Peter the Great's Naval Fortress I WW1
Russian fortification line constructed before and during the First World War from 1912 to 1918 as part of the defence of Saint Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire, in both Estonia and Finland.
The fortification of the road to Saint Petersburg became a priority after the Russian defeat in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). The main Tallinn-Naissaare-Porkkala line is known as Peter the Great's Naval Fortress, which was the most important and fortified part of the network of defences.
The network of fortifications comprised naval and air defence batteries, bunkers, trenches, fortified railways and highways, bridges, harbours, dockyards, military bases and many more.
The naval fortress was unfinished and in 1918 retreating Russian forces blew up and destroyed some of it. Despite this, the newly formed Republic of Estonia managed to build up its coastal and naval defence on the basis of the fortification line. The structures on the island of Aegna were developed the most.
The fortifications were seldom used in the following wars, as warfare had significantly changed by that time. After major nations abandoned artillery-based naval and coastal defence practices in the 1950s, the facilities continued to be used only as warehouses.
Today, almost all the fortifications have been decommissioned and are open to tourists.
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