Historic castles, which previously served as reliable protection for people from enemies, are now a valuable cultural property. There are about a hundred such buildings in Russia, and they all breathe national history.
Vyborg castle
Vyborg Castle is the only European type castle in Russia. It would have been built by the Swedes back in the 13th century and was reconstructed several times. And at the beginning of the 18th century, Peter the Great with his army managed to recapture this building from the King of Sweden, and since then the Vyborg Castle has been located on the territory of Russia.
You can get to the museum almost free of charge - for a conditional amount of 5 rubles, and even across the main bridge. Various events and even discos are often held here. An interesting place in the castle is the tower, which reaches the height of a seven-story building. A breathtaking view of Vyborg and the bay opens here. Some tourists even say that Finland can be seen from here. The castle looks especially magical at night when the lights are on.
Mikhailovsky castle
The castle is located in the very center of St. Petersburg. This building was built by order of Paul I in just 4 years under the direction of the architect V. Brenn. It was established that the emperor himself took part in the design of the future fortress. About 6 thousand people worked on the construction of the castle. But, unfortunately, for the emperor, the chambers of this castle became a place of death: after 40 days, he was killed here by conspirators. Later, the Main Engineering School was opened in the castle, and in 1820 the castle was renamed into Engineering.
Every day, excursions are held in the Mikhailovsky Castle, where you can not only inspect the fortress from the inside, listen to the history, but also visit temporary and permanent exhibitions. Monuments were built near the castle and in the courtyard: the first in 1800 to Peter the Great, and the second in 2003 to Paul himself. Also in the castle there is a volumetric model of the structure, which reflects how it was originally conceived to build this fortress.
Yurinsky castle
This castle was once the estate of the famous Sheremetyev boyars. The design of this building was based on the idea of combining four styles: Baroque, Eastern, Old Russian and Gothic. At that time, such an idea seemed very unusual, and the master, namely Vasily Petrovich Sheremetyev, was a romantic: he studied architecture and traveled a lot, equipping his house with foreign wonders.
The castle was rightfully called luxurious: the brick from which it was built contained tuff from the Vesuvius volcano, and the floors were lined with mosaics. The castle has about a hundred rooms, a white-stone staircase near the entrance leading to the winter garden, marble columns, antique furniture from France.
Unfortunately, during the Soviet period, most of the luxury was plundered, and only in 1993 the Government of Mari El organized the restoration. The appearance of the castle was almost fully restored, which cannot be said about the inner halls, where restoration work is still underway. For tourists, a museum was organized here, in which some things from those times have been preserved, and a small hotel.
