Nevsky Gate of Petropavlovskaya. Neva Gate. Gate of the Peter and Paul Fortress

Description

After viewing the Nevsky Panorama, you can visit the exhibitions of the Trubetskoy Bastion prison. From the Sovereign's Bastion, go back along the fortress wall facing the Neva and to the end.

From the beginning of the 18th century, the Peter and Paul Fortress also served as a prison for especially dangerous state criminals, who were placed in casemates of bastions and curtains, and special prison buildings were also built.
In the building of the Trubetskoy Bastion prison that has survived to this day (the Building of the Prison Department at the St. Petersburg Fortress is the official name of the prison), an extensive museum exhibition dedicated to the history of the imprisonment of prisoners of the “Russian Bastille” has been deployed.

The two-story building, pentagonal in plan, was erected inside the Trubetskoy Bastion on the site of its dismantled internal walls in 1870 - 1872 according to the design and under the leadership of engineers K. P. Andreev and M. A. Pasypkin. The prison was created to hold political prisoners. Solitary confinement, harsh conditions of detention, complete isolation from the outside world were the lot of prisoners. More than one and a half thousand prisoners languished in the dungeons of the Trubetskoy Bastion prison under the autocracy. In the period 1870 - 1880, revolutionaries-People's Will were imprisoned in prison - Pavel Kropotkin, German Lopatin, Vera Figner, Andrei Zhelyabov and many others.
In the spring of 1887, after preventing a plot to assassinate Emperor Alexander III, members of the “Terrorist Faction” of the Narodnaya Volya party, among the organizers of which was Vladimir Lenin’s elder brother Alexander Ulyanov, were imprisoned. After the trial, the conspirators were transferred from the Peter and Paul Prison to the Shlisselburg Fortress, where they were executed on May 8 (20), 1887.

At the beginning of the 1905 revolution, a prisoner of the Political Prison Peter and Paul Fortress The writer Maxim Gorky, who shared revolutionary sentiments, became famous by that time for his appeal “To all Russian citizens and public opinion European countries"The writer spent several weeks in prison; he was released thanks to a wide campaign of defense in Russia and abroad.

In the museum you will visit prison cells, where the conditions and life of prisoners are recreated in detail. The stands display many documents and photographs of that time, from which you will learn about many prisoners of the Political Prison of the Peter and Paul Fortress, whose fates are inextricably linked with the history of Russia.
After such a sad tour of the prison casemates, we suggest you finish the tour on the Neva embankment of the Peter and Paul Fortress. After leaving the museum, go back along the Catherine Curtain and the Naryshkin Bastion to the Neva Gate, passing through which you will find yourself on the Komendantskaya pier, from where a magnificent view of the Neva opens.

Initially, the Neva Gate was wooden, like all the fortifications of the fortress; in the 1720s they were rebuilt into stone ones according to the design of the architect Domenico Trezzini.
The Neva Gate acquired its current ceremonial appearance from the Neva in the second half of the 18th century. Built according to the design of the architect N. A. Lvov in 1784 - 1787 from polished Serdobol granite in the form of a classic portico with paired columns, decorated with an image of an anchor and decorative bombs with tongues of fire on the pediment, the Neva Gate has the significance of a triumphal monument in honor of the victories of the Russian fleet.
The northern façade of the gate from the fortress side is decorated with the monogram of Catherine II with the construction date “1787”. Under the arch you will see marks - these are the recorded levels of the largest floods in St. Petersburg.

On the Neva embankment, the gate is connected to a granite pier, which in 1860 began to be called Komendantskaya. It was from her that the commandant of the Peter and Paul Fortress sailed on a boat to report to the Sovereign Emperor.

Coming out onto the Neva expanse, you will again see a panorama where St. Petersburg will appear with its grand facades of magnificent embankments, palaces and cathedrals.

