越过宽阔雄浑的涅瓦河，座落于宫殿广场北侧的就是彼得保罗要塞。彼得大帝就出生在这里。1703年，彼得大帝决定在此修建一座堡垒，以抵御当时还占领着涅瓦河三角洲的瑞典人。堡垒建成后城墙高达12米，整个工程历时35年。这时，对瑞典的战争早在17年前就已正式结束，瑞典人也早已放弃了赢得战争的希望。但是彼得大帝的战略决策还是成就了欧洲最富魅力的城堡之一。

    The centerpiece of the fortress is St. Peter and Paul's Cathedral. Built between 1712 and 1733, the cathedral is in early Russian baroque style and the golden spire adorning the edifice is the tallest structure in the city at 122.5 meters. Also renowned as the burial place of the Tsars, almost every emperor and empress from Peter the Great was laid to rest here with only a couple of exceptions. The burial vault's honor roll was finally completed in 1998 when the remains of the last Tsar, Nikolai II, were finally moved there, exactly 80 years after his execution at the hands of the Bolsheviks.

    圣彼得保罗教堂是要塞的核心 ......