Kingisepp

This article incorporates information from the equivalent article on the Russian Wikipedia.

Kingisepp (English) Кингисепп (Russian)
-  Town[1]  -
Kingisepp museum
Location of Leningrad Oblast in Russia
Kingisepp Location of Kingisepp in Leningrad Oblast
Coordinates: 59°22′N 28°36′E / 59.367°N 28.600°E / 59.367; 28.600Coordinates: 59°22′N 28°36′E / 59.367°N 28.600°E / 59.367; 28.600
Coat of arms	Flag
Administrative status (as of May 2012)
Country	Russia
Federal subject	Leningrad Oblast
Administrative district	Kingiseppsky District[1]
Settlement municipal formation	Kingiseppskoye Settlement Municipal Formation[1]
Administrative center of	Kingiseppsky District,[1] Kingiseppskoye Settlement Municipal Formation[1]
Municipal status (as of November 2011)
Municipal district	Kingiseppsky Municipal District[2]
Urban settlement	Kingiseppskoye Urban Settlement[2]
Administrative center of	Kingiseppsky Municipal District,[2] Kingiseppskoye Urban Settlement[2]
Statistics
Population (2010 Census)	48,488 inhabitants[3]
- Rank in 2010	327th
Time zone	MSK (UTC+04:00)[4]
Founded	1384[5]
Previous names	Yam (until May 14, 1703),[6] Yamburg (until 1922)[6]
Postal code(s)[7]	188480
Dialing code(s)	+7 81375[7]
Official website
Kingisepp on WikiCommons

Kingisepp (Russian: Ки́нгисепп or Кингисе́пп; Finnish: Jaama^[8]), formerly Yamburg (Я́мбург), Yam (Я́м), and Yama (Я́ма), is an ancient town and the administrative center of Kingiseppsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located along the Luga River 110 kilometers (68 mi) west of St. Petersburg, 20 kilometers (12 mi) east of Narva, and 49 kilometers (30 mi) south of the Gulf of Finland. Population: 48,488 (2010 Census);^[3] 50,295 (2002 Census);^[9] 49,954 (1989 Census).^[10]

History

14th century

The town was first documented in 1384, when the Novgorodians under Patrikas built there a fortress against the Swedes.^[5] They called it Yama or Yamsky Gorodok after the Ingrian (ethnic Finnic group) name Jaama.^[8] 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 Teutonic Knights in 1395 and during the 1444-1448 war.

16th century

The town became the most important economic center of the Vodskaya pyatina of the 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 3-5 persons per homestead.^[5] 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 township was completely destroyed by Russian armies during the war of 1656–8, after which only the citadel remained intact. It is questionable whether the township, with its exclusively Russian townspeople, ever recovered.

18th century

Yamburg's St. Catherine Cathedral was built in 1764-1782 to a late Baroque design by Antonio Rinaldi

In 1703, the citadel was finally taken by the Russians in the course of the Great Northern War (it was first held by the Russians for a month in late 1700). On May 14, 1703, Yam was renamed Yamburg^[6] (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 carried out in 1708 by Peter the Great, Yamburg was included into Ingermanland Governorate (known since 1710 as Saint Petersburg Governorate). In 1780, Catherine II re-approved with some changes a previously existing coat of arms.^[6] Town status was granted in 1784.

20th century

Russian Civil War

Vladimir Lenin reportedly stayed in Yamburg in January 1919, when he ordered the Bolshevik troops to retake the town of Narva from Estonian forces.^[11] 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.^[12] However, the Bolsheviks consequently re-captured Yamburg on November 14, 1919.^[13] On November 16, 1919, The forces of General Yudenitch were "crowded together in a small space near Yamburg", "in a serious state of disorganization", reported The New York Times at the time.^[14]

Name change

The German form of the town name was retained until 1922, when the Bolsheviki renamed it in honor of the Estonian Communist leader Viktor Kingissepp. It should not be confused with the Estonian town of Kuressaare, formerly Kingissepa (1952-1988).

