Porhovskaa krepost, Porkhov

Porkhov Fortress is a fortress in the center of the town of Porkhov in the Pskov region. It is located on the right bank of the river Sheloni. The fortress structures of dark limestone are almost completely preserved, but some parts are in an emergency condition.

The first mention of Porkhov fortress in the Novgorod chronicle dates back to 1239, when the Novgorod prince-deputy Alexander Yaroslavovich, strengthened the waterway on the Shelon from Novgorod to Pskov by building small wooden "roadblocks", one of which was Porkhov. The first wooden and earthen fortifications were built on the high promontory of the right bank of Shelon river and consisted of two rows of ramparts and ditches, and the highest of the ramparts was more than 4 meters high with a log wall on top.

In 1346, Grand Duke Olgerd of Lithuania invaded Novgorod and took the fortresses of Luga and Shelon to the shield, and besieged Opoka and Porkhov. The fortress withstood its first Lithuanian siege, although a "black debt" of 300 rubles had to be paid. The reason for the war was the rudeness of a Novgorod posadnik, whom the Novgorodians themselves later "beat up" in Luga.

In 1387, a new stone fortress of four towers was built of local limestone on the right high bank of the river Shelon, at a distance of a little over one kilometer from the old fortress. Its walls were 1.4-2 m thick and about 7 m high. The 15-17-meter high towers had from 4 to 6 combat tiers with wooden ceilings, which protruded beyond the line of the fortress walls and could effectively flank the rows. All the construction work was done in one season.

Inside the fortress are: St. Nicholas Church, garden, Local History Museum, Museum of the History of the Porkhov Post, Memorial sign in honor of the opening of the museum post office, a monument-bust to B.P. Kalachev - the head of the Porkhov underground.