Fort Alexander (St. Petersburg)

Fort Alexander
In the Gulf of Finland, 20 miles west of the central Saint Petersburg
Fort Alexander
Type	Fortress
Coordinates	59.989586°N 29.717846°E / 59.989586; 29.717846
Built	Started 1838, completed 1845
In use	1845–1917
Controlled by	Russia

Fort Alexander, also Fort Alexander I, or Plague Fort (Russian: Форт Александр Первый Fort Aleksandr Perviy or Russian: Чумной форт Chumnoy fort) is a naval fortress on artificial island in the Gulf of Finland near St. Petersburg and Kronstadt. In 1899–1917, the fort housed the research laboratory on plague and other bacterial diseases.

Foundation

Since the formation of Saint Petersburg in 1703, the waterways in the Gulf of Finland were of strategic importance for Russia. The construction of forts in the Gulf of Finland was initiated by Peter I who directed the foundation of the first military installation on the island of Kotlin, Fort Kronshlot, in 1704. Throughout the following two centuries, Russians continued to fortify the area.

The construction blueprint for Fort Alexander was initially drafted by Louis Barthelemy Carbonnier d'Arsit de Gragnac (aka Lev Lvovich Carbonnier), who planned the 1827 reconstruction of another earlier military installation in the Gulf of Finland, Fort Citadel (later Fort Peter I). Upon Carbonnier's death in 1836, the construction plan for a new fort was restyled by Russian military engineer of French origin Jean Antoine Maurice (aka Moris Gugovich Destrem). The construction began in 1838 and was supervised by another Russian military engineer, Mikhail von der Veide. 5535 12-meter-long piles were driven into sea floor to reinforce the ground, which was covered then by a layer of sand, a layer of concrete blocks, and a layer of granite slabs. The brickwork of the fort structure was also covered with a granite face-work. The fort was officially commissioned on July 27, 1845 by Russian Emperor Nikolay I and named in commemoration of Nikolay's father, Emperor Alexander I.

Layout

The fort's design is close to that of Fort Boyard in France. It is an oval-shaped building with a yard in its center. The building measures 90 meters by 60 meters, with three floors. The overall floor space is over 5000 sq. meters. The room in the fort was sufficient to hold a garrison of up to 1000 men. There are 103 cannon ports with additional space on the roof for 34 guns.

Military use

Fort's military function was to guard the Baltic waterway to Saint Petersburg south of naval base Kronstadt on the island of Kotlin in combination with Fort Peter I, Fort Risbank (later Fort Pavel I), Fort Kronshlot and coastal battery Fort Constantin.

The fort was not directly involved in any military action, however it played a certain role in the Crimean War protecting a Russian naval base in Kronstadt during the attempts of the Royal Navy and French fleets to advance in Baltic Sea. Waters surrounding Fort Alexander and other Kronstadt fortifications witnessed the first ever deployment of galvanic naval mines designed by Moritz von Jacobi and chemical-contact naval mines developed by Immanuel Nobel. In June 1854, Royal Navy under the command of Admiral Napier approached the Kronstadt area, but evidence of blockading mine lines and heavy fortifications discouraged Napier to attack Kronstadt. In summer of 1855, Anglo-French fleet under the command of Vice-Admiral Dundas tried to conduct minesweeping raides using small steamboats. British forces managed to raise several mines, yet four of the vessels were damaged or destroyed. Since the approach of the fleet within the range of coastal and fort batteries would make sweeping procedures even more disastrous, Dundas ceased further advancement towards Kronstadt.

Since 1855, Fort Alexander was put twice on full alert: once it was in 1863, when a possible confrontation with British Empire was anticipated, and another time was during Russo-Turkish War in 1877–1878. Upgrades in the fort were made in 1868–1869, 1867, and 1885. By the end of the 19th century, Fort Alexander was primarily used for ammunition storage, since the development of rifled artillery rendered the fort facilities, designed mainly for the use of smoothbore guns, ineffective for defensive purposes. In 1896, Fort Alexander, along with Fort Peter I and Fort Pavel I, was struck from the Russian military register.

Bacteriology research facility

In the 1890s, in wake of the discovery of the plague pathogen by Alexandre Yersin in 1894, the Russian government formed a special Commission on the Prevention of Plague Disease to facilitate research in this specific area of bacteriology. A relatively remote location of Fort Alexander made the Commission to establish a new research laboratory there in January 1897. This laboratory was a part of Imperial Institute of Experimental Medicine (now Institute of Experimental Medicine of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences). Fort Alexander was renovated for the new purpose in 1897–1899, largely with funds from Duke Alexander Petrovich of Oldenburg, and featured a science library, research labs including containment labs, a stable for laboratory horses, cremation facility for lab animals, and other auxiliary facilities. Research work in Fort Alexander took off in August 1899 and was mainly focused on the study of plague disease and preparation of plague serum and vaccine from the immunized horses. In the following years, the laboratory is reported to have worked also on the development of serums against cholera, tetanus, typhus, scarlatina, and a series of Staphylococcus and Streptococcus infections. Work was hazardous and there were 3 pneumonic and bubonic plague cases among the staff members in 1904 and 1907 resulting in two fatalities. With the takeover by Soviets in 1917, the laboratory in Fort Alexander ceased operations. Research assets were transferred to various institutes in Petrograd, Moscow, and Saratov.

Current status

After 1917, the fort was formally owned by Russian Navy holding a storage and repair shop in there. By 1983, the fort was stripped of its fixtures and abandoned. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Fort Alexander was a popular location for rave parties. Since 2005 the fort was formally managed by the administration of the presidential conference center known as Constantine Palace in Strelna. The access inside the fort premises through the only gate of the fortress was secured since then.

In 2007, the administration of the fort announced its intention to seek investors for the proposed renovation project estimated at $43 million.

In 2005–2010, the Saint Petersburg Dam navigation floodgate for the main shipping channel of the Gulf of Finland was being constructed less than a mile from Fort Alexander. A new pathway for the shipping channel required extensive dredging in waters in the vicinity of Fort Alexander. Serious concerns were raised on the negative impact of dredging efforts and expected increase in wave disturbance from passerby ships on the integrity of the foundation at Fort Alexander.

As of 2011, boat tours to the fort are available.

External links

• Historical and modern day photos of Fort Alexander (Russian)
• History of Fort Alexander
• History of Fort Alexander (Russian)
• A story about plague research in Fort Alexander written in 1900 (with historical photos) (Russian)
• A 1907 story about two plague cases occurred that year at Fort Alexander (with historical photos) (Russian)

59.9895°N 29.7178°E / 59.9895; 29.7178