Originally the Fortress fortifications were made of earth. In 1706 the construction of new stone ones began. On May 3, 1706 Peter I personally laid the foundation stone of the Menshikov Bastion and in 1707 two more Bastions – the Golovkin and the Zotov - were established followed by the Trubetskoy Bastion on May 13, 1708. The construction of the Peter I Bastion in stone began in 1717, the Naryshkin Bastion, later renamed the Catherine Bastion, was laid down on June 15, 1725.

The construction of the Fortress bastions and ramparts was supervised by the architect and engineer, “colonel in fortification” D.Trezzini. The first stone bastion – the Menshikov Bastion – was completed only in 1729. Upon Trezzini’s death in 1734 the construction works were taken over and accomplished by B.Ch.von Munnich.

The facing of the Fortress walls with granite was connected with the construction of the granite embankments of the Neva-river. The facing works, which were started in 1779, culminated in 1787 by the construction of the granite Neva Gate.

The facades of the bastions bear memorial plaques indicating the date of completion of their facing with granite (The Catherine Bastion –1780, the Peter I Bastion – 1783). The Fortress bastions and ramparts raising as they are over the narrow coastal line constitute an important part of the Neva panorama.