“I don't give a damn where you are from, son. No one here has the right to wander around without my permission. Soldiers, fire at will."
General Edmund Duke, computer game "StarCraft: Brood War"
Coat of arms of the city of Yamburg. Approved on May 7, 1780 by decree of Catherine II
Each job has its own characteristics. The Romans would say: "To each his own", the Russians would add with humor: "To Caesar - Caesar's, to a locksmith - a mechanic", and Mayakovsky would have expressed even more clearly: "All works are good, choose your taste!" Actually, even an inspection of sewer hatches can bring not only money into your pocket and a unique persistent smell on your hands, but also new sensations and impressions. You go there, chat with that, look at something - there is already a whole story, plus positive emotions.
At work, I have to travel a lot throughout the Leningrad region, from Luga to Svetogorsk, and from Ivangorod to the distant village of Voznesenie on the Svir River. And every time you notice the places you like. It happens - it seems that the city is small, and there is especially nothing to do there, but the soul rests, and the look rejoices. Then, on occasion, you take it to your weekend car and go there again to get a better look at everything, and this makes for a whole journey!
Working with one of the well-known gas station chains, I have to go once a quarter to the city of Kingisepp, which is a little over a hundred kilometers from St. Petersburg. Travel for work has evolved over time into travel for the soul. Today we are exactly there, along the A-180 "Narva" highway. Only, mind you, the journey is not close, do not whine and do not be offended! (I didn't force everyone to open this particular article? Then that's it, let's travel!)
The fact is that the city of Kingisepp is, in fact, historically and "not Kingisepp" at all, with the exception of the last 95 years. The city was formerly called Yam, it is quite ancient. Those who say that Peter I chose a disastrous and absurd place for Petersburg are only partly right. The territory of modern Leningrad region was at that time quite densely populated, and its population was multinational. For example, on the territory of the modern Kingisepp region lived both Izhora and Vod, and later Ingermanland Finns and immigrants from Estonia. Most of the villages along the route have been known since the 15-16 centuries. That's even how!
Izhorians. Pauli F. H., "Les Peuples de la Russie", 1862
Who have not seen these places! At different times, brave Novgorod squads went on campaigns along the surrounding roads, the "knight-dogs" clanged their armor, and the patrols of Swedish dragoons trotted. Nearby, in the village of Skvoritsy, the Swedish pastor Jerne was moved by looking at his son Urban, who was snoring in the cradle, and did not know that it was Urban who would lay the foundation for Swedish chemistry in the future, and in 1712 he would write the first textbook on it in Sweden. On the way to Narva, the untrained and poorly equipped army of Tsar Peter, who would later be deservedly called the Great, was kneaded by the autumn mud on the way to Narva, in order to be defeated, but victoriously return there in four years. Mikhailo Vasilyevich Lomonosov was driving on a rural road to his estate Ust-Ruditsa, unbuttoning his coat and panting from the heat, to conduct experiments with smalt. In general, there were enough events for this part of Russia in history, and the region itself was valuable in geopolitical meaning, and changed hands many times.
On the way to Kingisepp we will pass the village of Lyalitsy. It is interesting that it was near this inconspicuous village with such a cute "childish" name that one of the last battles of the Livonian War took place in 1582. In this battle, the commander Dmitry Khvorostinin, with a timely blow from the local cavalry, defeated the Swedes, of whom many were captured.
Chain mail of a Russian warrior. Kingisepp Museum of History and Local Lore.
We've almost arrived; we turn off the bypass road and enter the city. The population in Kingisepp is less than fifty thousand, there are few cars, in December 2015, in a forest belt at the entrance to the city, a moose crossed the road two hundred meters in front of me. I’m okay, but the one who was driving in front of me sharply slowed down and tensed in general. The central street is called Karl Marx Avenue (strange that not Lenin). New buildings give way to rows of small, neat two-story yellow houses. To get to the Yam fortress, you will have to drive through the city almost through.
Fortress Yam (also Yama, Yamskiy town), more precisely, its remains, is located on the high eastern bank of the Luga River. It was founded by the Novgorodians in 1384, was built immediately in stone in the form of a small fortification about four towers, and it was built, according to the "Novgorod First Chronicle of the Youngest Outbreak," in just 33 days. How else, considering that the blessing for its construction was given by Archbishop Alexey of Novgorod himself, and a fair number of people were mobilized for the construction!
