architect D. Trezzini, they are designed in the form of an arch, and the ancient coat of arms of Russia hangs over it.
Enter the gate and see how thick the walls are.
Walking along the main alley you will come to the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Take a close look at this building, it looks like a pyramid consisting of floors, where each tier is decorated with curls.
The bell tower is decorated with the oldest clock in our city. They are not simple, but singing. And the spire of the bell tower is decorated by the guardian angel of our city.
Apparently the angel changed his mind about flying away...
And suddenly he froze, unable to master the space,
It's fun for him to look at the city,
From the top of the Peter and Paul Spire...
S. Skachenkov
The Peter and Paul Fortress has become the center of our city and a favorite place for Sunday walks. Try writing a short story with your child and design a second book after the excursion.
The Peter and Paul Fortress is one of the main assets on the Neva. In fact, the Peter and Paul Fortress is the core of the city, a historical, architectural and military engineering monument. It was from the fortress that the construction of the city of Petrov began. The history of the Peter and Paul Fortress began on May 16, 1703. Since then, the history of the fortress and St. Petersburg has been counted.
There is a little confusion about the exact name of the fortress. Initially it was called St. Petersburg. Many people preferred to call the fortress Peter and Paul. This name comes from the name of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, which is located on the territory of the fortress.
The bastions of the Peter and Paul Fortress are named after the emperor's closest friends and associates - Menshikov, Golovkin, Zotov, Trubetskoy, Naryshkin, Sovereign bastions. The Peter and Paul Fortress is a cascade of architectural structures. Defensive structures of the Peter and Paul Fortress: walls, bastions, ravelins, curtains. Front: Peter and Paul Gate, Botny House, Mint Building, Engineering House, Commandant's House.
In the center of the architectural ensemble of the Peter and Paul Fortress is the Peter and Paul Cathedral. The cathedral's bell tower also served as a clock tower. It was she who became a kind of symbol of the formation of a new Russian city. The bell tower reaches a height of 122.5 meters and remains the tallest building in the city. The interior of the Peter and Paul Cathedral is decorated with a carved gilded iconostasis. Peter and Paul Cathedral is the necropolis of the House of Romanov. Russian emperors from to .
The Commandant's Cemetery is located near the eastern walls of the Peter and Paul Cathedral. 19 commandants of the Peter and Paul Fortress are buried here, there were 32 in total.
On the territory of the Peter and Paul Fortress there are exhibitions of the Museum of the History of St. Petersburg. There used to be a prison in the Trubetskoy bastion of the Peter and Paul Fortress. Its prisoners were: Tsarevich Alexei, Chernyshevsky, Kosciuszko and, Socialist Revolutionaries, Bolsheviks and Narodnaya Volya, Decembrists.
In 1917, the February Revolution took place in Russia. Then, the ministers became prisoners of the Trubetskoy bastion of the Peter and Paul Fortress. After the October events, ministers of the Provisional Government were kept here. In 1921, participants of the Krondstadt uprising languished in captivity here.
In the Commandant's House of the Peter and Paul Fortress, in 1975, the exhibition “History of St. Petersburg” was opened. The exhibition will make the tourist plunge into history and find himself on the lands of the Neva long before the founding of the city of Petrov.
It is noteworthy that every day a cannon shot is heard from the Naryshkin bastion at noon. On City Day, the Peter and Paul Fortress becomes the center of city festivities.
The history of the life of the city begins with the history of the creation of the Peter and Paul Fortress. Since 1700, Russia waged the Northern War with Sweden, and by 1703 the Neva lands were recaptured. To protect them from the attack of the Swedes, it was necessary to gain a foothold here and build a new fortress. The previously existing Nyenschantz fortress (at the confluence of the Neva Okhta) was considered insufficiently suitable for protecting the Neva, so a new location was chosen on Hare Island.
On Finnish and Swedish maps, this island, 750 meters long and 400 meters wide, was called Yenisaari (from Finnish - Hare), or Lust-holm (from Swedish - Cheerful). Stories have been preserved that when the Swedes lived here, a garden was built on the island for recreation and entertainment, which is why it was called Merry. It is from here that the entrances to the branches of the Neva from the Gulf of Finland can be seen, which can explain the choice of place for the construction of a new fortress.
On May 27, 1703, the St. Petersburg fortress was founded on Hare Island. There is no consensus on whether Peter I was present at the founding of the fortress or not. On the one hand, some documents indicate that it was then at the Olonets shipyard. On the other hand, such an important event simply could not take place without the presence of the sovereign. In any case, this day began to be considered the founding day of the city. The construction was headed by Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, the closest assistant of Peter I. It is believed that the drawing of this first earthen fortress belongs to Peter I himself. The mathematical calculation of the plan was carried out by the French fortifier Lambert. The fortress was built by soldiers, captured Swedes, and serfs were sent from each province. The earthen fortress was completed on October 1, 1703. This event was celebrated both in Moscow and on the banks of the Neva. However, after a severe flood, part of the earthen ramparts was destroyed.
Almost simultaneously with the start of construction of the fortress, the construction of the first temple began - the Peter and Paul Cathedral (design by D. Trezzini).
