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Porkhov is located in the northeastern part of the
Pskov Region. The city is located on the Shelon River, 70 kilometers
east of Pskov. It is the administrative center of Porkhovsky
district, one of the oldest cities in the region.
Porkhov was
founded in 1239 by Alexander Nevsky. During the XIV-XV centuries,
the Porkhov fortress repeatedly withstood the siege of the
Lithuanian troops, after joining the Moscow principality, Porkhov
was considered one of the 12 main fortresses of the state.
The city is interesting
fortress of the XV century and two churches of the same period, one
of which is unique to Russia. Despite the poor preservation of
private buildings, Porkhov is a very pleasant place with a genuine
atmosphere of antiquity and rare sights.
1 Porkhov Fortress (Porkhov Kremlin). - like other fortresses of
the North-West of Russia, built of raw stone in 1387 and fortified
in 1430. Only the walls and towers are preserved, some walls can be
climbed. The fortress is unusually picturesque, several flower
gardens were broken up in the territory and a small botanical garden
was organized (the garden was laid out in the time of Catherine II).
The fortress is located on the opposite side of the center of the
city from the river Shelon. Open daily from 10 to 18, entrance - 20
rubles.
2 Nikolskaya church (1412, later rebuilt). located on the
territory of the fortress. Because of the restructuring has not
retained the ancient appearance and looks pretty unattractive.
3
Church of the Nativity of the Virgin (1305). - built of raw stone in
the Romanesque style of the village churches of Western Europe. An
unusual building for Russia, which diversifies the already rich
Pskov architecture. The church is located on the left bank of the
Sheloni - go from the central square to the south-east direction.
4 Old Settlement - earthworks on the site of the first Porkhov
fortress. Today it is just a ring of shafts with a memorial plate
and a place for mass recreation of local residents. The settlement
is located on the right bank of the Shelon, opposite the Church of
the Nativity of the Virgin (there is no bridge here).
5 Savior
Transfiguration Church (1670). next to the Christmas Church.
6
Abandoned Porkhovskaya Hydroplant. - engineering monument of the
postwar period. Access is free, the dam is now used as a pedestrian
bridge.
7 Museum of local lore. Low-interest museum in two houses
in the fortress.
8 Museum of Mail. On the territory of the
fortress.
By train
Porkhov stands on the line
Bologoe — Pskov. Long-distance trains from Moscow stop here, as well
as suburban Pskov — Dno, which run twice a day. From Pskov 2 hours
by commuter train. Long-distance trains go twice as fast, however,
they are much more expensive than commuter trains: however, in the
daily train Pskov — Moscow there is a reasonable sedentary car. From
St. Petersburg Vitebsk train station to the station Dno, further by
commuter train or bus, but most likely you will have to take a taxi,
since all St. Petersburg trains pass through the Dno late in the
evening.
1 Railway station, st. Comintern. ☎ +7 (81136)
2-38-61. In the western part of the city, from the center 20 minutes
on foot. Several times a day a city bus number 2 passes by the
station, but you should not count on it very much. The one-story
building looks pre-revolutionary, although it was built probably
after the war. There is a waiting room. Shops and cafes are absent
both at the station itself and in its surroundings: these are the
outskirts of the city.
By bus
From Pskov mainly passing
buses and minibuses to the Dno and Dedovichi, departure every 1-2
hours, en route from 1 h 20 min to 2 h: try to choose those flights
that do not call in small towns along the road. Once a day there is
a direct bus to Novgorod (4 hours), 3-4 times a day - to St.
Petersburg (5-6 hours): including passing buses to Velikie Luki.
2 Bus station, pl. Krasnoy Armii-Red Army. ☎ +7 (81136) 2-19-49,
+7 (81136) 2-19-12. Open 6:00 - 18:00, Fri 6:00 - 18:50, Sun 6:45 -
18:50. A small building on the central square of Porkhov, which
accommodates several wooden benches, a ticket window and a fully
working wood stove, which is heated in the cold season.
