Priozersk
Encyclopedia
Priozersk is a town in Leningrad Oblast
, Russia
, centered on an island at the southwestern shore of Lake Ladoga
, at the estuary of the northern armlet of River Vuoksi on the Karelian Isthmus
. It is served by a station of the Saint Petersburg-Kuznechnoye railroad with the same name. Population:
, has historically been the center for the Karelians
of the Karelian Isthmus; and from time to time been the northwestern outpost of the realm
of the Russians
or the eastern outpost of the realm of the Swedes
.
From the Middle Ages
, Priozersk was known as Korela to Russians and Käkisalmi to Karelians and Finns. The town was part of the Vodskaya pyatina of the Novgorod Republic
. Taxation book from Novgorod from year 1500 lists 183 houses in Korela - so estimated population 1500-2000. The Swedes captured Korela twice: in 1578 for seventeen years and in 1611 for one hundred years. In the Swedish Empire
, the fortress was called Kexholm and the whole district became known as the County of Kexholm. Russia definitively secured the area during the Great Northern War
; the town's Swedish name was retained, however, as Keksgolm . But wars and devastating fires 1300, 1580, 1634, 1679 had taken its toll to civilian population. When the city gained its first court house in 1800 population was only 400.
In 1812, as the Grand Duchy of Finland
three years earlier had been formed within Russian Empire, Alexander I of Russia
incorporated Kexholm with the rest of Old Finland
into the autonomous region. Käkisalmi was the smallest city in Viipuri province
. City's growth was boosted by construction of the Saint Petersburg-Hiitola railway in 1917 and establishing two big saw mills and a big Ab Waldhof Oy's Wood pulp
mill in 1929.
The Winter War
on November 30, 1939 began with the Soviet attack. Eventually after hard fighting Finland was forced to cede Käkisalmi as whole Finnish Karelia
to the Soviet Union
in the 13.3.1940 Moscow Peace Treaty
. During the Continuation War
1941 - 1944 Finland gained back Käkisalmi and other 1940 Soviet ceded territories, the population returned to rebuild the town, but were again evacuated in Evacuation of Finnish Karelia
at the close of the WWII. In the last Finnish year 1939 Käkisalmi had a population of 5083. Around the town there was the rural municipality of Käkisalmi with a population of 5100. Minorities were Orthodox 946 persons and about 100 inhabitants announced to speak as native language; Swedish, Russian or German. Total population was 11 129 in 1939.
In 1948, Käkisalmi was renamed to Priozersk like names all cities and communities annexed from Finland
to Leningrad Oblast
1947. The new given names of 1948 had no ties to historic names except Vyborg
. New Priozersk was settled with a totally new population of people (mainly Russians, Belorussian, Ukrainians) from the Soviet Union, who remain the majority of the local population. The ramparts and towers of the old Korela Fortress
are situated on the bank of the Vuoksi, still visible when traveling to the town from Saint Petersburg. Fortress has small museum. The town is an excursion resort popular with St. Petersburgers, many of whom have dacha
s in the vicinity (see Ozero
).
Leningrad Oblast
Leningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It was established on August 1, 1927, although it was not until 1946 that the oblast's borders had been mostly settled in their present position...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, centered on an island at the southwestern shore of Lake Ladoga
Lake Ladoga
Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, not far from Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake in Europe, and the 14th largest lake by area in the world.-Geography:...
, at the estuary of the northern armlet of River Vuoksi on the Karelian Isthmus
Karelian Isthmus
The Karelian Isthmus is the approximately 45–110 km wide stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia, to the north of the River Neva . Its northwestern boundary is the relatively narrow area between the Bay of Vyborg and Lake Ladoga...
. It is served by a station of the Saint Petersburg-Kuznechnoye railroad with the same name. Population:
History
The main landmark of Priozersk, Korela FortressKorela Fortress
Korela Fortress , at the town of Priozersk, was founded by the Karelians who named the place Käkisalmi.- Origin :...
, has historically been the center for the Karelians
Karelians
The Karelians are a Baltic-Finnic ethnic group living mostly in the Republic of Karelia and in other north-western parts of the Russian Federation. The historic homeland of Karelians includes also parts of present-day Eastern Finland and the formerly Finnish territory of Ladoga Karelia...
of the Karelian Isthmus; and from time to time been the northwestern outpost of the realm
Realm
A realm is a dominion of a monarch or other sovereign ruler.The Old French word reaume, modern French royaume, was the word first adopted in English; the fixed modern spelling does not appear until the beginning of the 17th century...
of the Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
or the eastern outpost of the realm of the Swedes
Lands of Sweden
The lands of Sweden are three traditional parts, essentially three collectives of provinces, in Sweden. These "lands" have no administrative function, and there is no official designation for this subdivision level...
.
From the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, Priozersk was known as Korela to Russians and Käkisalmi to Karelians and Finns. The town was part of the Vodskaya pyatina of the Novgorod Republic
Novgorod Republic
The Novgorod Republic was a large medieval Russian state which stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains between the 12th and 15th centuries, centred on the city of Novgorod...