The plan of the stone fortress was drawn up by the German architect Kirstein. Since 1704, additional space has been built towards Hare Island; the island has gone into the Neva by about 30 meters. Under the leadership of Kirshtein, the reconstruction of the buildings in stone began, but at the end of 1704 the architect left Russia. In 1706, Domenico Trezzini headed the construction. Reconstruction begins from the northern part of the fortress, since it was considered the most vulnerable to an attack by Swedish troops. A completely new principle for the construction of fortifications is being applied to Russia. Bastions are being built, the thickness of the walls is about 20 meters (5-6 meters of brick wall outside and inside, between them there is an earthen backfill with crushed bricks), the height of the walls is 12 meters. About 40,000 piles were driven under the walls of the fortress. Each bastion is equipped with 50–60 guns. The walls between the bastions (curtains) include casemates for housing the garrison. It was originally planned to store gunpowder in the casemates, but due to dampness this had to be abandoned. To lift the cannons onto the walls, ramps were built in the mid-18th century. Initially they were built of wood, but later they were converted into stone.
Construction of bastions supervised by Peter I and his associates. The fortress bastions were named after their curators: Trubetskoy, Naryshkin, Gosudarev, Menshikov, Golovin, Zotov. At the foundation of the Sovereign's bastion, Peter I was present, and either Prince Menshikov or Tsarevich Alexei supervised the construction. Peter's associates not only oversaw the construction of the bastions, but also often supplied building materials and financed the work.
The Peter and Paul Fortress had underground passages (sortii). They served for landing troops outside the fortress walls. Within the walls of the fortress there are secret passages, the so-called paterns. They also served for the sudden appearance of soldiers behind enemy lines. The exit from them was blocked with one layer of brick; only trusted officers knew the exit location.
In 1705–1708, Kronverk was erected to the north of the fortress - earthen ramparts in the shape of a crown (hence the name, “kron” - crown, “werk” - fortress) to protect against possible attacks from land. The earthworks were razed in the 1850s, and in their place a special building was built to house a collection of weapons, banners, orders, medals and other relics of the Russian army. The channel to the north of the fortress is called Kronverksky.
The gate opening the Peter and Paul Fortress from the east, Petrovsky, was built in 1710 according to the design of D. Trezzini, originally wooden, decorated with bas-relief (sculptor K. Osner). In 1718, the wooden gates were replaced with stone ones, and the bas-relief was transferred to a new base. The plot of the bas-relief contains an allegory of Sweden and Russia. “The Magus Simon climbed to heaven through unrighteous means. The Apostle Peter asks God to throw Simon out of there.” The double-headed eagle mounted on the gate weighs just over a ton and is made of lead. In the niches of the gate there are statues of the goddesses of wisdom and war.
Between the Naryshkin Bastion and the Peter and Paul Cathedral is the Commandant's House (built in 1743–1746). The commandant of the fortress lived here, his apartment and office were in the house, interrogations of prisoners were conducted. It was in the Commandant's House in 1826 that the verdict of the Supreme Criminal Court against the Decembrists was announced. The commandant's house was originally built on one floor; in 1892, a second one was added. At the eastern wall of the Peter and Paul Cathedral there is the Commandant's Cemetery. From 1720 to 1914, eighteen commandants of the Peter and Paul Fortress were buried here. The Guardhouse building is located next to the Commandant's House. In the 18th century, there was a square in front of it with a special place for punishing soldiers. In 1907–1908, a four-column portico was added to the Guardhouse. To the left of the Petrovsky Gate there is an engineering house for the engineering and construction team of the fortress, built in 1747–1749. The design of this house is an example of a typical house for the “wealthy”. According to the same project, public buildings (living rooms and post yards) were built in the city at the beginning of the 18th century. At the end of the 19th century, there were living rooms in the engineering building.
The construction of the Peter and Paul Fortress was completely completed by 1740. In the 1730s, under Anna Ioannovna, ravelins (fortifications to the east and west) were built. Between the ravelins and the fortress walls there is a moat, the water level in which could be artificially regulated (filled in at the end of the 19th century). The western ravelin is named Ioannovsky (in honor of the elder brother of Peter I, Ivan Alekseevich), the eastern - Alekseevsky (in honor of the father of Peter I, Alexei Mikhailovich). The first bridge in the city is the bridge between Ioannovsky Ravelin and Trinity Square. The bridge is also named after the ravelin - Ioannovsky. This bridge was rebuilt several times, but generally retained its original appearance.
In 1704, a ditch was dug through the entire Peter and Paul Fortress from east to west to supply the fortress with water during a possible siege. In the 1880s the ditch was filled in.
Peter and Paul Fortress - “Russian Bastille”
In 1731, the Flag Tower was built on the Naryshkin Bastion, on which the flag (guis) was raised. This bastion was rebuilt in stone as a ceremonial one, which is why the tower appeared here. And initially the flag was raised on the Sovereign Bastion, since it was the first to be rebuilt. The flag rose at dawn and fell at sunset. During Soviet times, this tradition was not followed, but was revived in the 1990s. We tried to raise and lower the flag as before, but later decided to keep it permanently on the mast. It is from the Naryshkin bastion that a cannon shot is heard every day at 12 o'clock - the custom of marking noon since the 1730s. Except at noon, a shot marked the beginning and end of the working day. This action began with the decree of Prince Menshikov. In the 18th century, not all townspeople had their own watches, and they checked the time by the sun and the ringing of bells. This time was approximate, and only at exactly 12 o’clock a cannon shot was heard from the Naryshkin bastion. Shots began to be fired continuously in 1873. Since then, a saying has appeared in the city: “as accurate as a cannon.” The shooting stopped in 1934 and the tradition was revived in 1957. Until recently, cannons fired blank shots towards the Winter Palace. However, at the request of the director of the Hermitage Mikhail Piotrovsky, they are deployed, now looking towards the Gulf of Finland. In the 19th century, an orchestra played on the territory of the fortress from 11 to 12 noon. In 2005, a grand piano was installed in the flag tower; from time to time, famous musicians are invited here to play.
