Oreshek Takes Center Stage

The St. Petersburg Times

Published: October 3, 2012 (Issue # 1729)

St. Petersburg military enthusiasts will re-enact historical events at the Oreshek fortress at the Days of Russian Glory festival on Oct. 6.

The re-enactment will commemorate the anniversary of Tsar Peter the Great’s capture of the ancient Russian fortress from the Swedes in 1702.

Anna Trofimova, head of Russian Cultural Development and Education Foundation, said the event would be a unique one for the fortress, which is located on Orekhovy Island at the head of the Neva River across from the town of Schlisselburg in the Leningrad Oblast.

Three groups of enthusiasts will re-enact different periods of the fortress’s military history, including the Novgorod Republic, the era of Peter the Great and World War II. About 100 people from various clubs in St. Petersburg will take part in the event, including a club devoted to the Preobrazhensky regiment, whose soldiers stormed the Oreshek fortress in 1702.

Visitors to the festival will also be able to visit a folk-craft fair and try their hand at various crafts themselves.

The event begins at 1 p.m., and a ferry to the island on which the fortress is located will run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Entrance to the festival is free.

The fortress, founded in 1323 was the main outpost in Russia’s northwest, but was seized by Sweden in 1612. Its recapture in 1702 was Russia’s first key victory in the Great Northern War.