Leningrad region > Ivangorod

Ivangorod

Fate of Ivangorod, which is situated within 150 km of Saint Petersburg on Tallinn highway, was once and for all determined by its location, for it is not only the most western point of the Leningrad region but also a part of the state border of Russia since 1991. The border city of Ivangorod is not simply name, it is the way of life shown through the relations with relatives living in Narva, which became foreign now, through constant transit of goods and people. And the state flags flapping above the fortresses and seen from the windows of t|ie houses are an original tuning-fork of the modern life of the border territories.

At the current location of Ivangorod, in the 1470s there existed a New Settlement on the Narva. The fast-flowing Narva, which hardly ever froze at that location served as the border between the Russian lands and Livonia. The ancient chronicles of 1473 mention a delegation of Pskov merchants and boyars sent ambassadors here to Novgorod to meet with the Livonians. Ten days thereafter, Novgorod boyars also came here, being sent by Ivan III to meet with the Germans "near Rugodiv."

The main sight of the Ivangorod (and of all neighboring territories) is undoubtedly the well-known fortress of Ivangorod. It was founded in 1492 under the personal order of the Russian tsar Ivan III for protection of the western territories from Livonian and Swedish armies. From here came the name of the city, given in honour of its founder, who « gave it a name of Ivangorod in his name ». The place for its erection was chosen not casually - on a high rock, washed from three sides by the waters of the river Narova, just opposite a medieval castie of Livonian knights. In this way, to some extend symbolically, immemorial opposition between the East and the West was embodied.

However not only enmity and fear determined the way of life on the banks of the Narova. Through Ivangorod and Narva there passed tne so-called Hanseatic line, a trading way connecting the Russian state with the countries of Western Europe Going up the river it was possible to get to Chudskoe Lake, and further on - to the ancient Russian cities of Pskov and Gdov. Downlhe riven the waterway led to jEeGui-r of Finland arid from there along Ladoga and Volkhov - to Novgorod.

The Narva waterfalls, one of the widest in Europe, made a great impact on the life of the city. Their energy served for construction of a flax factory and canvas and cloth factories. Together with the construction of the factories the city received a new push in the development, this time in the sphere of industry.

The proprietor of the factories was Baron Alexander Shtiglits, a founder of the Russian State Bank and Art-Industrial School, a builder of railways and a patron of art. Not far from the factories there is a family tomb constructed by him, the Temple of Holy Trinity, and a personal park.

From 1613 through the beginning of the 18th century Ivangorod was under Swedish rule. In August 1704, during the Northern War between Russia and Sweden, this old Russian fortress was freed from foreign invaders by the troops of Peter the Great. After the founding of St. Petersburg Province, Ivangorod was included in it, and by the 19th century became one of its largest industrial centers.

The young Red Army fought its first battles near the fortress. February 23,1918, the day when the Soviet troops successfully drove away the German invaders near Narva and Pskov, became the day the Soviet Army was born.

On February 2, 1920, Ivangorod, which was then known as the Ivan side of Narva, was included in the bourgeois Republic of Estonia. On August 6,1940, along with the rest of Estonia, it became a part of the Soviet Union.

During the WWII, when Kingisepp District was occupied by the Germans, the Ivangorod fortress was turned into a POW camp. Well preserved until the war, the fortress was destroyed by the retreating German troops. Six of the eleven towers were exploded, and the buildings inside the fortress were destroyed.

The walls and the towers of the fortress were restored during the recent renovations, as were the Church of St. Nicholas and the Church of Assumption. There are church services held in the churches.

The modern Ivangorod is an independent municipal formation in the territory of the Leningrad region with local self-government, there are a municipal property, a local budget and elective institutions of the local government. The population is 11200 people. Basic kinds of activity are trade, construction, industry, transport services, foreign economy activity.