The boat house was built according to the design of A.F. Vista in 1762–1766. It was originally made of wood, but later converted into stone. The house was built for the boat of Peter I - “Grandfather of the Russian Navy”. The ship was presented to the royal family by the English embassy. It was found by Peter in the village of Preobrazhenskoye, he personally restored it, and as a child Peter sailed on it along the Yauza. The boat was transported here from Moscow in 1723, immediately after the end of the Northern War. A pier (Komendantskaya) and a gate (Nevsky) were built especially for his meeting. At first, a simple shed was built for the vessel. When a special house was built for him, it turned out that the doors of the building were too narrow to carry the boat inside. Then I had to dismantle part of the wall. They say after this A.F. Vista was expelled from Russia forever, also remembering the collapsed bell tower of St. Andrew's Cathedral, built by him. In 1724, Peter I staged a naval parade, that is, he showed the “grandfather of the Russian fleet” the entire Russian fleet then available. This was later repeated by Alexander I. There was a guard at the Botny House. Anyone could examine the boat under the supervision of an officer, so the first memorial museum in Russia was organized here. The guard officer was obliged to tell the visitor about the exhibit. In 1891, a statue of Navigation by D.I. appeared on the boat house. Jensen. In 1940, the bot was moved to the Naval Museum, which opened in the Exchange building; there is a copy of it in the Boat House. A copy was made in 1996 at Petrozavod; the new ship took part in the celebration of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg.
In 1779–1785, the northern part of the Peter and Paul Fortress was faced with granite. By this time, the left bank of the Neva was already covered in granite. According to legend, Catherine II, once looking out the window of the Winter Palace, was indignant at the “simple appearance” of the fortress walls and immediately ordered them to be brought into appropriate shape. Her wish was, of course, fulfilled, but everything that was invisible from the offices of the Winter Palace remained red.
According to Lvov's design, in 1784–1787 the Neva Gate was rebuilt in stone, and a little later the pier. Since the middle of the 19th century, the commandant’s boat of the Peter and Paul Fortress stood here, and the pier began to be called Komendantskaya. It was from this pier that prisoners sentenced to death were taken out of the fortress and taken along the Neva to the place of execution. The “Chronicle of Catastrophic Floods” is framed under the arch of the Neva Gate. It records the highest water rises in 1752, 1777, 1788, 1824, 1924 and 1975.
In 1798–1806, the Mint buildings were built according to the design of A. Porto. The Mint was transferred from Moscow to St. Petersburg in 1724; before the construction of a special building, coins were minted in the premises of the Trubetskoy and Naryshkin bastions. Until recently, all metal coins, all orders and medals (with the exception of handmade orders) were produced only here. Since the late 1990s, coins began to be minted in Moscow.
To the right of the Petrovsky Gate, a weapons depot (artillery workshop) was built in 1801–1802.
The Peter and Paul Fortress did not directly participate in hostilities, since it almost immediately found itself in the center of the city itself, which it was supposed to protect. Not a single combat shot was fired from its walls. Subsequently, it began to be used as the main political prison in Russia. One of the first prisoners was Tsarevich Alexei, the son of Peter I. Princess Tarakanova was also imprisoned here. In the 1790s, Radishchev, the author of the work “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow,” was kept in a fortress prison. This book was sold in the Bolshoi Gostiny Dvor, one of the copies fell into the hands of Catherine II, after which she ordered Radishchev to be arrested. The court sentenced him to death, but the empress changed the sentence to exile. Radishchev was able to return to St. Petersburg only under Paul I. Under Paul I, a prison was built on the territory of the Alekseevsky ravelin, almost without a foundation, for 20 solitary cells. This prison was guarded by 50 soldiers who had no right to leave the territory of the ravelin. The first known prisoners here were the Decembrists, the Bestuzhev brothers. During his imprisonment, Chernyshevsky wrote his novel “What to Do” in this prison. Ravelin was imprisoned in Alekseevsky prison without trial, only by decision of the tsarist authorities. The longest sentence in this prison is 20 years. In 1870, the prison was dismantled due to disrepair. In its place, a building was built for the administration of the Peter and Paul Fortress.
A new prison building was organized inside the Trubetskoy Bastion. To do this, the bastion wall was partially dismantled from the inside, leaving only 2-3 meters of 20 meters. A 2-story building of the Trubetskoy Bastion prison was built with a distance of 1–1.5 meters from the wall. 69 identical solitary confinement cells were set up here. They kept people under investigation; prisoners were not kept here for more than two years. At the end of the investigation, prisoners from here were either sent to settlements or hard labor, or the death sentence was carried out.
Death sentences were never carried out on the territory of the Peter and Paul Fortress. This sentence was carried out either on the parade ground of the Semenovsky regiment (in front of the Youth Theater) or in the Shlisselburg fortress.
