Museum "Kronstadt Fortress" in St. Petersburg: description, review, history and interesting facts

In 1723, by decree of Peter I near St. Petersburg, on the island of Kotlin, a fortress was laid. Her project was developed by military engineer A.P. Hannibal (France). It was planned that the structure would constitute several bastions, united by a stone fortress wall.

Kronstadt

This legendary city is located on the island of Kotlin and the adjacent small islands of 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 the free entry of Russian citizens here, as well as foreign guests. By the way, tourists like to visit this place. After all, in this small city 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 are the keepers of priceless relics related to the history of the Russian fleet. Many tourists are attracted to the museums of the city. They keep in themselves the echo of past days. One of the most famous of them in our country is the museum "Kronstadt fortress". We will tell more about it today.

Kronstadt fortress: history

In the autumn of 1724, Admiral P. I. Sivers headed the construction of the fortress. In the western part, six bastions were built, which were named after the Preobrazhensky, Butyrsky, Semyonovsky, Ingermanland, Marine and Lefortovo regiments. Soil for the mound, which carried out construction work, was mined on the mainland by hand. Large-scale fortification works were carried out on the base. A wall was built, guns were placed, barracks towers were built, etc. Two bastions were planned to be erected in the eastern part of the fortress, and in the northern part four.

Under Peter I this plan was not carried out, and Peter II greatly simplified the fortress. In 1732 the strongest storm destroyed the fortifications of the western part. It took several years to restore the damaged structures. Construction work in the northern part of the fortress was completed by 1734. The Kronstadt fortress was in constant combat readiness because of the constant threat from the Swedes. The wars of 1805 with France and 1806 with Turkey pointed to the need to strengthen the walls. This was done so that the Kronstadt fortress could withstand an open fire.

After the victory over the French in 1812, a peaceful life began here. However, the constant onslaught of the elements made regular renewal of the wooden fortifications, which protected the fortress. Kronstadt in 1824 was subjected to a devastating flood. As a result, serious damage to combat weapons, the fortifications were destroyed, some buildings were washed away.

The Kronstadt fortress was restored for more than six years. The fence was completely rebuilt. Two barracks with attached stone half-towers appeared in the western part. Three more half-towers (single-tier) were erected from the north side. There were four defensive barracks here. On the east side was built an imposing fortress wall and an earthen rampart. At the beginning of the XIX century the strength of the garrison of the fortress numbered more than seventeen thousand servicemen, and after the reconstruction the barracks fund was increased to thirty thousand places.

The fortress in our days

In the years of the most terrible war in the history of mankind in Kronstadt, the road that connected the besieged Leningrad with the country began. And today the remains of the fortifications of that time are carefully preserved here. Nowadays the Kronstadt Fortress houses the seafaring school of the Navy (in the defensive barracks), the naval cadet corps in its walls. In the rest of the barracks there are services of the Navy. Protective dam, batteries number 1-7, semi-tower No. 1-3, defensive barracks No. 1-5 are monuments of history and architecture that are protected by the state.

How did the museum appear?

In early October 1953, on the basis of the Sea Club, an exhibition exhibition was opened, dedicated to the history of the legendary city. So the museum was born. At the very beginning of 1973, it became a branch of the Central Maritime Museum of the city. Part of his exposition after the fire in the Sea Club was temporarily transferred to the building of the Naval Cathedral. I must say that the exhibition caused great interest of citizens and guests. The museum "Kronstadt Fortress" (St. Petersburg) opened its doors to visitors in May 1980, on the eve of Victory Day. Today it is the most popular and visited landmark of the city.

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 indigenous inhabitants of the city. They showed an amazing interest in preserving and perpetuating the history of Kronstadt. The local donated ancient objects of everyday life, historical documents, photographs stored 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 Baltic Fleet. In addition, there are two dioramas, which very accurately illustrate two major military events.

Dioramas

One of them tells about the defeat of the Swedish landing in 1705 on the island of Kotlin. In the center of the composition you can see the commanders of the regiments of the Russian army: Gamontov and Mikeshin, as well as Colonel Tolbukhin. On the right there is a trench, and in it lies the bleeding soldier. In the background there is a red flag that signals the beginning of hostilities. The second diorama refers to the events of 1941, when Kronstadt heroically defended himself against the fascist invaders.

Expositions

The entire collection of the museum can be divided into four historical stages. One of them tells about the foundation of the city and its existence before the October Revolution. The second part tells about the events that are related to the period from 1917 to 1939. At this time, one of the biggest uprisings in the history of Russia took place here, which was held under the slogan "Power to the Soviets, not to the parties". As a result, not only the insurgents, but virtually all the residents of the city suffered the punishment. About two thousand people were shot. Another six thousand residents were sentenced to prison. In 1922, the inhabitants of the city began to forcibly evict 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 following historical period, covering, perhaps, the most terrible time in modern history of our country - the years of the Great Patriotic War. During the shelling of the German air force Luftwaffe (1941), the city was practically wiped from the face of the earth. Many ships were sunk, houses were blown up, the Marine Plant was destroyed. Surrounded by fascist troops, the city lived without food. Through Kronstadt during the war, the "Little Road of Life" took place, which connected him with Fox Face and Orienbaum.

Another historical stage reflects the modern life of the legendary city, as well as the history of its restoration after the war. Among the most valuable exhibits of the museum is the marching box of the Decembrist and publicist DI Zavalishin, a fragment of the water pipe that has been preserved since the 19th century, a telescope belonging to Admiral MP Lazarev himself, a unique photo album of the military port of Kronstadt.

Today in the museum there is an interesting exhibition "History of shipwrecks". Here are collected items 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 and artillery position was built (the only one at that time in the world). Contemporaries recalled that with one of her presence she frightened off enemy ships. The Fortress Fortress was included in the World Heritage List of St. Petersburg in 1990. On the territory of forts, Alexander I and Constantine in the nineties launched the festival "Fort Dance", which lasted 9 years.

How to get to the museum?

If you decide to visit the museum "Kronstadt Fortress", you need to know its address: Anchor Square, house number 2. From here you can take bus number 101 from St. Petersburg (metro station "Staraya derevnya"). From the "Black River" you can take advantage of Shuttle bus number 405, and from Prospekt Prosveshcheniya you will take public transport at number 407. In summer, the museum can be reached by train coming from the Baltic station. You should go to the station "Oranienbaum", then change to a ferry or meteor, which departs from the Makarov quay.