Then we can offer two options for a walk - along the embankment along the fortress walls along the Neva towards the Palace Bridge and the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island, going around the fortress on the south side, you will come out to the Kronveksky Bridge, through which you will get to the Petrograd side. Then you can go to a cafe and relax with a cup of coffee or have a hearty meal. There is a shorter way - along the embankment in the opposite direction towards the Trinity Bridge, you will come out to the Ioannovsky Bridge, through which our excursion began. There you will see several piers, from which you can continue your boat tour along the Neva, canals and rivers of St. Petersburg, or if you are very tired, head to the Gorkovskaya metro station.

We hope that hiking A tour of the Peter and Paul Fortress will give you pleasure and many memories.

Under the arch of the Neva Gate on the right on the wall there are metal and marble memorial plaques with marks of the level of the most severe floods in the history of St. Petersburg. The line between letters A and B indicates the level of water rise. Please note that the so-called “pit” is left here - that is, the soil level that existed in the 18th century is shown. This allows you to imagine the full power of the raging elements.
St. Petersburg floods are not of a river, but of a sea nature. Sea floods - they are also called storm surges - occur in other seas and threaten many cities, but St. Petersburg is one of the largest among them.
Since the founding of the city, more than three hundred floods have occurred in St. Petersburg. Once upon a time, water rises above 90 centimeters were considered dangerous for the city. Since during the existence of the city the cultural layer has risen by almost one and a half meters, now a flood is considered to be a rise in water in the Neva 161 centimeters above the ordinary level - the zero mark on the foot rod installed at the Mining Institute on Vasilyevsky Island.
After the flood of 1777, Catherine II adopted a decree “on the establishment of signs and signals in the city” to notify the population about the rise of water in the Neva. These decrees remained in effect almost unchanged until the 1930s, before the widespread use of radio broadcasting.
The September flood of 1777 was the third highest in the entire history of St. Petersburg floods. The water then rose to 321 centimeters. Hundreds of houses were destroyed, thousands of trees were uprooted, St. Petersburg cemeteries were washed away, ships were washed up on the embankments. The fountains built by Peter died Summer Garden, never restored. Shops with goods and food were destroyed, people died.
Empress Catherine wrote to her correspondent: “The Neva presented the spectacle of the destruction of Jerusalem.” According to the recollections of contemporaries, during the flood the Empress prayed fervently in the Church of the Winter Palace. When the danger had passed, she called Chief of Police Chicherin to her palace. When he appeared, the Empress stood up, bowed from the waist and said: “Thank you, Nikolai Ivanovich! By your mercy, many of my faithful subjects perished!” The Chief of Police was accused of the poor condition of the city's watercourses. Then it was believed that the cause of the floods was that the western wind did not allow the Neva water to enter the bay, and in order to avoid a disaster it was enough to direct the “excess” into the city rivers and canals. Modern science believes that the cause of the Neva floods is much more complex. But the short reprimand of the empress, pronounced in a quiet voice, made such an impression on the general that he immediately suffered a blow in the palace, he was taken home, where he soon died. His assistant was expelled from St. Petersburg within 24 hours. Since both were bribe takers and extortionists known throughout the city, the townspeople were pleased with this turn of events. One of his contemporaries remarked: “Every cloud has a silver lining! The water washes away the dirt, and the flood washed away two dirty people.”
The most terrible flood in the history of St. Petersburg was the flood of November 7, 1824, described by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin in the poem “The Bronze Horseman.” The water rose 421 centimeters above normal. Vasilievsky Island suffered the most, one of whose residents wrote: “... the long-suffering but righteous God visited St. Petersburg with an unprecedented flood. It was brief, but terrible and disastrous.” According to memoirs, it is known that “the Neva amounted to Palace Square one huge lake, flowing down Nevsky Prospekt like a wide river.” St. Petersburg Governor-General Count Miloradovich, who was organizing assistance to the victims, sailed along Nevsky in a 12-oar boat. The consequences of the flood were terrible, and for a long time St. Petersburg residents divided their lives into “before the flood” and “after.” We again remembered the prophecy of Peter’s first, unloved wife, Evdokia Lopukhina, who hated Peter’s beloved brainchild: “Petersburg will be empty!”
The second highest water rise was the flood of 1924 - 380 centimeters. At the same time, fires started in the city. The disaster caused incalculable losses and claimed many lives. The severity of the situation was aggravated by the post-revolutionary devastation and civil war. It is curious that this flood, or rather, the behavior of laboratory dogs during it, prompted Academician Pavlov to study conditioned reflexes.
The dates of the two most catastrophic floods in the history of the city - separated by exactly a hundred years, 1824 and 1924 - create a mysterious and mystical mood. As the poet said: “Two floods a hundred years apart - don’t they shed some light on the meaning of everything?” The even earlier flood of November 1724 cannot be put on a par with them in terms of the height of the water rise - “only” 211 centimeters. But it was fatal for Peter. While rescuing drowning sailors off the coast of Lakhta, the sovereign caught a cold in cold water under a strong wind. A long-standing kidney disease worsened, and in January of the following year, 1725, Peter the Great passed away.
Maybe it’s true - there is something in the mystical magic of numbers and dates? The unpredictability of floods and the suddenness of the violent onslaught of the elements caused mystical horror and gave rise to numerous rumors and dark legends in which the river itself became the main thing. actor.
The Neva, powerful and majestic, immediately became the main street of St. Petersburg. In order to admire the panorama of the Neva banks, we will go out to the Komendantskaya pier.

