Kronstadt

Main article: Saint Petersburg

Cotlin Island

Depths as of 2013

City plan

For 2022

History

2022

Kronstadt on the evening of March 22, 2022 Photo: Nikolai Dmitrievich Bulykin

1985: Fort "Alexander I" completely burned out on the set during the fire necessary for the plot of the film "Gunpowder"

Since the early 1980s, the fortress "Alexander I" has been abandoned. In 1985, the film "Gunpowder" was shot here, telling about real events from the history of the defense of Leningrad. As a result of a large-scale fire required by the plot of the film, Fort Alexander I was completely burned out.

1921: Failure of the Kronstadt Uprising

1914: Brick barracks are built over the Nikolaev battery of Kronshlot

During the First World War, a brick tier was erected over the concrete walls of the Nikolaev battery of the Kronshlot fortress, which housed barracks.

1899: Fort "Alexander I" becomes a laboratory for the manufacture of a vaccine against plague

From 1899 to 1917, Fort Alexander I was used as a plague research laboratory. Despite all efforts, outbreaks of plague occurred in the fort every now and then. After another outbreak and the death of doctors in 1907, the unofficial name "Plague" was assigned to the fort.

1863: The Nikolaev battery in the Kronshlot fortress is completed

In 1863, the Nikolaev battery in the Kronshlot fortress was completed, which then became a powerful obstacle for enemy ships.

1854: For the first time in the world, a mined underwater barrier is installed between the forts

Between the forts "Peter I" and "Alexander I" (and later between the forts "Kronshlot" and "Peter I") for the first time in the world a mined underwater fence was installed. The 555-meter-long line consisted of 105 mines and helped defend Kronstadt during the Crimean War.

1845: The construction of the new fort "Alexander I" is completed

The construction of the new fort "Alexander I" was carried out for almost nine years and was completed in 1845. The grand opening was attended by Emperor Nicholas I, in honor of whose brother the fort was named.

"Alexander I" was put on alert three times - in 1855, during the Crimean War; in 1863, in connection with the possibility of confrontation with the British Empire; in 1877, during the Russian-Turkish war. However, the fort never took part in hostilities, since the enemy ships were afraid to come close to its firing positions.

1834: The end of the restoration of Fort Citadel in stone and its renaming as Fort Emperor Peter I

The restoration of the protective structures of Kronstadt after the flood of 1824 began with Fort Citadel. The fort was rebuilt, making it completely stone, with a wall thickness of two meters.

At the end of construction in 1834, Fort Citadel was renamed Emperor Peter I by decree of Nicholas I.

1812: Draga Betancourt is used to deepen the water area of ​ ​ the Kronstadt port and prepare a fairway between Kronstadt and St. Petersburg

The drag designed by Augustine de Betancourt in 1812 was made according to his drawings at the Izhora plant and was used to deepen the water area of ​ ​ the Kronstadt port and prepare a fairway between Kronstadt and St. Petersburg. The drag was the world's first excavator, with a capacity 50 times higher than the best European dredging machines.

1722: Foundation laid for tiered lighthouse tower on Petrovsky Canal

An engraving by architect Johann Braunstein reveals the grand ensemble of the proposed port of Kronstadt. The central axis of the ensemble is the Perovsky Canal, which protrudes far into the waters surrounded by the harbor maul. On the sides of the canal it was supposed to arrange two symmetrical internal rectangular harbors, and on the island itself above the canal to build a huge multi-tiered baroque lighthouse tower resembling a triumphal arch, and ships would pass deep into the island under its supports.

I.F. Brownstein. Panorama of Kronstadt. Unfulfilled project. State Hermitage Museum

The design of the lighthouse was carried out by architects Johann Braunstein and Italian Nicola Michetti, who since 1718 worked in St. Petersburg and since 1719 was the main court architect overseeing all construction work in St. Petersburg and its suburbs.

The foundation of the future tower was laid in 1722, but after the death of Peter I, construction was suspended.

1714: Architect Schluter dies and the design of the city is continued by his assistant Johann Braunstein

Main article: Braunstein Johann Friedrich

In 1714, the German architect Schluter died in St. Petersburg just a year after arriving in Russia. His place was taken by the assistant Johann Friedrich Braunstein, who came with him, who supervised the construction of Kronstadt until the 1720s. Under his leadership, most of the civil buildings of the city of that time were built, including the Italian Palace.

1713: German Andreas Schluter begins designing New Amsterdam on Cotlin Island

"On this island, the king intends to build the so-called New Amsterdam. Various equipment has already been prepared for this purpose, and the project should take on the same look as Amsterdam in Holland, for the reason that no city abroad liked the king so much. In 1713, a builder discharged from Berlin named Schluter arrived, who should carry out this plan. There will be seven main streets in the city, and the tsar's residence will be located in the center, "wrote Swede L.Yu. Erenmalm, who visited Russia in 1712-1714.

Andreas Schluter, 1660-1714 - German architect, the brightest and most sought-after representative of the early Baroque in Germany. Schluter is the author of the complete reconstruction of the Berlin Royal Palace, one of the most significant baroque ensembles in northern Europe, whose name is named after the courtyard of the palace, after the death of the king he set about designing a new Russian city. The architect was paid a salary of five thousand rubles a year. For more information on Schluter's work, see History of St. Petersburg.

1712: Peter I obliges Muscovites and the military to move to Kotlin Island

On August 4, 1712, the king issued a decree "On the obligation by subscriptions of different people to build houses on Kotlin Island." This decree approved the list of persons "who live in Moscow and in the army" and announced that "to live on Kotlin Island at the end of this war, and they will be given courtyards and land for villages." Houses were distributed to eminent people, primarily admirals, naval command and officers. Moreover, the heirs could sell houses only to naval officers, and not more than a certain amount - 100 rubles per room. Otherwise, a special permission of Pyotr ^[1] was required.

1705: Repulse attack by 22-ship Swedish squadron

In 1705, Kronshlot successfully repelled a new attack by the Swedish squadron, which already had 22 ships, blocking its path to St. Petersburg with powerful artillery fire.

1704: Repulsion of the attack of the Swedish squadron of 13 ships

In 1704, the fortress, called Kronshlot, which means "Crown Castle" in German, gave its first battle - the attack of the Swedish squadron of 13 ships was repelled.

1703: Peter I himself makes a model of the future Kronshlot fortress

Only six months after the founding of St. Petersburg, Peter I ordered the construction of a fortress near Kotlin Island to protect the new city from the Swedes. The model of the fortress was made by Peter himself in Voronezh and sent at the end of 1703.

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