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Lecture#6
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Now have a look at the Peter-&-Paul fortress. It's a place where the corner stone of St-Petersburg was laid on Hare's island by Peter the First on Trinity Sunday of May 16, 1703.
Since the city was started as a military outpost for the Northern war with Sweden the city began as a fortress. Initially, it was an earthwork structure, then it was rebuilt in stone under supervision of Domenico Trezzini in the 30-es of the 18th century. The Peter-&-Paul fortress is a fine example of the 18th century fortification art. In plan it is an irregular hexagon with bastions at the corners. All the buildings within the fortress are dominated by the cathedral of Saints Peter & Paul. It was built by Domenico Trezzini in 1712-33 to replace the wooden church. The bell tower of the cathedral is 106 metres high & has a chiming clock. After the reconstruction in 1857-58 its height reached 122.5 metres.
The planning of the cathedral of Sts. Peter & Paul is nothing like a traditional Russian church which is to be cruciform. The interior of the cathedral shows Bible scenes. It is iluminated by large windows in the side walls. The iconostasis was designed by the architect Ivan Zarudny as a Baroque Triumphal arch. It's a magnificent sample of wood-carving art, it was carved in Moscow in 1727. After the cathedral had been completed Peter the Great was buried there & since then until Alexander the Third's death in 1894 the cathedral served as the burial place of the Russian Emperors & Empresses and their close relatives. Opposite the western entrance of the cathedral there's the Mint that was built in 1724 to be the main Russian coinage centre. In 1762-65 a little pavilion, the Boat House was put up to house the boat which Peter the First had used to sail during his infancy years.
As the city grew on around the fortress, it soon lost all its military importance. The city was defended from the West by the much more fortified Kronshtadt fortress on Kotlin island in the Gulf of Finland. That's why the fortress was turned as early as in the 18th century into one of the most fearsome political prisons "The Russian Bastille" & no prisoner's attempts to escape therefrom were successful in 200 years of its existence. The son of Peter the Great, Tsarevich Alexei, charged with plotting against the government was the first prisoner. Later on many generations of revolutionaries were imprisoned in its cells. The prison of Trubetskoi bastion is a museum now.
Since the city was started as a military outpost for the Northern war with Sweden the city began as a fortress. Initially, it was an earthwork structure, then it was rebuilt in stone under supervision of Domenico Trezzini in the 30-es of the 18th century. The Peter-&-Paul fortress is a fine example of the 18th century fortification art. In plan it is an irregular hexagon with bastions at the corners. All the buildings within the fortress are dominated by the cathedral of Saints Peter & Paul. It was built by Domenico Trezzini in 1712-33 to replace the wooden church. The bell tower of the cathedral is 106 metres high & has a chiming clock. After the reconstruction in 1857-58 its height reached 122.5 metres.The planning of the cathedral of Sts. Peter & Paul is nothing like a traditional Russian church which is to be cruciform. The interior of the cathedral shows Bible scenes. It is iluminated by large windows in the side walls. The iconostasis was designed by the architect Ivan Zarudny as a Baroque Triumphal arch. It's a magnificent sample of wood-carving art, it was carved in Moscow in 1727. After the cathedral had been completed Peter the Great was buried there & since then until Alexander the Third's death in 1894 the cathedral served as the burial place of the Russian Emperors & Empresses and their close relatives. Opposite the western entrance of the cathedral there's the Mint that was built in 1724 to be the main Russian coinage centre. In 1762-65 a little pavilion, the Boat House was put up to house the boat which Peter the First had used to sail during his infancy years.
As the city grew on around the fortress, it soon lost all its military importance. The city was defended from the West by the much more fortified Kronshtadt fortress on Kotlin island in the Gulf of Finland. That's why the fortress was turned as early as in the 18th century into one of the most fearsome political prisons "The Russian Bastille" & no prisoner's attempts to escape therefrom were successful in 200 years of its existence. The son of Peter the Great, Tsarevich Alexei, charged with plotting against the government was the first prisoner. Later on many generations of revolutionaries were imprisoned in its cells. The prison of Trubetskoi bastion is a museum now.