Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox Russian town

Porkhov (Template:Langx) is a town and the administrative center of Porkhovsky District in Pskov Oblast, Russia, located on the Shelon River, Template:Convert east of Pskov, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: Template:Ru-census

HistoryEdit

The fortress of Porkhov is believed to have been founded in 1239 by Alexander Nevsky.<ref name="gr">Template:Cite book</ref> The timber fortress was sacked by Algirdas (Olgierd) in 1356 and fell in flames in 1387. The Novgorod Republic immediately rebuilt its fortifications in limestone Template:Convert downstream. In 1428, Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas destroyed the western wall by artillery fire and entered Porkhov. Two years later, the Novgorodians augmented the fortress and rebuilt its walls. After the fall of Novgorod to the Muscovites in 1478,<ref name="gr" /> the fortress lost its military importance.

Porkhov was the second most important town of Shelon Pyatina, after Russa. It was not, however, a significant economical center—there were only seventy-six homesteads there in the 15th century and almost all of them were peasant ones.<ref name="Bernadsky">Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1606, it was captured by Sweden.<ref name=sgk>Template:Cite book</ref> In the late 19th century, sizeable trade in linen and grain was conducted there.<ref name=sgk/>

During World War II, Porkhov was occupied by German troops from July 11, 1941 to February 26, 1944 and was a place of a concentration camp Dulag 100.<ref name="gr" />

File:Porkhov Dulag 100 P4154875.jpg
Monument to the victims of the German concentration camp Dulag 100 near Porkhov

The town of Porkhov, together with Porkhovsky District, was transferred to newly established Pskov Oblast from Leningrad Oblast on August 23, 1944.<ref name="PskovO1988">Administrative-Territorial Structure of Pskov Oblast, p. 14</ref>

Administrative and municipal statusEdit

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Porkhov serves as the administrative center of Porkhovsky District,<ref name="OKATO">Template:OKATO reference</ref> to which it is directly subordinated.<ref name="Incorp">Law #833-oz stipulates that the borders of the administrative districts are identical to the borders of the municipal districts. The Law #420-oz, which describes the borders and the composition of the municipal districts, lists the town of Porkhov as a part of Porkhovsky District.</ref> As a municipal division, the town of Porkhov is incorporated within Porkhovsky Municipal District as Porkhov Urban Settlement.<ref name="PskovO_mun">Law #420-oz</ref>

ArchitectureEdit

File:Porkhov train station.jpg
Porkhov railway station

The fortress consists of a well-preserved encircling wall; two towers, one of which is half-ruined; a diminutive church from 1412, and a museum of local history. Inside the fortress there are a great many trees and plants. The church of the Virgin's Nativity, a remarkable monumental erection of the 14th century, was disfigured during the Soviet period (picture). Another church of note in Porkhov is the Savior church (1670).

ReferencesEdit

NotesEdit

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SourcesEdit

  • Template:RussiaAdmMunRef
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  • Архивный отдел Псковского облисполкома. Государственный архив Псковской области. "Административно-территориальное деление Псковской области (1917–1988 гг.). Справочник". (Administrative-Territorial Structure of Pskov Oblast (1917–1988). Reference.) Книга I. Лениздат, 1988

External linksEdit

Template:Pskov Oblast Template:Major fortresses of Western Russia Template:Authority control