Shlisselburg

Shlisselburg is a town in western Russia (Kirovsky District, Leningrad Oblast) located at the head of the Neva River on Lake Ladoga. It is opposite Saint Petersburg, which lies at the mouth of the Neva on the Gulf of Finland. Beginning as a fortress named Oreshek or Nutlet built by the Novgorod Republic in 1323, it had a key strategic position guarding Novgorod and access to the Baltic Sea. The town was called Nöteborg by Sweden after its capture in 1611 during the Ingrian War. During the Great Northern War (in 1702), the fortress was taken by Russians under Peter the Great in a daring amphibious assault. It was then given its current name, Shlisselburg, meaning Key-town in German. During World War II (in 1941), Shlisselburg was seized by Germany; the recapture of the city in 1943 by Russian forces reopened access to beseiged Leningrad.

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