Peter and Paul Fortress

In introducing you to the city we shall begin with its oldest part, the Peter and Paul Fortress. It was built during the Northern War Russia waged against the Swedes to regain the Russian lands on the Neva banks and the Baltic shore. Standing on a small island on the mouth of the river Neva, the Peter and Paul Fortress forms the historical core of the city. Its foundation was laid on May 16 (28), 1703, on Peter the Great's orders and to his own design. This date came down in history as the day St. Petersburg was founded.

The fortress has the shape of an irregular hexagon with projecting bastions. Its fortification system reminds one of the layouts of "ideal cities" whose prototypes are found in Renaissance architecture.

The first wooden fortress with earthen ramparts was completed by the spring of 1704. In 1706, however, work began to replace the wooden and earthen structures by stone ones. Domenico Trezzini supervised the work.

The bastions and the curtains that connected them were up to 10-12 metres high and 20 metres wide. They con-sisted of two walls-the outer, up to 8 metres thick, and the inner, 2 metres thick. Between the walls were casemates for munitions and garrison soldiers. Into the curtains were built gates-Petrovskiye, Nevskiye, Vasilyevskiye, Nikolskiye and Kronverkskiye. The Petrovskiye (St. Peter's) Gate, a vivid example of early baroque, is an essential architectural and historical feature of the fortress. It was the main entrance to the fortress from Trinity square (now called Revolution square), the center of the city in those years.

Initially the gate arch was wooden. Designed by Domenico Trezzini, it was build in 1707-1708. In 1718, the wooden arch was replaced by a stone one. Most of the wooden sculptures, however, were presented. Of particular interest is the wooden bas-relief "The defeat of Simon Magus", an example of the allegoric work widespread in 18th century decorative art. The motif borrowed from the Bible is the mortification of Simon Magus who proclaimed himself a "triune God". By the force of his prayer the Apostle Peter hurled Simon from the heaven to Earth. This motif was clearly expected to inspire the idea of Peter the Great's omnipotence and his inevitable victory over King Charles XII of Sweden.

The additional fortifications were build - Alexeevsky Ravelin on the western side and the Ioannovsky Ravelin on the eastern side.

The construction of the fortress as a whole was completed in 1740. It was first class example of military engineering art of the 18th century but it was not destined to play its main role, that of defending the city.

In 1787, the bastions and the walls looking on the Neva were faced with granite so that they did not spoil the city's smart appearance. The fortress has preserved this appear-ance to this day.

From Kirov Prospekt you get to the gate of the loannovsky Ravelin hy the wooden Ioannovsky (St. John's) Bridge, the oldest bridge in the city.The central path leads to the Peter and Paul Cathedral, one of Domenico Trezzini's best works. It was erected in 1712-1733 on the site of the first wooden church the construction of which was started on June 29, 1703 in honor of the Apostles Peter and Paul (hence the name of the fortress). Rising over the cathedral is a slender multi-tiered belfry with a 122.5-metre gilt spire. It was the tallest structure in the city before the construction of a 316-metre TV tower. The spire is topped with a weather vane in the form of a flying angel holding a cross.

In 1830, the spire was struck by lightning and a strong gust of wind tilted the figure of the angel. As an old story goes, Pyotr Telushkin, a roofer from Yaroslavl, volunteered to put it right without the use of scaffolding. "He did not ask for any reward while risking his life," an eyewitness wrote in 1831. Although only a shortish man, Telushkin could lift a weight of 12-13 poods (one pood is equal to 16 kg). He looped a rope around projecting parts of the spire and climbed up higher and higher until he reached the sphere (1.6 m in diameter) and then the 5-metre cross to which he tied a 26 sazhen rope ladder (one sazhen is equal to 2.1 metres). It took him six weeks to fix the cross. "He who wants to check the quality of the work done," the eyewitness continued", "will have to climb up to the top of the spire by the rope ladder himself." In 1720, a chiming clock was mounted on the belfry. In 1756 the clock was destroyed by fire and it was not until 20 years later that a new one was put up.

The Peter and Paul Cathedral is the burial place of the Russian emperors. Peter the Great's grave is near the southern entrance.

An elegant pavilion embellished with columns and sculptures stands in front of the main facade of the Cathedral. For a long time Peter the Great's boat, the first vessel of the Russian regular fleet, was kept here as a historical relic. The young tsar sailed in this boat on the river Yauza in Moscow. When Russia became a strong sea power, the boat was brought to St.Petersburg and placed in front of the Peter and Paul Cathedral. In 1761, the Boat House was built to the design of Alexander Wist. It still stands there but the relic is exhibited in the Central Naval Museum.

In 1718, the Peter and Paul Fortress became a state political prison. Its first inmate was Prince Alexei, Peter the Great's son who conspired with the opponents of his father's reforms.

Alexander Radishchev (1749-1802), the first Russian revolutionary, was imprisoned in the Alexeyevsky Ravelin. His famous Journey from St.Petersburg to Moscow was a challenge to the autocracy and serfdom.

After the abortive uprising in Senate Square in 1825, revolutionaries from among the nobility who protested against serfdom and autocratic rule were imprisoned in the fortress. Five leaders-Pavel Pestel, Kondrati Ryleyev, Mi-khail Bestuzhev-Ryumin, Sergei Muravyov-Apostol and Pyotr Kakhovsky were hanged on the Kronwerk of the Peter and Paul Fortress. A granite obelisk now stands on the site of their execution.

Among the fortress prisoners were writers Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Nikolai Chernyshevsky and Maxim Gorky. In its dungeons Chernyshevsky wrote his famous novel What Is to Be Done? and Gorky completed his play Children of the Sun. Revolutionaries of the 1870s and 1880s also languished here. Among them was Alexander Ulyanov, Lenin's brother who was executed in 1887 for an attempt on the life of tsar Alexander 111(1845-1894). None of the prisoners had a chance to escape.

During the October 1917 uprising, the Peter and Paul Fortress became a scene of action for the first time in its history. It was the seat of the uprising's field headquarters.

After the refusal of the Provisional Government to surrender, a blank shot was fired from the Naryshkin Bastion and a red light flashed on the mast of the Flag Tower, followed by the cruiser Aurora's historic shot.

In 1924, the fortress was made into a museum by decree of the Soviet government.

Since 1724, the Mint the city's oldest enterprise, has operated on the grounds of the Peter and Paul Fortress. Since 1922, Soviet coins, orders and medals have been made here.

Crossing the Nevskiye (Neva) Gate you find yourself on the bank of the Neva. Underneath the gate arch you will see the Record of Disastrous Floods inscribed on stone, indicating the years 1724, 1777,1788, 1824, 1924 and 1975.

When the first rays of the sun appear in summer, lovers of sun-bathing gather at the walls of the Peter and Paul Fortress. In winter, enthusiasts from the Neva Walruses Club swim amidst the icefloes. If you happen to be here at noon, don't panic when you hear a gun shot from the Naryshkin Bastion-this is the regular Midday Shot, one of the city's oldest traditions.

On holidays torches are lit all along the fortress walls. Their reflections in the water lend a special charm to the whole atmosphere.