Как выглядит памятный знак «Крепость Ниеншанц»?
Этот гранитный памятный знак выполнен в виде одного из бастионов шведской крепости Ниеншанц. В него вписана крепость в миниатюре – в форме звезды, с пятью бастионами и двумя воротными равелинами. В ее центре растет дуб, который напоминает о своем предшественнике, посаженном на территории Ниеншанца, по преданию, самим Петром I. На двух передних сторонах бастиона (их называют фасами), которые обращены к Неве, установлено шесть чугунных орудий. Считается, что как минимум два из них действительно могли защищать крепость Ниеншанц. А в год 200-летия Санкт-Петербурга, по всей вероятности, именно эти пушечные стволы были вертикально вкопаны вокруг петровского дуба и составили основу его ограды.
На камне под нынешним дубом высечен план крепости и города Ниен (с экспликацией), а также дана краткая историческая справка.
Кто был инициатором установки памятного знака «Крепость Ниеншанц»?
Создание памятного знака «Крепость Ниеншанц» предваряло празднование 300-летнего юбилея Санкт-Петербурга. За основу была взята историко-археологическая концепция, которую выработал Пётр Егорович Сорокин, авторитетный ученый и настоящий ветеран раскопок на Охтинском мысу. Археологическим изучением территории, прилегающей к устью Охты, он занимается с начала 1990-х годов. Архитектурную часть проекта разработал Владимир Александрович Реппо, больше десяти лет руководивший 4-й архитектурно-планировочной мастерской ЛенНИИпроекта. В ней, в частности, проектировалась застройка кварталов Охты, Полюстрова, Ржевки-Пороховых.
Памятный знак не появился бы без финансовой поддержки из Швеции, в том числе от газеты «Дагенс Индустри» (Dagens Industri). Он был установлен недалеко от Большеохтинского моста, там, где в прошлом располагался один из бастионов шведской крепости Ниеншанц.
History of the Location
1300
On a promontory at the confluence of the Okhta River and the Neva River, the Swedes built the fortress of Landskrona. In the same year, the Russians tried to seize it.
1301
Russian troops stormed Landskrona and destroyed it.
1500
The first description of Russian (Russian-Ijora) settlements at the mouth of the Okhta River dates from this year. In the 16th century, a center of international trade was formed here, which was called “Nevskoe estuary” (“Nevsky Gorodok”).
Commemorative Monument "Fortress Nienburg"
The commemorative monument in the form of a bastion with six antique cannons, located on the Ohtinsky Cape, refers to the pre-St. Petersburg period in the history of the Neva region. It shatters the long-standing myth of St. Petersburg emerging from desolate swamps. Swamps were indeed plentiful here, but contrary to popular belief, there were also many inhabited settlements. One of these was the Swedish town of Nien, which grew up around the fortress of Nienburg in the 17th century. This town was a direct predecessor of St. Petersburg. However, the Ohtinsky Cape was home to even earlier settlements. Over the centuries, people lived on the strip of land at the mouth of the Ohta River into the Neva, as this elevated location was rarely affected by catastrophic floods and was situated at the intersection of major trade routes: both water and land. Indeed, people began to settle this area even before the Neva (in its current form) existed. In 2008, remains of Neolithic to early metal age settlements were discovered on the Ohtinsky Cape, as well as traces of an early Iron Age settlement.
In the 13th century, there was a fortified Novgorod or Izhora settlement here, which researchers call a cape settlement. In 1300, the Swedes established the fortress of Landskrona ("Crown of the Land") on the cape. That same year, the Russians attempted to capture it but failed. By 1301, Russian forces, led by Grand Duke Vladimir of Vladimir and Prince Andrei III Alexandrovich of Novgorod, son of Alexander Nevsky, stormed Landskrona. The wooden structures of the fortress were burned, and the earthen fortifications were destroyed (partially, it seems).
The 1500 census book of the Vodskaya Pyatina contains the first description of Russian (Russo-Izhora) settlements at the mouth of the Ohta River. In the 16th century, this area developed into a center of international trade known as "Nevskoye Estuary" ("Nevsky Town").
Throughout the second half of the 16th century, the borderlands were the scene of Russo-Swedish wars. In 1610–1611, taking advantage of the chaos of the Time of Troubles, Swedish troops once again occupied cities in northwestern Russia. In the spring of 1611, the Swedes built an earthen fortress on the Ohtinsky Cape, known as Nyenskans ("Neva Fortress"), more commonly referred to by its German name "Nienburg" or the Russian "Kantsy" ("Kants").
In 1617, the Treaty of Stolbovo was signed, under which Izhora (Ingria) and a significant part of Karelia were ceded to Sweden. Russia was completely cut off from the Baltic Sea.
1632 is considered the year of the founding of the Swedish town of Nyen ("Neva"; Nien). It was located on the right bank of the Ohta, opposite Nienburg. In essence, Nyen grew out of the Russian (Russo-Izhora) settlement of Nevskoye Estuary. It is notable that in a report by the governor of Vyborg, Rolov Matson, dated August 21, 1521, to the then King of Sweden, Denmark, and Norway Christian II, the Russian trading town of Nyen (Nyen) is already mentioned.
In its early years, Nyen developed rapidly. Its ethnically diverse population grew. Gaining new rights, privileges, and benefits from the Swedish crown, the town became a major trading center. Nyen was granted self-government (a magistrate led by three, later two, burgomasters) and a coat of arms. The town had a town hall, a hospital, churches (German and Swedish, with schools), post and inns, shops, and taverns. The inhabitants of Nyen were mainly engaged in trade and crafts, with many involved in navigation. It was a thriving multicultural town where several languages were spoken.
