Zhizhets

Zhizhets stood on a narrow peninsula projecting into Lake Zhizhitskoye, southwest of Toropets. The fortified core occupied the peninsula while the settlement spread along its shores. In 1245 Alexander Nevsky defeated a retreating Lithuanian force near Zhizhets after recovering Toropets. The town later belonged to Lithuania until the truce of 1503 transferred it to Moscow. Its earthworks and the lake preserve the setting of an old frontier town linked to the Western Dvina by the Zhizhitsa River.