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The Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of St. Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706-1740.

Built at the height of the Northern War in order to protect the projected capital from a feared Swedish counterattack, the fort never fulfilled its martial purpose. The citadel was completed with six bastions in earth and timber within a year, and it was rebuilt in stone from 1706-1740.

From around 1720, the fort served as a base for the city garrison and also as a prison for high ranking or political prisoners

The fortress contains several notable buildings clustered around the Peter and Paul Cathedral (1712–1733), which has a 123.2 m (404 ft) bell-tower (the tallest in the city centre) and a gilded angel-topped cupola.

The cathedral is the burial place of all Russian tsars from Peter I to Alexander III, with the exception of Peter II. The remains of Nicholas II and his family and entourage were also interred there, in the side St.Catherine's Chapel, on the 80th anniversary of their deaths, July 17, 1998. Towards the end of 2006, the remains of Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna were brought from Roskilde Cathedral outside Copenhagen to finally rest next to her husband, Alexander III.