The fortress was built on the road from Narva to Novgorod, and its purpose was to protect the Russian borders in the northwest from the claims of the restless "European neighbors" - the Germans and Swedes. And then these "partners" will either arrange a crusade, then they will land a landing, then they will somehow "innocently scold" with victims and devastation - the new fortress itself was on the border, especially since the neighboring fortress, Koporye, was not very convenient is located (northeast, closer to the Gulf of Finland), and in case of war, the direction to Novgorod was not blocked by its walls. The Luga River was a natural border, there was no bridge over it, the Russian bank was high, and this only added advantages to the new fortress. That is, a kind of stone "checkpoint" on the border covered the main direction of a possible strike of a potential enemy (because the appearance of "bare-assed warriors of the steppes" in the district was unlikely, but the Germans and Swedes - please, at least every year), and few could pass it pass without fear.
And they built it on time! In 1395, the Swedes pushed to the fortress, but the Russian army under the command of Prince Konstantin Belozersky "beat some others, but run away from others" ("in your pants and your tails podzhash" - approx. Mikado). Two years later, a large detachment of other representatives of "Europe" - the Germans - approached the Yam. But they decided not to get involved with the fortress, went back, mentally sending these "borodatiche Russisch" to the sacred place "der Zoppa" and simultaneously burning seven villages - this is to the question that the area was quite densely populated.
In Yama, there were no large feudal possessions of their own, and the church holdings were insignificant, and the development of the border region - the Yamskiy okolograd region - apparently took place by the forces of free settlers. The population grew rapidly, the region possessed the necessary mobilization resources, trade and crafts expanded. Around the fortress there was a settlement, which was divided into two settlements - Novgorodskaya and Koporskaya, and in each of them there was an Orthodox monastery; in the city, in addition to service people, lived tailors, ladle makers, carpenters, kalachniki, shoemakers and … even buffoons! The city (the Germans at that time called it "Nienslot" - "New Castle") was mentioned in the ambassadorial affairs, and both the mayor of Yama and the Narva Vogt took part in the analysis of border court disputes. And the fortress from the beginning of the 15th century is increasingly called Yamgorod.
Sword (fragment) of a Livonian warrior. XIV-XVI centuries Metal, forging. Kingisepp Museum of History and Local Lore.
In 1443, the last major war between Novgorod and the Livonians began, and the fortress played a worthy role in it - the role of the main fortress on the western border of the Novgorod possessions. The Germans approached the Yam in 1443 - they burned the posad, but they did not dare to storm the fortress again. We decided to act smarter and more maliciously, and showed up the next year, and, like good guests, “not empty”. They brought artillery with them!
Guests, especially uninvited guests, must be met as expected. But when the ancestors of the Wehrmacht artillerymen began to fire at the fortress, they did not remain in debt there, and they also began to respond from cannons - the first cannon duel of a Russian city with besieging enemies in Russian history. The siege lasted five days, and our artillerymen fired so successfully that "their deliberate great overseas cannon … from the city of the rozbishi and the potbelly and many good Germans beat down" ("good" - in the sense of good professionals in military affairs, they were - approx. Mikado). The Germans had to retreat again. And in 1447, the siege, arranged by the Germans who did not calm down in any way, lasted thirteen days - and with the same result. And in the next year, 1448, peace was made.
The conclusions from the last war were correct. Taking into account the new military trends, the small four-tower fortress had to be rebuilt. And in the same 1448, an external line of defense was added to it. The new part of the fortress is called the “big city”. Now the Yamskaya fortress occupied 2.5 hectares of territory, received 9 towers (6 round and 4 quadrangular); its dimensions were 140 by 250 m, and the perimeter was 720 m. The walls reached a height of 15 m, their thickness was 4 m, while the height of the north-western tower was 28 m at all (other towers - up to 18-20 m). Moats passed from the north and south, from the east lay a pond connected to the northern moat. From the west, as before and now, the Luga River carried its waters. True, the importance of the Yamgorod fortress at the end of the 15th century decreased slightly, because Ivangorod was built opposite Narva - an even more powerful fortress (you can follow the expansion of the Russian borders by the dates of the fortress construction: first Koporye - then Yam - then Ivangorod).
