Izborsk Fortress

Izborsk is named in the chronicles for 862 as one of the three towns given to Rurik's brothers, which makes it among the oldest recorded settlements in Russia. The fortress that stands was built in 1330 on Zheravya hill, in local limestone, with six towers and walls up to ten metres, and it held repeated Livonian and Teutonic attacks over the following centuries - it was a frontier post facing west, and it was besieged more often than almost anywhere. Below the walls the ground drops to Gorodishchenskoye lake, and out of the slope run the Slovenian Keys: a line of about twelve springs emerging from the limestone and falling in a curtain to the lake, which are a pilgrimage and folk-custom site with their own names and attributed properties. The older Truvor fortification stands on a neighbouring hill with a stone cross and a cemetery, and the valley is a protected landscape.

What you actually see

• The 1330 fortress - limestone walls and six towers on a ridge, besieged repeatedly.
• The Slovenian Keys - about twelve springs running out of the slope into the lake.
• The Truvor site - the older fortification on a neighbouring hill with a stone cross.
• The 862 record - among the earliest settlements named in the chronicles.

When to go

May to September. Half a day. Combines with the Pechory monastery on the same road from Pskov.

Honest expectations

Wall walks are uneven with unprotected sections. The springs are a folk site with claims about their properties that are tradition, not medicine. Paths down to the lake are steep and muddy. Busy at weekends.

Nearby

Pskovo-Pechersky monastery is north-west; Pskov is east.