On this tiny island St Petersburg began, political prisoners met their end and tsars are respectfully buried.

The historic buildings make it a prime tourist stop and its beach attracts the locals who take cold dips in the Neva in summer and line up against the fortress walls in winter to bask in the ephemeral sunshine.

Peter and Paul Fortress was founded in the summer of 1703 as the core structure in Peter the Great`s new capital.

Originally known as Fort St Petersburg, the fortress wasquickly built to secure Russia`s hold on the Neva delta at a time when the Northern War with Sweden was in full swing.

Occupying almost all of Zayachy ostrov, the fortress has several buildings worth seeing, not least of which is the Peter and Paul Cathedral which contains all the tombs of the Russian tsars except two and whose spectacular golden spire is visible throughout the city.

Peter and Paul fortress