Izborsk (; ; ) is a rural locality (village) in Pechorsky District of Pskov Oblast, Russia. It contains one of the most ancient and impressive fortresses of Western Russia. The village lies to the west of Pskov and just to the east of the Russian-Estonian border.

History

thumb|Inside the fortress of Izborsk

thumb|Evening at Izborsk fortress, 2004

The first fortified settlement was founded around the late 8th century.

According to the Russian Primary Chronicle, the town was the seat of Rurik's brother Truvor from 862 to 864. Russian historian Valentin Yanin (2008) agreed that the "existence of the "Rurik brothers" seems doubtful" based on a linguistic argument, adding: "... In Izborsk, it is customary to display a stone cross, supposedly standing on the grave of Truvor, in complete oblivion of the fact that Truvor, if he lived, then one and a half centuries before the establishment of Christianity in Eastern Europe. The most significant thing is that neither in Izborsk nor in Beloozero have archaeological excavations found any traces of Scandinavian presence in the 9th century." Although Truvor's burial mound is still shown to occasional tourists, archaeological excavations of long barrows abounding in the vicinity did not reveal the presence of the Varangian settlement at the site, which indicates that Izborsk was an important centre of the early Krivichs.

A stone fortress was built in the second half of the 11th century and Izborsk became the main settlement in the western frontier of the Novgorod Republic.

During the Siege of Pskov (1581), Izborsk was captured by the Lithuanian troops, but after the Truce of Yam-Zapolsky (1582), it was handed over to Russia.

After the Great Northern War, Izborsk ceased to be a western borderline fortress of Russian. In 1708, it joined the newly-established Governorate of Saint-Petersburg (until 1710 called Ingermanland Governorate), where it was listed as the centre of uyezd in the Pskov Province. In 1727, all of Pskov Province was transferred to the Novgorod Governorate and was later transformed into a part of the larger Pskov Governorate, where Izborsk was listed as a town until 1920.

In 1920, according to the Treaty of Tartu, the Russian–Estonian state boundary went east of Izborsk and so the town became part of Estonia. From 1940 to 1945, the town remained within the occupied Republic of Estonia (1940), Estonian SSR (1940–1941), Nazi occupation) (1941–1944) and Estonian SSR (1944–1945).

In 1945, the Russian-Estonian border was redefined to resemble the pre-1918 borders between the Livonia and Pskov Governorate, leaving Izborsk with the Pskov Oblast of the Russian SFSR, now the Russian Federation.

Fortress

Truvor's gorodishche is a settlement about half a kilometer north from the fortress that came about in the late 7th and early 8th century, and proceeded to grow twice in size in the 10th and 11th centuries. It was the predecessor of the Izborsk Fortress, protected by an oakwood wall which was later upgraded to stone, 3 meters in height by 3 meters in width in the 12th century.

To accommodate a larger capacity, the Izborsk Fortress was moved to its present location on the summit of Zheravya ("Crane") Hill in the year 1303, and the Lukovka Tower was built from stone on the outer edge, standing at 13 meters in height, and 9.5 meters in diameter. The repair and archaeological works are still in process.

Near the fortress there is a museum of stone crosses.

Though Truvor's gorodishche is mostly destroyed, a small part of the wall remains today.

Notable people

  • Sergei Shtsherbakov (1871–1937), Estonian farmer and politician.
  • Valentin Strukov, Estonian politician, was born in Izborsk.

References

  • Izborsk and Petsery
  • Legends Izborsk
  • Detailed description and photos of Izborsk
  • Izborsk Fortress project summary at Global Heritage Fund
  • Izborsk – Photo