Peter and Paul Fortress - one of the main museum complexes of St. Petersburg
Since 1924, the fortress has become a museum. During the Great Patriotic War, there were anti-aircraft guns on the territory of the fortress. The spire of the Peter and Paul Cathedral was covered with camouflage netting. There were no shell hits on the cathedral, but the walls of the fortress itself were damaged. In 1951–1953, railings and lanterns in the form of obelisks and bundles of spears were installed on Ioannovsky Bridge, according to the design of A.L. Rotach and P.V. Bazhenova. On December 25, 1975, to mark the 150th anniversary of the Decembrist uprising, an obelisk made of pink granite was erected near Kronverk. Here in 1825 K. Ryleev, P. Pestel, S. Muravyov-Apostol, M. Bestuzhev-Ryumin and P. Kakhovsky were executed.
In 1991, a monument to Peter I by Mikhail Shemyakin appeared on the square in front of the Guardhouse.
How to get to the Peter and Paul Fortress, how to find it, address:
St. Petersburg, Gorkovskaya metro station,
metro station Sportivnaya,
Rabbit Island
PETROPAVLOVSK FORTRESS IN THE NEVA DEFENSE SYSTEM
The fortress of St. Petersburg (Petropavlovskaya) was founded on May 16 (27), 1703 on a small island in the Neva delta for the defense of Russian lands captured by Sweden back in the 17th century and recaptured during the Northern War (1700-1721). The Finns called the island Yenisaari (Hare Island), and the Swedes called it Lust-Eiland (Jolly Island). In just four months, fortifications made of wood, turf and earth were erected here. Although during its existence the Peter and Paul Fortress never took part in hostilities, during the Northern War it was an important link in the chain of fortifications of the Neva and the Gulf of Finland. This defensive system also included the ancient Novgorod fortress Oreshek (Shlisselburg), located at the source of the Neva, the Admiralty shipyard fortress, founded in 1704 on the left bank of the Neva, and the new Russian fortress Kronshlot (Kronstadt) in the Gulf of Finland.
PETER-PAVEL'S FORTRESS- HISTORICAL CITY CENTER
The Peter and Paul Fortress played a special role in the history of St. Petersburg. The city, the future capital of the Russian Empire, began on Hare Island. Here was the first church of the city - the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul, the Lutheran Church of St. Anne (founded in 1704), the Main Pharmacy (1704-1720s), the wooden Senate building (1713-1717), the Mint (from 1724) were erected ) and the house of the city commandant. Near the Peter and Paul Fortress, the trade and administrative center of early St. Petersburg was formed, the port and the first city square, Troitskaya, were located.
CONSTRUCTION OF PETROPAVLOVSK FORTRESS
The Peter and Paul Fortress was built according to the rules of the Western European bastion system according to the project of J.-G. Lambert de Guerin, a French engineer in Russian service. It has the shape of an elongated hexagon with six massive bastions extended towards the enemy.
Initially the fortress was made of wood and earth. The foundation for the walls of the curtains and bastions were ryazhi - square log houses filled with stone, on which earthen ramparts were poured. The general supervision of construction in 1703-1705 was carried out by a military engineer from Saxony, V.-A. Kirshtenstein. The construction of one of the bastions was supervised by the sovereign himself. He entrusted supervision of the construction of others to his closest associates - A. D. Menshikov, G. I. Golovkin, N. M. Zotov, Yu. Yu. Trubetskoy and K. A. Naryshkin. Five bastions were named after them, the sixth was called “Gosudarev”. The bastions are connected to each other by curtains: Petrovskaya, Nevskaya, Ekaterininskaya, Vasilyevskaya, Nikolskaya, Kronverkskaya.
In September 1703, the construction of the original wood-earth fortress was completed. In the eastern part of Zayachiy Island in 1704-1705, an additional fortification structure was erected - an earthen ravelin. In 1705-1709, on Berezovy Island, to the north of the fortress walls, Kronverk was built - a fortification designed to strengthen the defense capability of the fortress in the event of a new attack. Under the leadership of engineer V.-A. Kirshtenstein in 1705, in the gorge (rear part) of the Golovkin bastion, a pentagonal earthen cavalier was erected - an additional fortification structure for conducting “upper fire”.
In 1706, the reconstruction of the fortress in stone began according to the design of the engineer J.-G. Lambert de Guerin and architect D. Trezzini. In 1727, supervision of the construction of the fortress was entrusted to the military engineer B.-Kh. von Minich, under his leadership all major construction work was completed in the 1740s.
According to Minich's design, stone ravelins were erected in the 1731-1740s on the western and eastern ends of Hare Island. In memory of the father and grandfather of Empress Anna Ioannovna, they were named Ioannovsky and Alekseevsky. The ditches that separated the ravelins from the main territory of the island were fenced off using botardos - dams with lifting gratings. In 1730-1733, according to the project of B.-Kh. von Minich was rebuilt in Cavalier stone, which was named in honor of Empress Anna Ioannovna.
All curtains of the fortress, with the exception of Catherine's, have gate passages: these are the Petrovsky, Nevsky, Vasilyevsky, Nikolsky and Kronverksky gates. The first to be created was the Petrovsky Gate - the main entrance to the fortress, which appeared at the very beginning of the 18th century. In 1707-1708, they were rebuilt according to the design of D. Trezzini in the form of a stone triumphal arch with a wooden upper tier - an attic (rebuilt in stone in 1717-1718), crowned with a wooden statue of St. Peter the Apostle, from which they got their name. .
