Catherine Curtain

The Catherine Curtain received its name from the Catherine Bastion. The timber-earth curtain was erected in 1703, and in 1709-1710 a two-story stone and brick defensive structure was built. During reconstruction, the curtain was lengthened by one and a half times, extended toward the Neva River by 25-30 meters, and became the only curtain without gates. In 1783-1786, according to the project of R. R. Tomilov and under the supervision of F. V. Bauer, the escarp wall of the curtain was faced with granite. In the 18th century, the curtain, like the neighboring Naryshkin Bastion, was under the jurisdiction of the Mint and was called the Mint Curtain for a long time. From the mid-19th century, it was used to hold prisoners and to house military units. In 1870-1872, due to the construction of the Trubetskoy Bastion Prison building, several of the outermost casemates of the curtain adjacent to the Trubetskoy Bastion were dismantled. In 1893-1894, the casemates of the curtain were rebuilt and became one-story (these works were finally completed in 1904).

In the 18th—early 19th centuries, the casemates were at the disposal of the Mint, then they were adapted as barracks and cells for holding military detainees. The rooms closest to the Trubetskoy Bastion prison in the 1870s were converted into an interrogation room, a visitation room, and cells for holding those sentenced to death.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the curtain housed a fortress artillery company. In the 1950s, the curtain was under the management of the Non-Residential Fund Trust and was used as a paper warehouse. In 1960, it was transferred to the Museum.

Sources:

http://www.world-art.ru/architecture/architecture.php?id=2530

https://www.infotimes.ru/culture/monuments/spe/1698629/