Pereyaslavl

Pereyaslavl stands at the mouth of the Trubezh on Lake Pleshcheyevo. Founded in 1152 by Yuri Dolgoruky, it was intended as a capital for the lands beyond the forests, and inhabitants of nearby Kleshchin were moved to the new town. Its earthworks and cathedral marked the ambition of its princes. For more than a century it was the seat of a principality, until its last prince left it to Moscow in 1302. Mongol attacks repeatedly devastated the town between the thirteenth and early fifteenth centuries.

The lake shaped both the town's livelihood and a remarkable episode in Russian naval history. Its vendace, a fish prized at the princely table, came from the waters beside the town. After suffering during the Polish invasion of 1611–1612, Pereyaslavl later attracted the young Peter I. Between 1688 and 1693 he had a small flotilla built on Lake Pleshcheyevo, using the lake to learn and experiment with ships. These vessels, made for the tsar's exercises and amusement, anticipated his later efforts to build a Russian navy.