Subsequently, the stone fortifications were subjected to individual rebuilding and reconstruction. Under Catherine II, the southern facade of the fortress was faced with granite slabs (1779-1786, engineers R.R. Tomilov, F.-W. Bauer), at the same time the Neva Gate was rebuilt, the southern facade of which was decorated with a portico (1784-1787, N.A. . Lvov). These works had no defensive significance: the fortress acquired an appearance corresponding to its important urban planning role in the ensemble of the center of St. Petersburg. During the reign of Nicholas I, the walls of the northern curtains and bastions were plastered and painted “to look like granite.” In the 19th century, two-story fortress casemates almost everywhere became one-story.
Hare Island has been connected to the Petrograd (Petersburg) side since the 18th century by one of the oldest city bridges - Ioannovsky (exists in its current location from 1736-1738). Previously, two more bridges led to the fortress: Nikolsky (built in the 1820s) and Kronverksky (built in 1853), both were demolished at the beginning of the 20th century. Only in 1938, the now existing wooden Kronverksky Bridge was built in the northwestern part of the island.
ARCHITECTURAL ENSEMBLE OF THE PETROPAVLOV FORTRESS
The Peter and Paul Fortress was built as a defensive structure. However, starting from 1704, when the first center of St. Petersburg began to form on the territory of Hare Island, various buildings and structures were erected here. Over time, they formed a unique architectural ensemble in which monuments from different eras and styles merged into a single harmonious whole.
The main architectural and high-rise dominant of the fortress is the majestic Peter and Paul Cathedral. Founded on June 29, 1703 in the center of the fortress under construction, the wooden cathedral became the first church in St. Petersburg. On June 8, 1712, Peter I founded a stone church here. The Peter and Paul Cathedral was erected in 1712-1733 according to the design of D. Trezzini. This building is one of the most significant monuments of the early Russian Baroque, which is also called “Peter’s”. Until now, the multi-tiered bell tower with a thin gilded spire topped with the figure of an angel dominates the panorama of the central embankments of the city and is the tallest architectural structure in St. Petersburg.
Over its long century, the cathedral has undergone many changes, and its modern appearance is somewhat different from the original: for example, a fire on April 30, 1756 destroyed the spire, roof and dome of the temple. Restoration work lasted for several decades - a new wooden spire was recreated by 1773. The restoration of the cathedral was completed in 1780. In 1857-1858, according to the design of engineer D.I. Zhuravsky, the wooden structures of the spire were replaced with metal ones. After the installation of the new spire, the total height of the bell tower increased from 117 meters to 122.5.
During the 18th - early 20th centuries, many famous St. Petersburg architects and engineers took part in the creation of the fortress ensemble. Among them are D. Trezzini, X. fan Boles, A. F. Wiest, N. A. Lvov, A. Rinaldi, A. Porto, D. I. Zhuravsky, D. I. Grimm, L. N. Benois and a lot others. Their work represents architectural styles from Peter's Baroque to Neoclassicism. In the first half of the 18th century, a whole complex of various buildings was located on the territory of the fortress. In 1704-1718, a number of wooden (from 1711 - mud or half-timbered) buildings were built. Active stone construction and improvement of the territory of Hare Island began under Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, when the buildings of the Main Guardhouse (1748, completely rebuilt in 1906-1907), as well as the Chief Commandant's House (1743-1746) and the Engineering House (1749) were erected. These buildings still partially retain their original appearance, characteristic of the ordinary buildings of St. Petersburg during the early Baroque period. In the second half of the 18th - early 19th centuries, significant changes occurred in the architectural appearance and spatial organization of the fortress's development. A new era in the formation of the ensemble was opened by the construction of the Botny House (1761-1765), created according to the design of the architect A. F. Vista in the forms of early classicism. The building was erected to store the legendary boat of Peter I - the “grandfather of the Russian fleet”; in his youth, the tsar studied maritime affairs on this ship. The complex of Mint buildings became an important dominant feature for the entire ensemble. The main building of this industrial enterprise, erected in 1799-1805 according to the design of the architect A. Porto, is an example of strict classicism architecture. In 1839-1844, on the site between the main building of the Mint, the Catherine, Vasilievskaya and Nikolskaya curtains, according to the designs of architects E. X. Ahnert and A. M. Kutsi, “provision stores”, a laboratory for separating gold from silver, a stamp forge, and a workshop were built medal redistribution and instrumental, administrative wing. During the period of late classicism, the Depot of Exemplary Russian and Foreign Weights and Measures was built (1838), the Chief Officer's House (1843) and the Parade-Major's House (1843-1844) were rebuilt, the Main Treasury (1837), and the Stock Capital Building (1844) were erected. , Carriage maker (1846). They were solved in orderless forms, which determined the nature of the development of the fortress in the 1830-1840s. In the era of eclecticism (the second half of the 19th century), the most significant transformations occurred in the territory of the Alekseevsky ravelin, where in 1892-1900 a complex of new buildings was erected to house the Archives of the War Ministry and their employees.
The formation of the architectural ensemble of the Peter and Paul Fortress was completed at the beginning of the 20th century with the reconstruction of the Main Guardhouse building (1906-1907), which received a new neoclassical architectural decoration, and the construction next to the Peter and Paul Cathedral of the Grand Ducal Tomb (1896-1908, architects D. I. Grimm, A. O. Tomishko, L.N. Benois, mosaics - workshop of V.A. Frolov based on sketches by N.N. Kharlamov) and the Church House (1906, L.N. Benois).
