Sometimes buildings reflect the fate of those they are named after. I thought about this when I saw the fort 'Emperor Pavel I', or rather, its remains. Many forts in Kronstadt are in a deplorable state, but this one is almost completely destroyed. It is hard to believe that this was once the largest of the Kronstadt forts.

The first wooden fort at this site was built between 1807 and 1812 by military engineer Ivan Kondratievich Gerard. It was named 'Risbank', which in German means 'Mark on the Shallows'.

In 1845, reconstruction of 'Risbank' began according to the project of engineer-general-lieutenant Vasily Ivanovich Maslov. In 1854, by order of Emperor Nicholas I, the fort was renamed 'Emperor Pavel I', and construction was completed in 1859.

The fort was a casemated battery. First, a pile and grill foundation was constructed, on which a concrete platform was poured underwater. Then walls were built from brick and stone, faced with granite.

However, the fort soon lost its fortification significance. In 1896, it housed a naval investigative prison, and later a storage for mine-artillery weapons.

In 1919, when the Civil War approached Kronstadt, two explosions occurred here, which were supposed to signal the start of an anti-Bolshevik uprising. The fort sustained serious damage but held its ground.

On July 20, 1923, the fort was shaken by a new powerful explosion. According to the official version, it happened due to careless handling of fire: after lifeboat drills, sailors decided to rest here. As a result of the explosion, almost everyone died, and the fort was practically destroyed.

Later, on the ruins of the fort 'Emperor Pavel I', they trained in explosives.

During the Great Patriotic War, three 100-mm B-24 artillery installations were placed here, which participated in the defense of the Oranienbaum bridgehead.