Museum of Cosmonautics and Rocket Technology

Of the several museums housed in the Peter and Paul Fortress, this is one of the most interesting, although it appears to have the least connection with its historic surroundings. In fact, these particular buildings were used in the 1930s to house one of the Soviet Union's first military rocket research laboratories.

Located in the Ioannovskiy Ravelin, the museum, which has been open since 1973, traces the history of the development of rocket technology in the Soviet Union and Russia. Among the exhibits, visitors will find a number of historic rocket engines, as well as a Soviet era re-entry capsule, cosmonauts' space suits, and a flag of St. Petersburg that was hung from the Mir Space Station for 161 days, before being returned to the city in time for the 300^th Anniversary celebrations in 2003. The museum's simply presented exhibits still have the power to thrill, especially for those who remember the heady days of the Soviet-US space race.