Spectacular pictures of the fort of Kronstadt, where the fire turned the brick into stalactites

In the northern city of Kronstadt there is one of the most post-apocalyptic places in Russia - a fort built by Konstantin Zverev. The fortress was built in the 1860s, and today lies in ruins. The fortification was named after the architect - Fort Zverev.

This mushroom-shaped structure with a curved ceiling was paved with bricks, and the ground inside was covered with asphalt. Initially, the fort was built to strengthen the ship's passage of the Gulf of Finland, but at the beginning of the 20th century it was turned into an ammunition depot. In Soviet times, soldiers were trained here.

In the 1970s, there was a fire in Fort Zverev, destructive and very long. The fire died down only a few weeks later and made the fortification unrecognizable. The fire was so intense that it melted the bricks: they flowed from the walls and ceiling, turning into huge drops resembling stalactites.

This is surprising: because with ordinary fire, the brick does not melt. Its melting point is 1,800 degrees, and a domestic fire, for example, on gasoline, reaches a maximum of 1,100 degrees. So there is a theory that a fire heated the fort to 2,000 degrees, and it still remains unclear what exactly was burning in the fortress. One of the versions is this: they tested some new weapons that burned at extremely high temperatures. According to another, more believable, in Zverev lubricants, ship waste and decommissioned ammunition were stored, the fire was caused by careless tourists. We are unlikely to find out the truth, but Fort Zverev with its post-apocalyptic landscapes today remains one of the most impressive places in Kronstadt.