Peter and Paul Fortress
Star-shaped citadel and former political prison with a cathedral topped by a gilded spire.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Peter and Paul Fortress in Saint Petersburg centers on Alexei, son and heir of Peter the Great, who fled his father's court in 1716 for Vienna and then a castle in Naples. It follows Count Tolstoy, the envoy Peter sent to bring him home under a false promise of forgiveness, one that Alexei believed. Back in Moscow, he was stripped of his claim to the throne before being brought here to this fortress.
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