Fort gray horse how to get there. Fort gray horse

On November 5, 2017, we made a one-day trip through the western part of the Leningrad region. The main goal of our trip was the cape Gray Horse and an anti-landing battery on it, created to protect the Russian coastal fortress - Fort Krasnaya Gorka. Since the Gray Horse and Krasnaya Gorka are inextricably linked historically, our hike began with a visit to Krasnaya Gorka, where we went for a short time, for a general acquaintance and understanding of what it is (the fort itself is very large, and you can fully explore it only for a long summer day, or even two). In the first part of the story about our journey, I will describe what we saw at the Krasnaya Gorka fort, which is a valuable historical monument of the fortification of times recent years Russian Empire.

BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY. Fort Krasnaya Gorka was built on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, like its brother on the northern coast, Fort Ino, to protect Kronstadt and St. Petersburg from possible attacks from the sea. The old defensive structures - the forts of Kronstadt and various coastal batteries - no longer met the requirements of the time, when the seas were cut by mighty battleships, almost unsinkable, with monstrous artillery. For reliable protection The seas needed modern, powerful coastal guns, with fortifications and a large garrison to protect them. In 1909, a fort of the same name began to be built on a high bank near the village of Krasnaya Gorka. Its armament was more than impressive - many batteries with guns various types, later added huge guns on railway platforms, moving along the rails, and capable of firing all the time from different positions. On the territory of the fort there were many underground passages connecting batteries, command and observation posts, searchlight and mine stations, earthen ramparts and ditches, a powerful belt of land defense - all this made the fortress impregnable, and passage by sea to St. Petersburg impossible, the enemy would be here was destroyed by the artillery of the fort. During the Great Patriotic War The fort took part in the defense of Leningrad and was the core of the Lomonosov (Oranienbaum) bridgehead.

From the highway that goes from Lebyazhye to Sosnovy Bor, an old cobblestone road leads to the fort.

When you walk along it, a couple of kilometers before the borders of the fort you see many trenches in the forest. These are the positions of the infantry that defended the approaches to it.

At first there are simply trenches and trenches, with positions for machine gunners and light cannons. Then, about a kilometer from the fort, numerous concrete bunkers appear.

These are shelters for infantry, built during the Russian Empire, when at least some care was taken about the survival of the soldier. Some shelters are designed not only to shelter infantry, but also for guns, so they have a wide entrance, and from them to the parapet where the guns were placed, there is an inclined ramp, like for strollers in passages over the tracks.

The photo shows a position for a light anti-assault gun.

You can go to the shelter.

Inside there is an exit to an armored cap with holes so that an observer can monitor the situation outside the bunker.

This huge concrete shelter is perfectly camouflaged. It is visible only from the side of the defenders of the fort, and on the other side it is just a forest, land with trees.

There are pieces of asphalt inside. He is here for a reason. Asphalt was used as an anti-spalling coating. In the event of an explosion, the walls did not crack, because asphalt is viscous, it would slow down the destruction process. Over the course of a hundred years, it has completely collapsed and cracked.

There are long needles of stalactites on the ceilings.

At the top of the bunker there is a shelf where the shooters could stand, and next to it there are depressions in the concrete. Ammunition was hidden in these niches.

It’s amazing how well they could build a hundred years ago, if the walls are still in perfect condition. You can even fight in them now.

It is very difficult to bypass the entire land defense of the fort - it will take a lot of time, especially since you will have to go through the forest. Usually, during our visits to Krasnaya Gorka, we always limited ourselves to in small areas. Otherwise, we would have had to walk at least 7-8 kilometers along all the trenches and bunkers - and even then, this would have been only the main strip, not counting the trenches located forward into the forest.

We go further to the citadel - the fortified core - of the fort. We pass through the railway gate; there used to be rails along which the train entered the fort. To the left and right of the gate you can see an earthen rampart - a wall around the citadel.

Information stands on the territory of the fortress. All this was done by volunteer enthusiasts who have been defending the Krasnaya Gorka fort from plunder attempts for years. They turned it into a free open-air museum, which has no analogues anywhere else in Russia!

From them you can learn a lot about the fortress.

