Kingisepp , formerly Yamburg , Yam , and Yama , is an ancient town and the administrative center of Kingiseppsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located along the Luga River 138 kilometers (86 mi) southwest of St. Petersburg, 20 kilometers (12 mi) east of Narva, and 40 kilometers (25 mi) south of the Gulf of Finland. History : 14th century : The town was first documented in 1384, when the Novgorodians under Patrikas built there a fortress against the Swedes. It was called Yama or Yamsky Gorodok, after the Ingrian (ethnic Finnic group) name Jaama. The environs of the town are still cited as the main location of speakers of the nearly extinct Ingrian language. The citadel withstood sieges by the Swedes in 1395 and by the Teutonic Knights during the 1444–1448 war.
5-16th century : The town became the most important economic center of the Vodskaya pyatina of the Novgorod Republic. There were 201 homesteads in the 15th century in the town; its total population can only be evaluated roughly based on the estimates of three to five persons per homestead. At the end of the Livonian War, it was ceded to Sweden, only to be returned twelve years later, in 1595.
17th century : Following the Treaty of Stolbovo, it again passed to the Swedes, who kept the name which in Swedish orthography became Jama or Jamo. The town was completely destroyed by Russian armies during the war of 1656–1658, after which only the citadel remained intact. It is questionable whether the town, with its exclusively Russian population, ever recovered.
18th century : First held by the Russians for a month in late 1700, the citadel was finally taken by the Russians in the course of the Great Northern War in 1703. On May 14, 1703, Yam was renamed Yamburg (a German version of the name). Five years later, Peter the Great granted the town to Alexander Menshikov in his capacity of the Duke of Izhora. In the course of the administrative reform, Yamburg was included into Ingermanland Governorate (known since 1710 as Saint Petersburg Governorate). In 1780, Catherine the Great re-approved with some changes a previously existing coat of arms. Uyezd town status was granted to it in 1784.
20th century : Vladimir Lenin reportedly stayed in Yamburg in January 1919, when he ordered the Bolshevik troops to retake the town of Narva from Estonian forces. In October 1919, the anti-Bolshevist commander, General Nikolai Yudenich captured Yamburg, which marked the beginning of the push by the Northwestern White Army towards Petrograd. However, the Bolsheviks subsequently re-captured Yamburg on November 14, 1919. On November 16, 1919, the forces of General Yudenich were “crowded together in a small space near Yamburg” “in a serious state of disorganization”, reported The New York Times.
The German form of the town name was retained until 1922, when the Bolsheviks renamed it in honor of the Estonian Communist leader Viktor Kingissepp.
Access : Coordinates: 59.366667, 28.616667 / By train : The railway connecting St. Petersburg with Tallinn passes through Kingisepp. There is infrequent suburban service to the Baltiysky railway station in St. Petersburg and to Ivangorod. By car : The A180 Highway, connecting St. Petersburg and Ivangorod, passes Kingisepp as well. It coincides with the European route E20 connecting St. Petersburg via Tallinn. Kingisepp is also connected by road with Volosovo and Slantsy.
Attractions :
St. Catherine Cathedral : Nikolaeva sq, 6, Kingisepp 188480, Russia
Kingisepp Museum of History and Local Lore : Karla Marksa prospekt, d. 1, Kingisepp 188480
Park Romanovka : Komsomolovka St., 11, Kingisepp 188480, Russia
Sacred Spring and The Rock with The God’s Mother’s Mark : Village Pillovo, Kingisepp, Russia
Gun-Howitzer : Park Romanovka, Kingisepp, Russia
Former City Hall Building : Bolshaya Sovetskaya St., 8, Kingisepp 188480, Russia
Bronze Lion : Park Romanovka, Kingisepp, Russia
146th Foot Regiment Barracks : Karla Marksa Avenue, 3, Kingisepp 188480, Russia
Lutheran Church : Vorovskogo St., 19V, Kingisepp 188480, Russia
Memorial Cranes : Oktyabrskiy Blvd., Kingisepp, Russia
Monument to Heroes-Partisans and Undergrounders : Nikolaev Sq., Kingisepp, Russia
Memorial Park Five Hundred Wood : Zhukova St., Kingisepp 188480, Russia
Activities :
Bowling Club Sphere : Oktyabrskaya St., 1/10, Kingisepp 188480, Russia
Mall Kapriz : Bolshoy Blvd., 11B, Kingisepp, Russia
Lumen Film Cinema : Microdistrict Kaskolovka St., 2A, Kingisepp, Russia
Shopping Complex Nord : Oktyabrskaya St., 9, Kingisepp 188480, Russia
Go next : Gatchina / priozersk / shlisselburg /