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Neva Gate, rebuilt in 1787 in the classical style according to the design of a prominent figure of Russian culture, scientist and architect Nikolai Lvov. The gate and the pier formed a single solemn architectural ensemble, which has survived to this day almost unchanged. It should be noted that these works no longer had defensive significance: the fortress acquired an appearance corresponding to its outstanding role as the historical center of the capital of the empire. The first gate was built in the Neva curtain between the Sovereign and Naryshkin bastions back in 1714. Then they were made of wood - like the pier next to them, which looked like ordinary wooden walkways. In the early 1720s, the gate was rebuilt in stone by Domenico Trezzini, but the pier remained wooden until the 1770s.

Nevsky Gate and Commandant's Pier (issue 67 – Peter and Paul Fortress)

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Nevsky Gate and Komendantskaya pier in the painting by Ivan Ivanov “View of the Neva River embankment on the day of Midsummer”. From here, members of the imperial family, sailing along the Neva from the Winter Palace, entered the fortress. Initially, the pier was called Tsarskaya, later – Nevskaya, and from the 1760s – Komendantskaya. The boat of the commandant (chief) of the fortress was moored here. One of the oldest city ceremonies began from the pier - the celebration of the opening of navigation. This event had special significance for the city, which grew up on the islands and right up to the middle XIX century did not have a permanent bridge across the Neva. When the Neva was finally cleared of ice, the commandant set off on his boat to Winter Palace with a report to the emperor and presented him with a cup of Neva water. According to legend, the emperor returned the cup, filling it to the top with silver rubles. This was followed by the highest order to open navigation. Cannons fired from the walls of the fortress, fireworks were set off, and the water area was filled with ships and boats of all kinds under multi-colored flags. At this time, “Midnight” was usually celebrated - an ancient church holiday “halfway” between Easter and Trinity. The clergy of all the parish churches of St. Petersburg gathered at the Commandant's pier to consecrate the Neva water. At the ceremonial dinner in the fortress, huge sturgeons were served, “caught not in any other river, but certainly in the Neva.” Back in 1715, by decree of Peter I, a footstock was strengthened on the eastern side of the pier - a pole with divisions that made it possible to measure the water level. This made it possible to determine the average (“ordinary”) water level in the Neva and laid the foundation for regular hydrological observations in Russia. It was by the divisions on this footing rod that the height of the rise of water during floods was determined.

