One of the main sights of Izborsk is a fortress on the Giravia mountain, which was built in the 14th century and has reached our days in a relatively good condition. It is from this fortress, it is believed, began its existence Izborsk: for many centuries the fortress protected the western borders of the country. In the middle of the 19th century, Nicholas I ordered the walls to be repaired and a new bell tower erected, but no one subsequently worked on the fortress for a long time.

The fortress restoration project started in the 1960s, and in 2010 it resumed again. By now, the fortress was reconstructed only partially: in particular, the Lukovka Tower was refurbished, on which the observation platform is arranged. In total there are 7 towers in the fortress with nice names like "Ploskushka" or "Ryabinovka". The total territory of the fortress is about 2, 5 hectares

The date of the foundation of Izborsk is approximately 7-8 centuries . The city was built in a strategically important place on the lake cape . By the 10th century, Izborsk had grown from an ordinary settlement to a fairly large artisan and commercial city, and from the 11th century the old wooden fortress was rebuilt in stone . In the first half of the 13th century fortress (and city, respectively) twice capture German knights, who were finally able to get rid of only after the battle on Lake Peipsi, headed by Alexander Nevsky . And in the 14th century the fortress was moved to a kilometer with a small from its former place . Later it was besieged by Livonians and Germans, and during the Troubles - Lithuanian nobleman Alexander Lisovsky . The fortress lost its military importance only after the end of the Great Northern War . Years of desolation started . Even today the Izborsk fortress continues to be in great need of repair .

Initial fortification It was not very similar to the current . There were two gates in it: one went to the posad, the second - to the lake with the pier . The height of the walls reached 3 m, and the ramparts - up to 6 m . The second fortress first was wooden; in the stone laid out only "Lukovka" at the eastern wall . This round tower less than 10 m in diameter reached a height of 12 meters . Not far from it was an underground passage at a depth of more than 16 m, which could be accessed from the fortification to the lake cape . Later, when the fortress was rebuilt from the stone, the wall was made double and ditched, and then the other towers designed for placing the guns were completed. . Especially to facilitate the work of the artillerymen, the towers were "taken out" from the level walls . All of them were round Except rectangular "Ploskushki" with five tiers for battle .

The impressive stone walls of the Izborsk fortress reach a thickness of up to 3 m, and the total length is about 850 m. Unfortunately, of the towers only Lukovka represents something more or less Impressive: the rest are empty and goals.

Izborskaya fortress

Nikolsky Cathedral, Izborsk Fortress

Tower, Izborskaya Fortress