HOLIDAYS AND CEREMONIES IN THE PETROPAVLOV FORTRESS
From the first years of its existence, the Peter and Paul Fortress became one of the centers for holding various church and citywide holidays, celebrations, illuminations and fireworks dedicated to the glorious victories of Russian weapons and other important events in the life of the state.
During the Northern War, a tradition arose to accompany triumphs in honor of the “glorious Victorias” with the construction of triumphal gates. Such a structure was the Peter's Gate of the Peter and Paul Fortress, decorated with an allegorical sculpture glorifying the statesmanship of Peter I, his military talent and victories over the Swedish king Charles XII. In the attic there is a bas-relief “The Overthrow of Simon the Magus by the Apostle Peter” (K. Osner Sr., 1708), in the niches on the sides of the gate arch there are allegorical figures created by the French sculptor N. Pinault “Courage” and “Prudence” (1716), above in the arch is a lead double-headed eagle (F.-P. Vassou, 1720-1722). In 1730, the carver P. Fedorov decorated the gates with wooden bas-reliefs with military attributes. The sculptural decor included figures of two angels with trumpets that have not survived to this day, reliefs depicting military armor that were placed above the niches, allegorical sculptures of “Piety” and “Hope,” statues of the god of war Mars and the god of the seas Neptune on separate pedestals.
During the reign of Peter I, the holiday of the Day of Breaking Up the Neva from Ice was established, which had special significance for the residents of St. Petersburg. There were no permanent bridges across the Neva until the middle of the 19th century, so during ice drift, communication between Vasilievsky Island, the Petrograd Side and the Admiralteyskaya part stopped. It was resumed only after the official opening of river navigation.
The feast of the Epiphany was celebrated no less solemnly. At the height of the Epiphany frosts, January 6 (old style), crowds of townspeople gathered in front of the Peter and Paul Fortress under the ringing of bells to perform the ceremony of consecrating the Neva water. A chapel was built on the ice of the river near the walls of the fortress, and nearby they made a cross-shaped hole - “Jordan” (from the name of the Jordan River, where Jesus Christ was baptized). The ceremony always took place with the participation of the imperial family. On Wednesday of the fourth week after Easter, the feast of the Midsummer of Holy Pentecost was celebrated - the twenty-fifth day after Easter. On this day, crowded religious processions from the cathedral took place on the pier with the participation of the clergy of almost all the parish churches of the city. The procession walked around the walls of the fortress with the miraculous icon of the Savior, the Image Not Made by Hands, taken from the house of Peter I. At each bastion and over each gate, prayer services were held, and then at the Neva Gate - the blessing of water. It was believed that, due to the consonance between the words “pre-sex” and “sailing”, there was a custom of crossing the Neva to the fortress.
PETROPAUL CATHEDRAL - TOMB OF THE IMPERIAL FAMILY
In 1731, even before the consecration of the stone Peter and Paul Cathedral, Empress Anna Ioannovna signed a decree giving it the status of a cathedral church in St. Petersburg. However, from the 1770s, the Peter and Paul Cathedral began to gradually lose its dominant significance - there were no permanent bridges across the Neva at that time, and the temple on Hare Island was cut off from the rest of the city during ice drift and freeze-up. In 1858, the new St. Isaac's Cathedral became a cathedral; the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul was transferred to the Court Construction Office of the Ministry of the Imperial Household, and in 1883, together with the clergy, it was assigned to the Court Spiritual Department. The court status of the temple corresponded to its historical significance as an imperial tomb. Funerals and memorial services for the deceased members of the imperial family took the most important place in the church life of the cathedral.
The cathedral became a necropolis even before construction was completed - during the life of Peter I, his children who died in infancy, Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich and his wife Princess Charlotte-Christina-Sophia, the Tsar's sister Maria Alekseevna and his daughter-in-law - Tsarina Marfa Matveevna, the wife of Peter's half-brother, were buried here , Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich. During the 18th-19th centuries, many representatives of the reigning dynasty found rest here, primarily the Russian emperors and empresses, with the exception of only Peter II (buried in Moscow) and John VI (overthrown, imprisoned, killed, buried in Shlisselburg or Tikhvin ).In 1715, during the funeral of Princess Charlotte-Christina-Sophia, a new funeral ritual for Russia was tested for the first time. The traditional Orthodox funeral rite was supplemented by secular mourning ceremonies, mostly borrowed from the Protestant German states. In the new ritual, a special role was assigned to the solemn funeral procession, which accompanied the coffin with the body of the deceased to the Peter and Paul Cathedral, accompanied by the ringing of bells from all the churches of the city and incessant cannon fire from the walls of the Peter and Paul Fortress. The Peter and Paul Cathedral was decorated in a special way for the funeral. Leading Russian artists, sculptors and architects (V. Brenna, G. Quarenghi, C. Rossi, O. Montferrand and others) were involved in the creation of mourning decoration.
The last burial before the revolution (of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, son of Emperor Nicholas I) took place in 1909: it was decided that in the future only emperors and empresses would be buried in the cathedral, and the Grand Ducal Tomb was intended for the burial of uncrowned representatives of the Romanov dynasty.
From 1908 to 1915, 13 members of the imperial family were buried in the Grand Ducal Tomb, including eight burials that were moved from the cathedral. Over the next seventy-six years, no burials took place in the Tomb. On May 29, 1992, the great-grandson of Alexander III, Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich, was buried in the Grand Ducal Tomb. On March 7, 1995, the ashes of his parents, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich and Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna, were transferred from Coburg.
