Description of the attraction
Fort "Shants" is an architectural and historical monument of the 18th century. There are other names for the fort - the Alexander battery and "Alexander and Nikolai Shantsy". Located on the western outskirts of the city of Kronstadt. The fort is a cultural heritage site and is under state protection.
Fort Shantz was built in 1706 during the Great Northern War to protect the city from the Swedish army. It was an earthen redoubt erected in front of the modern right flank of the battery.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the Aleksandrovskaya battery was built nearby, on the southern coast of Kotlin Island. Additionally, for the defense of the approaches to both fortifications. Between them appeared a small infantry redoubt "Mikhail". In the summer of 1855, all these buildings were radically rebuilt during the rapid strengthening of Kronstadt, due to the threat of an attack from the Anglo-French squadron. Now on the northern bank was stationed battery No. 7, called "Alexander-Shanets", on the south - battery No. 8, "Nikolai-Shanets", and between them there was a battery of letters "B", which later received the name "Curtain".
The fortifications were not seriously modernized, and they existed until the end of the 19th century. Then, in their place, it was decided to build a complex of long-term batteries, called the Shants fort. In 1897, construction began on the central (mortar) and northern (cannon) batteries. It lasted five years. The structures were made of concrete according to the projects of the forts "A" and "B", which were taken as the basis. But the necessary changes were made to them according to local conditions. The cannon battery, in addition to the main armament, was equipped with four cannons designed to combat possible enemy landings. To illuminate the adjacent section of the roadstead, a searchlight was placed on the right flank, which, if necessary, was hidden in the mine. After some time, a southern (cannon) battery was built on the left flank of the group, similar in buildings, equipment and armament to the northern one.
By the 30th year of the 20th century, the Shants battery had lost its combat significance, the weapons were removed, and in part of the vacated casemates, it was decided to create a command post of the Commander of the Baltic Sea Coastal Defense.
During the Great Patriotic War, stationary coastal guns were not installed on the Shants battery, but at the same time there was a separate railway artillery battery No. 19-A (two guns, caliber 180 mm), moving along the Kronstadt - Rif branch.
At present, the state of the Shants fort is assessed as unsatisfactory.