. Taxation book from Novgorod from year 1500 lists 183 houses in Korela - so estimated population 1500-2000. The Swedes captured Korela twice: in 1578 for seventeen years and in 1611 for one hundred years. In the Swedish Empire
Swedish Empire
The Swedish Empire refers to the Kingdom of Sweden between 1561 and 1721 . During this time, Sweden was one of the great European powers. In Swedish, the period is called Stormaktstiden, literally meaning "the Great Power Era"...
, the fortress was called Kexholm and the whole district became known as the County of Kexholm. Russia definitively secured the area during the Great Northern War
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...
; the town's Swedish name was retained, however, as Keksgolm . But wars and devastating fires 1300, 1580, 1634, 1679 had taken its toll to civilian population. When the city gained its first court house in 1800 population was only 400.
In 1812, as the Grand Duchy of Finland
Grand Duchy of Finland
The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed 1809–1917 as part of the Russian Empire and was ruled by the Russian czar as Grand Prince.- History :...
three years earlier had been formed within Russian Empire, Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
incorporated Kexholm with the rest of Old Finland
Old Finland
thumb|right|260px|The areas that Sweden lost to Russia in the wars of 1721 and 1743Old Finland is a name used for the areas that Russia gained from Sweden in the Great Northern War and in the Russo-Swedish War...
into the autonomous region. Käkisalmi was the smallest city in Viipuri province
Viipuri Province
The Viipuri Province was a province of independent Finland from 1917 to 1947 but had already been founded in 1743.-History:The province was established in 1743 by separating the city of Viipuri and territories ceded from the Swedish Empire to Russia by the Treaty of Nystad in 1721, from the Saint...
. City's growth was boosted by construction of the Saint Petersburg-Hiitola railway in 1917 and establishing two big saw mills and a big Ab Waldhof Oy's Wood pulp
Wood pulp
Pulp is a lignocellulosic fibrous material prepared by chemically or mechanically separating cellulose fibres from wood, fibre crops or waste paper. Wood pulp is the most common raw material in papermaking.-History:...
mill in 1929.
The Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
on November 30, 1939 began with the Soviet attack. Eventually after hard fighting Finland was forced to cede Käkisalmi as whole Finnish Karelia
Finnish Karelia
Karelia is a historical province of Finland. It refers to the Western Karelia that during the second millennium has been under western dominance, religiously and politically. Western, i.e. Finnish Karelia is separate from Eastern, i.e...
to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in the 13.3.1940 Moscow Peace Treaty
Moscow Peace Treaty (1940)
The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed by Finland and the Soviet Union on 12 March 1940, and the ratifications were exchanged on 21 March. It marked the end of the 105-day Winter War. The treaty ceded parts of Finland to the Soviet Union. However, it preserved Finland's independence, ending the Soviet...
. During the Continuation War
Continuation War
The Continuation War was the second of two wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II.At the time of the war, the Finnish side used the name to make clear its perceived relationship to the preceding Winter War...
1941 - 1944 Finland gained back Käkisalmi and other 1940 Soviet ceded territories, the population returned to rebuild the town, but were again evacuated in Evacuation of Finnish Karelia
Evacuation of Finnish Karelia
As a result of the 1940 Moscow Peace Treaty that concluded the Winter War, Finland ceded the area of Finnish Karelia and other territories to the Soviet Union...
at the close of the WWII. In the last Finnish year 1939 Käkisalmi had a population of 5083. Around the town there was the rural municipality of Käkisalmi with a population of 5100. Minorities were Orthodox 946 persons and about 100 inhabitants announced to speak as native language; Swedish, Russian or German. Total population was 11 129 in 1939.
In 1948, Käkisalmi was renamed to Priozersk like names all cities and communities annexed from Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
to Leningrad Oblast
Leningrad Oblast
Leningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It was established on August 1, 1927, although it was not until 1946 that the oblast's borders had been mostly settled in their present position...
1947. The new given names of 1948 had no ties to historic names except Vyborg
Vyborg
Vyborg is a town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of the Bay of Vyborg, to the northwest of St. Petersburg and south from Russia's border with Finland, where the Saimaa Canal enters the Gulf of Finland...
. New Priozersk was settled with a totally new population of people (mainly Russians, Belorussian, Ukrainians) from the Soviet Union, who remain the majority of the local population. The ramparts and towers of the old Korela Fortress
Korela Fortress
Korela Fortress , at the town of Priozersk, was founded by the Karelians who named the place Käkisalmi.- Origin :...
are situated on the bank of the Vuoksi, still visible when traveling to the town from Saint Petersburg. Fortress has small museum. The town is an excursion resort popular with St. Petersburgers, many of whom have dacha
Dacha
Dacha is a Russian word for seasonal or year-round second homes often located in the exurbs of Soviet and post-Soviet cities. Cottages or shacks serving as family's main or only home are not considered dachas, although many purpose-built dachas are recently being converted for year-round residence...
s in the vicinity (see Ozero
Ozero
Ozero is a co-operative society allegedly instituted on November 10, 1996 by Vladimir Smirnov , Vladimir Putin, Vladimir Yakunin, Andrei Fursenko, Sergey Fursenko, Yury Kovalchuk, Viktor Myachin, and Nikolay Shamalov...
).