Peter and Paul Fortress

About museum

The Peter and Paul Fortress was founded on May 27, 1703 on Zayachy (Hare) Island at the mouth of the Neva River to a design by the French engineer J. G. Lamber with the participation of Peter I. It has a six-pointed star shape and consists of six curtain walls connected by six powerful bastions named after Peter I’s companions. The defensive system is complemented by the Ioannovsky and Alekseevsky ravelins, as well as the Ioannovsky and Kronverksky bridges that connect Zayachy Island with Petrogradsky Island. The St. Andrew’s flag was raised on the Sovereign (Gosudarev) Bastion, and 300 guns were mounted on the ramparts. In the center of the fortress a wooden church was erected in honor of the apostles Peter and Paul, which was later replaced by a stone cathedral. It was assigned to the court administration and served as the burial vault for Russian emperors and empresses from Peter I to Nicholas II, with the exceptions of Peter II and Ivan VI. In addition, the Grand Ducal burial vault adjoins the fortress. In 1954 the complex of buildings was transferred to the State Museum of the History of Leningrad (St. Petersburg).