There is a folk museum created not by the state, but by volunteers. There are unique exhibits from things found on the territory of the fort during excavations.

The main attraction of the fort is the guns on the railway platforms!

And unlike any other museums, here you can climb as much as you like.

An earthen ditch around the fort's citadel. Everything is like in classic ancient fortresses.

An earthen rampart around the fort's citadel. And under the shaft there are concrete dungeons connecting the batteries.

The coastline is definitely worth a look. The shore of the Gulf of Finland here is a natural monument! Only here it is a steep cliff, going almost straight into the water.

And in the distance you can see ships...Petersburg is a maritime city. Ships from all over the world sail along the fairway that runs along the southern coast.

The edge of a cliff.

A very beautiful place.

Such a bank was additional protection for the fort. Enemy troops would not have gotten here.

Let's go back to the fort's batteries. One of the guns was put in place by enthusiasts a year ago, but before it stood sadly on the rails. Now it is in the gun yard, as it should be.

And the shell is already in place.

The gun courtyards have entrances to the underground part of the fort. I’ll say right away that there are a lot of dungeons here. There are places to take a walk.

The steps are modern. They were made by those who put the fort in order, patriotic enthusiasts. Previously they were destroyed.

Underground corridor.

You can see traces of pipes that were part of the heating system, as well as those that supplied Fresh air. There were also electrical cables. The era of Nicholas II is a time when technological progress has already covered all aspects of life.

Air filtration and purification system. There was coal chips in the tanks, air passed through it, and it absorbed all the polluting particles. About the same as pills activated carbon, which you take for stomach upsets.

You can walk around the fort for a very long time. There's enough to do here for about 5 hours. But our main goal is Cape Gray Horse. So have a little tea and we'll go there soon.

A farewell look at the "armored train". This weapon took part in the defense of Leningrad and beat the Nazis.

And with this I complete the first part of the story about the hike, but there are still a lot of photographs and descriptions ahead. We still have to see the mine searchlight station, the village of Chernaya Lakhta and the Lebyazhiy nature reserve, as well as the Gray Horse fort. So stay tuned to my blog, there will be a continuation soon!

Information for those who want to come here! You can get there by train from the Baltic Station. Costs about 155r. Get off at the station at kilometer 68, then about 45 minutes on foot. In addition, buses run from the Parnas and Avtovo metro stations and cost 145 rubles. Exit at the turn at km 68. In terms of time, trains often go even faster, but they check your passports at the border post, and if you do not have Russian citizenship, you will not be allowed in.

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What is Fort Gray Horse? What is he famous for? You will find answers to these and other questions in the article. This fortification is a coastal anti-landing battery of the sea fortress of Peter I, which has a Kronstadt position. On October 21, 1919, it was renamed Fort "Advanced", from 1926 - the bastion "Bukharin", and from 1936 to 1953 it was called Fort "Krasnogvardeisky".

Chronicle

The Gray Horse fort was built on Cape Gray Horse in 1911 near the village of Chernaya Lakhta. The position consisted of two long-term open batteries: a three-gun 152 mm Canet howitzer was placed on the right flank, and a four-gun 120 mm Vickers howitzer on the left flank.

The battery was manufactured thanks to engineer-major general A. A. Shishkin, who provided the management with a corresponding memo. She had to confront the enemy in Koporye Bay so that the Krasnaya Gorka bastion would not be captured from land.

In May 1919, together with the Krasnaya Gorka fortification, the Gray Horse fort repelled the attack of the Northern Corps (commander - General A.P. Rodzianko) on Petrograd. In October of the same year, he defended Petrograd from N.N. Yudenich and his North-Western army, successfully repelling all attacks of the attackers. For this reason, in December 1919 he was awarded the Red Banner of Honor. During the Great Patriotic War, the Gray Horse fort was forced to defend the Oranienbaum bridgehead. In the 1950s he was disarmed due to the abolition

Battery No. 333

Have you ever seen Fort Gray Horse? Its scheme is quite unusual. In 1925, it was planned to reinforce the battery with two 254-mm turret installations from the Rurik caravel. In 1927, a project was created to strengthen the fleet with the help of two 203-mm turrets from the cruiser Republic. The basis was the improved design of the 254-mm turret battery of Gabbin and Konoplev. The towers were mounted in separate concrete nests instead of a single concrete mass for a pair of towers.

