Architect Oleg Romanov: “Kronstadt forts are known all over the world”
The Kronstadt fortress was founded by Peter I to defend St. Petersburg, the new capital, from the sea-side. Its forts are unique defense structures built during the 18th – 19th centuries. Thanks to them, the Swedes could not get to the new capital of Russia, and during the Crimean War stopped the English squadron and then the German fleet during two world wars. But afterward, the forts were no longer needed and fell into decay.
In 1990, 23 Kronstadt forts received the status of historical and cultural monuments. Eight years later, the concept of their modern use was developed. Honored Architect of the Russian Federation, President of the St. Petersburg Union of Architects, Professor of SPbGASU, winner of many architectural awards Oleg Romanov was the head of the group of authors. He portrayed how the renovation concept of Kronstadt forts takes into account the history of these fortifications and how it is being implemented.
– Professor, the construction of which fort marked the beginning of the Kronstadt fortress?
– The first was the Fort Kronslot, which they began to build in 1704 by order of Peter I. The Emperor personally made a model of this fortification and handed it over to A.D. Menshikov, ordering the construction of the fort to be completed by May 1704. The imperial order was timely implemented.
✔ After the conclusion of the Treaty of Nystad, which put an end to the Northern War, there was no urgent need to build new forts. But Peter I was thinking in a political manner, and in 1724 a second fort was erected and named the Citadel.
– And when did the Fort Constantine appear, the one that according to your project became a museum and leisure complex?
– The history of this fort began with the erection in 1808 of a timber and stone battery, fifty years later completely rebuilt in stone. The fort was a kind of testing ground for fortification innovations. This is the first fort where batteries with armored parapets of three different systems for the first rifled guns were erected. One of these parapets has survived to the present day. During the Great Patriotic War, the Fort Constantine played a key role, peppering with fire German batteries on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland and Luftwaffe airplanes.
Fort Constantine
– It is known that Emperor Nicholas I personally directed the reconstruction of the Paul I Fort in the mid-19th century.
– Yes it's true. This fort, built in 1801, was reconstructed and repaired several times. During the most extensive reconstruction, Nikolas I participated in the consideration of projects, repeatedly visited the construction site and granted money to employees. The dimensions of the Paul I Fort were striking: it hosted 380 guns. Unfortunately, the fortifications structures have not survived to this day.
Fort Alexander
– Fort Alexander reminds us of the French Fort Boyard, known for the television game of the same name.
– Yes, this fort has many brothers all over the world: the Boyard, the forts of the Portsmouth English naval base, and the forts on the shallows of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The construction of the fort, which was called the "74-gun frigate house", began in 1836. The front of the fort had three casemated circles with open defense on top. In the gorge part, the fort had two circles. In the courtyard, there used to be half towers with cast-iron spiral staircases and rooms for cannonball roasting furnaces. The walls are covered with granite around the entire perimeter. People still call this fort the Plague fort, because for two years it housed a laboratory for the development of the plague vaccine.
– Were there any mechanisms of the 19th – early 20th centuries preserved at the forts?
– Here and there in some places, amazing rarities have been preserved. Recently, there was information that the vandals carried away two guns and part of the fence from the 6th Northern Fort and were even going to drag away the lifting mechanisms that still remained there. These are objects of amazing beauty with which shells, guns, and small boats were lifted. They were created specifically for lifting heavy defense elements. Fort Milyutin preserved a fantastic projectile feeding system, a lifting mechanism. This is the case when engineering structures become art.
– Professor, are there any shifts in the implementation of your concept of renovation of forts?
– Fortunately, yes, there are. When we developed the concept, the task was to turn forts not into museums, but into multifunctional structures with modern content.
The first fort at which our concept was implemented is Fort Constantine. There was an investor: the Third Park Company, which was not afraid of seemingly insoluble problems, and turned the fort into a popular leisure and recreational facility.
Now Fort Constantine has a yacht club, a wake park, a rope park, a hotel, a cafe and the only lighthouse service museum in Russia. This fort has a checkpoint across the state border of the Russian Federation, which is very convenient for foreign yachtsmen.
The renovation of yet another fort has moved forward: the Directorate of the 7th Northern Fort has been created, the renovation project developed by the RIEDER project team has passed all approvals, and the Committee for State Control, Use and Protection of Monuments of History and Culture in the Administration of St. Petersburg (KGIOP) considers it a prototype.
At the Architecture professional competition, this project was awarded a grand prix; at the International Heritage Festival in the competition of regions, St. Petersburg won a Silver Diploma for this project.
✔ Renovation of the fort takes into account all preservation requirements. The fort should accommodate yacht parking, a restaurant and other commercial facilities.
The 7th Northern Fort
Forts Alexander I, Kronshlot and Peter the Great were handed over to the military, and they became part of the Patriot Park in Kronstadt. This park is being created as part of the upgrading of the Kronstadt embankments since a part of the main naval parade began to be held in the city.
But we are trying to ensure that the still not restored forts were included into the borders of the Patriot Park: without the military, without the participation of the state, they cannot be saved.
– What non-standard technological solutions are foreseen in the renovation design project?
– Innovative solutions are present in the design project for the modern use of the 7th Northern Fort: here we managed to overcome the restrictions imposed by the protective status of the object and increase the useful area of the fort. According to the law, monuments of federal significance cannot be enlarged in area, but they mean external areas, while internal areas can be increased. A significant part of the forts is wood and earth fortifications. We seized this land and instead of it built reinforced concrete structures, on the slopes of which a grass carpet will be laid. This approach will increase the reliability of the structure (now the whole earth is pitted with mice) and at the same time give us useful space under these structures – 7 thousand square meters that we can use.
Another innovative solution is the use of ramps, the downhill surfaces on which guns were rolled up. We plan to place ventilation and other engineering equipment under those.
Fort Constantine was once armed with long-range guns of the Pauker system, which were placed on hiding bases and, after a shot, were lowered into the mine for reloading. Unfortunately, the lifting mechanisms were not preserved, but the drawings remained. And if the current owners of the fort restore them, it will be an amazing show for tourists.
Fort Constantine, an open-air museum
Kronstadt forts are famous all over the world. Their value is based on the fact that they were built at different times: from Peter the Great to the First World War. Forts are our pride; each of them is a unique fortification, a fortress in miniature. They need to be revived and passed on to future generations.
Text: Elena Shulgina
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