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The town of Shlisselburg is located at the
head of the Neva River, 60 km far from St.Petersburg. Between
1944 and 1992 it has been holding the name of Petrokrepost
(meaning Peter's Fortress).
The town was laid in the early 18th century
as a big port on the water route heading for the capital of
the Russian Empire. In 1780 Shlisselbug obtained the status
of a district town of St.Petersburg province and its coat
of arms bearing a silver town with a golden key and the emperor's
crown above was approved.
The central section of the town lies in
the system of Ladozhskye by-pass canals. Two unique engineering
constructions, a four-chamber granite sluice built in 1836
and a column-supported bridge of 1832, still dominate at the
opening of the old Ladozhsky canal into the Neva. The Blagoveshchensky
(Annunciation) Cathedral with its bell-fry, Nikolskaya (St.Nicholas)
Church, Chapel of Our Lady of Kazan and Gostiny Dvor (Merchants'
Yard) are among other structures of the 18th-19th centuries
that are worth seeing. The monument to Peter I by sculptor
Mikhail Antokolsky is another landmark of the town.
Shlisselburg played an important role in
the events of Great Patriotic War. With the capture of the
town by the Germans on September 8, 1941 the siege of Leningrad
began. The town was badly ruined during the break of the siege
in January 1943 to be reconstructed after the war.
The Oreshek (Nutlet) Fortress withstanding
attacks of the Swedes in the 14th-17th centuries is located
on an island not far from Shlisselburg. It was captured by
Sweden in 1612 but returned to Russia in 1702. The fortress
served as a political prison in the 18th-19th centuries.
The old walls of the fortress have been
damaged during Great Patriotic War when Soviet soldiers have
been defending it for almost 500 days. Restoration has been
conducted here since 1966.
The two monuments in the fortress glorify
its defenders, with one being dedicated to the warriors perished
in recapture of Noteburg in 1702 and another one commemorating
those who fought for it in 1941-1943.
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 Fortress as in the 16th century '))
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