Koporye (; Finnish: ''Kaprio''; ) is a historic

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

('' selo'') in

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast (, ; ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). The oblast has an area of and a population of 2,000,997 (2021 Russian census, 2021 Census); up from 1,716,868 recorded in the 2010 Russian census ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, located about west of St. Petersburg and south of the

Koporye Bay The Koporye Bay ( Russian: Копорская губа, ''Koporskaya Guba'') is a 12 km-long bay on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. It is up to 26 km wide and 20 meters deep. The shore is low and rocky; the hinterland is ...

of the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

. Its population in 2017 was 1,603.

History

The first wooden

fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

on the coast of the

was built by the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

in the winter of 1240, only to be destroyed by

Alexander Nevsky Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (; ; monastic name: ''Aleksiy''; 13 May 1221 – 14 November 1263) was Prince of Novgorod (1236–1240; 1241–1256; 1258–1259), Grand Prince of Kiev (1249–1263), and Grand Prince of Vladimir (1252–1263). ...

the next year. The second fortress was built in stone by Alexander's son Dmitry Alexandrovich in 1280. Enraged by the prince's independence, the

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

ians razed the fortress two years later. The

Swedes Swedes (), or Swedish people, are an ethnic group native to Sweden, who share a common ancestry, Culture of Sweden, culture, History of Sweden, history, and Swedish language, language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countries, ...

took advantage of the lack of a fortress and occupied the banks of the

Narva River The Narva, formerly also Narwa or Narova, flows north into the Baltic Sea and is the largest Estonian river by discharge. A similar length of land far to the south, together with it and a much longer intermediate lake, Lake Peipus, all togeth ...

. The Novgorodians had to restore the stone fort in 1297. Koporye was the strongest stronghold in the region and survived numerous attacks during the

Swedish–Novgorodian Wars The Swedish–Novgorodian Wars were a series of armed conflicts during the 12th and 13th centuries, fought between the Novgorod Republic and medieval Sweden over control of the Gulf of Finland. Part of the trade route from the Varangians to the ...

. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the town was given several times to mercenary princes invited by Novgorodians to protect the northern territories of the republic. While the town had an important fortress, the residences of a prince and several lesser landowners, and was the centre of an important iron-working district, it remained very small, with only 18 households by the end of 15th century. After Novgorod's incorporation into

Muscovy Muscovy or Moscovia () is an alternative name for the Principality of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to: *Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555 *Muscovy duck (''Cairina mosch ...

, the fortress was strengthened and rebuilt to withstand

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

fire. Most extant structures belong to that period. Russian forces surrendered Koporye during the

Livonian War The Livonian War (1558–1583) concerned control of Terra Mariana, Old Livonia (in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia). The Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of the Denmark–Norway, Dano-Norwegian Realm, the Kingdom ...

but regained it under the

Treaty of Tyavzino The Treaty of Teusina (, Russian: ''Тя́взинский ми́рный догово́р'') was concluded by Russian diplomats under the boyar Afanasiy Pushkin and ambassadors of the Swedish king at the village of (, ) in Ingria on 18 May 159 ...

. During the

Time of Troubles The Time of Troubles (), also known as Smuta (), was a period of political crisis in Tsardom of Russia, Russia which began in 1598 with the death of Feodor I of Russia, Feodor I, the last of the Rurikids, House of Rurik, and ended in 1613 wit ...

, Koporye was attacked by some 2,000 Swedes. The Russian garrison had to surrender. In 1656, Russia unsuccessfully tried to retake the village. Koporye remained Swedish until 1703, known as Koporje or Caporie/Capurien, constituting an important part of

Swedish Ingria Swedish Ingria (, ‘land of Ingrians’) was a dominion of the Swedish Empire from 1583 to 1595 and then again from 1617 to 1721 in what is now the territory of Russia. At the latter date, it was ceded to the Russian Empire in the Treaty of Ny ...

. As the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and Estonia to the south, to Saint Petersburg—the second largest city of Russia—to the east, where the river Neva drains into it. ...

grew shallow and receded to the north, the site began to lose its maritime importance. In 1703, during the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

, a major Russian army under

Boris Sheremetev Count Boris Petrovich Sheremetev (; – ) was a Russian diplomat and field marshal (Russian Empire), general field marshal during the Great Northern War. He became the first Russian count in 1706. His children included Pyotr Sheremetev and Nat ...

regained Koporye, which was defended by 80 Swedish soldiers under the commandant, Captain Wasili Apolloff. Huge gaps in the walls from the disastrous fire of the Russian artillery may still be seen. Despite some repairs undertaken in the 19th century, the fortress survives in a ruined state. Today, it is a museum.

References

{{Authority control Rural localities in Leningrad Oblast Forts in Russia Ingria Petergofsky Uyezd Lomonosovsky District, Leningrad Oblast Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Leningrad Oblast