Shlisselburg Fortress. Fortress Oreshek, Shlisselburg. Fortress of the Leningrad Region

The whole history of St. Petersburg and the surrounding areas is associated with a special geographical location. Rulers, in order not to allow the capture of these frontier Russian territories, entire networks of fortifications and fortresses were created. Today many of them are museums and are considered historical monuments.

Vyborg Castle

Fortresses of the Leningrad Region, as well as the first cities and monasteries built on its territory, are one of the most ancient buildings of the Russian state. They appeared in the busiest places, where water and trade routes connected Scandinavia and Europe with the East and the Mediterranean, the Christian and the ancient world.

Fortresses of the Leningrad Region, monasteries and other ancient buildings became the disseminators of the culture of the Slavic people, as well as the conductors of the religion of Christianity in a vast territory.

A remarkable example of the West European military direction in architecture is the Vyborg Fortress, which is also called a castle. The history of this building is inextricably linked with the Swedes. It was they who founded Vyborg during the third crusade (1293).

Initially, the fortress played a defensive role. The Swedes took shelter behind its walls from the Novgorod troops trying to regain the occupied territory. For many centuries, the functions of the fortress changed. This building served as the seat of the royal residence, as well as the military headquarters. It was once the fortress and the administrative center of the city, and the barracks of the Swedish crusaders, and prison.

In 1918 the Vyborg Castle was placed under the jurisdiction of Finland and was completely reconstructed. Since 1944, this territory became part of the USSR. Already in 1964, the first steps were taken to create a local history museum in the fortress. To date, the Vyborg Castle is open to visitors. Here is a museum that offers guests an acquaintance with dozens of diverse compositions that describe the history of this place.

On the territory of the fortress there is the observation tower of St. Olaf. From it you can admire the amazing beauty of the landscape. The tower overlooks the seaport and the Gulf of Finland, as well as the tops of trees growing in the park of Mon Repos.

The Staraya Ladoga Fortress

This structure is located one hundred and twenty-five kilometers from St. Petersburg. The fortress near the village of Staraya Ladoga was laid on the border of the 9th-10th centuries. These were the times of the Prophetic Oleg. The structure was located in the place where Ladozhka flows into the Volkhov River, on a high bank. The original purpose of the fortress was to protect the prince, as well as his squads. Somewhat later it became one of those defensive structures that blocked the enemy way from the Baltic.

Today, on the territory of the Staroladozhsky Fortress, there is an archaeological and historical-architectural museum-reserve. There are two exposures for visitors. One of them is ethnographic, and the second is historical. The main exhibits of the exhibition are items found during archaeological excavations.

Koporje

To date, seven fortresses have been preserved on the territory of the Leningrad Region. Only one of this list (Yam, located in Kingisepp) is a separate fragment of the shafts and carries a minimum of information about the past. Six others cause unquenchable interest among history lovers. One of such fortresses is Koporye.

It is located in the immediate vicinity of St. Petersburg. Most of all, the fortress Koporye has preserved to this day its medieval image, since it has not been subjected to radical alterations in recent times.

Korela

This fortress is located north of St. Petersburg, on the territory of the Karelian Isthmus. At this point the northern sleeve of the Vuoksi River flows into Lake Ladoga. During the XIII-XIV centuries, Korela was a Russian border post, which was repeatedly attacked by the Swedes. At present, the fortress is considered a monument, allowing more detailed study of ancient Russian military-defensive art. In this building, which is open to visitors, the spirit of adventure and antiquity has survived to this day. This became possible due to the fact that the fortress was not modernized and rebuilt for many years. Two museums were opened on the territory of the former defensive post. In the first one you can see the general history of the fortress. The second museum is the Pugachevskaya Tower, the inner courtyard of which was put in order, despite the partial destruction of the outer walls.

Ivangorod Fortress

This building is a monument of Russian defensive architecture, dating back to the XV-XVI centuries. The Ivangorod fortress was laid in 1492 on the Narva River to protect Russian lands from the raids of Western enemies. In its five-century history, this defensive fortification was often a place where fierce battles were fought. The fortress also suffered during the war with the fascist invaders. After the capture by enemy troops of Ivangorod on its territory, the Germans staged two concentration camps, in which prisoners of war were kept. Retreating, the fascists blew up most of the internal buildings, six corner towers, as well as many sections of the walls. At present, most of the fortifications have been restored and restored.

