Fortuna, Wooden boat in a museum in Veskovo near Pereslavl, Russia

Fortuna is a preserved wooden ship in Veskovo near Pereslavl that shows an example of Russian shipbuilding technique from earlier times. The boat is made of wooden components and displays how such vessels were built centuries ago.

Built between 1689 and 1692 for Peter I's mock fleet on Lake Pleshcheyevo, Fortuna is the only vessel of that flotilla still in existence. In 1783 a fire destroyed the other ships kept at Pereslavl, but the boat survived because it had stayed at the village of Veskovo under the district court's supervision. On 1 (13) August 1803 it was placed in the stone museum building, where it remains the main exhibit.

The boat's name, Fortuna, was given within Peter I's "amusement fleet" on Lake Pleshcheyevo, and Count Dmitry Khvostov later wrote verses about it. The carved winged figure at the stern post is the detail to look for. The boat has been the main exhibit of the Botik Museum since 1803.

The boat is kept indoors in the stone building of the Botik estate museum at Veskovo, on the shore of Lake Pleshcheyevo about 4 km north of Pereslavl-Zalessky. It has stood in that building since 1 (13) August 1803, so visits are not weather-dependent. The museum is reached from Pereslavl by regional bus or car.

The boat survived the 1783 fire in Pereslavl only because it had stayed at Veskovo under the supervision of the district court. A 1722 decree by Peter I ordered the remains of his Lake Plescheyev vessels kept forever, and since 1803 the Fortuna has stood in the stone museum building.