Construction of the house for the commandant of the Peter and Paul Fortress began at the same time as the citadel itself was founded. In 1704, the first wooden building appeared; later, wings and utility rooms were added, the whole ensemble was reconstructed into a single complex, and then altered again.
The house acquired its final appearance in 1893, and it has remained unchanged ever since. The large and spacious building housed many services: an office, laundries, kitchens, servants' rooms, and the commandant's quarters. There was also a house church and a Ceremonial Hall for celebrations, whose interior was recently restored.
In 1917, the headquarters of the Military Revolutionary Committee was located here, and after the revolution residents were settled here. Since 1975, Commandant's House has been a thematic museum dedicated to the history of St. Petersburg-Petrograd from 1703 to 1918.
In the halls here, the appearance of the city has been recreated in models and miniatures - very precise and detailed. There are copies of famous places in the Northern capital: squares, streets, and buildings. You can even look into the rooms of an apartment house to examine its furnishings and the household items of its residents.
In addition to miniatures, the museum displays thousands of full-size exhibits: clothing and household items of St. Petersburg residents from different centuries and social classes, including personal belongings of famous people.