“Chronicle of catastrophic floods” under the arch of the Neva Gate (issue 67 – Peter and Paul Fortress)

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"Chronicle of catastrophic floods" on the wall under the arch of the Neva Gate. The boards indicate the level of water rise during five floods: 1752 (2.8 meters), 1777 (3.2 meters), 1788 (2.3 meters), 1824 (4.2 meters), 1924 (3.8 meters) and 1975 (2.8 meters). The pavement here has been specially deepened to the position in which it was in the 18th century. From Swedish chronicles we know about the catastrophic flood of 1691 (7.6 meters). This is the most high level the highest water rise in the Neva ever recorded. The first flood in the history of St. Petersburg occurred three months after its foundation. The water flooded Hare Island and washed away the forest harvested for the construction of the fortress. The flood of 1724 led to the illness and death of Peter I (he saved drowning sailors). The most catastrophic flood was on November 7, 1824. “The Neva and Palace Square formed one huge lake, flowing out along Nevsky Prospekt like a wide river,” recalled an eyewitness. Providing assistance to the townspeople, the Governor-General then sailed along Nevsky Prospekt on his huge boat.

The Peter and Paul Fortress is the first building of St. Petersburg. This is exactly how the city was founded in 1703 by Peter I. Since the territory passed to the Russian Empire during the war with Sweden, the fortress was built to protect against the Swedes. The fortress was founded on Hare Island, so the fortress’s cannons were supposed to defend the city from invasion along two large branches of the river. The maritime borders of St. Petersburg were supposed to be protected by the Kronstadt fortress, founded in 1704.

Well, already in 1705, the first industrial structure was opened, the Admiralty Shipyard on Admiralty Island, which in 1706 was a fortress to protect the territory as part of the Northern War with the Swedes. Now the Peter and Paul Fortress is an object cultural heritage St. Petersburg. And even though it is now a museum, we should not forget that this is a real fort that was ready to repel any attack.

How to get to the Peter and Paul Fortress

The Peter and Paul Fortress is located on Hare Island, which is open to the public daily from 6.00 to 21.00. The fortress itself is open to the public from 9.00 to 20.00. There are two bridges leading to Hare Island: Ioannovsky Bridge and Kronverksky Bridge.

You can enter the territory of the island, as well as the fortress itself, via any of the bridges. Not far from the Peter and Paul Fortress there is Gorkovskaya metro station, from it to the Peter and Paul Fortress is no more than 5-10 minutes on foot.

You can also get here on foot: from Admiralty Island through Trinity Bridge. Or by Palace Bridge first to the spit of Vasilievsky Island, and from there across the Birzhevoy Bridge along the Mytninskaya Embankment to the Kronverksky Bridge, but this route is the longest. Directions and opening hours of ticket offices and exhibitions can be found on the Peter and Paul Fortress website.

Ioannovsky Bridge and Ioannovsky Ravelin

We got to the Peter and Paul Fortress in the easiest way - by metro. The ground vestibule of Gorkovskaya station is located in Aleksandrovsky Park, and when you go outside, it’s easy to lose your orientation and understand where to go. In this case, if your natural sense of direction is silent, then it is better to ask someone for directions or try to follow the main stream of people.

So after 5 minutes we find ourselves at the Ioannovsky Bridge, the road to historical heart St. Petersburg, Peter and Paul Fortress. The bridge is oldest bridge St. Petersburg, even though nothing remains of that same bridge. Ioannovsky Bridge, originally called Krasny, as the main and only bridge to the fortress, had a lifting central section.

The Ioannovsky Bridge ends with the Ioannovsky Gate, on which the year 1740 is indicated. This is the year the construction work was completed, during which the Peter and Paul Fortress became completely stone, before which it was wooden. The fortress is further strengthened on the east and west by defensive structures called ravelins. The very same Ioannovsky Gate is built into the eastern ravelin or Ioannovsky. Therefore, having passed through them, thus bypassing the ravelin, we find ourselves in an open space directly in front of the main walls of the fortress.

Gate of the Peter and Paul Fortress

There are four gates leading to the Peter and Paul Fortress, according to the number of cardinal directions and their location.

