Peter Pier in Kronstadt is one of the most famous sights of the city. It was built in the first years after the foundation of Kronstadt. For almost two centuries, the pier was lined with wooden planks. In 1882, the shore of the Gulf of Finland at Peter Pier was lined with granite slabs and decorated with granite vases.
Peter I founded Fort Kronshlot in 1704. It is located opposite Peter Pier and protects the fairway where ships can pass to St. Petersburg from the Baltic Sea. By the end of the Northern War, in 1716, large-scale construction of marinas for the merchant and military fleet began in Kronstadt. The navy has always moored at Peter Pier, and the Merchant Harbor for merchant ships is located to the east of it.
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 are moored on the east side of the pier. This is not a museum exhibit, but real ships of the Baltic Fleet that flow combat missions. Many people come to Kronstadt 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.
Peter Pier is also called Winter. Icebreakers are constantly breaking the ice here so that warships can go to sea at any time. Cannon of the 19th century is installed on Peter Embankment. Previously, a noon shot was fired from cannon at this place. Now this tradition has been preserved only in the Peter and Paul Fortress of St. Petersburg.
