Nevsky Gates of the Peter and Paul Fortress: photo, description. Peter and Paul Fortress, self-guided tour What is the Neva Gate

The first wooden gates on this important historical site of St. Petersburg were built at the beginning of the 18th century. A few years later they were rebuilt according to the design of a famous Italian architect and became stone. And subsequently they were rebuilt several times by different architects. The last rebuilding was carried out at the end of the 18th century.

The Neva Gates of the Peter and Paul Fortress are the main water gates on the Zayachy Island of St. Petersburg, leading to the Commandant's Wharf. They are located between two bastions: Sovereign and Naryshkin. This is the only exit from the fortress to the Neva River.

General information about the Peter and Paul Fortress

Before proceeding to the description of the Nevsky Gates of the Peter and Paul Fortress, we will provide some information about the entire complex, which is the first grandiose building in St. Petersburg. It was in this place that Peter I founded the city on the Neva in 1703. Since the territory was part of the Russian Empire during the hostilities with Sweden, the citadel was built to protect against the Swedes.

Due to the fact that the fortress was founded on the island, the fortress cannons were supposed to protect the city along two large branches of the river. The boundaries of St. Petersburg were protected by the sea, built in 1704. Already in 1705, the Admiralty Shipyard (the first industrial building) was opened on Admiralteysky Island.

Today the fortress is an object of cultural and historical heritage of the northern capital of Russia. Although it is an open-air museum, it should be remembered that this is a real and powerful fort that was always ready to repel any enemy attack.

In addition to the Nevsky Gates of the fortress, there are others. Let's present them briefly.

Gate of the Peter and Paul Fortress

There are only four of them in the citadel, and they are located according to the cardinal points.

1. From the west are the Vasilyevsky Gates. They serve as an entrance through the Vasilyevsky Curtain, facing the island with the same name (hence the name of the gate).
2. The Nikolsky Gate serves as the entrance to the museum from the north. The original draft of 1703 did not have them. They were created in the Nikolskaya Curtain only during the rebuilding of a wooden fortress into a stone one (25 years after its foundation).
3. The Neva Gate is the southern entrance to the fortress, from the river side (hence the name). Previously, it was possible to get into the fortress through them only by mooring at the pier.
4. On the east side are the most majestic and beautiful gates - Petrovsky. They were built of wood in 1708, and 10 years later they were rebuilt in stone. These gates are a monument of the Peter the Great Baroque, designed by the famous architect. On both sides of them, in niches, there are statues that personify “Courage” and “Prudence”.

Above the arch of the Petrovsky Gates there is a double-headed lead eagle, above which there is a wooden bas-relief called "The overthrow of Simon the Magus by the Apostle Peter", where Simon is identified with and the apostle - with Tsar Peter I. The picture is a symbol of Russia's victory over the Swedes in the Northern War.

A Brief History of the Nevsky Gates of the Peter and Paul Fortress

The first wooden gates on this historical site of St. Petersburg were built in 1714-16. The stone gates were built in 1720 according to the design of the architect D. Trezzini (an outstanding Italian architect of the time of Peter I). Then they were rebuilt several times by different masters. The last version of the gate was created and built by the architect N.A. Lvov in the period from 1784 to 1787.

This gate is also called the "Gate of Death". They received such a name due to the fact that prisoners sentenced to death were led out of the Peter and Paul dungeons through them. They were taken along the Neva to the place of execution. However, there is also a positive legend about these gates, which says that through them the “grandfather of the Russian fleet” was brought into the fortress.

Description of the Nevsky Gate

Nevsky Gates (St. Petersburg) is an architectural monument of classicism.

The height of the structure in the latter version is 12 meters, the width is 12.2 meters. They are installed on a plinth, the height of which is almost a meter. To the left and right of the arch are twin columns supporting a triangular pediment. The columns and plinth are made of Serdobol silver-white polished granite. The decoration on the pediment represents an image in the form of an anchor with crossed palm branches and a fluttering ribbon (the work of an unknown sculptor). There is also a gilded inscription - the date of the creation of the gate. Along the edges of the pediment are two bombs with flames.

The arch of the Nevsky Gates of the Peter and Paul Fortress, protruding from the curtain, looks like a classic portico.

Modern fortress, appointment

The official name of the historical core of the city is the Petrograd Fortress (1914-1917) and the St. Petersburg Fortress. It is listed in the Museum of the history of the city of St. Petersburg. From the Naryshkin bastion, a symbolic shot is fired from a signal cannon every day at noon.