Neva Gate. This is the southern river entrance to the fortress. It was possible to get into the fortress through the Neva Gate only by mooring to the pier. Hence the name of the gate.
Vasilievsky Gate from the west, this gate serves as the entrance to the fortress through the Vasilievsky curtain, which faces Vasilyevsky Island, hence the name.
Nikolsky Gate serves as the entrance to the Peter and Paul Fortress from the north. They were not in the original plan of 1703 and they appeared in the Nikolskaya curtain only during the reconstruction of the wooden fortress into a stone one a quarter of a century after its foundation.
Petrovsky Gate, the eastern entrance to the fortress, the most beautiful gate of the fortress

It is through the Petrovsky Gate that we enter the fortress. The wooden gate was built in 1708 and rebuilt 10 years later in stone. Peter's Gate is a monument to Peter's Borroque, designed by the architect Domenico Trezzini. In the niches on either side of the gate are statues representing “Prudence” and “Courage”.

A lead double-headed eagle is installed above the arch. And above it is a wooden bas-relief “The Overthrow of Simon the Magus by the Apostle Peter,” in which Simon is identified with the Swedish King Charles XII, and the Apostle Peter with Peter I, respectively. Thus, the whole picture is a symbol of Russia’s victory in the Northern War with Sweden.

Grand Ducal Tomb and Monument to Peter I

Behind the Petrovsky Gate, the central alley to the Cathedral Square of the fortress begins, paved with paving stones.

The central alley will lead us straight to Cathedral Square and its main Peter and Paul Cathedral. But first there are several attractions awaiting us.

To the right of the alley, in the territory of its own garden, is the Grand Ducal Tomb. The role of the tomb in the Peter and Paul Fortress went to the Peter and Paul Cathedral; the tomb itself appeared here much later in 1908. The tomb was intended for grand dukes and princesses, as well as for princes of imperial blood. Some of the burials in the tomb were moved from the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Opposite the tomb, on the other side of the alley, the founder of the fortress, Peter I, sits on a forged throne, behind him is the building of the chief officer's guardhouse. Sculpture of Peter I, work by Mikhail Mikhailovich Shemyakin, Russian and American artist. When creating the sculpture, the artist took inspiration from the famous “Wax Person”, a wax double of the emperor, exhibited in the State Hermitage.

“The Wax Person” is entirely the work of Carlo Rastrelli, who, during the life of Peter I, took a wax cast from the emperor’s face and used it to make a bust and an exact copy of Peter. But “Shemyakin’s Peter” owes only his face to Rastrelli’s mask, while the body, devoid of proportions, will be left to the artist’s conscience.

Cathedral Square and Peter and Paul Cathedral

The alley leads us to Cathedral Square, which also served as a parade ground for the fortress garrison.

Several main buildings of the fortress are located on Cathedral Square. First of all this Peter and Paul Cathedral, Mint and Boat House. The current Gosznak Mint and the largest Mint in the World.

The boat house was built specifically to store the boat of Peter I, where it was kept until 1931; a copy is now on display here.

The construction of the Peter and Paul Fortress began with this cathedral. The building was founded in 1703 on the day of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. The height of the Peter and Paul Cathedral with its spire was 122.5 meters. Until 2013, it was the tallest building in St. Petersburg. According to the plan of Peter I, the Peter and Paul Cathedral was to become the first building new Russia, which is why it does not look like traditional Orthodox churches, and with its height, the spire almost pierces the sky.

Trubetskoy Bastion Prison

Although you can walk around the territory of the Peter and Paul Fortress absolutely free, exhibitions and museums in the fortress still cost money. Therefore, you will have to pay to visit the next attraction, but it will be worth it.

What is a fortress without “dungeons”? No, of course it did not exist in the original plans; guardhouses were usually used for punishment. The prison in the Trubetskoy Bastion appeared in 1872; for the sake of its construction, the internal walls of the bastion were dismantled. So, in place of the tower, a pentagonal two-story prison building with a courtyard appeared, in the center of which there were baths.

The prison was designed with 73 solitary cells, where main goal there was complete isolation of the prisoner both from the outside world and from other prisoners. IN different years Populist revolutionaries served their sentences here, including Lenin’s elder brother Alexander Ilyich Ulyanov, Socialist Revolutionaries, members of the deputation who opposed the executions of 1905, including Maxim Gorky, as well as members of the St. Petersburg Council of Workers’ Deputies, including Leon Trotsky.

