Lake Peipus - History

History

In 1242, the southern part of Lake Peipus hosted a major historical battle where Teutonic Knights were defeated by the Russian troops from Novgorod led by Alexander Nevsky. The battle is remarkable in that it was mostly fought on the frozen surface of the lake and is therefore called the Battle on the Ice.

The largest city on the lake, Pskov, is also one of the oldest cities in Russia, known from at least 903 AD from a record in the Primary Chronicle of the Laurentian Codex. Several historical buildings remain in the city, including Mirozhsky Monastery (1156, which contains famous frescoes of 14–17th centuries), Pskov Kremlin (14–17th centuries) with the five-domed Trinity Cathedral (1682–1699), churches of Ivanovo (until 1243), Snetogorsky monastery (13th century), Church of Basil (1413), Church of Cosmas and Damian (1462), Church of St. George (1494) and others.

Gdov was founded in 1431 as a fortress and became a city in 1780; the only remains of the historical Gdov Kremlin are three fortress walls. Kallaste was founded in the 18th century by the Old Believers who had fled from the Novgorod area, and there is still a functional Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church in the town. Near Kallaste, there is one of the largest surfacings of Devonian sandstone with a length of 930 m and a maximum height of 8 m, as well as several caves and one of the largest in Estonia colonies of swallows.