Oreshek

The Shlisselburg fortress is located on the shore of the Ladoga Lake, near the very sources of the Neva. This monument of architecture of the first half of the 14th century is now a museum.

At the location on the Walnut Island, the Shlisselburg Fortress is also called Oreshek.

The Museum

Shlisselburg Fortress is a complex architectural ensemble. Today it is open to visitors. Fortress "Oreshek" refers to the Museum of the history of the city of St. Petersburg. Visitors are invited to familiarize themselves with the main historical stages of the Russian state of those periods when this defensive structure was involved in some way.

History

Shlisselburg fortress was built in 1323. Evidence of this is the mention in the annals of Novgorod. In this document there is an indication that the grandson of Alexander Nevsky - Prince Yuri Danilovich - ordered to build a wooden defensive structure. Already after three decades, the stone fortress appeared on the site of the former fortress. Its territory was significantly increased and became nine thousand square meters. The size of the fortress walls also changed. In thickness they reached three meters. There were three new towers of rectangular shape.

Initially, near the walls of the defensive structure was placed a posad. A three-meter channel separated it from the "Nut". Somewhat later, the ditch was covered with earth. After that, the posad was surrounded by a stone wall.

Perestroika, destruction and rebirth experienced a fortress throughout its history not once. At the same time, the number of its towers was constantly increasing, the thickness of the walls was being increased.

Shlisselburg Fortress already in the XVI century became the administrative center in which the state ranks and the higher clergy lived. On the banks of the Neva, the simple population of the village landed.

Fortress "Oreshek" (Shlisselburg Fortress) in the period from 1617 to 1702 was in the hands of the Swedes. At that time, it was renamed. It was called the Noteburg. Peter I won the defensive construction from the Swedes and returned to it the former name. The fortress again developed a grandiose construction. Several towers, earthen bastions and prisons were erected. From 1826 to 1917, the fortress "Oreshek" (Shlisselburg Fortress) was the place of imprisonment of the Decembrists and Narodnaya Volya. After the October Revolution, this structure was turned into a museum.

Military period

"Oreshek" played an important role in the years of the defense of Leningrad. The Shlisselburg fortress provided the possibility of the existence of the "Road of Life", along which food was transported to the blockaded city, and the population of the Northern capital was evacuated from it. Thanks to the heroism of a small number of soldiers who survived the siege of the fortress, not one hundred human lives were saved. During this period, "Oreshek" almost equaled the ground.

In the postwar years it was decided to reconstruct the fortress not to hold, but to erect memorial complexes along the "Road of Life".

Defensive structure. Modernity

Today visit the fortress "Oreshek" excursions. On the territory of the former defensive structure one can see the remnants of its former grandeur.

Fortress "Oreshek", the map of which tells the tourists the desired route, looks like an irregular polygon on the plan. And the corners of this figure are stretched from west to east. On the perimeter of the walls there are five powerful towers. One of them (Gate) is quadrangular. The architecture of the remaining towers uses a round shape.

Fortress "Oreshek" (Shlisselburg) is the place where a memorial complex is opened in honor of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War . There are museum expositions on the territory of the former citadel. They are housed in the buildings "New prison" and "Old prison". The remains of the walls of the fortress are preserved, as well as Flazhnaya and Vorotnaya, Naugolnaya and Korolevskaya, Golovkina and Svetlichnaya towers.

How to get to the fortress?

The quietest provincial town of Schlisselburg is easiest to reach by car. Then it is preferable to get to the fortress by boat. There is another option. From the station "Petrokrepost" there is a motor ship, one of the stops of which is the Shlisselburg Fortress. How to get to the former defensive structure directly from St. Petersburg? Excursions are regularly conducted from the Northern capital to the fortress "Oreshek". Travelers are delivered on high-speed comfortable motor ships "Meteor".

Perhaps someone will arrange a bus ride on Route 575, which runs to Shlisselburg from the metro station "Ul. Dybenko. " Then you can get to the island by boat.

If you decide to visit the fortress "Oreshek", the mode of operation should be known by all means. The museum on the territory of the former citadel opens in May and accepts sightseers at the end of October. During this period it is open daily. Opening hours are from 10 to 17.