Underground world near Petersburg
Poterna of the Peter and Paul Fortress
Secret passages for the landing of assault forces outside the Peter and Paul Fortress/Petropavlovskaya Krepost were provided even in those times when the stronghold was an important military object. Until a certain time, the location of strategic objects was kept under the strict secrecy, but times are changing - and what was once a secret, today has become the property of the general public.
By the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg "Secret Passage" was opened for the mass visit. The place is really interesting. Keeps secrets, breathes hoaxes: an old dungeon, dim light and no one knows what lies ahead. There are still very few people who know about the underground passage and there are almost no tourists there.
Undergrounds of the Gatchina Palace/Gatchinsky dvorets
Legends say, as if under the medieval castle, designed by Antonio Rinaldi, there are many underground passages. True, at the moment only one is known. In the old days, it was possible to descend into an underground passage about 130 meters long straight from the halls. There was a secret door in the niche of the wall of the main bedchamber leading to a dark narrow spiral staircase. On it it was possible to reach the underground passage.
In 1918, the halls of the Gatchinsky Palace were first opened to the public, and the underpass immediately became very popular among tourists.
Underground passages of the Mikhailovsky Castle/Mihaylovsky Zamok
As some historians have suggested, secret passages were built deep under the Mikhailovsky Castle for the security of Paul I. In particular, one of them supposedly led to the Vorontsovsky Palace (where the Suvorov School is now located) and was the longest (about 3.5 kilometers). True, official evidence of this has not yet been found.
Summer Garden/Letny Sad Dungeons
At the time, under the personal instructions of Peter I, a secret underground passage was dug under the Summer Garden/Letny Sad , which led from the very center of the park to the Summer Palace/Letny Dvorets of the emperor. For a long time it was believed that Peter’s underground tunnels were destroyed in the 18th century. However, in 1924 the builders found a brick tunnel, he led them into a vaulted hiding place, lined with stone. Moves from him went towards the Field of Mars and to the opposite bank of the Fontanka River. But it was only 12 meters to go through both passages, as the way was blocked by massive iron grids.
In August 1925, an underground tunnel was laid with stone and covered with soil. Then the garden was opened to the public. Now experts studying the underground tunnels of St. Petersburg cannot detect this tunnel.
Manor Kushelev-Bezborodko
An underground passage was discovered on the territory in the mid-1990s. It happened during the construction of a new heating main. Despite the proximity of the river, the basement was dry. Workers opened the floor and found a dungeon. The course led to the opposite direction from the river, but only about 10 meters was managed to pass through it, then it turned out to be a blockage.
Until recently, there was another move in the former manor, but during the reconstruction of the Sverdlovskaya Embankment, this passage was filled up, and a garbage dump appeared in the left cave.
Alexander Nevsky Lavra
The underground of the Alexander Nevsky Monastery is a labyrinth of small rooms connected by narrow passages. The northern part of the dungeons remains unexplored, since the passages there are completely flooded by the Monastyrka waters. There may be valuable property of the Petersburg nobility, hidden in the troubled years of the revolution.
Anti-nuclear bunker Smolny Cathedral
Under the Smolny Cathedral during World War II was anti-nuclear bunker. The secret cellars of the cathedral were talked about for a long time, the reason for this was well-bricked doors and leading to no one knows where the underground passages. It is believed that the shelter during the bombing served as a command post of the front.
Truda Square/Ploshchad Truda
Under the Truda Square (formerly Blagoveshchenskaya Ploshchad ) there is an underground part of the Kryukov Canal, hidden in a giant pipe in the early 1840s. The passage from the Neva to the canal was sealed up in the 1870s, and the exit from the underground to the Kryukov canal was closed off with a grid. When, in the 1990s, an underground passageway was erected on Truda Square, the builders stumbled upon the remains of tunnel pipes.
These unique relics are preserved - they can be seen in the underpass today.
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