Kopor'ye

Koporye guarded the western Novgorod country from a limestone promontory above the Koporka ravine. Its walls incorporated medieval masonry, while the surviving fortress largely took shape in the early sixteenth century. Four projecting round towers strengthened the enclosure. Their firing openings covered different approaches, and the upper levels accommodated artillery. The site combined the protection of a steep-sided position with control of routes through the borderland.

War repeatedly changed its rulers. Sweden captured the fortress in 1581 during the struggle over the Livonian lands, but Russian control returned roughly a decade later. The Treaty of Stolbovo in 1617 placed Koporye under Sweden again. It remained within Swedish territory until Peter I's forces recovered it during the Great Northern War. These transfers made the same stone stronghold part of successive frontier systems. The fortress's history followed the changing balance between Novgorod's inheritance, the Russian state and Swedish power around the Gulf of Finland.