The Russian fleet was strengthened in the Northern War, more and more foreign ships began to arrive. Only on June 22, 1715, Peter I met 45 English and Dutch ships at the same time. In order to be able to quickly repair ships, a dry dock was needed.
According to the project of Peter I, it was necessary to arrange a dock and a deep pool. The idea was that the dock would be drained quickly by draining the water from the dock into a pool dug below the bottom of the dock. From the pool, the water would be slowly pumped out by a pump with a wind turbine. When traveling to Europe, Peter studied the device of the Dutch and English docks, the disadvantage of which was the long pumping out of water (more than a month it was pumped out).
The construction of the canal with a dock began in 1719. From the decree of Peter of May 8, 1719: "to start the canal near the cathedral church of St. Andrew the First-Called from the coast of the sea to the docks, and the docks, as well as the sides by the canal,".
For construction, soldiers were transferred from Vyborg, Pärnu, Moscow. To prevent local men from shirking hard work, they were assigned to battalions. In the first year, it was planned to dig a channel 180 fathoms long, 15 fathoms wide and 2 fathoms deep. The work employed about 3,000 people.
But there were not enough people and materials, and the construction time was delayed. Then Commissioner Pyotr Nikiforovich Krekshin turned to Peter with a request to entrust him with digging the canal. He proposed to widen the canal even more to 16 fathoms and deepen it to 4.5 fathoms. To organize the work, Krekshin asked for 100 crowbars, 2000 shovels, 1000 pickaxes, 800 carts, as well as gunpowder and blasting masters for blasting large stones. The completion date of the canal was May 1721. In the event of a breakdown in work, Krekshin was responsible not only with all the money spent and his movable and immovable property, but with his life.
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When laying the canal, great difficulties arose - many buildings and gardens had to be moved, not without the intervention of Peter himself. But by 1722 the canal was mostly dug and work was underway to strengthen the walls of the canal. A water pumping station with a wind turbine was built - “the great tower above the canal”.
Peter I never saw the end of the construction of his brainchild. In 1724-1725, work was still underway to equip the canal and docks. After Peter's death, construction work in Kronstadt fell into decay, but work on the canal and dock continued.
In 1732, during the reign of Princess Anna Ioanovna, a commission headed by Major General I. von Luberas was formed to inspect the canal. I. von Luberas proposed to widen and deepen the dock basin so that the water from the docks would drain faster. The work has begun. The canal walls were laid out of hewn stone. But, the construction, which the engineer planned to complete in three years, stretched out for another 15 years.
The canal was opened on July 30, 1752 in the presence of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna - she herself launched the sluice mechanisms. Three times a salute from 1331 guns of a squadron standing in the harbors rang out. Major General I. von Luberas was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called.
The unique hydraulic engineering structure stretches for 2.24 kilometers. Up to 10 large ships could be repaired in it at the same time. For the middle of the 18th century, it was a grandiose structure!
In 1774, the first Russian steam engine for pumping water was installed on the banks of the Petrovsky dock basin. It was brought from Scotland and installed in Kronstadt for about two years. A special structure was built in the middle of the northern shore of the dock basin. After the miracle machine was put into operation, it became possible to drain the dock pool in nine days. The steam plant has been in service for over 75 years!
Part of the Petrovsky Dock was used for ship repairs until 2008. The dock basin serves as a decoration of Kronstadt, and the main dock structures are in a deplorable state, although they have a very impressive appearance.