Later, the situation changed radically twice, first during the February Revolution, and later as a result of the October Revolution of 1917. Thus, the population of the prison cells changed first to ministers and police chiefs, and later to the provisional government, cadets and members of the Cadet Party. The fundamental difference between the Bolshevik prison and the “tsarist” prison was the abolition of solitary confinement.

A particularly sad page in the history of the Trubetskoy Bastion prison was the years of the Red Terror, when prisoners, including 4 Grand Dukes, were massacred on the territory of the fortress. In 2010, mass graves of victims of the Red Terror were discovered on the territory of the Fortress.

Naryshkin Bastion and Neva Curtain

A special pleasure in visiting the Peter and Paul Fortress is the opportunity to look at the city from the walls of the fortress. There is such an opportunity, all you need to do is climb the Naryshkin Bastion, having previously purchased a ticket at the ticket office located here. Since the fortress was built in the shape of a six-pointed star, there are exactly six bastions in the fortress. In one of them we just visited a prison, it was the Trubetskoy bastion, the others are the Menishikov, Golovkin and Zotov bastions. There are two more, Naryshkin and Gosudarev, between which lies the camp called the Nevskaya Curtain we will have to examine. From here, from the Naryshkin bastion, a cannon fires its salvo every day at noon, announcing the middle of the day.

From the Naryshkin bastion there are beautiful views of not only the Neva, but also the fortress itself. The route from the Naryshkin Bastion along the Neva Curtain to the Sovereign Bastion is called the Nevsky Panorama, which is how it is positioned at the box office and on advertising posters in the fortress.

The Neva curtain is a shaft connecting the Naryshkin and Sovereign bastions. The shaft faces the Neva, hence its name. It is in the Neva Curtain that the Neva Gate, also called the Gate of Death, was installed.

Along the wooden flooring, accompanied by an audio guide broadcasting from horns installed on the curtain, we move towards the Sovereign Bastion.

The Sovereign's Bastion was founded first; now a monument has been erected on the bastion in honor of the “300th anniversary of the founding of St. Petersburg.”

And from the bastion itself it opens beautiful view to the Neva and to the Trinity Bridge. By the way, you can enter the bastion and walk along its turn, feeling like you are in a real dungeon.

Postern of the Sovereign Bastion of the Peter and Paul Fortress

Poterna is an underground corridor communicating between the internal structures of the fort and its external fortifications. Thus, through the trench of the Sovereign's bastion one could get into the inner courtyard of the fortress, bypassing the Petrovsky Gate.

Entrance to the terna is carried out from outside The Sovereign's Bastion, from the side of Ioannovsky Ravelin. There is an entrance fee, and the gallery itself is not very large, ending with a small art exhibition.

This is where the sights we visited ended. Of course, we have not examined all the objects of the fortress and visited not all exhibitions and museum displays, but what we have covered is quite enough for a 4-5 hour acquaintance with the Peter and Paul Fortress. And it's definitely worth going here. After all, the Peter and Paul Fortress is the first building of the Northern capital, and a military one at that. It turns out that the Peter and Paul Fortress contains the charm of Kronstadt and the proximity of St. Petersburg attractions.

The first wooden gate on this important historical place St. Petersburg were built at the beginning of the 18th century. A few years later they were rebuilt according to the design of a famous Italian architect and became stone. And subsequently they were rebuilt several times by different architects. The last reconstruction was carried out at the end of the 18th century.

The Neva Gate of the Peter and Paul Fortress is the main water gate on the Hare Island of St. Petersburg, leading to the Komendantskaya pier. They are located between two bastions: Sovereign and Naryshkin. This is the only exit from the fortress to the Neva River.

General information about the Peter and Paul Fortress

Before we move on to the description of the Neva Gate of the Peter and Paul Fortress, we will provide some information about the entire complex, which is the first grandiose building in St. Petersburg. It was in this place that Peter I founded the city on the Neva in 1703. Since the territory became part of the Russian Empire during hostilities with Sweden, the citadel was built for the purpose of protection from the Swedes.

Due to the fact that the fortress was founded on an island, the fortress cannons had to defend the city along two large branches of the river. The sea borders of St. Petersburg were protected by a building built in 1704. Already in 1705, the Admiralty Shipyard (the first industrial building) was opened on Admiralty Island.

