When the shipyard was opened, it employed some ten thousand men whose goal it was to produce an abundance of ships. It wasn't unusual to see Peter himself at the shipyard on various occasions as he was considered a master shipbuilder, carpenter, and designer.

The Design

The Admiralty began as a fortified shipyard with four bastions at its corners and a moat. A tower and spire was added in 1711 and, in 1730, architect Ivan Korobov designed a new central gate and replaced the wooden structure with a new stone building. Facade of the Admiralty Building in St. Petersburg.

However, what visitors see today is the result of a design by noted Russian architect Adrian Zakharov, who was a professor at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts.

Zakharov's neo-classical re-design of the Admiralty took place between 1806 and 1823. While staying true to the original design, his Russian Empire design reflected the new pride of Russia. Rows of white columns and numerous statues, such as those of great military leaders, were part of the plan. A frieze portrays Neptune handing his mighty triton to Peter. Other decorative features bore naval themes as well.

Today

A visitor to today's Admiralty, unfortunately, won't see much of the original building and its decorative pieces. Many of the early statues were destroyed in 1860 when they were deemed "pagan"; Entrance gate to the Admiralty Building in St. Petersburg, Russia by the Orthodox clergy. (At that time, the Admiralty was home to the Ministry of the Navy and the Naval Museum; In 1925 the building became home to a shipbuilding school).

The structure also sustained much damage during the blockade of Leningrad and was continually bombarded by the Germans during World War II.

Nevertheless, the Admiralty building is still decorated with plenty of sculptures and reliefs. And its 73 meter (240-foot) golden spire, and its weathervane "little ship" that sits atop it, remains one of St. Petersburg's most recognizable landmarks. The weathervane, a replica of Peter's personal ship, is now a reproduction. The original is housed in the Naval Museum.

 Адрес: 2-й Адмиралтейский остров, Дворцовый проезд, 1; Адмиралтейский проезд, 1; Адмиралтейская наб., 2, Санкт-Петербург