Ivangorod


Ivangorod is a town in Kingiseppsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the east bank of the Narva river which flows along the Estonia–Russia international border, west of Saint Petersburg, east of Tallinn, Estonia. 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 and a railway station on the Tallinn–Saint Petersburg line. It is located just opposite to the Estonian town of Narva. The town is the site of the Ivangorod Fortress, a prominent fortification monument of the 15th and the 16th centuries.

History

Period of the Russian Tsardom

In 1470, the chronicles first mentioned the “New Village on the Narova River,” the future Ivangorod.
In 1473, the First Pskov Chronicle mentioned Pskov posadniks and boyars who were sent to the “New village on the Narova,” opposite the city of Rugodiv, to meet the Livonians along with Novgorod envoys. According to historian Vladimir Kostochkin: “On the basis of this village Ivangorod then grew.”
The fortress, established in 1492 during the reign of Ivan III, the grand prince of Moscow, took its name from that of the tsar. The fortress was built along with a series of other fortifications on the border with Livonia. Ivan was said to have blinded the fortress's architect to prevent him from building such a structure for anyone else. A battle between Russian and Swedish forces took place at the fortress in 1496.
The location was chosen in advance: already in the 1480s the Grand Prince instructed his envoys to Lithuania to inquire in detail about harbors on the Baltic Sea. At that time the Baltic trade route acquired prime importance for the Russian state, for its economic and cultural development, and also for its political relations with European countries. Only through the Baltic Sea could trade be conducted independently of foreign control and interference. The town was intended to become the first seaport of the Russian state and, at the same time, a fortress on the Baltic.
The original fortress laid down in 1492 was besieged and destroyed by the Swedes in 1496. After this the Russians restored and expanded it. In German documents of the late 15th century it was known as a “counter-Narva.” The Ivangorod Fortress with its mighty stone walls and ten towers was the first Russian defensive work with a regular rectangular plan.
In 1565, when Tsar Ivan the Terrible divided the Russian state into the Oprichnina and the Zemshchina, the town became part of the latter.

As part of the Swedish Empire

Between 1581 and 1590 and from 1612 to 1704, Sweden controlled the area. Ivangorod was granted town privileges and administered as a Russian township under the Swedish Empire until 1649, when its burghers were ordered to remove to a Narva suburb. In 1617 Russia and Sweden signed the Treaty of Stolbovo, which placed the area under Swedish sovereignty. Russia reconquered it during the Great Northern War 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. In 1796, Narvsky Uyezd was abolished and merged into Yamburgsky Uyezd.

As part of the Russian Empire

After the end of the Great Northern War the military significance of Ivangorod Fortress gradually waned. The town lost the status of an independent locality and came to be considered a suburb of Narva. In 1708, Tsar Peter the Great introduced a new administrative division under which the cities of the North-West, including Narva with Ivangorod, were placed in the Ingermanland Governorate, which in 1710 was renamed Saint Petersburg Governorate.
In the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries it was most often mentioned in documents and old-timers’ reminiscences as the “Ivanov side” of Narva.
In July 1917, Narva district, including Ivangorod, voted in referendum to join recently formed Autonomous Governorate of Estonia. The city was captured by the Imperial German Army during World War I after the Russian Army abandoned the local fortress.

Estonian period

During the Estonian War of Independence, the newly independent Republic of Estonia established control over the whole of Narva, including Ivangorod, in January 1919, a move which Soviet Russia recognized in the 1920 Treaty of Tartu.
According to 1922 data, Ivangorod had a population of 7,000, 42% of whom were Estonians.
In 1937, Narva and Ivangorod hosted the first Russian Choral Festival, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the death of Alexander Pushkin. Performances by choirs, soloists, and orchestras took place at the Narva Public Assembly, the “Harmony” club, the Ivangorod Fire Society, and at the People’s House of the Woolen Manufactory. More than 15,000 spectators attended the festival.

Soviet period and the present

After the incorporation of Estonia into the USSR in 1940, the town remained within the administrative borders of the newly formed Estonian SSR. From 1941 to 1944 it was occupied by Nazi Germany. During the Great Patriotic War, Ivangorod, like the rest of Narva, suffered greatly; however, several pre-war buildings survived in the center and especially in the southern part.
In January 1945 Soviet authorities defined the Narva river as the border between the Estonian SSR and Russian SFSR, and as a result the administration of Ivangorod transferred from Narva to the Kingiseppsky District of Leningrad Oblast. 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 recognizes the 1920 Treaty of Tartu border to be currently legal. The Russian Federation, however, regards Estonia as a successor of the Estonian SSR 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 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 Kingiseppsky District as Ivangorodskoye Settlement Municipal Formation. As a municipal division, Ivangorodskoye Settlement Municipal Formation is incorporated within Kingiseppsky Municipal District as Ivangorodskoye Urban Settlement. Aside from Ivangorod itself, the municipality also includes the settlements of Orekhovaya Gorka and Popovka.

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 department or a valid Schengen visa is required. An EU passport with a Russian visa is also valid.

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 Saint Petersburg with Tallinn 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 connecting Saint Petersburg via Tallinn with Shannon Airport.

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.

Border with Estonia

Ivangorod is in the Border zone.
The state border between Russia and Estonia runs along the Narva River.
There are three border crossing points in Ivangorod:
  • MAPP Ivangorod. Operating since early 1993. Open 24 hours. The border can be crossed by car, bicycle, and on foot. Cyclists and pedestrians cross via the pedestrian checkpoint. At the automobile crossing, a Duty-free shop is open beyond the customs control line — at the pedestrian checkpoint the shop has been closed. Crossing is by the road-pedestrian Friendship Bridge, built in 1960 and overhauled in recent years. Queues arise on both the Russian and Estonian sides because it is the only automobile bridge across the Narva.
  • PPP “Parusinka.” Located on a footbridge over the old semi-dry riverbed of the Narva. Crossing is allowed only for holders of Russian and Estonian passports, including Estonian non-citizens — provided they carry no goods requiring written customs declaration. In 2017 the checkpoint was reconstructed and its capacity increased fivefold.
  • Railway crossing point at Ivangorod-Narvsky station.

    Twin towns and sister cities

Ivangorod is twinned with: