Peter and Paul Fortress - the most famous landmark of St. Petersburg
The Peter and Paul Fortress is located on the Hare ('Zayachy') island in the delta of the Neva river. It is the oldest construction in the St. Petersburg, Moreover, the construction of the city began just from the Peter and Paul Fortress on 27 May (May 16, old style), 1703.
The Russian state turned into an empire during the Northern War, when all the countries of northern Europe fought against the Swedes. Peter the Great, the first Russian emperor who founded St. Petersburg, personally chose a place for the construction of a fortress, and his gaze fell on 'Zayachy' Island.
Brief history of the Fortress
As it was written earlier, the Peter and Paul Fortress, first of all, was built with a defensive purpose. The fortress was built according to all modern trends of that time - in shape it was an elongated six-pointed star.
From a bird's eye view, it is also a form of a fortress that reminds many of a turtle. The construction was led by the French engineer and General Joseph Lambert. The fortress was built very quickly - in just one year.
The fortress consists of six bastions, which are named after the associates of Peter the Great: «Trubetskoy», «Zotov», «Naryshkin», «Menshikov», «Golovkin» and «Gosudarev». The latter was supposed to be named after Tsarevich Alexei, but this did not happen - he was accused of conspiracy and became the first prisoner of the Peter and Paul Fortress.
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