Olonets

Olonets stands on the Olonka east of Lake Ladoga, in the country known to Karelians as Aunus. A Novgorodian document mentions it in 1137, though much of its early history remains obscure. In 1649 a fortress was built to guard the Russian frontier against Swedish attacks, and the town developed around it. By the end of the seventeenth century Olonets had 726 houses and was a principal market for trade with Sweden.

The Great Northern War shifted attention from the frontier market toward ironworking in the region. In 1773 Olonets became the seat of a governorate, but the administration moved to Petrozavodsk eleven years later. The town's position between Lake Ladoga and the interior of Karelia had long placed it among the routes and settlements of the northern borderlands.