By
car
Porkhov is on the A116 highway, which, however, looks more
like a local road: there is no asphalt on it everywhere, but where
it does exist, the quality of the coating leaves much to be desired.
On this road, you can come to Porkhov from Novgorod (the area in the
Novgorod region is in the best condition, as it is part of the
Novgorod-Pskov highway), 150 km, or go to Ostrov (90 km). A more
traditional way is winding, but completely asphalted and, by Russian
standards, not the worst road to Pskov (85 km).
There are two bus routes in Porkhov: from north to south (No. 1) and from east to west (No. 2). Travelers may need the last one, which passes from the railway station (one stop from the terminal, “HSP”) to the Dulag-100 memorial (direction to Polonoy) through the bus station. Interval: 1-2 hours, only 8 buses per day. The schedule hangs over the doors of the bus station.
1 Ulet Cafe, Lenin ave., 17. ☎ +7 (81134) 2-44-44. Sun–Thu 9:00 –
24:00, Fri–Sat 9:00 – 6:00. A set lunch in the afternoon, discos and
parties on weekends. Wi-Fi.
2 Cafe No. 1, Lenin Ave., 3. Sun–Thu
11:00 – 22:00, Fri–Sat 11:00 – 1:00. Hot dishes: less than 100 rubles
(2009). A typical cafe of the Russian regional center: self-service
(ordering food at the counter and independently transferring plates to
your table), standard menu, primitive interior. However, the food is
quite decent, and even tolerable (by the standards of the district
center) espresso is brewed. There is a snack bar next to the cafe № 1
(8:00 – 21:00): the assortment includes pies and other pastries,
unappetizing-looking heated second courses, hot tea. It's cramped and
dirty during the day.
3 Snack bar No. 2, Pskov street, 10. 8:00 –
21:00. It doesn't differ much from diner No. 1, but there are fewer
people here, and therefore it is quieter and quieter.
4 Nika store,
October 25 street, 5. 9:00 – 18:00. Another cafeteria, and the cutest
one available. Only baked goods and those products that are sold in a
regular store.
Hotel, Pskovskaya street, 1. ☎ +7-(81134)-21-529. A small hotel with rooms for 1-5 people. Some rooms have a washbasin, toilet and shower in common.
Post Office, Lenin Ave., 15. Mon–Fri 8:00 – 20:00, Sat 9:00 – 18:00, Sun 9:00 – 14:00. There is internet access.
Porkhov stands almost on the border of the Pskov region. Most likely, from here you will go to Pskov or go somewhere by train. In the direction of Novgorod, the nearest large settlement is Soltsy, a typical and boring county town, then about the same Shimsk and, finally, Novgorod itself. If you have a car, you can go to the Island, where the river is incomparably larger and more majestic than the Porkhovskaya Shelonia, the old fortress is destroyed, but there are wonderful chain bridges and other piece architectural monuments.
There is a whole scattering of estates between Porkhov and Dedovich,
most of which are associated with the name of the Stroganovs —
representatives of the famous noble family, who built magnificent
temples somewhere in Usolye or Solvychegodsk in the XVII century, and in
the XIX century had extensive possessions in the present Pskov region
and left behind several no less luxurious estates. If you have a car,
you can inspect these estates one by one. Without a car, the easiest way
to get to Volyshevo, which stands right on the road from Porkhov to
Dedovichi, where buses run quite often.
1 Gagarin's estate,
Kholomki village . Prince Andrey Gagarin was the founder of the St.
Petersburg Polytechnic Institute and a specialist in the field that
later became known as copromat. In 1913, he built a classic-style manor
in Kholomki with almost no prefix "neo", although everyone noted that
with a strict and classic appearance, the interiors were made in the Art
Nouveau style, and the layout itself met the requirements of the XX
century. In 1918, the estate was nationalized, but escaped ruin during
the Civil War, as Lenin personally issued Gagarin a residence permit at
the estate to conduct experiments and test the hardness of materials.
