Petrokrepost
Petrokrepost
(pyĕ'trəkryĕ`pəstyə), formerlySchlüsselburg
(shlü`səlbo͝orkh), town and fortress, NW European Russia, E of St. Petersburg. The town, the terminus of a railroad and of the lateral canals on Lake Ladoga, has shipbuilding and repair yards. Opposite the town, on an island in Lake Ladoga, stands the fortress, which dominates the lake's access from the Neva River. Built in 1323 by the republic of Novgorod and at first called Oreshek, the fortress fell to Sweden in 1611 and was renamed Noteborg. Peter I captured it from the Swedes in 1702, during the Northern War, and named it Schlüsselburg [Ger.,=key fortress], envisioning it as the major link in Russia's line of defense to the Baltic Sea. The following year he founded St. Petersburg on the Baltic. The fortress soon lost its military significance and was used until the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution as a prison for high-ranking persons (including several members of the imperial family) and for political prisoners. In 1928 it was converted into a museum. Schlüsselburg fell (1941) to the Germans during World War II; its recapture (1943) by Russian forces opened the land route to besieged Leningrad (St. Petersburg). The name Petrokrepost [Rus.,=Peter's fortress] was adopted in 1944.Petrokrepost’
(until 1611, Oreshek; until 1702, Noteburg; until 1944, Shlissel’burg), a city in Leningrad Oblast, RSFSR, under the jurisdiction of the Kirovsk city soviet. Landing on the left bank of the Neva, near Lake Ladoga, 60 km east of Leningrad; railroad station situated on the opposite bank of the river.
Petrokrepost’ was founded by Novgorodians in 1323 on Ore-khov Island in the Neva, near Lake Ladoga. Later, a posad (merchants’ and artisans’ quarter) and then a city arose on the left bank of the Neva. The city became a stronghold during the Russo-Swedish wars of the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1611 it was captured by the Swedes. On Oct. 11, 1702, in the course of the Northern War (1700-21), the city was stormed and captured by Russian troops and was renamed Shlissel’burg (“key-city”) by Peter I. It subsequently became a district capital in St. Petersburg Province. After the construction of St. Petersburg and Kronstadt, the military significance of the Shlissel’burg Fortress declined, and the fortress was soon converted into a political prison. In 1928 the former fortress-prison was turned into a museum. On Sept. 8, 1941, during the Great Patriotic War (1941-45), the city was captured by fascist German forces. The fortress, however, remained in Soviet hands and was stubbornly defended by a special garrison from 1941 to 1943. The city was liberated on Jan. 18, 1943, after three days of bitter fighting. Petrokrepost’ has shipyards. It has a branch of the State Museum of the History of Leningrad.