Today the fortress is an object of cultural and historical heritage northern capital Russia. Although it is a museum under open air, it should be remembered that this is a real and powerful fort, which was always ready to repel any enemy attack.

In addition to the Neva Gate of the fortress, there are others. Let's introduce them briefly.

Gate of the Peter and Paul Fortress

There are only four of them in the citadel, and they are located according to the cardinal directions.

To the west is the Vasilievsky Gate. They serve as an entrance through the Vasilyevskaya curtain, facing the island of the same name (hence the name of the gate).
From the north, the entrance to the museum is the Nikolsky Gate. They were not included in the original draft of 1703. They were created in the Nikolskaya curtain only during the reconstruction of the wooden fortress into a stone one (25 years after its foundation).
Neva Gate is the southern entrance to the fortress, from the river side (hence the name). Previously, it was possible to get to the fortress through them only by mooring to the pier.
On the eastern side there is the most majestic and beautiful gate - Petrovsky. They were built from wood in 1708, and 10 years later they were rebuilt in stone. These gates are a monument to Peter the Great's Baroque, designed by the famous architect. On both sides of them, in niches, there are statues that personify “Courage” and “Prudence.”

Above the arch of the Petrovsky Gate there is a double-headed lead eagle, above which there is a wooden bas-relief entitled “The Overthrow of Simon the Magus by the Apostle Peter,” where Simon is identified with and the apostle with Tsar Peter I. The painting is a symbol of Russia’s victory over the Swedes in the Northern War.

A brief history of the Neva Gate of the Peter and Paul Fortress

The first wooden gates at this historical site in St. Petersburg were built in 1714-16. The stone gate was built in 1720 according to the design of the architect D. Trezzini (an outstanding Italian architect from the time of Peter I). Then they were rebuilt several more times by different craftsmen. The latest version of the gate was created and built by the architect N. A. Lvov in the period from 1784 to 1787.

This gate is also called the “Gate of Death”. They received this name due to the fact that through them prisoners sentenced to death were taken out of the Peter and Paul dungeons. death penalty. They were taken along the Neva to the place of execution. However, there is also a positive legend about these gates, which says that the “grandfather of the Russian fleet” was brought into the fortress through them.

Description of the Neva Gate

Nevsky Gate (St. Petersburg) — architectural monument classicism.

The height of the structure in the latest version is 12 meters, the width is 12.2 meters. They are installed on a plinth, the height of which is almost a meter. To the left and right of the arch are twin columns supporting a triangular pediment. The columns and base are made of Serdobol silver-white polished granite. The decoration on the pediment represents an image in the form of an anchor with crossed palm branches and a fluttering ribbon (the work of an unknown sculptor). There is also a gilded inscription here - the date of creation of the gate. Along the edges of the pediment are two bombs with tongues of flame.

The arch of the Neva Gate of the Peter and Paul Fortress, protruding from the curtain, has the appearance of a classic portico.

Modern fortress, purpose

Official name the historical core of the city is the Petrograd Fortress (1914-1917) and the St. Petersburg Fortress. It is listed as part of the Museum of the History of the City of St. Petersburg. From the Naryshkin Bastion a symbolic shot is fired from a signal cannon every day at noon.

In 1991, a monument to Great Peter was erected on the territory (the work of sculptor Shemyakin). Since the beginning of the 21st century, various events have been held on the beach of the Peter and Paul Fortress entertainment activities, excursions. The Museum of Cosmonautics and Rocket Technology also operates here. A grand piano was installed in the flag tower in 2005, which is periodically played by famous musicians from all over the world.

How to get there?

Hare Island is open to tourists every day from 6.00 am to 9.00 pm, and the complex itself (respectively, the Nevsky Gate of the Peter and Paul Fortress) is from 9.00 to 20.00. There are 2 bridges leading to the island: Kronverksky and Ioannovsky.

Not far from the fortress there is the Gorkovskaya metro station, from which the historical citadel is a 5-10 minute walk.

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