On July 17, 1998, the remains of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II, his wife and children (except for his son Alexei and daughter Maria) were buried in the Catherine's chapel of the Peter and Paul Cathedral; in 2006, the ashes of Empress Maria Feodorovna were transferred to the cathedral from the royal tomb in Roskilde (Denmark), wife of Emperor Alexander III.
GARRISON OF PETROPAUL FORTRESS
On June 22, 1703, troops (guard and other regiments) were brought into the Peter and Paul Fortress under construction and the first commandant was appointed - dragoon colonel Baron K.-E. Renne. From that time until October 1, 1926, the life of the fortress was connected with one or another military units and commands.
In the first years of the Northern War, the fortress remained the base camp and stronghold of all troops defending the Neva delta. The fortress had its own garrison in October 1703, when the construction of the wood-earth fortifications was completed and guns were installed on them.
At the beginning of the 18th century, troops based in the Peter and Paul Fortress actively participated in the battles of the Northern War. In the 1710-1790s, the fortress garrison was part of the entire St. Petersburg garrison, and the positions of the commandant of the fortress and the city were not differentiated. At the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th century, a stable structure of the garrison was formed, secured by official documents and staffing schedules. This garrison structure existed until the 1920s, when its existence was no longer necessary.
The basis of the fortress garrison was a company of fortress artillery and a disabled team. The fortress artillery company, the only real combat unit, numbered only 168 people at the beginning of the 19th century. The company was armed with 45 guns, some of which were intended exclusively for salutatory firing. The artillery garrison took part in military exercises. So, during the maneuvers of the Guards Corps in September 1840, he defended Kronverk, which was “stormed by open force.” An essential part of the artillerymen's activities was salutation and signal firing.
A disabled team performed guard duty in the fortress. Her duties included guarding the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the fortress gates and the prison premises. Guardhouses were installed at all gates. The outer guards around the fortress were usually posted from the city garrison, and a special “coin team” of 80 people was responsible for guarding the Mint. The disabled team maintained cleanliness and order in the fortress.
The organization and execution of repair and construction work was carried out by the Engineering Team, which included not only military personnel, but also civilian and military labor companies subordinate to the Engineering Team. In 1810, a school was established under the Engineering Team, which trained conductors and clerks of the Engineering Corps.
All the troops constantly present in the fortress were quartered in casemates adapted for barracks; the fortress had clothing, wood and food warehouses, vegetable stores, bakeries, kitchens, canteens, etc. Since among the soldiers there were not only single men, but also families, equipment was equipped for them special rooms in separate casemates. In addition to the soldiers, most of the officers also lived permanently in the fortress.
"RUSSIAN BASTILLE"
For two centuries, the Peter and Paul Fortress was the main political prison in Russia. No wonder it was called the “Russian Bastille”. The history of the Peter and Paul Fortress as a royal political prison began from the time of Peter I. Its first prisoners in February 1718 were Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich and others arrested in the “tsarevich’s case.” In the 18th century, the “victims” of palace coups and court intrigues were kept here: cabinet secretary A.P. Volynsky, architect P.I. Eropkin, Feldmaster General B.-Kh. Minich, impostor “Princess Tarakanova”, writer A. N. Radishchev, leader of the Polish uprising of 1794 T. Kosciuszko and his secretary writer Y. Nemtsevich. Twice - in 1798 and 1800 - Rabbi Shneur Zalman, a Jewish religious teacher and one of the authorities of Hasidism, was a prisoner of the fortress.
Under Paul I, prominent military leaders A.P. Ermolov, Admiral P.V. Chichagov, and ataman of the Don army M.I. Platov were imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress. In the year of Nicholas I’s accession to the throne, the Decembrists took part in the 1825 uprising against the autocratic power of the emperor. In the 19th century, the writer F. M. Dostoevsky, a prominent figure of Russian anarchism M. A. Bakunin, the writer N. G. Chernyshevsky, the ethnographer N. N. Miklukho-Maclay, who was arrested for participating in a student demonstration, a participant in the defense, passed through the dungeons of the Peter and Paul Fortress Sevastopol writer K. M. Stanyukovich and many others.
Initially, at the beginning of the 18th century, prisoners were housed in fortress casemates. Later, in the 1760s, a wooden prison house was built on the territory of the Alekseevsky ravelin. In 1797, a new prison was erected in its place - the Secret House (the building has not survived). In 1870-1872, according to the design of military engineers K.P. Andreev and A.M. Pasypkin, the prison of the Trubetskoy Bastion was built on the site of the dismantled internal (valgang) walls of the Trubetskoy Bastion. In the 19th - early 20th centuries, more than 1,500 people were its prisoners - participants in the Russian liberation movement, populists, social democrats, and Socialist Revolutionaries. Among them are A. I. Ulyanov (Lenin’s older brother), writer A. M. Gorky. In 1917-1918, the lists of those arrested were supplemented by ministers of the Tsarist and then the Provisional Governments, opponents of Soviet power. In 1921, the last prisoners were participants in the Kronstadt rebellion.
PETROPAUL FORTRESS – MUSEUM
For the first time, the fortress was opened to visitors under Alexander I, when excursions around the imperial necropolis began to be held in the Peter and Paul Cathedral. In 1922, the temple became a museum (since 1926 a branch of the Museum of the Revolution), and in 1927 a museum exhibition was opened in the Trubetskoy Bastion prison.
