Catherine's curtain-part (section) of the fortress wall and the former defensive structure of the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg (Zayachy Island), intended for the defense and defense of the fortress.
Initially, the construction of the Catherine Curtain, as well as the entire Peter and Paul Fortress, took place from 1703, and then the fortress structures, including to save time, were built of wood and earth (wood-earth fortifications). The section of the rampart (curtin) connected and now connects two bastions - Naryshkin and Trubetskoy.
The name "Ekaterininskaya" comes from the fact that the curtain is adjacent to the Naryshkin bastion, which from 1728 to 1731 was called the bastion of the Empress Catherine I.
The construction of the curtain wall in stone took place in 1709-1710 according to the project of the architect and engineer-fortifier D. Trezzini.
Initially, the curtain had twenty-two two-tier casemates, which in 1893-1904 were rebuilt in single-tier with a change in window openings.
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, the casemates were at the disposal of the Mint (the main building of which today faces the Cathedral Square Peter and Paul Fortress), then they were adapted as barracks and cells for the detention of military prisoners. In the 1870s, the premises closest to the Trubetskoy Bastion prison were converted into an interrogation room, a meeting room, and cells for holding those sentenced to death.
Today, the Neva Curtain is an integral part of the Peter and Paul Fortress and is managed by the State Museum of the History of St. Petersburg.
The Nevsky facade of the Catherine Curtain in 1783-1786, designed by engineer R. R. Tomilov, was faced with granite slabs.
Along the Neva facade of the curtain wall, facing the Neva River, is the beach of the Peter and Paul Fortress.
OnNaryshkin bastion, which is adjacent to the Catherine Curtain on its eastern side, is a voluminous Flagpole tower, built in 1731-1733 according to the project of the military engineer B.-X. Minich.
Within the walls of the bastion are: a gift shop, an exhibition hall and a museum of science and technology, which contains items related to various fields of technology and scientific knowledge.
You can climb to the roof of the Naryshkin Bastion, where you can Nevsky Curtin (on wooden bridges from Naryshkin to Gosudaryova Bastionov) paved sightseeing route "Nevsky panorama".
The ascent to the roof can be carried out for a fee, from the inner wall of the bastions, where the ticket offices are also located. Learn more about the Nevsky Panorama...
InTrubetskoy bastion, which is adjacent to the Catherine Curtain on its north-western side, is a museum - The Trubetskoy Bastion Prison, whose exposition is dedicated to the history of the main political prison of tsarist Russia. Learn more about the bastion and the museum…
Practical information
Catherine's Curtain is located in the south-western part of the Peter and Paul Fortress.
You can find out about the museums, expositions and exhibitions on the territory of the Peter and Paul Fortress on the website of the State Museum of the History of St. Petersburg: spbmuseum.
The entrance to the territory of the Peter and Paul Fortress is free (free of charge).
You can also visit the Peter and Paul Fortress with one of the excursions
Nearest metro stations: "Gorkovskaya" and "Sportivnaya".
All accommodation facilities in St. Petersburg, including in the city center and near the Peter and Paul Fortress, can be viewed and booked here