Then they set up a rest home for literary workers here. Now the estate
belongs to the St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, a complete
restoration has been carried out, which is uncharacteristic, if not
unique, for Pskov region.
2 Volyshevo Manor . Volyshevo came into
the possession of the Stroganovs in 1846 as a dowry. Construction began
in the 1860s and lasted until the first decade of the 20th century,
which explains some stylistic inconsistency of the buildings, which,
however, pales in front of their number and scope. One of the
Stroganovs, Sergei Alexandrovich, was engaged in horse breeding, so
there are several huge stables and an arena in the estate, not to
mention many outbuildings. All this bears the features of classicism,
Baroque and especially Neo-Gothic, but, in general, it looks like a
single ensemble, which is now in a pitiful state. The stud farm that
worked here in Soviet times is practically not functioning, all
buildings are abandoned and are being destroyed. Representatives of the
Porkhovsky district police department took the griffins decorating the
entrance to the manor under guard, taking them to Porkhov and installing
them there in front of the local police department. Access to the estate
is free.
Dedovichi is a faceless district center, an urban-type
settlement that arose in 1901 as a station of the St. Petersburg-Vitebsk
railway. The surrounding area is remote and swampy, so Dedovichi is
known in Pskov region as the center of the partisan region. However, the
main memorials are located outside the village, and there is not even a
museum in Dedovichi. The museum business is managed by the department of
the local library (tel. +7 (81136) 9-39-04), which can organize a tour
of the area (without providing transport). Pskov GRES is located 5 km
south of the village. The Rus Hotel operates under it (13 Energetikov
str.; tel. +7 (81136) 9-61-36, +7 (81136) 9-64-87), offering reliable
rooms with amenities and having a good restaurant. In the village itself
there is a cafe "Shelon" (Pionerskaya Street, 8; 11:00 – 17:00). The
only attraction is the Pokrovskaya Church 3 (Komsomolskaya str., 22),
converted from a Soviet cinema, which looks surprisingly natural and
even cute.
The origin of the city's name is explained in different ways. Some
authors believe that it is formed from other-Rus. flutter (not in the
meaning of "gunpowder" as an explosive, which was not yet known in
Russia at the time of the founding of the city, but in the meaning of
"dust, dust"). This version is supported by a legend according to which
the founder of Porkhov, Prince Alexander Yaroslavich of Novgorod, chose
a place where limestone dust stood in the air for the construction of a
fortress on the Sheloni bank).
Other authors believe that the
word porkh (or parokh) also had the meaning of "white stone" (that is,
limestone quarried in the vicinity of the city). There is also an
opinion that the name of the city is formed from the personal name
Gunpowder as a possessive adjective with the suffix -s.
The city of Porkhov was founded in 1239 as a wooden fortress
Porkhovsky gorodok. The city was founded by Prince Alexander Yaroslavich
of Novgorod, later nicknamed Alexander Nevsky, during the creation of a
system of fortresses on the Shelon River in order to protect the
southwestern approaches to Novgorod: "Prince Alexander from Novgorod cut
down the city on Shelon."
The first mention of Porkhov in
chronicle sources dates back to 1346. This year, the wooden-earth
fortress, located on the right bank of the Sheloni River at the
confluence of the Dubenka River, withstood the siege of the troops of
the Lithuanian Prince Algirdas, to whom the attack on the Novgorod land
was costly: "many ... people died and horses ...".
In 1387, the
Novgorodians Ivan Fedorovich and Fatian Yesifovich built the walls and
towers of a new, already stone, fortress. In 1428, Lithuanian Prince
Vitovt undertook a campaign on the Novgorod land and besieged Porkhov
for eight days, and artillery was intensively used during the siege. He
lifted the siege only when the residents of the city promised to pay the
prince 5,000 rubles (Vytautas received another 5,000 rubles from the
Novgorod ambassadors, who, led by Archbishop Euthymius, came to Porkhov
to conclude peace). The Porkhovskaya fortress, which was severely
damaged during the siege, was reconstructed in 1430. The history of the
Porkhovsky princes is associated with the fortress.
