The 8 Best Sights & Landmarks in Shlisselburg, Northwestern District

Reviewed By sergeyk147

We loved the fortress though got puzzled by ruins inside which looked more like shambles. Local guides' chants that everything was destroyed during World War II are just lame excuse. The citadel has been badly damaged at least twice before - in 1613 when the Swedes took it from Russia and then in 1703 when Peter the Great recaptured it - and has always been fully repaired. So total renovation is obviously imperative. It'll turn this old lady into a tourist sex bomb! We also were unpleasantly puzzled by a strong bias of the exhibits toward Soviet past and the latest war. Yes, of course, Great Patriotic War, as Russians call it, is essential for self-esteem of the nation but the fortress is about seven hundred years old! Why such distortions now, in these normal times?! There were long periods of Novgorod principality - they initially bult it! - then that of Swedish conquest, then again Russian imperial ruling. Practically none of them is duly mentioned. Prejudiced and out-of-date. Thanks God, there appeared a cross in memory of Russian infantry guardsmen who played a decisive role in storming Swedish Nöteburg in 1703. New winds are still blowing... Would love to return here when all the renovation works were accomplished. But the impression is nevertheless very strong.