Foundry Yard

Categories / Economy/Industry
FOUNDRY YARD (Liteiny Dvor) (Cannon Foundry Yard), one of the first industrial enterprises of St. Petersburg. It was founded in 1711 on the left bank of the Neva River (at the present-day location of Liteiny Bridge). The development works were supervised by military engineer V.I. Gennin, and since 1713 – by Feldzeugmeister General Y.V. Bruce. The first Liteiny Yard building was a wooden foundry barn (rebuilt in stone in 1732-35). The major part of its lower floor was used as storage; foundry furnaces, drying room, molding room, and the shell calibration department were located on the 2nd floor. The first copper cannons were cast here in 1713. A wooden Cannon Yard (land plot of house № 4) was built to store the finished products, artillery-related memorable articles, captured arsenal and flags at the east side of Liteinaya Proseka (today Liteiny Avenue) in 1714. In 1777 it was demolished, and a stone block, which was later called the Main Arsenal, was built on its place. The Business Yard complex (later the New Cannon Yard) grew on the other side of the avenue (lots of houses № 1 and № 3), and included buildings housing artillery and fortification chanceries, workshops, warehouses, magazines and residential houses. Buildings of the New Arsenal were built on this territory according to the project by architect F.I. Demertsov in 1798-1810 (rebuilt in 1864-70, architect R.R. Genrichsen). Gun carriages, ammunition wagons, vans, and horse harnesses were made and bells were cast at the Foundry Yard. In 1714 there were 37 men working at the enterprise, and then they were joined by gunsmiths brought from Moscow and Tula, captured Swedes and convicts. During the 18th century some 200-300 people worked at the Foundry Yard. In 1851 the main building of Foundry Yard was divided into two sections and Liteiny Avenue got an access to the Neva.

Reference: Родзевич В. М. Историческое описание С.-Петербургского арсенала за 200 лет его существования, 1712-1912 гг. СПб., 1914.

A. D. Margolis. Bruce Yakov Villimovich (James Daniel)
Demertsov Fedor Ivanovich
Gennin Villim Ivanovich (Georg Wilhelm de Gennin)
Henrichsen Roman Romanovich
Liteiny Ave/Saint Petersburg, city, house 4
Liteiny Ave/Saint Petersburg, city
Liteiny Ave/Saint Petersburg, city, house 1
Liteiny Ave/Saint Petersburg, city, house 3
Родзевич В. М. Историческое описание С.-Петербургского арсенала за 200 лет его существования, 1712-1912 гг. СПб., 1914 1711
1730