Shlisselburg Fortress "Oreshek"

Shlisselburg fortress (Oreshek) is a unique architectural and historical monument of the XIV-XX centuries. Founded by Novgorod prince Yuri Danilovich, grandson of Alexander Nevsky, in 1323 on the Orekhov Island in the source of the Neva, the fortress served as an outpost on the border with Sweden.

In the XIV-XVII centuries, the fortress repeatedly withstood fierce assaults. In 1612, after a nine-month siege, the fortress fell and was under Swedish rule for 90 years. Then it was called Noteburg (Nut City). In 1702, during the Northern War, the fortress was retaken by Russian troops and renamed Shlisselburg - "key-city". It is time for active construction. His course was watched by Peter I and his closest associates F. A. Golovin, G. I. Golovkin, N. M. Zotov, A. D. Menshikov, K. A. Naryshkin, whose names were later called the old towers and new bastions.

In the XVIII-XIX centuries, the Shlisselburg fortress was entrenched in the glory of the “Russian Bastille”. Members of the royal family, claimants to the throne, prominent state and public figures were kept here.

In August 1928, the Shlisselburg Fortress opened a museum - a branch of the Museum of the October Revolution. In 1939, the museum closed, the exhibits were taken to Leningrad. During the Great Patriotic War, the defenders of the fortress defended the fortress for almost 500 days, preventing the final cut off of Leningrad from the Big Land. Artillery shelling caused significant destruction of the fortress, many monuments turned into ruins.

Since 1965, the Shlisselburg Fortress became a branch of the State Museum of the History of Leningrad. The buildings of the Old Prison and the New Prison were restored and museumified, the Royal, Sovereign and Head Tower sections of the fortress wall were restored for the period of the XVI century, the Sovereign Bastion was cleared. Conservation of the St. John’s Cathedral destroyed during the war was carried out. Restoration work in the fortress continues.