Pskov is a city in northwestern Russia, located on the river Velikaya. The city is already known from year 903, making it one of the oldest in Russia. In the 1200s and 1300s, Pskov belonged to the Novgorod Republic, but the Teutonic Order captured the city in 1241. However, only a few months passed before Alexander Nevsky regained Pskov for Russia. The Lithuanian Dovmont became prince and military leader of Pskov in the years 1266-1299, and he fortified the city and overcame the ongoing threat from the Teutonic Knights.

In the 14th century, Pskov became a de facto independent republic, which was recognized by Novgorod in 1348. Pskov’s growth and prosperity were driven by the city’s merchants, who traded with the Hanseatic cities in the region. During this time, the assembly of the republic adopted the Pskov Charter, which was the establishment of legal principles and thereby a reflection of economic and political life. The charter formed the basis for similar ones in other parts of the Russian territory. However, Pskov’s prosperity also made the city a target for attacks from outside, and in the 15th century, Pskov withstood 26 sieges, which was not least possible because of fortifications around the city.

In 1510, Pskov became subject to the Grand Duchy of Moscow, and families were moved from the city to central Russia, while merchants and military personnel from Moscow moved to Pskov, which with 30,000 inhabitants was the third largest city in the kingdom after the capital and Novgorod. Pskov continued to be a target for foreign armies in the 16th century, and during the Livonian War the city withstood an invasion force of 50,000 men from Poland and Lithuania. The Polish king attacked the city 31 times during the war, but Pskov’s defenses, consisting mainly of civilians, held their ground. The city’s population is believed to have been at least 150,000 citizens in the middle of the 16th century, but war, famine and epidemics brought down the number significantly in the last half of the century.

When Peter the Great conquered Estonia and Livonia during the Great Nordic War at the beginning of the 18th century, Pskov’s role changed. The city was no longer a frontier fortress, and its reduced strategic importance caused years of decline. This despite Pskov becoming the capital of the newly established Pskov Governorate in 1777. During the Russian Revolution, Pskov made history on March 15, 1917, when Tsar Nicholas II abdicated on board the Imperial train while in the city. The following year, German troops occupied the city from February to November, while Estonian troops occupied Pskov in 1919, before the Red Army regained control of the Russian city. German troops occupied Pskov from July 1941, and before the Soviet liberation of the city in July 1944, 300,000 Russians had been killed by the Germans. After a reconstruction, the city has grown to approximately 200,000 inhabitants.

Today, you can see many fine sights in the old town. The best-known is the Pskov Kremlin, located on a peninsula at the point where the Pskov River flows into the larger Velikaya. Here you can see the preserved fortress walls and towers on both sides of the estuary, while the Kremlin building complex is on the south side. The first walls were built from the 13th century, and the Kremlin was the religious and administrative center of the Pskov Republic. Within the walls of the Kremlin, you can visit the beautiful Trinity Cathedral, which in its current version was built 1682-1699. Next to the cathedral you can see the bell tower, which dates from the 1830s and was built into the fortress walls. Just south of the inner part of the Kremlin is Dovmontov Gorod, which Prince Dovmont established in the 13th century. Here you can see remains of houses from the time up to the 15th century.

South of the Pskov Kremlin is Lenin Square, where you can see the city’s monument to Lenin. He is standing in front of the classicist main building of Pskov State University. From the square you can walk along the street Ulitsa Lenina, where the city’s drama theater is located. The beautiful theater building was built as the People’s House in the years 1899-1906, and it became a theater in 1918. Continuing along Ulitsa Lenina, you come to one of the Pskov oblast’s administration buildings, which was built as one of the city’s great classicist structures in 1784-1788. Since the 18th century, the site has housed a cadet school before its current function. Close to this is St. Basil’s Church on the Hill, one of the city’s many beautiful churches from mainly the 15th and 16th centuries. A little east of this you can visit the Lenin House Museum, which is a museum in a small wooden house, where Lenin and others held meetings in March-April 1900 as a prelude to new publications.

Pskov was already a big city in the 16th century, and today you can take a nice stroll around the historic city, which was surrounded by fortress walls. The Pskov Kremlin was the central element of the fortress city, and from here you can follow the old walls south along the river Velikaya to the corner tower Pokrovskaya Bashnya, where you continue northwest to the Pskov River. Between the two rivers, you can follow the wall through the city’s green belt, where along the way you can see Victory Square with an eternal flame and various monuments. The wall continues to the north on the opposite bank of the Pskov River, where it encloses the district of Staroya Zapskove. You should also take a walk through the Finnish Park along the Pskov River, from where there is a beautiful view of the city’s Kremlin.