Model of the Yam fortress, view from the north (Kingisepp Museum of History and Local Lore). On the right - the Luga river, above - on the right - "Vyshgorod" - the most ancient part of the fortress, the one with four towers. Note how small it is. And inside it you can see a building that has always occupied the central part of any Russian fortress - a temple (in this case, the temple of the Archangel Michael).
Despite the fact that the fortress was expanded, and now it was an imposing stone stronghold, there were no more long sieges in its history. In 1581, she, together with Ivangorod and Koporye, was captured by Swedish troops under the command of Pontus Delagardie (captured for the first time!). The next year, however, the "Svei Germans" were beaten in the already mentioned battle of Lyalitsy, but following the results of the Livonian War they still left the city behind, greedy people. However, in 1590, already under Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, after a three-day siege, the fortress was taken by the Russian army, and again became part of Russia. Lands were not scattered then, this is not some kind of Alaska for you!
But such a fortress appears from the painting by the artist O. Kosvintsev “Fortress Yamgorod. XV century "(2004) Kingisepp Museum of History and Local Lore. View across the Luga to the "Vyshgorod".
From the school history textbook, it is recalled that during the Livonian War and the Troubles, Yam, Koporye and Ivangorod constantly change hands. Yes, in 1612, the fortress was again captured by the Swedes, and according to the Stolbovski peace (1617) it goes to the possessions of Sweden.
In 1633, the Holstein embassy passed through the Yam to Moscow, and his secretary Adam Olearius compiled a description of the fortress: "… lies in Ingermanland beyond the river, rich in fish, especially salmon" (then it was rich in salmon!) And sketches it. Ahead of Olearius there are still many adventures - after Moscow the embassy will move to Persia, and for this purpose the first three-masted sailing ship of the Western European type "Frederick" will be specially built in Russia; there will be a shipwreck, a visit to the Persian shah, a return to his homeland, the writing of the book "Description of the journey of the Holstein embassy to Muscovy and Persia" with his own, Olearius, wonderful drawings. And according to his project, the famous huge (more than 3 meters in diameter) Gottorp globe will be constructed, presented to Peter I, which is located in our oldest museum - the Kunstkamera (I suspect that it was this globe that served as a model for the "womb of the earth" in which the hero of Valery Zolotukhin was hiding in the film "The Tale of How Tsar Peter Married the Arap").
Drawing by Adam Olearius. "Although this fortification is not great, it is surrounded by a strong stone wall with eight round towers." Judging by the fact that Luga is on the right, the view is from the north side.
The next event in the history of the fortress is associated with the Russian-Swedish war of 1656-1658. In 1658, Russian troops approached the Yam, and during the assault they even broke into the "big city". But the Swedes took refuge in the "Vyshgorod", and even the "crowbar" (siege cannon) did not help to capture it - the "Detinets" was strong! Our soldiers had to leave the almost taken fortress. But this episode also convinced the Swedes that they should not rely on the old fortifications - the walls were clearly dilapidated.
Swedish plan of the Yama fortress. 1680th year. "Vyshgorod" - the child is highlighted with a red line.
For a long time or a short time, but in 1681 the fortress was examined by the Swedish fortifier E. Dahlberg and came to a disappointing conclusion - despite the fact that some of its walls and towers are very good, most of them will not last long and will soon collapse by themselves … Therefore, the next year the walls of the "big city" were blown up, for which the Swedes had to spend 40 barrels of gunpowder. Survived, however, is the historically oldest part of the fortress - "Detinets" with 4 towers. Instead of the medieval walls, work began on filling the bastions, but by the beginning of the Northern War they were never completed (strange, why? There was more than enough time).
Finally, the question of who owned these lands was resolved, as we remember, under Peter I. Yam became the first city taken by the Russians in the Northern War - the Swedes left it without a fight in 1700, but after the "Narva confusion" abandoned already by the troops of Peter.
Baguette to the musket (as it is written on the plate). Russia, XVIII century. Copy. Kingisepp Museum of History and Local Lore. "Novodel", but it looks impressive, and on their belly, few people want to experience its sharpness.
However, having recovered from the first defeats, the Russian army returned to Yam in 1703. Detachment of Major General K. T. Verdun besieges the city; after a short siege, the Swedes surrender and they are released - a frequent outcome of sieges in the Northern War. Peter is well aware that the end of the war is still far away, and the victory will be difficult, according to his project, the fortress is being hastily strengthened, B. P. Sheremetev. Work starts in May and ends in autumn. In place of the old walls, ramparts were poured, four bastions were erected. The stone "detinets" are not touched, as before, it is a citadel. The fortress is called Yamburg.
