Page 27 - (DK Eyewitness) Top 10 Travel Guide - St. Petersburg

Peter and Paul Fortress ❮❮ 25

A FORTRESS
AGAINST THE
SWEDES
The Peter and Paul
Fortress was originally
intended to provide
protection for the new
city against possible
incursions and attacks
by the Swedish navy.
The Beach
7 However, the Swedes
were defeated even
During summer,
the beach (above) is full before the finishing
touches had been put
of sunbathers. In winter, to the fortress. Thus
it becomes the ex clu sive stripped of its original
haunt of “The Walruses”, intended function, it
a group of St Petersburg was turned over to the
citizens who break local garrison. It also
through the thick ice to served as a prison for
dip into the freezing political dissenters.
waters beneath.
Statue of Peter the Great
8
Mikhail Chemiakin’s statue (right)
caused great controversy upon its
unveiling in 1991. In tended to depict
Peter the Great’s “alter-ego”, the
statue port rays the founder of
St Petersburg with a very tiny
head and spindly fingers.
Commandant’s
9
House
A reminder of more
unpleasant aspects of the
for tress’s history, this early
18th-century structure
is where po litical
prisoners were
in terro gated during
the years of tsarist rule.
The Grand Ducal Burial Vault
0
The vault (1908) was constructed to replace
the already overflowing cathedral as the final
resting place of the tsars.
NEED TO KNOW Adm: adults ₽450; children fortress, and longer if you
Map C2 ₽250; seniors ₽200 want to sunbathe on the
• Petropavlov skaya krepost Ticket price includes riverside beach.
• 230 6431 entrance to the cathedral • There are many cafés
• www.spbmuseum.ru and a guided tour. within the grounds of the
Grounds: 6am–9pm • It is worth setting aside fortress. During summer,
Cathedral: 10am–6pm an entire morning or another option is to take
Mon–Sat, 11am–6pm Sun afternoon for a visit to the a picnic to the beach.
Following pages St Isaac’s Cathedral in winter

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