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The Oreshek (Slusselburg) Fortress was founded by the Novgorodian Principality in the mouth of the Neva River in 1323. The reason was to monitor the Baltic - Ladoga trade routes. Due to strategic position the fortress was many times subjected to attacks and destroyed and rebuilt again. During World War II its small garrison prevented the Nazi troops from setting the second ring of the Siege around Leningrad. The Memorial in the center of the fortress is dedicated to the defenders. The fortress is a unique 16C monument of the tower fortification, surrounded by bastions, added by Peter I at the turn of the 17C. In the 19C - early 20C it was used as one of the grimmest political prisons.
A part of the State Museum of the History of St. Petersburg.
