Narva River - History

History

Narva River was used as a trade route during the Viking Age, from 5th to 11th century. It was an offshoot of the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks.

Narva has for centuries been an important border river. Beginning in the 13th century it was the border of Medieval Livonia and the Novgorod Republic. Though in earlier periods Narva was part of a larger buffer zone between the two territories, gradually the river emerged as the exact border. Castles built on the river banks (Narva Hermann Castle, founded at the beginning of 14th century, Ivangorod fortress, established in 1492 and Vasknarva Castle, first built in the 14th century) were one of the main reasons behind this. Treaties from the 15th century between the Livonian Order and Novgorod Republic also recognize Narva River as the border. During the time of Swedish Estonia, when Ingria was also part of Sweden, the importance of the river as a border diminished. During the Russian Empire, from the end of the Great Northern War until the establishment of the Republic of Estonia in 1918, the Narva River was the border of Governorate of Estonia and Saint Petersburg Governorate, with the exception of the town of Narva, which was part of the latter. By the Treaty of Tartu, signed in 1920, the Estonian-Russian border went slightly east of the river, up to 10 km. In 1944 the former Estonian territory east of the river was transferred to Russian SFSR and Narva was thus established as the eastern border of Estonian SSR, an internal border within USSR. In 1991 the same border became the de facto border of Estonia and Russia. Although no official border treaty has been ratified since then, today Narva River is the eastern border of the European Union and Schengen Zone.