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.
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