In 1954, the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the Grand Ducal Tomb and some other buildings in the fortress became part of the State Museum of the History of Leningrad. A huge amount of work immediately began on studying the history of fortifications, relocating residents from historical buildings and restoring premises for future exhibitions. The walls of the bastions were restored and the territory of the fortress was landscaped. In the 1950-1980s, the monuments of the Peter and Paul Fortress were restored under the leadership of I. N. Benois, A. A. Kedrinsky and A. L. Rotach. A huge amount of work was carried out to restore the original decoration of the Peter and Paul Cathedral. In the 1970-2000s, expositions and exhibitions were opened for visitors in the Commandant's and Engineering Houses, the Nevsky Curtain, Ioannovsky Ravelin, and the Sovereign's Bastion: “The History of St. Petersburg-Petrograd. 1830-1918”, “History of the Peter and Paul Fortress”, “Museum of Cosmonautics and Rocket Technology”, etc.
The Peter and Paul Fortress is visited annually by thousands of tourists from many countries of the world, cities of Russia, and St. Petersburg residents often come here. Today the State Museum of History of St. Petersburg is one of the largest museums in the country. In addition to the Peter and Paul Fortress, it includes the Shlisselburg Fortress Oreshek, the A. A. Blok Apartment Museum, the S. M. Kirov Museum, the Rumyantsev Mansion, the Printing Museum, the Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad and the Museum of the St. Petersburg Avant-Garde (M. V. Matyushin House).
Peter and Paul Fortress... How much this name means for our city! Many of us see this beauty every day when going to work or school; for others, a visit to the territory of the fortress is a rare, but extremely pleasant trip! The history of this fortress is not only inextricably linked with the history of St. Petersburg itself: the day when the first stone was laid here is considered the first birthday of our city. This joyful event took place on May 16 (and according to the new style - May 27) 1703.
The place for the construction of the Peter and Paul Fortress was not chosen by Peter the Great by chance: it was washed on three sides by the Neva, so it was perfect for defending against the enemy. The fact is that at that time Russia was at war with Sweden, and every new day posed a threat, which is why Peter the Great was so concerned that the fortress was reliably fortified, because it was she who had to defend the Neva. Previously, another fortress, Nyenschanz, which was the “protector” of the longest river in St. Petersburg, however, it was later considered unsuitable for this. Peter - together with his comrades Alexander Menshikov and the French general Joseph de Guerin - carefully chose a place to build a fortress and settled on Hare Island. By the way, the place received the name “Hare Island” long before the fortress was erected here: Finnish tribes lived here a long time ago, and they called the island Hare Island.
Who is considered the creator of the fortress? The decision to transport it belonged to Emperor Peter the Great; he was personally present at its ceremonial laying ceremony and saw how the very first stone was laid at the foundation of the fortress. So, the idea belonged to Peter, but the implementation of the plan was carried out by the architect Domenico Trezzini. Trezzini was born and raised in Switzerland, but came to Russia to work. Petersburg - as we know it - was largely built thanks to foreign masters. Considerable credit for this goes to Peter himself, who wanted to build the city on the model of European cities, which is why St. Petersburg is often called the “Venice of the North,” because in St. Petersburg, like in Venice itself, there are also many bridges connecting rivers and canals.
Many efforts were devoted to the construction of the fortress: it was built by Russian soldiers, simple peasants and even Swedes captured by Peter the Great. The fortress owes its name to the apostles Peter and Paul, after whom it was named.
The construction of the Peter and Paul Fortress took more than thirty years, and almost immediately they decided to rebuild it in stone. Peter the Great’s concern was easily understandable: the same Swedes, with whom the war would end only in 1721, could break through towards St. Petersburg at any moment, and the wooden fortress would not pose the slightest threat to them. So Domenico Trezzini began work on rebuilding the fortress in stone in 1706, which lasted until 1740.
Despite the fact that the war with Sweden ended long ago, and Russia did not have to fear an external threat, huge amounts of money were spent on rebuilding the fortress in stone. Many considered this unwise because the fortress never fulfilled its military function. But the work continued: perhaps because the fortress became not only the first building, but also a real symbol of St. Petersburg.
The modern appearance of the Peter and Paul Fortress has preserved almost nothing from the Peter the Great era. The way the fortress looks now is entirely the merit of Catherine the Second, who during her reign (from 1762 to 1796) radically changed its appearance. But something has also come down from the era of Peter: for example, the front Peter’s Gate on the eastern side of the fortress, which was built according to the design of the same Domenico Trezzini. If you look closely at the gate, you can see from above the bas-relief “The Overthrow of Simon the Magus by the Apostle Peter.” The most sworn enemy of Peter, the Swedish Emperor Charles XII, was depicted as a sorcerer. This inscription has been preserved for three hundred years and still reminds St. Petersburg residents of the merits of the founder of our city, because Peter won this war, as a result of which Russia became an Empire, and he himself became an emperor.
Most guests who visit the Peter and Paul Fortress for the first time wonder why, despite such a considerable age, it has been so well preserved to this day? The answer is very simple: despite how much effort was put into strengthening it, it never fulfilled its direct, defensive function, because the Swedes were never able to break through to St. Petersburg. Therefore, both the fortress and all the buildings located on its territory have been impeccably preserved and are considered one of the greatest monuments of St. Petersburg. Since during the era of Catherine the fortress was rebuilt and strengthened many times, this allowed it to survive and reach the present day in almost perfect condition. Currently, the Peter and Paul Fortress belongs to the Museum of the History of the City.
