Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
second bridge (Birzhevoy Most), turn right, and follow the waterline to a footbridge lead-
ing to the fortress' side entrance.
Background:
There's been a fortress here as long as there's been a St. Petersburg. When
he founded the city, in 1703, this was the first thing Peter the Great built to defend this
strategic meeting point of the waterways of Russia and the Baltic (and, therefore, the rest
of Europe). Originally the center of town was just east of here (near the preserved log cab-
in where Peter the Great briefly resided). Eventually it became too challenging to connect
between the fortress and the mainland across the river (especially when the river froze or
thawed), so the city center was transplanted there.
Visiting the Fortress:
Pick up a map when you buy your ticket to navigate the sprawl-
ing complex. You can't miss the cathedral, with its skinny golden spire shooting up from
the middle of the island.
Strolling the
grounds,
you'll get an up-close look at the stout brick wall surrounding the
island. From the cathedral, head straight out to the water through the gateway to get a look
outside the wall. You can also circle around the fortress exterior to find the delightful sandy
beach huddled alongside the wall—an understandably popular place for St. Petersburgers
to sunbathe on balmy days.
The
Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral
is the centerpiece of the fortress. Still the tallest
building in the city, it's mostly famous as the final resting place of the Romanov czars,
who ruled Russia from 1613 through 1917. People are understandably caught up in the ro-
mance of this glamorous dynasty, which met a tragic end with Lenin's October Revolution;
if you've been bitten by Romanov mania, this is a good place to stoke imperial daydreams.
You can pick up a floor plan identifying each member of the dynasty (starting in the front-
right corner with Peter the Great and working chronologically counterclockwise), but we'll
skip to a few highlights.
Entering, watch on the left (under the stairs) for
Alexei Petrovich
(1690-1718), the son
of Peter the Great, who was tortured to death by his own father—Alexei was in cahoots
with a group that planned to overthrow Peter and reverse his many reforms. (To this day,
a similar tension dominates contemporary Russian politics: between conservative forces
who—like Alexei—turn their back on Europe, and liberal forces—like Peter—pushing to
reform and integrate with Europe.) At the front of the church, to the right of the iconostasis,
is a bombastic bust of
Peter the Great
(1672-1725; for more on him, see
here
).
About a third of the way from the main door to the iconostasis, on the left, find
Maria
Fedorovna
(1847-1928). This Danish princess (known as Dagmar in her native land)
moved from Copenhagen to St. Petersburg, married the second-to-the-last czar (Alexander
III), gave birth to the last czar (Nicholas II), and fled the October Revolution to live in ex-
ile in Denmark. After her death, she was buried with her fellow Danish royals at Roskilde
Cathedral; in 2006, her remains were brought back here with great fanfare to join her ad-
opted clan. Hers is one of the most popular graves in the church.
Next, head to the small chapel (sealed off with a barrier, to the left of the main door as
you face it). Here lies the much-romanticized family of the final Romanov czar:
Nicholas
II
(1868-1918), his wife, Alexandra, and their four daughters and one son. The czar ab-
dicated in March of 1917, and was imprisoned with the rest of his family. The Bolsheviks
murdered them all on the night of July 16, 1918. The details are gruesome. The children
were shot at point-blank range with handguns; because the daughters had diamonds sewn
