Oreshek Fortress

Oreshek Fortress is located on Orekhovy Island in Shlisselburg, where restoration work has been carried out since 1966 under the guidance of architects Vasily Savkov, Marianna Sementsovskaya, Evgenia Arapova, and artist Dmitry Bilibin. In 1985, a memorial complex dedicated to the heroic defenders of 1941–1943 was opened here, while the Bell and Mill towers of the citadel have not survived to this day. The fortress's history includes its recapture by the Novgorodians from the Swedes in 1349, the construction of stone walls in 1352, and the imprisonment of Baltic dissident Timofey von Bok until 1827. For prisoners like Vera Figner, joint walks in pairs, permitted after 1884, became the first breach in their stone confinement, and the Svetlichnaya Tower got its name from the "svetelka" – a command post on the upper level.