During installation the following improvements were made:

The PUAO system has been installed.
The thickness of the armored roof has been enlarged from 2 to 5 mm.
The ammunition load has been modified to 195 salvos per howitzer.
The vertical guidance angle has been expanded from 25 to 35°.

The new battery received No. 9, and then it was assigned No. 333.

Insurrection

The uprising of the bastions “Grey Horse” and “Red Hill” is a fragment of the civil war that took place in the northwestern zone of Russia. Then, in June 1919, the paramilitary garrisons of the forts opposed the Bolshevik government. This uprising was suppressed by ships of the Red Baltic Fleet, units of the Red Army and amphibious assault. The riot in the Gray Horse bastion was prepared by officer Ogloblin. It started on June 13th. The battery commissioner and the communists were taken under arrest, but the team was inactive and did not go over to the side of the rebels. She barricaded herself on one of the fortifications and took a wait-and-see position.

The cruiser "Kitoboy", which was converted into a patrol vessel, went over to the side of the rebels. It was commanded by midshipman V.I. Speransky, who was on duty at the battery that day. The ship was armed with two 75 mm howitzers. When “Kitoboy” went over to the side of the rebels, he was first fired upon by the artillery of the battery and fleet, and then, when he changed the red flag to Andreevsky, by the brigantine “Anchor” of his personal red platoon. Nevertheless, the Whaler received one small hole in the deck.

The Whaler set off for the Krasnaya Gorka fort the next day. From there he left with a message for the English squadron about the riot. At the same time, the British captured the ship and treated it like a trophy of war. They did not take into account at all the fact that St. Andrew’s flag was flying on it. Only on June 17, the ship was transferred to the “Russian Naval Headquarters”, and the provision of assistance to the rebels by the British squadron was indecisive and belated. The battery's guns took part in the shelling of the brigantines of the Baltic Fleet and Kronstadt. Moreover, the team refused to fire artillery, and the officers took over. The uprising was broken on the night of June 16, the rebels left the fort without damaging the structures and guns.

Results

After the end of the confrontation, the leadership of the defensive region of Petrograd paid close attention to the bastions. The garrisons of the fortifications were improved with communist details, and subsequently these formations turned into real strongholds of the defense of the riviera of the Gulf of Finland. It was this nuance that played the most important role in repelling the autumn attack of the North-Western Army on Petrograd.

The leadership arrested the conspirators at the forts. As a result, the Cheka was able to reach the Petrograd group of the People's Center, which was later destroyed.

Nuances

In fact, the Gray Horse battery is the subsequent formation of the defense of the nearby approaches to Kronstadt. The bastion was rebuilt in two stages. The construction of two rapid-fire batteries at Cape Gray Horse began in 1911, as we discussed above. In 1925-1928. The coastal defenses were modernized, and the fort was improved by an 8-inch battery, consisting of two towers and located on Cape Suurniemi. During the years of the civil war, intervention and the Great Patriotic War, this fort fully justified its mission.

How to get there

Many people want to look at the Gray Horse fort. How to get there by car? From Krasnoflotsk you need to move through Chernaya Lakhta. Before reaching Pulkovo, turn right along the cobblestone road. You need to get to Grafskaya Lakhta Bay. You can identify the bay by its pungent smell. Proceed to the gate marked “No Entry.” Next, walk through the forest towards Cape Gray Horse. Then you will need to find a path that will lead you to the destroyed gates of the Higher Naval Diving School camp with prohibitory signs.

Then go past the buildings to the desired fort, which defended Krasnaya Gorka from the west. Today, the four-gun battery has been preserved well due to its inaccessibility. Although its lower casemates are flooded due to the proximity of water, and it is overgrown with grass. The same can be said about the second battery.

The top of the local observation post, built in the 1910s, was built with a rangefinder pavilion after the end of the Great Patriotic War. The post consists of three floors, and if you climb it, you can admire the blue waters of the Gulf of Finland for a long time. After visiting these sights, you can get to the 68 km station and depart for St. Petersburg. It should be noted that if you started your hike from the central square of the village and ended it at the Gray Horse bastion, then the length of your path will be 40 km.

