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2066 Pokrovskaya (Intercession) Tower of Pskov Kremlin and
Trinity Cathedral |
Located on the
Velikaya River, about 20km east from the Estonian border,
Pskov is one of the oldest cities in
Russia, its earliest mention coming from 903, when
Igor of Kiev married a local lady,
St. Olga. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the town adhered politically to the
Novgorod Republic. In 1241 it was taken by the
Teutonic Knights, but
Alexander Nevsky recaptured it several months later. In order to secure their independence from the knights, in 1266 the Pskovians elected a
Lithuanian prince,
Daumantas (known in Russia as Dovmont), as military leader and prince.
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| 1356 Pskov Kremlin and Trinity Cathedral |
Having fortified the town (the core of the citadel, erected by him, still bears his name), Daumantas routed the Teutonic Knights at
Rakvere and overran much of
Estonia. By the 14th century, the town functioned as the capital of a de facto sovereign republic, mainly due to the merchants who brought it into the
Hanseatic League. For Russia, it was a bridge towards Europe; and for Europe a western outpost of Russia. Importance of the city made it a subject of numerous sieges throughout its history (26 in the 15th century alone).