The plan of the Yamburg fortress, 1703. As you can see, the cut is also indicated.
However, the Great Northern War no longer affects Yam-Yamburg. In 1708 Yam, as well as Koporye, passed into the possession of His Serene Highness Prince Menshikov, after his disgrace and exile - to the treasury. Since the 1720s, the fortress has been losing its military and strategic importance, and in the 1760s it gradually began to deteriorate.
Catherine II plans to create a metropolitan industrial suburb in the city (fortunately, Yamburg had its own industry), gives Yamburg the status of a city, approves its coat of arms and a new plan. And he orders to dismantle the oldest part of the fortress, but at the same time the only part of the fortress preserved in stone - "Vyshgorod". Alas, from that moment on, the Yam fortress can be considered the only large stone fortress in the Russian North-West, destroyed to the ground! Since then, the old fortress has not played any military role - perhaps, not counting the 21st (Kingisepp) fortified region in 1941, but this is a completely different time and completely different buildings that had nothing to do with the historical fortress.
The historical part of the article is almost over, I can breathe out (fff!), And again play my favorite role as a guide. Opposite the ramparts of the Yamburg fortress is the Catherine's Cathedral, built from 1764 to 1782 by the famous architect Antonio Rinaldi. We will park the car near it (there are usually sightseeing buses).
The fate of this cathedral was not easy. And they closed it, and used it as a warehouse, and during the war it was badly damaged. It seems that the typical fate of some cathedrals in Russia in a certain historical period.
We will cross the road near the cathedral and pass by the Monument to the heroes-partisans of the Great Patriotic War into the fortress itself. The intra-fortress space is now a Summer Garden park - paths, trees, bushes. It's nice to just walk along it, for the body, for the soul.
This is how the inner courtyard of the fortress looks now. The photo was taken in early April - now everything is green here. I will immediately apologize to you and for the subsequent photos - some of them were taken back in March.
You can also walk on the remains of the shafts. It is only advisable to look under your feet - the paths are not the widest!
View of the northwest bastion from the rampart path. The remains of the ditch are faintly visible, but noticeable. Do you know what I want to say? People, don't turn into pigs! If you love to come and spend time in the old fortress, take your papers, bottles and cigarette butts with you! Now this is probably all cleaned up, but in the spring this kind of "pops up" from under the snow.
A particularly beautiful view opens up if you walk along the western side of the fortress - overlooking the Luga River. Very steep slope, height, it will take your breath away!
Taking into account the fact that there used to be walls and towers here, from here in the old days an even more expansive view opened up. See the yellow building on the other side of the river? Remember it, we will also visit there today.
Where the southern part of the fortress used to be, today the Kingisepp Museum of History and Local Lore is located. Initially, it was the building of the Yamburg commercial school of the Yamburg society "Enlightenment", founded on June 28 (according to the old style), 1909. During its construction, the masonry of the southern tower was discovered - and the building was moved a little further from the coast.
The museum itself. Behind the building (from the north) is the place where the temple of the Archangel Michael used to stand.
The museum is not very big, but very informative. Entrance fees are inexpensive, and there are few visitors. The museum also hosts creative evenings and other cultural events (at least during the time I was there, a choir sang in one of the rooms - perhaps a national one). The first hall tells about the history of Yama-Yamburg from the moment of its foundation. Shotguns, swords, axes, armor, a falconet on the floor, samples of cannonballs. There are also folk costumes, household items, agricultural implements of the multinational local population. And even found treasures: in one - Russian, in the other - Swedish coins!
Another hall of the museum is dedicated to the works of contemporary Kingisepp masters - paintings, volumetric embroidery, beadwork (there is even a painting "cherry blossoms"), other works of art by local masters - very beautiful! This is followed by the exhibition “We live on the same land”, which tells about the peoples inhabiting this area - Vodi, Izhora, Ingrian Finns, Estonians - on the example of several families. A brief history of each of the families - ordinary people; photographs are hung on the walls, there is furniture from the beginning of the 20th century, personal belongings and tools are laid out so that everyone can mentally touch the life of every nation. But in the next hall we will dwell in more detail - it is dedicated to the “photo chronicler” of Yamburg-Kingisepp, Vasily Vasilyevich Fedorov. At the same time, I'll tell you how the city last changed its name.