By minibus

Agree, Fort Gray Horse is far away. How to get to it by minibus? Let's consider the shortest path. In St. Petersburg, near the Avtovo metro station, you need to take minibus No. 401 and go to the stop in the village of Gora-Valdai. Next you will have to walk about a kilometer until the first turn to the right. Along it, after three kilometers you will come to an open gate with a sign.

In 1910, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, on the Gray Horse cape, they began to build a fort that received the same name. It was considered as a continuation of "Krasnaya Gorka". It was not even a fort, but only two batteries, which, by being the first to open fire on the advancing enemy fleet, could enable the Krasnaya Gorka artillery to prepare to repel the attack.

The fort was of great importance for the defense of Petrograd and Kronstadt. During the Civil War of 1918-20, during the offensive of the White Guard troops of General N. N. Yudenich on Petrograd, on the night of June 13, 1919, a counter-revolutionary mutiny broke out at the forts "Krasnaya Gorka", "Seraya Loshad", "Obruchev" and the minesweeper "Kitoboy". , prepared by the White Guards, Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks with the active participation of foreign intelligence services. The RVS of the Baltic Fleet addressed the rebels with an ultimatum - to immediately stop the mutiny. The garrison of Fort Obruchev arrested the instigators and declared obedience to Soviet power; the forts "Krasnaya Gorka" (25 guns of caliber from 76 to 305 mm) and "Gray Horse" (8 guns of 120-152 mm caliber) refused to comply with the RVS's demand, counting on the support of the English fleet. On June 13-14, the artillery of the ships of the Baltic Fleet (2 battleships, 1 cruiser, 3 destroyers) and the Reef fort fired at the rebel forts. On June 15, a coastal group (up to 4.5 thousand people) under the command of Sannikov, with the support of 2 armored trains, 2 armored cars and 2 destroyers, went on the offensive and knocked out the rebels (500 people) from positions on the approaches to Krasnaya Gorka. The command of the rebel forts, led by the commandant of the Krasnaya Gorka fort, former lieutenant Neklyudov, fled, and on June 16 the forts surrendered.
During Soviet times, the forts were renamed. “Krasnaya Gorka” became the “Krasnoflotsky” fort, and “Seraya Loshad” became the “Advanced” fort. But these names were preserved only in official documents; the old names turned out to be more tenacious.
The fort underwent significant reconstruction in the early 1930s. Here, on the western shore of Batareynaya Bay, two 203-mm turret installations were installed, removed from the battleship "Republic" (former "Emperor Paul I") sold to Germany for scrap.

During the difficult years of the blockade, the forts of Krasnaya Gorka and Gray Horse with their artillery power held back the onslaught of the fascists, smashed their rear, provided defense, and then the offensive.
At the end of the 1960s, the fate of the forts was decided very simply: disarm, ensuring a plan for the delivery of scrap metal. The unique tower installations of the Krasnaya Gorka and the Gray Horse were completely dismantled. Only the so-called “cuirass” remained, which supported the concrete outer part. Now these are just wells among the bushes concrete block- a sad sight that illustrates the attitude towards history in our country.

Currently, the fort is in decline, as evidenced by the barbaric traces of metal hunters. The fort is destroyed and looted, and only strong concrete looks at all this with silent sorrow.

http://militera.lib.ru/h/vmf/03.html
http://www.nortfort.ru
http://www.antiq.info/arms_/6964.html

On November 5, our hike to Cape Gray Horse took place. First, we visited the Krasnaya Gorka fort, walked along the western part of the Lebyazhy nature reserve and visited the village of Chernaya Lakhta, and at the end of the hike we reached the main goal of the trip - the anti-landing battery "Seraya Loshad", historically and logically connected with the "Krasnaya Gorka" ", which is why we first went to the first, main fort.

The Gray Horse is worth being the main goal of the hike for several reasons. Firstly, there are no large crowds of tourists here, but on the contrary, peace and quiet reign. Therefore, it is easier to immerse yourself in history and feel the atmosphere of the past. Secondly, there is wonderful nature here, almost untouched by man, which is worth communing with for several hours during a walk.

