Kronstadt is a sea port, which is located on the island of Kotlin in the Gulf of Finland.
Kronstadt is connected with the mainland
by the dam, which has a highway.
Nowadays Kronstadt is an administrative district of St. Petersburg. The population of the town comes to about
43 thousand people.
In 1990 the central part of Kronstadt was included into the UNESCO's World Heritage List
as a part of the historical center of St. Petersburg and its monuments. In 2009 Kronstadt was honoured with the title
of the "City of Military Glory".
The history of Kronstadt is closely connected with Peter the Great and with the foundation of St. Petersburg.
During the Great Northern War against Sweden Peter the Great managed to conquer the
coastline of the Gulf of Finland in 1700-1703. Although he was quite successful during the war campaign,
he could not sail into the
Baltic Sea due to the fact that the Swedish ships protected the way out of the gulf. Only in autumn of 1703 when the swedish ships
returned to their non-freezing ports Peter the Great got the chance to approach the island of Kotlin.
After making some measurements near the island Peter I came to a conclusion that the island can become an ideal fortification
to protect the entrance to the gulf by St.Peterburg.
At his command the first fort was built on the island in 1704 bearing the name of Kronslot,
and today this year is considered to be a birthday of Kronstadt.
The location of the island was so convenient, that not a single
enemy ship could sail through without being noticed or attacked
by the cannons of the fort. Later in 1724 a new more massive fortress
was built on the island and the settlement was named Kronstadt, which means "the fortress city".
Since then the town of Kronstadt has become the main naval base of the Baltic fleet and the construction
of fortifications was continued. Due to the constant floodings many structures did not live long life.
The town was reconstructed many times. The naval hospital, the arsenal, several maritime schools were built on the
island in the 19th century.
During WWII the town of Kronstadt was constantly bombed by the German airforce, which broght a lot of damage to
architecture of the town. After the war the town of Kronstadt became a closed city both for Russians and foreigners.
Only in 1996 it was opened for free admittance. Today it is one of the most beautiful suburbs of St. Petersburg, frequently
visited by travellers.
Major sights of Kronstadt
1. Naval Cathedral of St. Nicholas
Today the Naval Cathedral of Kronstadt is the main sight of the town.
The idea of building the cathedral appeared already
in the 1830's. But only at the end of the 19th century the project was
approved by the Russian Emperor and the authorities
started collecting donations for the construction. The project of V.A.Kosyakov was approved by the
special committee and it was decided to build the cathedral in Anchor Square.
According to the plan the cupola with the cross
was to become a landmark for the ships coming to St. Petersburg.
The plan of the Naval Cathedral is very similar to that one of
St. Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople. The construction was finished in 1913,
the cathedral was consecrated and opened to the public.
After the revolution of 1917 the services continued in the cathedral, but only till 1927. Later the cathedral was
converted into the cinema theatre named after Maxim Gorky.
During World War II it was closed; the dome received three direct artillery hits. Post-war
reconstruction of 1953—54 finally converted the cathedral to a functioning concert hall.
In 1976 it became a part of the Central Museum of Navy. In 2002 the cross was reinstalled on the dome of the cathedral.
The church is under restoration at the moment. The restorators plan to finish the reconstruction by 2013.
Transport:
By car/bus: Kronstadt is accessible by road, the distance
from Saint Petersburg is about 40 km.
You can find a tour to Kronstadt in our selection of St. Petersburg tours and St. Petersburg excursions.
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