Vasily Vasilyevich Fedorov played the same significant role in the district Yamburg as the famous Karl Bulla played in St. Petersburg - all the significant events of the city passed through his lens. The earliest photographs of him are dated 1912, these are views of old Yamburg. In the 1920s and 1940s, he took many group photographs of the townspeople, and they were very difficult at that time - for example, during sports competitions, demonstrations, rallies. By the way, he did not have a salon - he either took pictures at home, or went to the client in a carriage, for which he received the nickname "Count Kolyaskin".
The legacy of Vasily Vasilyevich, who died in 1956, is not only photographs depicting the history of Yamburg-Kingisepp for more than 40 years, but also a large number of glass negatives. Unfortunately, not all of them have survived, but some of them are kept here, in the museum.
By the way, why is the city called "Kingisepp" now? It's just that in 1922 it was renamed in honor of the Estonian communist Viktor Kingisepp. The photo shows a rally dedicated to this event.
After the rally, athletes spoke. June 17, 1922.
In my opinion, the article should not be overloaded with unnecessary details. I will not touch on the topic of the history of the troops stationed at different times in Yama-Yamburg, as well as the topic of the Great Patriotic War. The theme of the Second World War is generally special, behind every event there is someone's life and blood, it must be touched extremely carefully. Let other authors do it, or the readers themselves, if they want, - all materials can be found.
So, there are two more halls in the museum, I will indicate them in passing. In one of them, an entire exposition is dedicated to the main inhabitants of Yamburg - soldiers. Until the beginning of the 20th century, various regiments were constantly located in the city. One regiment left for a new duty station, another came to its place. For example, in the 1840s, the military made up up to 60 percent of the city's inhabitants. They, soldiers and officers, also enriched the museum with many subsequently found objects (sparse weapons, more personal belongings, from memory - Mikado's note). Or maybe someone has preserved individual values and then handed them over to the museum?
A fragment of a saber with a hilt (bronze, steel, bone, late 19th - early 20th century) and the remains of a primer pistol (mid-19th century) - against the background of other soldier's items.
Finally, the last room is dedicated to the Great Patriotic War. Weapons, models, photographs, orders and medals, documents - a monument to the heroism of Soviet people, the memory of the pain and the hardships they endured in order to win. This was the last bloody period in the history of Yama-Kingisepp.
A very visual and unusual stand with samples of pomegranates. Naturally, there is more than one such stand in the hall. We did our best, got it done, and arouses genuine respect for the work of our employees.
Having thanked the museum staff, we will leave it and walk to the pedestrian crossing. Before crossing the road, take a look at the eastern part of the fortress.
A pond that plays the role of a moat. He has been here since time immemorial. It is much more beautiful here in summer. Photos, on occasion, will post on the forum - not mine, sir!
We will cross the road, but we will not go to the car near the cathedral, first we will reach Luga. The modern road, in fact, is laid on the territory of "Detinets". In 1971-72, archaeological excavations were carried out on the territory of the fortress under the guidance of, perhaps, the most honored archaeologist of the country, thanks to whom we know about the military affairs of Russia - Anatoly Nikolaevich Kirpichnikov. During archaeological excavations, the lower parts of the walls, towers, and the base of the fortress temple were discovered. At the same time, at the request of Anatoly Nikolaevich, five photocopies of Yam's drawings made in the 17th century come from the Royal Military Archives of Stockholm to the Leningrad branch of the Institute of Archeology of the USSR Academy of Sciences (by the way, as practice shows, the Swedes generally willingly give out their archival materials. One person even received a drawing of the Landswerk tank from Sweden for free. However, respect to the Swedes for that. - approx. Mikado). This is how we managed to recreate the appearance of the fortress! And in 1974 the settlement was given the status of an archeological monument.
Let's see what is there from the south of the bridge over the Luga. Here it is, the masonry of the southwestern part of the old fortress. This is not the only place of nude masonry, but I photographed it - it was not very comfortable to run in the rain.
Now you can go back to the car. Let's walk a little more - despite the fact that our walk no longer has anything to do with the theme of the Yam-Yamburg fortress, there is one more place that should be visited. We will cross the Luga over the bridge. We turn after the bridge at the first turn to the right - the landmark is difficult to miss.
