Tosna Museum of Local History

In the Middle Ages, the territory of the Tosnensky district was part of the Voda five of the Novgorod Republic. The first mention of Tosno, as well as other settlements of the district (Lyuban, Shapki), is found in the census books of the Vodskaya Pitska XV-early XVI century.

The location of the first settlement that gave rise to d. To be exact (... and there were only two yards...) is not yet established.

In the XVI century the population of this land lived mainly in small villages (one or three yards). However, already in the XVII century in the Vodskaya Pyatina, on average, there were seven courtyards per settlement. The main occupations were agriculture, hunting and fishing.

During the period of Swedish rule, when the indigenous population fell deep into Russia, the villages were empty. Finnish peasants from northwestern Finland were resettled in Ingermanland (Izhora land). Finns-settlers laid the foundation for the Finnish-speaking groups still living in the area.

The impetus for the accelerated development of Tosno gave the activity of Peter I. By his decree, a road was laid from St. Petersburg to Moscow through Tosno, Luban and other villages. New villages have emerged. Residents of villages located along the roads had to bear Yamsk duty - to transport mail, state cargo, officials on horses. In Tosno even appeared stagecoach station.

By the same period (construction of the Yamsky road St. Petersburg-Moscow) most likely refers to the formation of the city center, called by old-timers "the middle" (between the Smolin Creek and the Tosna River). In addition to residential houses, in which, perhaps, there were shops and the first inns, in the middle on the bank of the river. The first church building was built - a wooden chapel. Then a church was built on the road Tosno-Shapki. There was no railway yet. Later, where Smolin stream flows into the river Tosna, there was a large wooden church of the Kazan Mother of God. At the very beginning of the XIX century. the church on the road Tosno - Shapki became part of the buildings of the Tosnen orphanage.

The main activity of the residents of Tosno, related to the maintenance of the road, gave impetus to the emergence and development of related crafts and the first industrial enterprises.

The change in the way of life of the local population in the nineteenth century is associated with the construction of the Nikolaev (October) railway. The construction caused a large influx of population. With the launch of the railway, diggers became unnecessary, but new activities related to its maintenance appeared. Many residents, using their horses, engaged in "horsework" - cars and scrap cars, including the transportation of firewood, wood, garbage, ice, fuel and raw materials for the factory from the railway station.

The process of establishing economic life was interrupted by the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, when Tosno was occupied by German troops. There was no direct fighting in the city. The building has suffered mainly from air raids.

The joy of victory inspired people to creative work. Very quickly revived, the village grew. In 1944, a car repair plant appeared, construction of the Stroydetal plant began. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR on February 1, 1963, the working-class village of Tosno was transformed into a city of regional subordination.