I already talked about nature in a previous post. (Reserve "Lebyazhy"), and now let's see what we saw on the Gray Horse.

The first thing that appears to the traveler is the Command Observation Post (COP). Sometimes they write not “item”, but “post”, perhaps this is an outdated designation, because the former is traditionally used. In general, the command of the fort was located here, observation was carried out, orders were issued to the batteries from here. The structure is made of thick concrete, embanked on the outside - disguised with earth as a mound, which is traditional for all buildings of the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century, when under Nicholas II they began to build new forts and batteries and re-equip old ones.

The building was mothballed, the entrances were blocked with bricks, but this brick was broken long ago, and you can safely enter.

You can use the stairs to reach the upper floors. But you have to be careful not to hit your head on the numerous hanging pipes.

There are many ruined empty rooms on the intermediate floors, but we go straight upstairs. In one of upper parts the concrete base is visible. It is not clear what was here, but something was spinning and looking into the embrasure.

The embrasure running in a circle is filled with bricks. It looks like there was a machine gun here that was shooting everything around through this gap.

Staircase to the top. The premises are dark, a flashlight is required.

On one of the platforms there are small windows for observation.

The windows were closed with metal shutters.

Finally we climb to the topmost platform.

You can see in the distance the car of the lighthouse workers on the coast, as well as some greenhouses.

Part of the group did not go with us to the bunker. Now we look at them from above, from where they seem very small. If you look closely, you will see dark spots on the ground to the left and right of the road. This is a swamp. The road was built over swamps; without an artificial embankment it was impossible to get to this cape by land.

View of the Gulf of Finland. The enemy will not pass unnoticed.

Antique intercom.

One of the lower floors. Everything is ruined and stolen. But it’s a sin to complain - this is not the worst thing that happens to forts now.

After leaving the fort checkpoint, we go to the batteries. In the distance you can see the right-flank battery, where there were 3 guns. Now is the time to explain what kind of animal the Gray Horse is, and why it is needed at all. The fact is that Krasnaya Gorka, with its powerful guns, could perfectly smash into dust everything that moved across the sea, but could not effectively protect itself from landings on boats. The guns could not fire from the hill along the coastline; their shells only flew into the distance. But this is not the main thing, even if you install light guns or machine guns along the entire shore right next to the water, they will see the enemy only when he comes close, emerging from behind the cape and finding himself right in front of the battery. And if he goes ashore earlier, a couple of hundred meters from the guns, without swimming to them, he will not be visible at all, and it will be impossible to knock him out in the water. In case of an attack from land, Krasnaya Gorka had an impressive line of land defense, which I already wrote about at the beginning of this article

But it would be much more effective to destroy the enemy’s landing boats right in the water before they landed on land - there would be much fewer losses among our own. For this purpose, the Gray Horse battery was built, which would detect the enemy earlier, knocking out his ships on the distant approaches to the main fortress.

Look at this photo taken on the left flank of Gray Horse Point. In the center of the frame is another cape - Shepelevsky, where there is an active lighthouse. And to the right of it is the open sea, which can be seen for many kilometers into the distance. It is impossible to pass by the battery observation posts unnoticed.

Near the right-flank battery there is ancient stonework on the shore. It was used to strengthen the shore so that the sea surf would not destroy the battery. After all, the Gulf of Finland is part of the Baltic Sea, and the waves here can be quite destructive.

Battery observation post. There are many such towers here. Through them it was possible to safely observe the sea.

Battery gun yard. The right-flank unit was armed with three guns - rapid-fire cannons of the Kane system. They could fire up to 12 rounds per minute. Through the windows, shells were fed from underground storage facilities directly to the guns.

All battery guns are connected by underground corridors; it was possible to move from gun to gun without going to the surface, which increased the survivability of personnel. Let's go inside.

The corridors here have two levels. The first one runs around the guns and also connects the courtyards with each other. The second is located below, there are dungeons where ammunition was stored.