Russia was unwilling to accept the loss of access to the Baltic. In 1656, another Russo-Swedish war began. Russian forces advanced on several fronts. In the summer, a detachment under the command of Pyotr Ivanovich Potemkin captured Nienburg and burned Nyen, but was soon forced to abandon the fortress. By early autumn 1656, Nienburg was again in Swedish hands. In December 1658, the warring parties signed the Vaalsar peace treaty (for three years), and in 1661, the Treaty of Kardis was signed. Russia had to relinquish all its conquests of 1656–1658. The borders between the states, established by the Treaty of Stolbovo in 1617, were confirmed.
Meanwhile, the Swedes began reconstructing Nienburg. In the second half of the 17th century, the fortress took on a star shape. Each of its five bastions had its own name: the northern, facing the mouth of the Ohta, was Old; the western, facing the Neva, was Mill; the eastern, facing the Ohta, was Dead; the southwest (from the Neva) was Helmfeld; and the southeast (from the Ohta) was Karlov. The latter two were named after the governor-general of Ingria and the King of Sweden (respectively), during whose tenure the construction took place. The fortress was protected on two sides by triangular gate ravelins: to the northwest – Small, and to the south – Large. Due to a constant lack of funds, fortification work at Nienburg progressed very slowly and sometimes came to a halt. By the end of the 17th century, it was still incomplete. Some planned fortifications remained only on paper. And, by the way, the plans were enormous. For example, there was a project to relocate Nyen to the Ohtinsky Cape, to a much larger new fortress. Only part of the defensive structures from the old Nienburg was to be retained.
In 1700, the lengthy (until 1721) Great Northern War began. It was fateful for both Nienburg and Sweden as a great power. Although the Swedes continued to "fight for the survival" of the fortress even when military actions were already underway. They tried to finalize the line of fortifications (which included three bastions) between the Neva and the Ohta, south of the citadel. In addition, ramparts were constructed on the left bank of the Neva around the village of Spasskoye.
In the fall of 1702, Russian troops took Noteburg (formerly Oreshok). The fortress was renamed Schlüsselburg ("Key City"), and its garrison was sent to Nienburg. The fall of Noteburg and the influx of refugees caused a real panic at the Ohta. The population of Nyen hurriedly evacuated to Vyborg. Expecting the arrival of the Russians at any moment, the Swedes burned Nyen so that the enemy could not use the town’s buildings for shelter during the assault on Nienburg. However, Peter I did not rush.
Russian forces under the command of Boris Petrovich Sheremetev approached the fortress on the Ohtinsky Cape at the end of April 1703. Peter Alekseyevich also arrived from Schlüsselburg. The siege of Nienburg lasted a week. Artillery bombardments caused significant damage and casualties in the fortress. One of the bombs hit directly into the powder magazine. A powerful explosion destroyed nearby fortifications. In early May, the garrison of Nienburg, led by the commandant Johann Apollov, was forced to surrender. The fortress was captured by Russian troops. The Preobrazhenskys took the citadel, and the Semenovtsy entered the palisades. A few days later, the Swedish garrison, already removed from the fortress, was allowed to leave.
Nienburg was renamed Shlotburg ("Castle City"). The letters that Peter I sent in May-June 1703 had this return address. The fate of the fortress was considered by a special military council. It was decided to find another location for the citadel. On May 16 (27), 1703, a new fortress was laid on Zayachy Island (future Peter and Paul Fortress). This event is used as the starting point for the history of St. Petersburg. Subsequently, the fortifications of Nienburg were deliberately destroyed, but traces of the fortress apparently remained for a long time.
In the summer of 1704, the Swedes again tried to establish themselves at the mouth of the Ohta but only spent a few days on the ruins of Nienburg. The last time Swedish troops were at the Ohtinsky Cape was in 1705, after which they permanently left the ruined fortress.
In 1717, plans were made to create a nursery on the ruins of Nienburg to supply seedlings of trees and shrubs for the parks and gardens of St. Petersburg. The Kantsky Garden lasted until the early 19th century, when the land was first rented and then purchased by the Marine Department. On the site of the former Swedish fortifications on the left bank of the Neva, during Peter I's reign, the Smolny Palace was built, where ship’s tar was processed.
The subsequent fate of the territory where Nienburg was located was quite eventful. The northern tip of the Ohtinsky Cape was a major industrial zone for nearly two hundred years: military sailing ships, submarines, sea tugs, and even a dirigible were built here. The local landscape, of course, changed significantly. Few people thought about the monuments of the past. By the early 20th century, industrial construction in the area intensified further.
With the advent of new times and in connection with the growing interest in the history of the region, the Ohtinsky Cape was included in the historical preservation zone. The first materials for the reconstruction of the monument to the fortress of Nienburg, as well as its exposition, appeared in the early 1990s.
The creation of the commemorative monument of Fortress Nienburg was an important event not only in the historical and cultural life of St. Petersburg but also in the development of tourism. This monument became an important landmark of the city. Among its distinctive features is its unique landscape, which presents the ruins of the fortress in an extraordinary way.
The commemorative monument includes a series of granite slabs, on which historical texts and engravings related to Nienburg and its history are placed. Six antique cannons, symbolizing the military history of the fortress, are positioned around the monument. The bastion is an elaborate construction, consisting of the elements that reflect the layout of the original fortress. The monument's location on the Ohtinsky Cape, with its historical and cultural significance, makes it a focal point for visitors and historians alike.
Visitors to the monument can learn about the strategic importance of the fortress, the various periods of its history, and the events that led to its destruction and the subsequent emergence of St. Petersburg. The monument serves as a reminder of the complex and layered history of the region and its evolution over the centuries.
How to find Memorial sign “Nienschanz Fortress”?
