Peter Park is located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, where the warships of the Baltic Fleet are moored. This is the historical center of Kronstadt. The 5-hectare park was created in the middle of the 19th century on the site of Arsenal Square. There is a Monument to Peter I in the center.
Nowadays, the center of Kronstadt is the Anchor Square and the huge Naval St. Nicholas Cathedral. However, until the end of the 19th century, the historical center of Kronstadt was located along the embankment between the Italian Pond and the Summer Garden. They are connected by Makarovskaya Street and Peter Street.
Until the middle of the 19th century, these streets intersected on Arsenal Square. Reviews of troops were held on it, but the square itself did not have a stone pavement. It`s always been dirty here. In 1839, the famous Russian voyager Thaddeus Bellingshausen became the governor of Kronstadt. He did not like the dirt of Arsenal Square; he decided to create a Peter Park in this place.
Peter Park has a regular layout of alleys converging to the center in the form of a star. A monument to Peter I, the founder of Kronstadt, was erected in the center of the park in 1841. The monument was cast by sculptor Theodore Jacques in the studio of Peter Klodt. The height of the monument to Peter I is 4.5 meters.
The south side of Peter Park overlooks the Middle Harbor. This place is called Peter Pier. In 1882, the embankment was lined with granite slabs, and granite vases were installed on the edge. On the western side of the granite embankment there is a double pier, which protrudes 400 meters into the sea. This pier is called Mouth-Slingshot.
Warships of the Baltic Fleet are moored on the eastern side of the pier. Many tourists come here to see them. On the west side of the pier, there is an open-air Museum of Bathyscaphes (entrance is paid). On the same side, at the very edge of the pier, the destroyer "Restless" and the missile boat R-47 are moored. These warships have been turned into a museum, but tourist access to them is still closed.
