Description of the attraction
Annenskie fortifications - fortifications in Vyborg, located on the island of Tverdysh. They were built in 1730-1750. Annenskie buildings were also called Annenkron in honor of the Russian Empress Anna Ioannovna (from the Swedish "Annenkrone", which means "Crown of St. Anne"). The fortress, the newest at that time, occupied an area comparable to the entire city building. Today Annenskie fortifications are a rare monument of Russian defense architecture of the post-Petrine era.
Annensky fortifications are four bastions, which are interconnected by curtains stretching across the entire island from the shores of Vyborg Bay to Zashchitnaya Bay.
The history of the Annensky fortifications began in January 1724, when the most famous military engineers of that time Munnich, Coulomb and De Brigny were offered to develop a project for the military fortifications of Vyborg. Minikh and Kulon agreed that it was necessary to strengthen the coastal territory of Tverdysh Island.
Minich's project envisaged the construction of a fortified strip that would cross the entire island. The project was considered expensive, and besides, its implementation would require a significant number of garrisons and large weapons.
For construction in 1731, the Coulomb project was approved, according to which the defensive belt in a semicircle covered the island coast just opposite the castle and went further along the Smolyanaya Bereg Cape. The Coulomb project excluded many of the rather laborious earthworks. And the rounded flanks of the fortifications along it turned out to be not so vulnerable.
The construction of the fortifications began in 1730. The fortifications were erected by Russian peasants and soldiers. To carry out the work from the Keksholm and Vyborg provinces, 2 thousand people and 200 carts were requested. Fortifications were built secretly, outsiders were not allowed to the construction site. By 1733, a ditch had already been dug out and two bastions were built, and at the beginning of the 1740s. all the main elements of the fortress were erected.
At first, the construction was supervised by Minich, and later by Lieutenant General Luberas. In the early 1750s. at the Annenskie fortifications worked A. P. Hannibal, great-grandfather of the great poet, who was previously in Siberian exile. Minich personally contributed to his return; he entrusted A. P. Hannibal, the leadership of the Engineering Department of the Military Collegium. His main responsibility was to check the annual reports on the fortresses under construction, analyze projects and estimates.
In addition to defensive structures, two powder magazines, a warehouse for artillery supplies, three shops, two guardrooms - guard rooms, three smithies, a well, 16 residential quarters were built on the territory of the fortress.
On the territory of the fortress in the second half of the 18th century. there was an active life. It was inhabited mainly by Russians. Despite the fact that the Annensky fortifications have never been sieged, repair and restoration work went on here almost continuously. It was necessary to rebuild defensive structures washed out by waves after strong storms. Fires were frequent. The largest one took place in 1793.
In 1772 and 1808 in connection with a new aggravation of Russian-Swedish relations, and in 1854 in connection with the Crimean War, the Annensky fortifications were put in order. In 1864-1865. the fortress was split into two parts by the road, so they almost completely lost their defensive significance.
Annenskie fortifications have the shape of a crown and cover an area about a kilometer long. In addition to the four bastions, which are connected by curtains, the fortress includes earthen ditches and ramparts that form three bastion fronts. Kotrgarde fortifies the second bastion. The outer wall of the fortifications (scarp) is made of granite boulders. The height of the wall is 10 m, and the thickness is 3 m. Along the old road leading to the west, two stone gates are made in the earthen curtains: Friedrichsgam and Ravelin gates.
In honor of the 200th anniversary of the capture of Vyborg by Russian troops, a stele was erected in front of the Friedrichsgam Gate over the common grave of Russian soldiers who fell during the assault on Vyborg in 1910. During the years of Finland's independence, the stele was dismantled, and in 1994 its exact copy was restored.
Annenskie fortifications, which in the past played an important role in the defense system of the Russian borders in the northwest, as a valuable monument of Russian fortress architecture of their time, are protected by the state.
Nowadays, well-preserved military fortifications are often the scene of all kinds of cultural events. The fortress hosts the reconstruction of knightly tournaments and the "Castle Dance" dance festival.
