- Type
- Fortress
- Origins
- 1703 · 18th century per Wikidata: founding, first mention or construction
- Location
- Northwestern, Russia
- Architect
- Domenico Trezzini
- Visiting
- probably – Wikidata lists it as a museum or gives tickets, opening hours or visitor numbers; check before you go
- Coordinates
- 59.9500°, 30.3167°
History
Peter the Great founded the fortress in May 1703, during the Great Northern War with Sweden, to guard the mouth of the Neva, and that day is regarded as the birth of St Petersburg. From 1706 the first earthworks were replaced with brick and stone walls under Domenico Trezzini, who also designed the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. The fortress never had to repel an assault but soon became a political prison: Peter's son, Tsarevich Alexei, died here, and the Alexeyevsky Ravelin later held Fyodor Dostoevsky and Mikhail Bakunin among others. Almost every emperor from Peter the Great onwards was buried in the cathedral, and in 1998 the remains of Nicholas II and his family were laid to rest here.
What to see
The highlight is the cathedral, with its tall gilded spire topped by an angel and the tombs of the Romanovs. You can see the former cells of the Trubetskoy Bastion, the Mint building and exhibitions on the city's history, while a walk along the walls on the Neva side reveals the Winter Palace. Every day at noon a cannon is fired from the Naryshkin Bastion.
Wikipedia article Official website Wikidata Q38646
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