Ladoga

In 1114, the Novgorod Prince Mstislav founded a stone fortress in Ladoga. Its wall is partially preserved: archaeologists have found fragments of an old wall. This is the southern section of the wall between the Klimentovskaya and Raskatnaya towers. There are also ancient stones in the western part of the wall, above Volkhov, between the ruins of the Tainichnaya and Arrow towers.

Ladoga in this period was also famous for its temples: The churches of the Assumption, St. Clement, Savior, Resurrection, St. Nicholas and St. George. They stood along the banks of the Volkhov and Ladozhka and marked the city as a majestic spiritual and religious center. It was supposed to symbolize the special role of Ladoga in the system of Novgorod lands. According to A. N. Kirpichnikov, «according to its position, Ladoga was called upon to play an independent role as a nationwide outpost of Russia and a key trading city, along with Pskov and the leading Novgorod, a city in the north of the country».

Today the Assumption and St. George churches have been preserved only. Nikolsky Cathedral was rebuilt in the 15th–16th centuries, but its ancient foundations are dated by scientists to the 12th–13th centuries. The rest of the churches have not survived to this day. In the St. George Church, located on the territory of the Old Ladoga Fortress, fresco paintings of the second half of the 12th century have been preserved.

The architectural monuments of Old Ladoga allow us to imagine how beautiful the rich and developing ancient Russian cities looked on in the Middle Ages.

Photos

A. I. Filyushkin

Tags: castles and fortresses, before 13 century, По маршруту Александра Невского: Ледовое побоище, The struggle for the Baltic until the 13th century, North-West Russia