There is a small birch grove around the bend - the Grove of Memory. In front of it, on a pedestal, stands a 122-mm howitzer of the 1910/30 model - not the most common exhibit for the monument. A plaque near the monument says that the old howitzer took part in the battles for Kingisepp in 1941.
We will park the car not far from the howitzer and then walk on foot to the entrance to the park - or we can reach it, as we please. We enter the Romanovka park. In the first half of the 19th century, there was the estate of the hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, General of Infantry Karl Ivanovich Bistrom (1770-1838). The general passed the entire period of the Napoleonic wars with honor, participated in the Battle of Borodino and the foreign campaign of the Russian army in 1813-1814, bravely and skillfully commanded guards units, was wounded several times, and had many awards for his services. A portrait of his work, George Doe, is in the Hermitage, in the Military Gallery of the Winter Palace, among the portraits of other heroes of that war.
It is noteworthy that on a memorial plaque on the building of an invalid home in the park, the general is depicted with a mustache, and on a portrait in the well-known Military Gallery - without them.
Then there was a war with the Turks; the last time the honored general took part in hostilities during the suppression of the Polish uprising of 1830-1831.
Karl Ivanovich died in 1838 during treatment on the waters in Bavaria, in the city of Kissingen, but his body was transported here (a strange analogy - to die in Kissingen, find a grave in Kingisepp), here the general was buried with military honors. According to his will, an invalid home for crippled soldiers is being built in Romanovka. The house is located at the entrance to the park, and now it houses a ski lodge.
Even after his death, the general performed a noble deed. He was what you can safely call - "father-commander"!
Subordinates also paid tribute to their commander. Guardsmen collect money, and in 1841 a monument appears on Bistrom's grave - a bronze lion by the genius Pyotr Karlovich Klodt - the same one who made sculptures for the Anichkov Bridge, created monuments to Nicholas I and Ivan Andreevich Krylov, and whose family he wrote so warmly Valentin Pikul in his historical miniature “Our dear, dear Ulenka”. The monument is truly unique, such monuments on graves in Russia, it seems, have never been erected to anyone else.
Three battles are listed on the sides of the monument - "Borodino", "Varna", "Ostrolenka". The central inscription reads: “To Adjutant General K. I. Bistrom of the Guards Corps as a token of gratitude. " A bas-relief portrait of a general in the center.
The long-suffering lion has its own story - in the crazy first half of the 20th century, they tried twice to "attach arms and legs." The first time it was unsuccessfully tried to destroy the Bolsheviks during the Civil War - to give it up for scrap, even dropped from the pedestal; The lion "survived" absolutely by accident. For the second time, the Germans took it to Riga in 1943 - here the versions differ, either as a cultural value, or melted down. In Riga, the lion was found after her release, he was taken to Leningrad, and only in 1954, restored "born in a shirt," the lion-traveler again begins to guard Karl Ivanovich's peace.
The park is not very big. Here the Luga River makes several bends, first to the east, then to the north, then steeply to the west, and the territory of the park is, in fact, bounded by it from the east and north. If you walk around the park, you can see the city stadium and the equestrian club along its edges, the Luga Bereg hotel is located a little further away, there is an open stage and a spring with holy water, and ski competitions are held here in winter. The landscape is mostly wild, in April it is a pleasure for girls to be photographed surrounded by snowdrops. Despite the fact that there are not many people in it, you note that young mothers with strollers love to visit it - and rightly so. Fishermen sit on the river, and kebabs are fried here all year round (unfortunately, sometimes leaving behind disgusting things - alas! You should beat your hands for that! I think it's easy to carry garbage to the nearest trash bin. But some "especially gifted" don't think so).
View of the Luga River in the northern part of the park. In summer, boats with fishermen are constantly looming here.
Let's walk for an hour, and that's enough. The soul has calmed down, the mood is good, but fatigue is already felt. We can go back to the car. If we are going to cross the bridge in the opposite direction to St. Petersburg, we will look at the Yam fortress from the opposite bank of the Luga.
The height of the bank with the shafts is impressive. And earlier here the walls were also high.
Our excursion is over - we visited the almost forgotten fortress of Yama-Yamgorod-Yamburg-Kingisepp, in short, we learned a little about it, and at the same time saw some of its sights. History and good mood can be "obtained" from any small town, if you only wish. Amazing - it's near!
And this is how the remains of the Yamburg fortress look from a bird's eye view. The photo is not mine, but I hope the author of the photo will not be offended. The article is over!