Until 1478,
the Porkhovskaya Fortress remained part of the Novgorod Republic and
served as its important strategic point on the border with the Grand
Duchy of Lithuania. After the annexation of the territory of the
Novgorod Republic to the Moscow Grand Duchy in 1478, Porkhov was
considered one of the 12 main fortresses of the Russian state; at that
time, settlements appeared outside the fortress.
In 1609, at the height of the Time of Troubles, the inhabitants of
Porkhov swore allegiance to the impostor False Dmitry II, who settled in
the village of Tushino. To fight against False Dmitry II, Tsar Vasily IV
Shuisky concluded on February 23 the allied Vyborg Treaty with the
Swedish King Charles IX, which provided for Swedish military assistance
to Russia, after which the Swedish auxiliary corps under the command of
Jacob Delagardi and Evert Horn arrived in Novgorod, participating
together with Russian troops under the command of Prince M. V.
Skopin-Shuisky in the fight against supporters of False Dmitry II. On
April 15 (25), 1609, in the battle of Toropets, a Russian-Swedish
detachment under the command of Fyodor Chulkov and Evert Gorn completely
defeated a detachment of Polish Hussars acting on the side of False
Dmitry II under the command of Captain Jan Kernozitsky, after which the
allies liberated Toropets, Porkhov and Orekhov from the enemy, whose
population swore allegiance to Vasily Shuisky.
However, after the
deposition of Vasily Shuisky on July 17 (27), 1610, Delagardi did not
recognize the new Moscow government and captured Novgorod on the night
of July 16 (26), 1611. After that, in August — September 1611, the power
of the Novgorod government of J. Delagardi and Prince I. N. Odoevsky was
recognized by Staraya Russa, Porkhov, Ladoga and Tikhvin Monastery.
According to the Stolbovo Treaty, Porkhov was returned to the
Russian Empire.
Peter the Great, by his decree of December 18
(29), 1708, divided Russia into 8 provinces, and Porkhov was assigned to
the Ingermanland province (renamed St. Petersburg in 1710). The new
decree of the tsar of May 29 (June 9), 1719 introduced the division of
provinces into provinces, and Porkhov entered the Novgorod province of
St. Petersburg province, and by decree of Catherine I of April 29 (May
10), 1727, together with this province, he moved to the newly formed
Novgorod province.
By a Senate decree dated March 21 (April 1),
1773, a number of churchyards of the Shelonskaya Pyatina were assigned
to the city of Porkhov in the Novgorod province, as a result of which it
became the county town — center of Porkhovsky County (officially
approved in this status in 1777).
By the decree of Catherine II
of August 24 (September 4), 1776 "On the opening of the Polotsk and
Pskov provinces", Pskov province (formed on October 23 (November 3),
1772) was reorganized: Polotsk province was separated from its
composition, but Porkhovsky and Gdovsky counties that were previously
part of the Novgorod province departed to it. In 1777-1796, the Pskov
governorate existed on the site of the Pskov governorate, which was then
re-transformed into a governorate.
On May 29 (June 9), 1781, the
coat of arms of Porkhov was approved. It was a blue shield, on which are
depicted: in the upper part, under the right hand (hand) lowered from
the clouds, an animal (leopard or leopard) is depicted, symbolizing part
of the coat of arms of the Pskov province, under the line below, the
Porkhovskaya fortress in the woods is depicted — as a symbol of the
historical combat past and a symbol of readiness to defend the native
land again.
In 1783, at the behest of Catherine II, the Trinity
Cathedral (Cathedral of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity) was built in
Porkhov, erected with 7,000 rubles donated by the Empress in 1780 (when
she passed through Porkhov) for this purpose. The author of the
cathedral's design is presumably Ivan Titovich Parfentiev, Pskov
provincial architect. In 1809, the Annunciation Cathedral (Cathedral of
the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary) was also built on the site
of the chapel of the Trinity Cathedral under the same roof with it,
which, unlike the cold Trinity Cathedral, was warm. Divine services in
both cathedrals were performed alternately (by half-year).
