In 1723, by decree of Peter I, a fortress was founded not far from St. Petersburg, on the island of Kotlin. Her project was developed by military engineer A. P. Hannibal (France). It was planned that the structure would consist of several bastions, united by a stone fortress wall.
City of Kronstadt
This legendary city is located on the island of Kotlin and adjacent small islands in the Gulf of Finland. This is the only municipal formation of the Kronstadt district of St. Petersburg. The population of the city is more than forty-three thousand inhabitants.
For a long time (until 1995) this city was closed. In 1996, the Government of the country made a decision on free entry here for Russian citizens, as well as foreign guests. By the way, tourists love to visit this place. Indeed, in this small town there are many attractions - temples and cathedrals, museums and sculptural compositions, monuments to famous people.
It must be said that the temples of the city are not only places of worship, they arekeepers of priceless relics relating to the history of the Russian fleet. Many tourists are attracted by the museums of the city. They keep in themselves an echo of the past days. One of the most famous of them in our country is the Krondstadt Fortress Museum. We will tell you more about him today.
Kronstadt fortress: history
In the autumn of 1724, Admiral P. I. Sievers led the construction of the fortress. In the western part, six bastions were built, which were named after the Preobrazhensky, Butyrsky, Semenovsky, Ingermanlandsky, Marine and Lefortovsky regiments. The soil for the embankment, on which the construction work was carried out, was mined on the mainland by hand. Large-scale fortification work was carried out on top of the foundation. A wall was built, cannons were placed, towers of barracks were built, etc. It was planned to build two bastions in the eastern part of the fortress, and four in the northern part.
Under Peter I, this plan was not implemented, and Peter II greatly simplified the fortress. In 1732, a severe storm destroyed the fortifications of the western part. It took several years to restore the structures damaged by the elements. Construction work in the northern part of the fortress was completed by 1734. The Kronstadt fortress was in constant combat readiness due to the constant threat from the Swedes. The wars of 1805 with France and 1806 with Turkey indicated the need to strengthen the walls. This was done so that the Kronstadt fortress could withstand open fire.
After the victory over the French in 1812, peaceful life began here. However, the constant onslaught of the elements forced to regularly update the wooden fortifications that protected the fortress. Kronstadt suffered a devastating flood in 1824. As a result, military guns were seriously damaged, fortifications were destroyed, and some buildings were washed away.
Kronstadt fortress was restored for more than six years. The fence has been completely rebuilt. Two barracks with attached stone half-towers appeared in the western part. Three more half-towers (single-tier) were erected on the north side. Four defensive barracks were also equipped here. An impressive fortress wall and an earthen rampart were erected on the eastern side. At the beginning of the 19th century, the strength of the garrison of the fortress consisted of more than seventeen thousand military personnel, and after the reconstruction the barracks fund was increased to thirty thousand people.
Fortress today
During the most terrible war in the history of mankind, a road began in Kronstadt, connecting besieged Leningrad with the country. And today, the remains of the fortifications of that time are carefully preserved here. Today, the Kronstadt Fortress hosts within its walls the naval school of the Navy (in the defensive barracks), the naval cadet corps. The rest of the barracks houses the services of the Navy. The protective dam, batteries No. 1-7, half-towers No. 1-3, defensive barracks No. 1-5 are historical and architectural monuments that are protected by the state.
How did the museum come about?
At the beginningOn October 1953, an exhibition dedicated to the history of the legendary city was opened on the basis of the Marine Club. This is how the museum was born. At the very beginning of 1973, it became a branch of the Central Maritime Museum of the city. Part of its exposition after the fire in the Naval Club was temporarily transferred to the building of the Naval Cathedral. I must say that the exposition aroused great interest of citizens and guests. Museum "Kronstadt Fortress" (St. Petersburg) opened its doors to visitors in May 1980, on the eve of Victory Day. Today it is the city's most popular and visited attraction.
St. Petersburg. Museum "Kronstadt Fortress": description
First of all, I would like to note that this unique museum was created with the active participation of the city's indigenous people. They showed an amazing interest in preserving and perpetuating the history of Kronstadt. Locals donated old household items, historical documents, photographs kept in family archives as expensive relics.
Today the Museum "Kronstadt Fortress" in St. Petersburg has a unique collection fund, numbering more than seven thousand exhibits. It consists of seven halls with a total area of almost six hundred square meters, which contain exhibits reflecting the history of the city, as well as the B altic Fleet. In addition, there are two dioramas that very accurately illustrate two major military events.
Dioramas
One of them tells about the defeat of the Swedish landing in 1705 onKotlin island. In the center of the composition you can see the regimental commanders of the Russian army: Gamontov and Mikeshin, as well as Colonel Tolbukhin. To the right is a trench, and in it lies a bleeding soldier. A red flag is visible in the background, which signals the start of hostilities. The second diorama refers to the events of 1941, when Kronstadt was heroically defending itself from the fascist invaders.
Exposures
The entire collection of the museum can be divided into four historical stages. One of them tells about the founding of the city and its existence before the October Revolution. The second part tells about the events that relate to the period from 1917 to 1939. At this time, one of the largest uprisings in the history of Russia took place here, which took place under the slogan "Power to the Soviets, not to parties." As a result, not only the rebels were punished, but almost all the inhabitants of the city. About two thousand people were shot. Another 6,000 residents were sentenced to prison terms. In 1922, residents of the city began to be forcibly evicted from their native land. In memory of all the victims of this tragedy, a mass grave has been created, in which the Eternal Flame always burns.
Then visitors can get acquainted with the next historical period, covering, perhaps, the most terrible time in the modern history of our country - the years of the Great Patriotic War. During the shelling of the German air forces Luftwaffe (1941), the city was practically wiped off the face of the earth. Many ships were sunk, houses blown up,Marine plant destroyed. Surrounded by fascist troops, the city lived without food. During the war, the "Small Road of Life" passed through Kronstadt, which connected it with the Fox Nose and Orienbaum.
Another historical stage reflects the modern life of the legendary city, as well as the history of its recovery after the war. Among the most valuable exhibits of the museum, it is worth noting the marching chest of the Decembrist and publicist D. I. Zavalishin, a fragment of a water pipe that has been preserved since the 19th century, a telescope that belonged to Admiral M. P. Lazarev himself, a unique photo album of the military port of Kronstadt.
Today the most interesting exhibition "The History of Shipwrecks" is open in the museum. Collected here are objects that were raised from ships that sank at different times in the Gulf of Finland.
Interesting facts
Between the forts of Kronstadt in 1854 a mine-artillery position was built (the only one in the world at that time). Contemporaries recalled that with her mere presence, she scared away enemy ships. The forts of the fortress in 1990 were included in the World Heritage List of St. Petersburg. On the territory of forts Alexander I and Constantine in the nineties, the Fort Dance festival started, which lasted 9 years.
How to get to the museum?
If you decide to visit the Kronstadt Fortress Museum, you need to know its address: Anchor Square, house number 2. Bus number 101 will take you here from St. Petersburg (Staraya Derevnya metro station) to the sights. Black River can betake a fixed-route taxi number 405, and from Prospect Prosveshcheniya you will be taken by public transport number 407. In summer, you can get to the museum by train from the B altic Station. You should get off at the Oranienbaum station, then transfer to a ferry or meteor that departs from the Makarov embankment.
