Under the command of Governor-general Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, workers used thousands of frames (caissons) made of logs from evergreen trees filled with stones which were moved by horses across the frozen sea, and placed in cuttings made in the ice. During the winter, the Gulf of Finland freezes over completely. These fortifications, known as Kronshlot (Кроншлот), were constructed very quickly. The first fortifications were inaugurated on 18 May 1704.

Kronstadt was founded by Peter the Great, whose Imperial Russian forces took the island of Kotlin from the Swedes during the Great Northern War in 1703. Map of the harbour and nearby fortifications of Kronstadt, 1724 Andrew (1817–1932), patron saint of the Russian Navy, destroyed by the Soviet regime in 1932. History Foundation Monument to Peter the Great, the city's founder Kotlin island with Kronstadt on Saint Petersburg administrative map The Cathedral of St. The district is referred to as Kronshtadtsky District. It is derived from German Kronstadt ( lit. The name of the city is alternatively spelled as Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštadt. Kronstadt has been a place of pilgrimage for Orthodox Christians for many years due to the memory of Saint John of Kronstadt. The historic centre of the city and its fortifications are part of the World Heritage Site that is Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments. In March 1921, the island city was the site of the Kronstadt rebellion. The main base of the Russian Baltic Fleet was located in Kronstadt, guarding the approaches to Saint Petersburg. It is linked to the former Russian capital by a combination levee- causeway-seagate, the St Petersburg Dam, part of the city's flood defences, which also acts as road access to Kotlin island from the mainland.įounded in the early 18th century by Peter the Great, it became an important international centre of commerce whose trade role was later eclipsed by its strategic significance as the primary maritime defence outpost of the former Russian capital. Kronstadt ( Russian: Кроншта́дт, romanized: Kronshtadt, IPA: ) is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of Saint Petersburg, located on Kotlin Island, 30 km (19 mi) west of Saint Petersburg, near the head of the Gulf of Finland.

Kronstadt build world of warship