On
August 15 (27), 1843, the city public bank was opened in Porkhov, owned
by the commerce adviser V. G. Zhukov. At its opening, Zhukov donated 10
thousand rubles to create an almshouse, where elderly indigent citizens
were to be kept in a specially allocated house; the almshouse was
maintained at the expense of the bank's profits.
On May 1 (13),
1873, the Free Fire Society was founded in Porkhov.
In 1897, the
Pskov — Bologoye railway was opened, during the construction of which a
railway bridge over the Shelon was built.
On November 27
(December 10), 1905, the grand opening and consecration of the Iron
Bridge over the Shelon River took place.
The city's network of
educational institutions gradually developed. At the beginning of the XX
century, there were 5 primary educational institutions: small folk
(opened on September 22 (October 3), 1790), county two-grade (1814),
county three-grade (1832), city three-grade (1900) and city four-grade
(1907) schools; all of them were transformed into higher primary schools
in 1912. In addition to them, there was also a parish school in the city
(opened on September 9 (21), 1814), a county theological school (opened
on October 1 (13), 1835) and a girls' gymnasium (opened on August 30
(September 12), 1906). On September 25 (October 8), 1912, a real school
was opened in Porkhov — a secondary specialized educational institution
built with the money of industrialist V. P. Ardamatsky.
During
the First World War, several hospitals were equipped in Porkhov for
wounded soldiers and officers of the Russian army.
During the Civil War, Porkhov invariably remained in the hands of the
Red Army forces. However, the situation was tense for the city in the
summer of 1919, when, after the capture of Pskov on May 25 by the forces
of the Northern Corps of Major General A. P. Rodzianko, parts of the Red
Army began to withdraw towards Porkhov and Ostrov. On June 10,
Porkhovsky District was declared under siege; the organization of the
defense of Porkhov was headed by military commissar of the 10th Infantry
Division J. F. Fabricius. By the end of July and the beginning of
August, the units of Colonel S. N. Bulak—Balakhovich were already 6-7
versts from the city; Balakhovich attempted to storm Porkhov, but
failed. In the battles near Porkhov, his forces were pretty battered and
were forced to retreat towards Pskov, and by the end of August the
entire territory of Porkhovsky District was again in the hands of the
Red Army.
By the decree of the Presidium of the Central Executive
Committee of August 1, 1927, as part of the administrative and
territorial reform carried out in the USSR, the division into provinces
and counties was abolished, and Porkhov became part of the Pskov
District of the Leningrad Region, becoming the administrative center of
the newly formed Porkhovsky district.
In June 1940, the formation
of the 3rd Panzer Division began in Porkhov.
On July 11, 1941,
the city was occupied by Nazi troops. The occupiers set up a gallows in
the central square and forcibly drove residents to watch the executions.
In the Nazi concentration camp "Dulag 100", deployed near Porkhov in
August 1941 and existed until February 1944, more than 85 thousand
prisoners of war died.
On November 13, 1943, the partisan K. A.
Chekhov staged an explosion in the city cinema hall during a film
session, as a result of which up to 700 German soldiers, German officers
and generals were killed at once.
Porkhov was liberated from the
Nazi occupiers on February 26, 1944 by units of the 198th, 285th and
288th divisions of the 54th Army of the Leningrad Front during the
Leningrad-Novgorod operation.
On August 23, 1944, Porkhov and
Porkhovsky district were incorporated into the newly formed Pskov
region.
The status and boundaries of the municipality as an urban
settlement are established by the Law of the Pskov Region dated February
28, 2005 No. 420-OZ "On the Establishment of Borders and the Status of
newly formed municipalities on the territory of the Pskov Region".