In 1991, a monument to the Great Peter was erected on the territory (the work of the sculptor Shemyakin). Since the beginning of the 21st century, a variety of recreational activities and excursions have been held on the beach of the Peter and Paul Fortress. The Museum of Cosmonautics and Rocket Technology also operates here. A grand piano was installed in the flag tower in 2005, which is periodically played by famous musicians from all over the world.

How to get there?

Hare Island is open daily for tourists from 6.00 am to 9.00 pm, and the complex itself (respectively, the Nevsky Gates of the Peter and Paul Fortress) - from 9.00 to 20.00. 2 bridges lead to the island: Kronverksky, Ioannovsky.

Not far from the fortress is the Gorkovskaya metro station, from which the historical citadel is a 5-10 minute walk.

neva gate, rebuilt in 1787 in the classical style according to the project of a prominent figure in Russian culture, scientist and architect Nikolai Lvov. The gate and the pier formed a single solemn architectural ensemble, which has survived to this day almost unchanged. It should be noted that these works no longer had a defensive value: the fortress acquired a look corresponding to its prominent role as the historical center of the capital of the empire. The first gates were built in the Neva Curtain between the Sovereign and Naryshkin bastions back in 1714. Then they were made of wood - like the pier near them, which looked like ordinary wooden bridges. In the early 1720s, the gate was rebuilt in stone by Domenico Trezzini, while the pier remained wooden until the 1770s.

Nevsky Gates and Commandant's Quay (Issue 67 - Peter and Paul Fortress)

Nevsky Gate and Commandant's Quay in the painting by Ivan Ivanov "View of the embankment of the Neva river on the day of the Midday". From here, members of the imperial family, sailing along the Neva from the Winter Palace, got into the fortress. Initially, the pier was called Tsarskaya, later - Nevsky, and from the 1760s - Commandantskaya. The boat of the commandant (chief) of the fortress moored here. One of the oldest city ceremonies began from the pier - a celebration of the opening of navigation. This event was of particular importance for the city, which grew up on the islands and until the middle of the 19th century did not have a permanent bridge across the Neva. When the Neva was finally cleared of ice, the commandant went on his boat to the Winter Palace with a report to the emperor and presented him with a cup of Neva water. According to legend, the emperor returned the goblet, filling it to the top with silver rubles. This was followed by an imperial order to open navigation. Cannons were fired from the walls of the fortress, fireworks were launched, the water area was filled with ships and boats of all stripes under multi-colored flags. At this time, the “Mid-half” was also usually celebrated - an ancient church holiday “halfway” between Easter and Trinity. The clergy of all the parish churches of St. Petersburg gathered at the Commandant's Quay to consecrate the Neva water. For a solemn dinner in the fortress, huge sturgeon were served, "caught in no other river, but certainly in the Neva." Back in 1715, by decree of Peter the Great, a footstock was fortified on the eastern side of the pier - a pole with divisions that made it possible to measure the water level. This made it possible to determine the average (“ordinary”) water level in the Neva and marked the beginning of regular hydrological observations in Russia. It was by divisions on this footstock that the height of the rise of water in floods was determined.

"Chronicle of catastrophic floods" under the arch of the Nevsky Gate (Issue 67 - Peter and Paul Fortress)

"Chronicle of catastrophic floods" on the wall under the arch of the Nevsky Gates. The boards indicate the level of water rise during five floods: 1752 (2.8 meters), 1777 (3.2 meters), 1788 (2.3 meters), 1824 (4.2 meters), 1924 (3.8 meters) and 1975 (2.8 meters) years. The pavement here is specially deepened to the position in which it was in the 18th century. From the Swedish chronicles we know about the catastrophic flood of 1691 (7.6 meters). This is the highest level of water rise in the Neva ever recorded. The first flood in the history of St. Petersburg occurred three months after its foundation. The water flooded Hare Island and washed away the forest prepared for the construction of the fortress. The flood of 1724 led to the illness and death of Peter I (he saved drowning sailors). The most catastrophic was the flood of November 7, 1824. “The Neva was one huge lake with Palace Square, flowing through Nevsky Prospekt like a wide river,” recalled an eyewitness. Providing assistance to the townspeople, the Governor-General then sailed along Nevsky Prospekt on his huge boat.