Kingisepp–Gdov Offensive

During World War II, Kingisepp was occupied by German troops from 16 August 1941 until 1 February 1944, when the 109th Rifle Division captured Kingisepp, forcing the German 18th Army into new positions on the eastern bank of Narva.^[15]

Administrative changes

In the beginning of the 20th century, Yamburg was the center of Yamburgsky Uyezd of Saint Petersburg (later Petrograd, Leningrad) Governorate. In May 1922, Yamburgsky Uyezd was renamed Kingiseppsky, simultaneously with the town.^[16]

On August 1, 1927, the uyezds were abolished and Kingiseppsky District, with the administrative center in Kingisepp, was established. The governorates were also abolished, and the district was a part of Leningrad Okrug of Leningrad Oblast. On July 23, 1930, the okrugs were abolished as well, and the districts were directly subordinated to the oblast. Between March 22, 1935 and September 19, 1940, Kingisepp was a center of Kingisepp Okrug of Leningrad Oblast, one of the okrugs abutting the state boundaries of the Soviet Union. After Kingisepp Okrug was abolished, Kigisepp became a town of oblast significance.^[17] In 2010, the administrative division of Leningrad Oblast was harmonized with the municipal division, and Volkhov was made the town of district significance.^[18]

Administrative and municipal status

Kingisepp serves as the administrative center of Kingiseppsky District.^[1] Municipally, Kingisepp is incorporated within Kingiseppsky Municipal District as Kingiseppskoye Urban Settlement.^[2]

Economy

Industry

The economy of Kingisepp is based on chemical, glass, and food industries.

Transportation

The railway connecting Saint Petersburg with Tallinn passes through Kingisepp. There is infrequent suburban service to the Baltiysky railway station in Saint Petersburg and to Ivangorod.

The A180 highway, connecting Saint Petersburg and Ivangorod, passes Kingisepp as well. It coincides with the European route E20 connecting Saint Petersburg via Tallinn with Shannon Airport. Kingisepp is also connected by road with Volosovo and Slantsy.

Culture

Kingisepp contains thirteen cultural heritage monuments of federal significance and additionally seventeen objects classified as cultural and historical heritage of local significance. The federal monuments include the Yam Fortress, the Saint Catherine Cathedral (by Antonio Rinaldi), and the complex of military barracks of the 19th century.^[19]

Kingisepp has a local history museum. It was open in 1960 and located in the buildings of the Saint Catherine Cathedral. In 1990, the cathedral was transferred to Russian Orthodox Church, and the museum was closed until 1999, when it re-opened in the former building of the commercial school, an architecture monument.^[20]

International relations

Twin towns and sister cities

Kingisepp is twinned with:

• Jõhvi Parish, Estonia^{[citation needed]}
• Narvik, Norway
• Sassnitz, Germany
• Raisio, Finland

Notable people

• Grigory Spiridonovich Petrov (1868–1925), politician
• Gustav Heinrich Johann Apollon Tammann (1861–1938), scientist
• Aleksandr Kerzhakov (1982), association football player
• Mikhail Kerzhakov (1987), association football player
• Aleksei Ionov (1989), association football player
• Ivan Shpakov (1986), association football player

References

External links

• Pictures of Kingisepp

v t e Administrative divisions of Leningrad Oblast Administrative center: none Cities and towns Boksitogorsk Gatchina Ivangorod Kamennogorsk Kingisepp Kirishi Kirovsk Kommunar Lodeynoye Pole Luga Lyuban Nikolskoye Novaya Ladoga Otradnoye Pikalyovo Podporozhye Primorsk Priozersk Sertolovo Slantsy Sosnovy Bor Svetogorsk Shlisselburg Syasstroy Tikhvin Tosno Volosovo Volkhov Vsevolozhsk Vyborg Vysotsk Districts Boksitogorsky Gatchinsky Kingiseppsky Kirishsky Kirovsky Lodeynopolsky Lomonosovsky Luzhsky Podporozhsky Priozersky Slantsevsky Tikhvinsky Tosnensky Volkhovsky Volosovsky Vsevolozhsky Vyborgsky

v t e Major fortresses of Western Russia Brest-Litovsk fortress Gdov Ivangorod Izborsk Kirillov Koporye Korela Kronstadt Ladoga New Dvina Fort Novgorod Oreshek Porkhov Pskov Smolensk Solovki St. Petersburg Trångsund Vyborg Yamburg 19th-century fortifications