Ivangorod ( rus, Иванго́род, p=ɪvɐnˈɡorət; ; ) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Kingiseppsky District Kingiseppsky District (, ) is an administrativeOblast Law #32-oz and municipalLaw #81-oz district (raion), one of the administrative divisions of Leningrad Oblast, seventeen in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It is located in the southwest of the oblast ...

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast (, ; ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). The oblast has an area of and a population of 2,000,997 (2021 Russian census, 2021 Census); up from 1,716,868 recorded in the 2010 Russian census ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, located on the east bank of the

Narva river The Narva, formerly also Narwa or Narova, flows north into the Baltic Sea and is the largest Estonian river by discharge. A similar length of land far to the south, together with it and a much longer intermediate lake, Lake Peipus, all togeth ...

which flows along the

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

–

international border Borders are generally defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ...

, west of

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, east of

Tallinn, Estonia Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

. The town's population was recorded as As of 2025, the population of Ivangorod was estimated to be 9,878. Ivangorod is a major

border crossing point A border checkpoint is a location on an international border where travelers or goods Border control, are inspected and allowed (or denied) passage through. Authorization often is required to enter a country through its borders. Access-control ...

and a railway station on the

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

–

line. It is located just opposite to the Estonian town of

Narva Narva is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in the Ida-Viru County, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia border, E ...

. The town is the site of the Ivangorod Fortress, a prominent fortification monument of the 15th and the 16th centuries.

History

The fortress, established in 1492 during the reign of Ivan III, the grand prince of

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, took its name (literally: Ivan-town — ''gorod'' in

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

means "town" or "city") from that of the tsar. The fortress was built along with a series of other fortifications on the border with

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

. A battle between Russian and Swedish forces took place at the fortress in 1496. Between 1581 and 1590 and from 1612 to 1704,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

controlled the area. Ivan was said to have blinded the fortress's architect to prevent him from building such a structure for anyone else. Ivangorod was granted

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

and administered as a Russian township under the

Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire or the Great Power era () was the period in Swedish history spanning much of the 17th and early 18th centuries during which Sweden became a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic regi ...

(who conquered it in 1612 from

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...

Teuvo Aminev) until 1649, when its burghers were ordered to remove to a

suburb. In 1617 Russia and Sweden signed the

Treaty of Stolbovo The Treaty of Stolbovo (; ) was a peace treaty that ended the Ingrian War (), which had been fought between the Swedish Empire and the Russian Tsardom between 1610 and 1617. History After nearly two months of negotiations, representatives from ...

, which placed the area under Swedish sovereignty. Russia reconquered it during the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

in 1704. Despite other changes in territory and sovereignty, Ivangorod was considered an administrative part of the town of Narva from 1649 until 1945. In 1780, Ivangorod, together with Narva, was included into Narvsky Uyezd of

Saint Petersburg Governorate Saint Petersburg Governorate was a province (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Saint Petersburg. The governorate was composed of of area and 2,112,033 inhabitants. It was bordered by Governorate of Estonia, Estonian and G ...

. In 1796, Narvsky Uyezd was abolished and merged into Yamburgsky Uyezd. Ivangorodin linnoitus

In July 1917, Narva district, including Ivangorod, voted in referendum to join recently formed

Autonomous Governorate of Estonia The Autonomous Governorate of Estonia of the Russian state was established as a result of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and ceased to exist prior to Estonia becoming a fully independent country in 1918. History For most of the time during th ...

. The city was captured by the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

after the Russian Army abandoned the local fortress. During the

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence, also known as the War of Freedom in Estonia, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Soviet Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919 and the ...

