| Admiralty | |
|---|---|
 The Admiralty building's tower as seen from theAlexander Gardens. It is the focal point ofSt Petersburg's historiccity center and three main avenues converge nearby. | |
 Interactive map of the Admiralty area | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Empire |
| Construction started | 1704(Original) 1806(Current) |
| Completed | 1706(Original) 1823(Current) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architects | Ivan Kuzmich Korobov(Original) Andreyan Zakharov(Current) |
TheMain Admiralty Building (Russian:Зда́ние Гла́вного адмиралте́йства), is a historicbuilding complex located in theCentral Saint Petersburg area ofSaint Petersburg,Russia. It is the current headquarters of theRussian Navy and the formerly theAdmiralty Board of theImperial Russian Navy.[1] It is one of the original buildings of Saint Peterburg commissioned byPeter the Great and itsspire serves as the focal point of the old city's three main streets:Nevsky Prospect,Gorokhovaya Street, andVoznesensky Avenue.
The Admiralty was originally designed as a fortifiedshipyard in 1704 which was later surrounded by fivebastions protected by amoat.[2] It was rebuilt between 1806 and 1823 toAndreyan Zakharov's design in theEmpire Style, lining theAdmiralty Embankment along theGreat Neva river, demolishing the bastions to createAlexander Garden.[2] It housed theengineering school of theSoviet Navy and Russian Navy from 1927 until it was relocated toPushkin in 1998, and the headquarters of theLeningrad Naval Base until 2009. The Russian Navy returned its headquarters to the Admiralty building in 2012.
The Admiralty's spire topped by a goldenweather-vane in the shape of a small sail warship (Korablik) is one of Saint Petersburg's most conspicuouslandmarks, underscoring the importance Peter the Great placed on Russia's navy in the city.Vladimir Nabokov, writer and native of Saint Petersburg, wrote ashort story in May 1933 entitled "The Admiralty Spire."
59°56′15″N30°18′31″E / 59.937601°N 30.308576°E /59.937601; 30.308576
