Peter and Paul Fortress

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Peter and Paul Fortress
An aerial view of the fortress
Type	Fortress and Museum
Location	Saint Petersburg, Russia
Coordinates	59°57′00″N 30°19′01″E / 59.950°N 30.317°E / 59.950; 30.317
Built	1703–1740
Architect	Domenico Trezzini
Location of Peter and Paul Fortress in Central Saint Petersburg

The Peter and Paul Fortress (Russian: Петропавловская крепость, romanized: Petropavlovskaya krepost') is the original citadel of Saint Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706 to 1740 as a star fortress.^[1] Between the first half of the 1700s and early 1920s it served as a prison for political criminals. It has been a museum since 1924.^[2]

History

From foundation until 1917

The fortress was established by

During the February Revolution of 1917, it was attacked by mutinous soldiers of the Pavlovsky Life Guards Regiment on February 27 (O.S.) and the prisoners were freed. Under the Provisional Government, hundreds of Tsarist officials were held in the Fortress.

The tsar was threatened with being incarcerated at the fortress on his return from Mogilev to Tsarskoye Selo on March 8 (O.S.); but he was placed under house arrest. On July 4 (O.S.) during the July Days demonstrations, the fortress garrison of 8,000 men declared for the Bolsheviks. They surrendered to government forces without a struggle on July 6 (O.S.).

On October 25 (O.S.), the fortress quickly fell into Bolshevik hands. Following the ultimatum from the

The structure suffered heavy damage during the bombardment of the city during World War II by the Luftwaffe who were laying siege to the city. It has been restored post-war and is a tourist attraction.^[1]

Public perception

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In the years before and after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, the Peter and Paul Fortress was portrayed by Bolshevik propaganda as a hellish, torturous place, where thousands of prisoners suffered endlessly in filthy, cramped, and grossly overcrowded dungeons amid frequent torture and malnutrition. Such legends had the effect of turning the prison into a symbol of government oppression in the minds of the common folk. In reality, conditions in the fortress were far less brutal than believed; no more than one hundred prisoners were ever kept in the prison at a time, and most prisoners had access to such luxuries as tobacco, writing paper, and literature (including subversive books such as

Despite their ultimate falsehood, stories about the prison were vital to the spread of Bolshevik revolutionary sentiment. The legends served to portray the government as cruel and indiscriminate in the administration of justice, helping to turn the common mind against Tsarist rule. Many inmates, after being released, wrote chilling and increasingly exaggerated accounts of life there that solidified the structure's horrible image in the public mind and pushed the people further towards dissent. Writers often purposely exaggerated their experiences to garner more hatred for the government; as writer and former Peter and Paul inmate

The fortress contains several buildings clustered around the Peter and Paul Cathedral (1712–1733), which has a 122.5 m (402 ft) bell-tower and a gilded angel-topped cupola.

Other structures inside the fortress include the still functioning

• Views of the fortress
• 
  Peter and Paul Fortress. View across the Neva River
• 
  Entrance from Ioannovsky Bridge
• 
  Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg
• 
  View of the fortress and cathedral from the Neva
• 
  Peter and Paul Fortress at sunset
• 
  Walls

To the north of the fortress across the Kronverksky Strait lies the Kronverk, formerly the fortress' outer defence and now home to the Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineers and Signal Corps.

Midday Cannon Shot

During the time of Peter the Great, a shot from the cannon of the Peter and Paul Fortress was heard in honor of military victories, on holidays, and also to warn residents about the rise in the water level of the Neva.

Since 1873, the cannon is fired at noon. Residents of the city even checked their watches by the shot. The gun was silent only in times of revolutions and wars. However, nowadays the gunshot can be heard every day at 12 noon.^[4]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Peter & Paul Fortress.

• Official webpage (in Russian)
• Official site of museum complex
• Satellite photo, via Google Maps
• Useful information about the Peter and Paul Fortress, read on the website tour-planet.com reviews written by real travelers
• Peter & Paul Fortress at www.spb-city.com
• The Association of Castles and Museums around the Baltic Sea
• Useful information about the Peter and Paul Fortress (in Russian)