Under the arch of the Nevsky Gate, on the right side of the wall, there are metal and marble memorial plaques with level marks of the most severe floods in the history of St. Petersburg. The line between letters A and B indicates the level of water rise. Please note that the so-called "pit" is left here - that is, the soil level that existed in the 18th century is shown. This allows you to imagine the full power of the raging elements.
Petersburg floods are not of a river, but of a marine nature. Sea floods - they are also called storm surges - occur on other seas, threaten many cities, but St. Petersburg is one of the largest among them.
Since the founding of the city, more than three hundred floods have occurred in St. Petersburg. Once upon a time, the rise of water above 90 centimeters was considered dangerous for the city. Since during the existence of the city the cultural layer has risen by almost one and a half meters, now the flood is considered to be the rise of water in the Neva by 161 centimeters above the ordinary - the zero mark on the footstock installed at the Mining Institute on Vasilyevsky Island.
After the flood of 1777, Catherine II adopted a decree "on the establishment of signs and signals in the city" to alert the population about the rise in water in the Neva. These decrees were in effect almost unchanged until the 1930s, before the widespread use of radio broadcasting.
The September flood of 1777 was the third highest in the history of St. Petersburg floods. The water then rose by 321 centimeters. Hundreds of houses were destroyed, thousands of trees were uprooted, St. Petersburg cemeteries were washed away, ships were thrown by the wave onto the embankments. The fountains of the Summer Garden, arranged by Peter the Great, perished and were never restored. Shops with goods and food were destroyed, people died.
Empress Catherine wrote to her correspondent: "The Neva represented the spectacle of the destruction of Jerusalem." According to the memoirs of contemporaries, during the flood, the empress prayed earnestly in the church of the Winter Palace. When the danger had passed, she summoned Chief of Police Chicherin to her palace. When he appeared, the empress stood up, bowed from the waist and said: “Thank you, Nikolai Ivanovich! By your mercy, many of my faithful subjects perished! The chief police chief was blamed for the poor condition of the city's watercourses. Then it was believed that the reason for the floods was that the western wind did not allow the Neva water to enter the bay, and in order to avoid a catastrophe, it was enough to direct the "surplus" into the city's rivers and canals. Modern science believes that the cause of the Neva floods is much more complicated. But the brief reprimand of the empress, uttered in a low voice, made such an impression on the general that he immediately had a blow in the palace, he was taken home, where he soon died. His assistant was expelled from Petersburg within 24 hours. Since both were bribe-takers and extortionists known throughout the city, the townspeople were delighted by this turn of events. One of his contemporaries remarked: “There is no silver lining! The water washes away the dirt, and the flood washed away two dirty people."
The most terrible in the history of St. Petersburg was the flood of November 7, 1824, described by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin in the poem "The Bronze Horseman". The water rose 421 centimeters above the ordinary. Vasilyevsky Island suffered the most, one of the inhabitants of which wrote: “... the long-suffering, but righteous God visited St. Petersburg with an unheard-of flood. It was brief, but terrible and disastrous.” According to the memoirs, it is known that "the Neva was one huge lake with Palace Square, pouring out Nevsky Prospekt like a wide river." Petersburg Governor-General Count Miloradovich, who organized assistance to the victims, sailed along the Nevsky in a 12-oared boat. The consequences of the flood were terrible, and for a long time the people of St. Petersburg divided their lives into "before the flood" and "after". Again they remembered the prophecy of the first, unloved wife of Peter - Evdokia Lopukhina, who hated Peter's beloved brainchild: "Petersburg to be empty!"
The second highest rise in water was the flood of 1924 - 380 centimeters. At the same time, fires broke out in the city. The element caused incalculable losses and claimed many human lives. The severity of the situation was aggravated by the post-revolutionary devastation and civil war. It is curious that this flood, or rather, the behavior of laboratory dogs during it, prompted Academician Pavlov to study conditioned reflexes.
The dates of the two most catastrophic floods in the history of the city - separated by exactly a hundred years, 1824 and 1924, set in a mysterious and mystical mood. As the poet said: "Two floods with a difference of a hundred years - don't they shed some light on the meaning of everything?" An even earlier flood of November 1724 cannot be put on a par with them in terms of the height of the water rise - “only” 211 centimeters. But it was fatal for Peter. Rescuing drowning sailors off the coast of Lakhta, the sovereign caught a cold in cold water under a strong wind. A long-standing kidney disease worsened, and in January of the next year, 1725, Peter the Great died.
Maybe it's true - is there something in the mystical magic of numbers and dates? The unpredictability of floods, the suddenness of the furious onslaught of the elements caused mystical horror and gave rise to numerous rumors and gloomy legends in which the river itself became the main character.
Neva, powerful and majestic, immediately became the main street of St. Petersburg. In order to admire the panorama of the Neva banks, we will go out to the Commandant's Quay.

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