Patriot Park in the Dock Admiralty of Kronstadt is gradually turning into a huge open-air museum complex. You can enter it from the Anchor Square, where the Naval St. Nicholas Cathedral towers. The Admiralty territory reconstruction program is designed until 2030.
Patriot Park in Kronstadt continues the traditions laid down after the creation of the first Patriot Park in Alabino near Moscow. It was established in 2014 and has gone the way from the museum of military equipment to the spiritual center of the Armed Forces of Russia, where the emphasis is on military-patriotic education of young people. Patriot Park in Alabino is dedicated to the Ground and Air Forces of Russia. Patriot Park in Kronstadt is dedicated to the Russian Navy.
The Dock Admiralty in Kronstadt began to be created under Catherine II. In the 18th century, ships were made of wood and this created a danger of fires. In 1783, a major fire occurred in the Admiralty of St. Petersburg. It is located in the very center of the city and there was a danger of fire spreading to the royal residence in the Winter Palace.
After this fire, Catherine II, in 1785, ordered to dig a Bypass Canal in Kronstadt to protect the city from fires when the Admiralty would be located in its center. However, Paul I canceled the order of Catherine II, so the Admiralty in Kronstadt became not a place for the construction of ships, but a warehouse complex. Also in 1752, the dry Peter Dock was built here, where ships were repaired for about two centuries. Over time, this place was called the Dock Admiralty of Kronstadt.
Over the past few decades, warehouses in the Admiralty of Kronstadt have not been used, so now they are in a dilapidated state. The same applies to Peter Dock. The project to create the Patriot Park in Kronstadt requires a lot of money, since the amount of work and the area is huge.
Near the entrance to Patriot Park there is a Chapel of Peter and Paul and a Memorial to the participants of the Kronstadt Uprising. Then the path goes along the Peter dry dock. According to the reconstruction plan, a museum exposition will also be created in it. Behind the chapel, the apple orchard of the Admiralty of Kronstadt has been recreated. In the far part of Patriot Park there is an Alley with busts of admirals of the Russian Fleet.
On the right side of the entrance to Patriot Park, you can see a large exhibition of anchors and military equipment. Anchor Square has been a storage place for anchors for centuries, so the exhibition of anchors in Patriot Park looks natural. There are more than 50 anchors made in the 18th and 20th centuries. The heaviest of them weighs 15 tons.
