Pechory

city Pechory Печоры coat of arms Federal district Northwest Russia Oblast Pskov Rajon Pechory head Alevtina Kachkina Founded 1489 City since 1776 surface 21  km² population 11,195 inhabitants (as of Oct. 14, 2010) Population density 533 inhabitants / km² Height of the center 85  m Time zone UTC + 3 Telephone code (+7) 81148 Post Code 181502 License Plate 60 OKATO 58 240 501 Website http://www.pechory.org/ Geographical location Coordinates 57 ° 49 '  N , 27 ° 36'  E Coordinates: 57 ° 49 '0 "  N , 27 ° 36' 0"  E

Location in the western part of Russia

Location in Pskov Oblast

List of cities in Russia

Pechory ( Russian Печоры , Estonian and Setu : Petseri , German  Pechur ) is a city in the northwestern Russian Oblast Pskov with 11,195 inhabitants (as of October 14, 2010).

geography

The city is located about 50 km west of the oblast capital Pskov in the immediate vicinity of the border with Estonia . This runs about three kilometers north of the city center and is formed here by the Piusa River, which flows into Lake Peipus about 20 kilometers northeast .

Pechory is the administrative center of the Rajons of the same name .

The city lies on the railway line Bologoje - Dno -Pskow- Tartu - Tallinn (station Pechory-Pskowskije , border station to Estonia), the shortest rail link between the Russian and Estonian capital. There is currently no through passenger traffic (the trains from Tallinn to Moscow run via Narva ), but the border crossing is heavily frequented for goods traffic.

coat of arms

Old city coat of arms (1781)

Description: Divided by silver and green with a golden rock cave and a green plant in front of it.

In the old coat of arms there is the current city coat of arms at the bottom and the coat of arms of the Pskov governorate on top . It shows a hand of blessing breaking out of a cloud over a golden leopard. The hand is interpreted as that of the tsar, sometimes also as that of God.

history

In 1489 the Dormition Cave Monastery was founded by Russian Orthodox monks, who - as was common in many Russian monasteries at the time - lived in caves they had dug themselves. The place name is probably derived from the Russian word peschtschera ( Russian пещера cave ), one cave also shows the city coat of arms.

The place itself arose in the 16th century as a posad near the monastery and quickly developed into an important trading center. During the reign of Ivan the Terrible , Pechory was an important frontier fortress that was often besieged by Russia's enemies. Stefan Batory's army captured the city in 1581 during the siege of Pskov (1581) ; Sweden and Poland stormed it in 1592, 1611, 1615, 1630, and held it from 1655 to 1657. After the outbreak of the Great Northern War, the Russians renewed the fortifications. Boris Sheremetev began his campaign against the Swedes here in 1701.

After that, the city lost its importance, which only began to grow again when the Pskow – Walk – Riga railway line of the then Pskov – Riga Railway was built via Pechory from 1886–1889 (today's main line towards Tartu (Dorpat) and Tallinn (Reval) was built later).

In 1918 the place received city ​​rights again . From February to December 1918, German troops occupied the city. During the Estonian War of Freedom , it was captured by Estonian forces on March 29, 1919. In the Treaty of Tartu of February 2, 1920, Pechory and Setumaa were awarded to Estonia. During Estonia's first independence until 1940, Petseri , as it was called at that time, was the administrative center of the surrounding Petserimaa region , one of the eleven regions that made up the Republic of Estonia. At that time the Peterskirche was built.

After the annexation of Estonia by the Soviet Union in June 1940, Petseri also became part of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic on July 21, 1940 , which was officially annexed to the Soviet Union on August 6, 1940.

During the Second World War , the German army occupied the area from August 1941 to August 11, 1944. Immediately thereafter, the Soviet Union reoccupied Estonia, but now joined Pechory and its surrounding area as part of the Russian Soviet Socialist Federative Republic of Pskov Oblast.

On May 18, 2005, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov signed a border agreement that confirmed the Soviet demarcation and left the territory to Russia. A few weeks later, however, Russia withdrew from the treaty, so that, according to some Estonian politicians - such as former Prime Minister and Economy Minister Juhan Parts - the Tartu Treaty is still in force and Pechory de jure is part of Estonia. However, Paet stressed that Estonia will not reclaim the area.

In May 2019, the Estonian Interior Minister Mart Helme asserted territorial claims on the city with reference to the agreement made with Russia in the Peace of Dorpat in 1920.

Population development

Dormition Monastery in Pechory

year	Residents
1897	1,269
1959	6,926
1970	7,475
1979	10,346
1989	11,935
2002	13,056
2010	11,195

Note: census data

Culture and sights

The most important sight is the Pskov-Pechorsk Maria-Dormition-Monastery located on the outskirts , in which several buildings from the 16th century have been preserved, such as the bell stalls (Swonnitsa) from 1532 and the Church of the Annunciation ( Благовещенская церковь / Blagoweschtschenskaja) by 1541.

Pechory has a city history museum.

In Rajon there are other attractions such as the fortress Izborsk , the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord ( Спасо-Преображенская церковь / Spasso-Preobrazhenskaya Zerkow, 16th century) on the island of Kolpino in Peipussee and the St. George's Church ( церковь Георгия / Zerkow Georgija) of 1562 at Senno .

economy

The most important company in the city is a wall and floor tile factory ( Euro-Ceramics / Еврокерамика ). In addition, companies in the building materials, textile and food industries, and agriculture in the area (grain, potatoes, vegetables; cattle breeding).

sons and daughters of the town

• Johannes Kert (* 1959), Estonian lieutenant general and politician
• Endel Tulving (* 1927), Canadian psychologist

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Itogi Vserossijskoj perepisi naselenija 2010 goda. Tom 1. Čislennostʹ i razmeščenie naselenija (Results of the All-Russian Census 2010. Volume 1. Number and distribution of the population). Tables 5 , pp. 12-209; 11 , pp. 312–979 (download from the website of the Federal Service for State Statistics of the Russian Federation)
2. ↑ Эстония не собирается требовать от России возврата Печор. ( Memento of the original from February 1, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Estonia does not intend to ask Russia to return Pechory). In: Novaya Gazeta . January 31, 2008 (Russian) 
3. ^ Peter Mühlbauer: Moscow: Estonian territorial claims "inadmissible and provocative". In: heise.de. May 16, 2019, accessed June 10, 2019 . 
4. ↑ Estonia asserts territorial claims against Russia. In: de.sputniknews.com. May 10, 2019, accessed May 10, 2019 . 

Web links

Commons : Pechory  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Website of the Rajon and city administration (Russian, partly [1] )
• Pechory on mojgorod.ru (Russian)
• Photos of Pechory and the surrounding area (in Russian)
• The Pechory Holy Dormition Cave Monastery