Peter and Paul Fortress - St Petersburg

Peter the Great founded the city of St. Petersburg in 1703 and the very first building to be constructed was the Peter and Paul Fortress. Today the fortress is one of St. Petersburg's major tourist attractions and has become the emblem of the city. It is also home to the headquarters of the St. Petersburg City History Museum, which displays collections throughout the fortress complex.

A nice restaurant beside the Fortress

Nice buildings inside the Peter and Paul Fortress

Buildings inside the Peter and Paul Fortress

Jenni on the funny chair

Other stunning building inside the Peter and Paul Fortress

Suzanne and Jenni on the man-made beach just outside the Peter and Paul Fortress

The Peter and Paul Fortress from the distance.

Some Russian's enjoying the sun on the man-made beach onside the Peter and Paul Fortress. It was only about 15c.

The entrance to the Peter and Paul Fortress

Traditional Russian figure

Buildings inside the Fortress

Jenni inside the Petet and Paul Fortress

Suzanne on a strange chair 

The little church in the Peter and Paul Fortress.

Marina on the funny chairs at Peter and Paul Fortress.

Jenni in the Peter and Paul Fortress

The boat house in the Peter and Paul Fortress

The Peter and Paul Fortress was the first structure to be built in Peter the Great's newly founded city of St. Petersburg in May, 1703. Located on one of the city's 42 islands, the fortress has six bastions named after some of the prominent individuals who supervised their construction, including one dedicated to Tzar Peter himself. The original walls were built of clay and the present-day brick walls were added later between 1706 and 1740. All construction work on the fortress was carried out under the close supervision of St. Petersburg's first architect Domenico Trezzini and the Tzar himself. Construction on The Peter and Paul Cathedral began in 1712, but was only completed some 21 years later in 1733, eight years after Peter the Great's death. For a long time the Cathedral was the city's main church and until 1917 it was the burial and resting place of the Russian tzars.

Though ideally positioned to sustain an enemy attack, the fortress was never actually involved in any fighting. It was, however, used to house the city garrison and a section of the complex was soon converted into a high security political prison. Peter the Great's rebellious son Alexei was its first inmate.