(1918–1920), the newly independent

Republic of Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

established control over the whole of Narva, including Ivangorod, in January 1919, a move which

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

recognized in the 1920 Treaty of Tartu. In January 1945 Soviet authorities defined the Narva river as the border between the

Estonian SSR The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, (abbreviated Estonian SSR, Soviet Estonia, or simply Estonia ) was an administrative subunit ( union republic) of the former Soviet Union (USSR), covering the occupied and annexed territory of Estonia ...

and

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

, and as a result the administration of Ivangorod transferred from Narva to the

. Having grown in population, Ivangorod gained town status on 28 October 1954. After the restoration of Estonian independence in 1991, there have been some disputes about the Estonian-Russian border in the Narva area, as the new

constitution of Estonia The Constitution of Estonia () is the fundamental law of the Republic of Estonia and establishes the state order as that of a democratic republic where the supreme power is vested in its citizens. The first Constitution was adopted by the free ...

(adopted in 1992) recognizes the 1920 Treaty of Tartu border to be currently legal. The Russian Federation, however, regards Estonia as a successor of the

and recognizes the 1945 border between two former national republics. Officially, Estonia has no territorial claims in the area, which is also reflected in the new Estonian-Russian border treaty, according to which Ivangorod remains a part of Russia. Although the Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet and Russian Foreign Minister

Sergey Lavrov Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov (, ; born 21 March 1950) is a Russian diplomat who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (Russia), Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2004. He is the longest-serving Russian foreign minister since Andrei Gromyko d ...

signed the treaty in 2005, due to continuing political tensions it has not been ratified.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with two rural localities, incorporated within

as Ivangorodskoye Settlement Municipal Formation.Oblast Law #32-oz As a municipal division, Ivangorodskoye Settlement Municipal Formation is incorporated within Kingiseppsky Municipal District as Ivangorodskoye Urban Settlement.Law #81-oz

Restricted access

The town of Ivangorod is included into the border security zone, intended to protect the borders of Russia from unwanted activity. In order to visit the zone, a permit issued by the local

Federal Security Service The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation �СБ, ФСБ России (FSB) is the principal security agency of Russia and the main successor agency to the Soviet Union's KGB; its immediate predecessor was the Federal Counterin ...

department or a valid

Schengen visa The visa policy of the Schengen Area is a component within the wider area of freedom, security and justice policy of the European Union. It applies to the Schengen Area and Cyprus, but not to EU member state Visa policy of Ireland, Ireland. The v ...

is required. An EU passport with a Russian visa is also valid (2016).

Economy

Industry

Ivangorod has enterprises of textile, food, and timber industries, as well as a plant producing metallic plants and reservoirs. The Narva Hydroelectric Station is located in the town limits as well.

Transportation

The railway connecting

with

passes through Ivangorod. There is infrequent suburban service to Baltiysky railway station of Saint Petersburg, as well as passenger service to Tallinn. The A180 Highway connects Saint Petersburg and Ivangorod. It coincides with the

European route E20 European route E20 is a part of the United Nations International E-road network. It runs roughly west–east through Ireland, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, and Russia. Its length is but it is not continuous; at three points, a ...

connecting Saint Petersburg via Tallinn with

Shannon Airport Shannon Airport () is an international airport located in County Clare in Ireland. It is adjacent to the Shannon Estuary and lies halfway between Ennis and Limerick. With almost 2 million passengers in 2023, the airport is the third busiest ...

Culture

Ivangorod contains thirty-three cultural heritage monuments of federal significance and additionally seven objects classified as cultural and historical heritage of local significance. All federal monuments are related to the Ivangorod Fortress. The fortress functions as a museum.

Twin towns and sister cities

Ivangorod is twinned with: *

Karlskoga Municipality Karlskoga Municipality () is a municipality in Örebro County in central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Karlskoga. Other localities include Valåsen och Labbsand, Kortfors, Linnebäck and Villingsberg. Karlskoga was formed as rur ...

(until 2022) *

Kamienna Góra Kamienna Góra (, ) is a town in south-western Poland with 18,235 inhabitants (2023). It is the seat of Kamienna Góra County, and also of the rural district called Gmina Kamienna Góra, although it is not part of the territory of the latter (t ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

(until 2022)

References

Notes

Sources

* *

External links

Official website of Ivangorod

Ivangorod Business Directory

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Leningrad Oblast Kingiseppsky District Yamburgsky Uyezd Ingria Estonia–Russia border crossings 1492 establishments in Europe Populated places established in the 1490s