Vincenzo Brenna and Vasily Bazhenov designed the castle for Emperor Paul I, though the article does not explain Bazhenov's role. Work began on March 9, 1797, and the castle was consecrated on November 8, 1800, with interior finishing until March 1801. The article gives no dimensions or materials.
The plan is a square block with rounded corners around an octagonal inner courtyard. Rivers and canals surround it, making it an artificial island reached by drawbridges. The article calls it transitional, costumed architecture that anticipates the Empire style, mixing French Classicism, Italian Renaissance, Gothic and Baroque motifs with Maltese symbolism.
In 1823 it passed to the army's Main Engineering School, which gave it the name Engineers' Castle. It became a Russian Museum branch in the early 1990s. A renovation begun in 1991 was still expected to finish in 2024, according to a 2021 source.
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