Kronstadt

Categories / City Topography/Historical Geography/Towns within Greater St. Petersburg
KRONSTADT, a town on Kotlin Island, 32 kilometres west of Saint Petersburg. The town's history traces back to a sea fort called Kronslot built in the winter of 1703-04. By May 1704, two batteries were constructed along the south bank. In the course of the Northern War of 1700-21, Kronstadt became the Baltic Fleet's main base: massive forts, artificial harbours and bulwarks were built up (see Kronstadt Fortress). According to Peter the Great's design, Kronstadt was supposed to become a large seaport town on the country's west, including a harbour, docks and storehouses, and with nobility and merchant, as well as working class, residents. In 1712, architect D. М. Fontana set upon a systematic development of the south-east part of the island. The first constructions included a three-story palace for Peter the Great (burnt down in the late 18th century); A. D. Menshikov's Italian Palace (1711-16, rebuilt, 1/3 Makarovskaya Street; today the Officers' House), which far outdid his palace on Vasilievsky Island in Saint Petersburg in terms of decor and size; and the so called Governor's Houses (1717-25, 8-12,14 Petrovskaya Street, 2 Krasnaya Street). The city centre had more or less acquired its shape by the mid-1720s. After a devastating fire on 23 July 1764, Kronstadt was reconstructed according to a general design project developed by architect S. I. Chevakinsky. In 1783, the Admiralty and its adjacent buildings, built in the 1780-90s according to a design by architects M. N. Vetoshkin, V. I. Bazhenov and C. Cameron, were transferred to Kronstadt (today 1 Yakornaya Square). After 1786, the Navy Officers' Assembly became the centre of Kronstadt's cultural life. Most of the city, including ports and fortresses, was destroyed as a result of a flood in 1824. A Committee for the Development of Kronstadt was established to supervise the restoration activities. Soon after, the Gostiny Dvor (1833-35, today 16 Lenina Avenue), the Navy Hospital Complex (1830-40s, today 2 Vosstaniya Street), the Arsenal (1832-36, today Makarovskaya Street) and a number of other projects were built. Architects А. D. Zakharov and A. P. Bryullov designed several other projects. In 1858, the Steamship Plant (today the Kronstadt Marine Plant) was completed, ranking among Europe's best. The grand Naval Cathedral's silhouette is visible tens of kilometres away upon approaching the city. Kronstadt's city centre has a special layout, with a scarcely built up area fringed by a P-shaped Obvodny Canal, which is cut by a deep ravine. All the major streets (Makarovskaya Street, Sovetskaya Street, Petrovskaya Street, Lenina Avenue) run parallel to the canal. The north section of the Obvodny Canal is adjoined by Yakornaya Square, where stands the Naval Cathedral and a monument to admiral S. O. Makarov. Southern Kronstadt accommodates a Summer Garden and the Petrovsky Park. The central part of the city is a remarkable collection of buildings dating back to the 18th -19th centuries, and constructions from the 1930-70s. The fortress remaining structure fringes the city centre on the north and west. A large residential area known as Residential Community No. 19, built up in the mid-1980s, is situated two kilometres west from the old city along the Kronstadtskoe Freeway. Flood protection facilities were constructed in the 1970s. A highway along the levee connecting Kronstadt with Gorskaya, was opened to traffic in 1988. A regular steamship route with Saint Petersburg, and a ferry route with Lomonosov, is maintained during the navigation season. Until the 1990s, Kronstadt was a naval base, and the area bordering it was a secure zone. As of 2002, the population was approximately 45,000 people. Among some of the historical and architectural landmarks are a branch of the Central Naval Kronstadt Fortress Museum; and monuments to Peter the Great (1841), F. F. Bellinsgauzen (1870), P. K. Pakhtusov (1886), S. O. Makarov (1913), Heroic Submariners (1965), and Marine Plant Workers (1967). Since 1998, Kronstadt has been the centre of the Kronstadtsky District of Saint Petersburg.

References: Сивков П. З. Кронштадт: Страницы рев. истории. Л., 1972; Розадеев Б. А., Сомина Р. А., Клещева Л. С. Кронштадт: Архит. очерк. Л., 1977; Петров Г. Ф. Кронштадт: Очерк истории города. 2-е изд., перераб. и доп. Л., 1985; Крестьянинов В. Я. Кронштадт. СПб., 2003.

Е. А. Bondarchuk, P. Y. Yudin. Bazhenov Vasily Ivanovich
Bellinsgauzen Faddey Faddeevich
Bryullov Boris Pavlovich
Cameron Charles
Chevakinsky Savva Ivanovich
Fontana Giovanni Mario
Makarov Stepan Osipovich
Menshikov Alexander Danilovich, Gracious Prince
Pakhtusov Peter Kuzmich
Peter I, Emperor
Vetoshkin (Vetoshnikov) Mikhail Nikolaevich
Zakharov Andreyan (Adrian) Dmitrievich
Krasnaya St./Kronshtadt, city, house 2
Kronshtadt, city
Lenina Ave/Kronshtadt, city
Lenina Ave/Kronshtadt, city, house 16
Makarovskaya St./Kronshtadt, city, house 1/3
Makarovskaya St./Kronshtadt, city
Petrovskaya St./Kronshtadt, city
Petrovskaya St./Kronshtadt, city, house 12
Petrovskaya St./Kronshtadt, city, house 10
Petrovskaya St./Kronshtadt, city, house 14
Petrovskaya St./Kronshtadt, city, house 8
Sovetskaya St./Kronshtadt, city
Vosstaniya St./Kronshtadt, city, house 2
Yakornaya Square/Kronshtadt, city
Yakornaya Square/Kronshtadt, city, house 1
Сивков П. З. Кронштадт: Страницы рев. истории. Л., 1972
Розадеев Б. А., Сомина Р. А., Клещева Л. С. Кронштадт: Архит. очерк. Л., 1977
Петров Г. Ф. Кронштадт: Очерк истории города. 2-е изд., перераб. и доп. Л., 1985
Раздолгин А. А., Скориков Ю. А. Кронштадская крепость. Л., 1988 Kronschlot
Great Northern War of 1700-21
Baltic Fleet
Kronstadt Fortress
Kronstadt Fortress
Kronstadt Fortress
Naval Cathedral
1806
1815
1854
1855