The Sea Cathedral built in 1913 is truly known to be the symbol of Kronshtadt. The architect Kosyakov, the author of the project, was inspired by the Sophia Cathedral in Konstantinopol. The Cathedral with the height of 70,6 meters and the diameter of the dome of 27 meters can be easily seen from the coasts of the Gulf. Inside there is a marble memorial to the died sailors. The Cathedral was a cathedral only for 16 years. In 1929 communists closed the cathedral, destroyed many of the decorations, broke crosses and bells. Then the cathedral was used as a club building, a cinema and a museum. At the moment the cathedral is planned to be restored. The golden cross on the top of the dome was fixed up in 2002. The stained-glass windows are to be made soon.
The monument to Admiral Makarov in the Anchor Square near the Sea Cathedral is the most famous monument in Kronshtadt. The Admiral Makarov is famous for his contribution to military shipbuilding (especially for his works on floodability of a ship), bravery in battles, and the first torpedo attacks against enemy ships. Makarov took part in circumnavigations, conducted various scientific researches and was awarded a golden medal by the Russian Geographic Society. He was the commandant of the port of Kronshtadt and did a lot for the town. In 1904 he left Kronshtadt to take part in the war between Russia and Japan and died on April 13 onboard the battleship "Petropavlovsk". After that there was a struggle between Kronshtadt and Saint-Petersburg for the privilege to build a monument in honour of the Admiral. Finally a bronze statue was placed in Kronshtadt and stands upon a granite stone weighting about 160 tones. The stone bas-reliefs depict the events the Admiral Makarov took part in: the explosion of the Turkish boat "Intibach", the death of "Petropavlovsk", the icebreaker "Ermak" in the arctic ice. The monument is so beautiful and majestic that it cannot be compared with anything but the Copper Horseman is St.Petersburg.
Navy ships and submarines near the quays are the special feature of Kronshtadt. No doubt there are not many places in Russia where you can see the military enginery standing within tens of meters. Certainly there are no cruisers-carrier or atomic submarine here, but the fact that ships are surrounded by historic buildings instead of bare rocks in the north of Russia.
Italian Palace is one of the oldest buildings of the town. It was built in 1717–1724 by the architect Braunstein. During the XIX century the palace was rebuilt several times: in 1833-1835 by architect Anert for the Sea Cadet Corps, in 1844-1848 by architect Akutin for navigation and engineering school. For the last time the Italian Palace was rebuilt in 1946 to place the Officers' House. All these rebuildings deformed the initial look of the building however the general concept of the initial plan remained. A small garden near the palace was made in 1858.
Gostiny Dvor in the form we can see it now was build in 1827-1831 instead of the old wooden one. It was the engineer Beil, who built a stone Gostiny Dvor. Gostiny Dvor represents a square of the cases, surrounded by the covered gallery. There is gate for entrance to a courtyard from the western and eastern part of the building. In the ground and second floors there were warehouses of the goods. After 1917 a number of the shops has been incorporated for creation of large trading halls, but these shops had very small height, various show-windows and doors. In 1953-1966 the full reconstruction of shops and warehouses was carried out: small shops were incorporated into the big halls adequate to conditions of trade. Kronshtadt is also known for the monuments to Peter the First, Bellinsgauzen, Popov, Pakhtusov, battleship "October Revolution" and clipper "Oprichnik". Ancient buildings of The Sea Officer Assembly, Navy Hospital and many others are very interesting, too.
