City Topography/Historical Geography/Historical Districts, Localities, Tracts, Municipal Establishments
Architecture/Architectural Monuments/Fortresses and Forts
NYENSCHANTZ (the Swedish name for a fortification on the Neva; called Kantsy in Russian). A Swedish fortress and the town Nyen on the cape at the confluence of the Okhta River and the Neva River. The first Nyenschantz fortifications were built by the Swedes in 1611, and throughout the rest of the 17th century they were continually improved. In 1632, Nyenschantz became a town; in 1638, it received the "Stock Right" (the right for sea trade with foreigners); in 1642, it received Town Rights (for self-government) from the Kingdom of the Sweden, and its emblem was confirmed. At the end of the 17th century, between 2,000 and 2,500 people lived in Nyenschantz (Finns, Germans and Swedes). By the beginning of the 18th century, Nyenschantz was a five cornered fortress, with five bastions and two ravelins; from the east, it was guarded by a land fortification, and the garrison was comprised of about 800 people with 49 guns. On 26 April 1703, Russian troops approached Nyenschantz and besieged it. Following artillery fire, the Swedish garrison surrendered on 1 May 1703. Tsar Peter the Great renamed Nyenschantz into Schlotburg (Town-Castle), but the military council decided that "the land is not firm enough" and that a new fortress should be built on Zayachy Island instead. According to cartographical data sources, ruins of the Nyenschantz fortifications survived up to the beginning of the 19th century. Currently, the Petersburg plant is in its location. In the 1990s, archaeological excavations were held there. In 1998, a memorial sign reading Nyenschantz Fortress was erected (project headed by V.A. Reppo and P.E. Sorokin), and the Nyenschantz territory was given the status of an archaeological monument.
Reference: Кепсу С. Петербург до Петербурга: История устья Невы до основания города Петра. СПб., 2000; Сорокин П. Е. Ландскрона, Невское устье, Ниеншанц: 700 лет поселению на Неве. СПб., 2001.
A. Y. Chistyakov.
Peter I, Emperor
Reppo Vladimir Alexandrovich
Sorokin Peter Egorovich
Кепсу С. Петербург до Петербурга: История устья Невы до основания города Петра. СПб., 2000
Сорокин П. Е. Ландскрона, Невское устье, Ниеншанц: 700 лет поселению на Неве. СПб., 2001
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