“Great Toy” Paul I: What is famous for the fortress near St. Petersburg, which the emperor built for fun

The son of Catherine II, Paul entered the Russian history as a man with a difficult fate and ambiguous ruler, obsessed with military affairs and, as they say, he loved to play soldiers. A small castle-fortress, located in the city of Pavlovsk, near St. Petersburg, still keeps the memory of the “military eccentricities” of this controversial person. Paul I’s Bastion is not very famous, but, nevertheless, the most interesting sight of the northern capital. Continue reading →