What's amazing is that the battery has been abandoned for a long time. The conditions are harsh - dampness, climate... And the paint on the walls is still in perfect condition. How so? Now buildings are re-whitewashed every three years. And here it’s been a hundred years, and nothing happens to her! We have lost something that we used to be able to...

On the lower level, where there were underground storage areas for ammunition, there were these devices with handles. You turn the handle - by the way, it still works - and the damper closes, blocking the pipe. This was probably how the air flow was regulated for ventilation or heating of rooms.

Stairs from the upper corridor to the lower rooms with ammunition.

One of the lower rooms.

There were shells here.

We go out to the coast of the Gulf of Finland and go to the second battery. The coast here is very beautiful!

Reeds can provide good shelter from the wind in summer if there is a need to sunbathe in not the hottest weather...

Gun yard of the second battery. There were 4 Vickers guns. These guns were mounted in pairs - two barrels next to each other, on one rotating installation.

Here the underground storage facilities are flooded. I was here once in the winter when the water in them froze. But it so happened that due to its high level, it was only possible to move on the ice while sitting or on your knees. Plus it was very slippery. So we rolled on our knees along the lower corridors, it was very funny: a group of 10 people push with their hands and roll along the ice one after another. And then somewhere they heard the cracking of ice - and at great speed they rolled back on their butts and knees...

The last part of the fort is the Rangefinder Pavilion, from where the fire was adjusted and the sea was monitored.

Previously, entry there was free. But now there is a lock on the door, and you can’t get in. Surely, as always, this will be explained by “patriotic considerations.” Recently, a number of forts and bunkers have been seized and, in fact, illegally privatized by various “patriotic” clubs, which turn them into their property, and then conduct excursions there either for their favorites, or for those who will pay very well. And then a certain N. writes on his website “it’s closed there, but I have an exclusive agreement with the owners, and for 1000 rubles you can visit there...”. The trend is disgusting and sad.

So I advise everyone to visit the Gray Horse as soon as possible - over time, both the batteries and the control point will be closed, the trend is obvious...

The shore of the bay near the rangefinder pavilion. It was getting dark, and we walked back in complete darkness. It's good that everyone had flashlights.

And now the most important part of the hike. But not for everyone. We put half of it on bus 401, going from Sosnovy Bor to St. Petersburg, to the Avtovo metro station. The stop was at the village of Gorawaldai. And the other half, the most active, went with me to Lake Goravaldai. We didn't know whether it was frozen or not, but we hoped to take a swim. Having reached the lake, we saw leaves floating near the shore. The decision was quickly made - swim! Moreover, we got pretty wet while walking; the November day was warm, +7.

And then I realized that something was wrong here... my foot ran into some obstacle. I thought that I crashed into a fallen tree trunk in the dark, but in the light of the lanterns it was clear that there were no trunks. It's ice! Yes, he was three meters from the shore! Near the shore it melted during the warm days, and further on it remained after the frosts that happened a week ago.

I had to break the ice with my hands and feet to get to a place where I could at least sit in the water and take a plunge somehow. Following me, the rest of the group took up the fantastically absurd task.

Swim in November, in the dark, by the light of lanterns, in a frozen lake... why not? Everything is possible in our travel club...

Crumbs of ice that we had broken floated sadly near the shore...

Half an hour later we boarded the next bus, where there were exactly as many seats as there were us. So it was very successful that we divided the group this way. We rushed back to the city in about 1 hour 20 minutes.

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On November 5, 2017, we made a one-day trip through the western part of the Leningrad region. The main goal of our campaign was Cape Gray Horse and the anti-landing battery on it, created to protect the Russian coastal fortress - Fort Krasnaya Gorka. Since the Gray Horse and Krasnaya Gorka are inextricably linked historically, our hike began with a visit to Krasnaya Gorka, where we went for a short time, for a general acquaintance and understanding of what it is (the fort itself is very large, and you can fully explore it only for a long summer day, or even two). In the first part of the story about our journey, I will describe what we saw at the Krasnaya Gorka fort, which is a valuable historical monument of fortification from the last years of the Russian Empire.

BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY. Fort Krasnaya Gorka was built on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, like its brother on the northern coast, Fort Ino, to protect Kronstadt and St. Petersburg from possible attacks from the sea. The old defensive structures - the forts of Kronstadt and various coastal batteries - no longer met the requirements of the time, when the seas were cut by mighty battleships, almost unsinkable, with monstrous artillery. For reliable protection of the seas, modern, powerful coastal guns were needed, with fortifications and a large garrison to protect them. In 1909, a fort of the same name began to be built on a high bank near the village of Krasnaya Gorka. Its armament was more than impressive - many batteries with guns of various types; later, huge guns were added on railway platforms, moving along rails, and capable of firing all the time from different positions. On the territory of the fort there were many underground passages connecting batteries, command and observation posts, searchlight and mine stations, earthen ramparts and ditches, a powerful belt of land defense - all this made the fortress impregnable, and passage by sea to St. Petersburg impossible, the enemy would be here was destroyed by the artillery of the fort. During the Great Patriotic War, the fort took part in the defense of Leningrad and was the core of the Lomonosov (Oranienbaum) bridgehead.

From the highway that goes from Lebyazhye to Sosnovy Bor, an old cobblestone road leads to the fort.

When you walk along it, a couple of kilometers before the borders of the fort you see many trenches in the forest. These are the positions of the infantry that defended the approaches to it.

At first there are simply trenches and trenches, with positions for machine gunners and light cannons. Then, about a kilometer from the fort, numerous concrete bunkers appear.

The photo shows a position for a light anti-assault gun.

You can go to the shelter.

Inside there is an exit to an armored cap with holes so that an observer can monitor the situation outside the bunker.

This huge concrete shelter is perfectly camouflaged. It is visible only from the side of the defenders of the fort, and on the other side it is just a forest, land with trees.

There are long needles of stalactites on the ceilings.

At the top of the bunker there is a shelf where the shooters could stand, and next to it there are depressions in the concrete. Ammunition was hidden in these niches.

It’s amazing how well they could build a hundred years ago, if the walls are still in perfect condition. You can even fight in them now.

It is very difficult to bypass the entire land defense of the fort - it will take a lot of time, especially since you will have to go through the forest. Usually, during our visits to Krasnaya Gorka, we were always limited to only small areas. Otherwise, we would have had to walk at least 7-8 kilometers along all the trenches and bunkers - and even then, this would have been only the main strip, not counting the trenches located forward into the forest.

From them you can learn a lot about the fortress.

There is a folk museum created not by the state, but by volunteers. There are unique exhibits from things found on the territory of the fort during excavations.

The main attraction of the fort is the guns on the railway platforms!

And unlike any other museums, here you can climb as much as you like.

An earthen ditch around the fort's citadel. Everything is like in classic ancient fortresses.

An earthen rampart around the fort's citadel. And under the shaft there are concrete dungeons connecting the batteries.

The coastline is definitely worth a look. The shore of the Gulf of Finland here is a natural monument! Only here it is a steep cliff, going almost straight into the water.

And in the distance you can see ships...Petersburg is a maritime city. Ships from all over the world sail along the fairway that runs along the southern coast.

The edge of a cliff.

A very beautiful place.

Such a bank was additional protection for the fort. Enemy troops would not have gotten here.

Let's go back to the fort's batteries. One of the guns was put in place by enthusiasts a year ago, but before it stood sadly on the rails. Now it is in the gun yard, as it should be.

And the shell is already in place.

The gun courtyards have entrances to the underground part of the fort. I’ll say right away that there are a lot of dungeons here. There are places to take a walk.

The steps are modern. They were made by those who put the fort in order, patriotic enthusiasts. Previously they were destroyed.

Underground corridor.

You can see traces of pipes that were part of the heating system and also supplied fresh air. There were also electrical cables. The era of Nicholas II is a time when technological progress has already covered all aspects of life.

Air filtration and purification system. There was coal chips in the tanks, air passed through it, and it absorbed all the polluting particles. Kind of like the activated charcoal tablets you take for stomach upsets.

You can walk around the fort for a very long time. There's enough to do here for about 5 hours. But our main goal is Cape Gray Horse. So have a little tea and we'll go there soon.

A farewell look at the "armored train". This weapon took part in the defense of Leningrad and beat the Nazis.

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