Peter and Paul Fortress
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The Peter and Paul Fortress or Petropavlovskaya Krepost (Russian: Петропа́вловская кре́пость, also Fortress of SS Peter and Paul) is the original citadel of St. Petersburg, Russia, designed by Domenico Trezzini and founded in 1703. The fortress contains a number of buildings including the Peter and Paul Cathedral, where all Russian tsars from Peter I to Alexander III are interred; the remains of the Imperial martyrs, Nicholas II and his family and entourage, were also interred there, in the side St.Catherine's Chapel, on the 80th anniversary of their deaths, July 17, 1998. Towards the end of 2006, the remains of Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, mother of the murdered Nicholas II, who died in 1928 were brought from Roskilde Cathedral outside Copenhagen, Denmark to finally rest next to her husband, Alexander III. The newer Grand Ducal Mausoleum is connected to the cathedral by a corridor. The latest burial there was of Nicholas II's first cousin once removed, Grand Duke Vladimir Cyrilovich, son of Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovitch. Other structures inside the fortress include the still functioning Mint building, the Trubetskoy bastion and the City Museum.
The fortress was established by Peter the Great on May 16 (by the Julian Calendar, May 27 by the Gregorian Calendar) 1703 on a small island, Zayachii (hare) (or Vesiolii - cheerful) ostrov, on the Neva River. Built during the Northern War, the fort was never actually needed. The fort was completed with six bastions in earth and timber within a year, it was rebuilt with stone from 1706 to 1740. From around 1720 the fort served as a base for the city garrison and also as a prison for high ranking or political prisoners. The Trubetskoy bastion, built in the 1870s, became the main prison block. The Cathedral was built from 1712 to 1733, and has a 123.2 m bell-tower and a gilded angel-topped cupola.
During 1917, it was attacked by mutinous soldiers of the Pavlovskii regiment on February 27 (J) and the prisoners were freed. Under the Provisional Government hundreds of Tsarist officials were held in the Fortress, for their protection from the angry people. So many officials were held that the Fortress was filled and the rest had to be taken to the Mikhailovskii Manege. The Tsar was threatened with being incarcerated at the Fortress on his return from Mogilev to Tsarskoe Selo on March 8 (J), the threat was not followed through and he was placed under house arrest.
On July 4 (J) when the Bolsheviks attempted a putsch the Fortress garrison of 8,000 men declared for the Bolsheviks. They surrendered to government forces without a struggle on July 6 (J) .
On October 25 (J), again, the Fortress quickly came into Bolshevik hands. Following the ultimatum from the Petrograd Soviet to the Provisional Government ministers in the Winter Palace, after the blank salvo of the Cruiser Aurora at 21.00, the guns of the Fortress fired thirty or so shells at the Winter Palace. Only two actually hit, inflicting minor damage, and the defenders refused to surrender - at that time. At 02.10 on the morning of October 26 (J) the Winter Palace was taken by forces under Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko, the captured ministers were taken to the Fortress as prisoners.
The Provisional Government ministers were the last prisoners at the Fortress. In 1924 most of the site was converted to a museum. In 1931 the Gas Dynamics Laboratory was added to the site. The structure suffered heavy damage during the bombardment of the city during WW II by the Nazi German army who were laying siege to the city. It has been faithfully restored post-war.
[edit] Gallery
 View of the fortress in 2005. |
 Mikhail Chemiakin's statue of Peter I. |
 Peter and Paul Cathedral. |
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