The life and death of Emperor Paul I is full of tragedy. Due to his mother, he lost his father early and grew up almost in solitude. Paul Petrovich was most fascinated by military service and was enchanted by castles and fortresses.

In the late 18th century, his mother gifted him a vast plot of land known as Pavlovskaya Myza, where the hunting lodge Mariental was located. The Tsarevich immediately envisioned building a castle surrounded by a fortress and invited the famous architect Domenico Quadro to develop the project.

Construction began in 1795 and was completed two years later, when Paul I was already emperor. A military garrison was stationed in the new fortress. Notably, it was here that a young artillery officer, Arakcheev, began his service, who later became one of the most influential figures in the Russian Empire.

A park was laid out around the fortress, and it was named "BIP," which stood for "Bastion of Emperor Paul." However, malicious tongues referred to it as "Paul's Big Toy." The emperor remained indifferent to this irony.

After the conspiracy and assassination of Paul I, the fortress was handed over to a school for the deaf and dumb, and in 1811 it was transferred from the military department and converted into a hospital.

During the Civil War, when General Yudenich's Northwest Army held this territory, his headquarters was located in the fortress. However, soon the White Guards retreated, and the Bolsheviks returned.

Under Soviet rule, the "BIP" housed a military enlistment office, but then the bastion burned down. For a long time, the ruins remained abandoned, and only in the 2000s were the castle and fortress fully restored. Nevertheless, this historical landmark is still not a museum and remains privately owned. Currently, there is a hotel and restaurant located here.