Exploring Russia 🇷🇺 Shlisselburg Fortress near St Petersburg

Today my friends Vasil and Sasha are taking me east of St Petersburg, Russia, to the Shlisselburg Fortress, also known as Oreshek Fortress. I filmed this during the summer, so we had perfect warm and sunny weather, we got there right in time to take the ferry which runs every 10 to 15 minutes from May to October. The fortress we are visiting is located on Lake Ladoga, at a very strategic point where the Neva River flows to the Gulf of Finland, which is why it has been the site of so much history. Originally the fortress was built out of wood by Grand Prince Yury of Moscow all the way back in the year 1323 for the Novgorod Republic. A few hundred years later, it became a prison for political dissidents of the Russian Empire. The last time the fortress saw battle was during World War II when 350 Red Army soldiers held the fortress for 500 days while the Germans occupied the surrounding area. Don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss out on the rest of the Russia trip videos and more!