Velikiye Luki

city Velikiye Luki Великие Луки flag coat of arms Federal district Northwest Russia Oblast Pskov Urban district Velikiye Luki head Nikolai Koslowski Founded 1166 City since 1777 surface 60  km² population 98,778 inhabitants (as of Oct. 14, 2010) Population density 1646 inhabitants / km² Height of the center 100  m Time zone UTC + 3 Telephone code (+7) 81153 Post Code 182100-182115 License Plate 60 OKATO 58 410 Website http://www.velikieluki.ru/ Geographical location Coordinates 56 ° 20 ′  N , 30 ° 31 ′  E Coordinates: 56 ° 20 ′ 0 ″  N , 30 ° 31 ′ 0 ″  E

Location in the western part of Russia

Location in Pskov Oblast

List of cities in Russia

Velikije Luki ( Russian Вели́кие Лу́ки ) is a city with 98,778 inhabitants (as of October 14, 2010) in the Pskov Oblast in western Russia .

location

The city is located in the southern Pskov Oblast on the Lowat River , around 50 km from the border with Belarus . The distance to the regional capital Pskov is 313 kilometers, the nearest town is Novosokolniki , which is about 30 km west of Velikiye Luki.

At the time of the Soviet Union, Velikiye Luki was the capital of the Velikiye Luki Oblast of the Russian Federal Soviet Socialist Republic from 1944 to 1957 .

history

Velikije Luki was mentioned for the first time in 1166. In 1211 a castle was built here, which, as the southernmost outpost of the Novgorod principality , secured the trade route to this city. In 1478, Tsar Ivan III. the place to the Muscovite Empire. From here, Russia undertook repeated advances against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 17th century , with the conquest of Polatsk and Vitebsk at times . The city only lost its border location in 1772 , when Russia took possession of the eastern areas of Poland-Lithuania .

In the German-Soviet War 1941–1943 there was heavy fighting between the Army (Wehrmacht) and the Red Army around Velikiye Luki . When the Wehrmacht had to withdraw after the defeat in the Battle of Moscow , they held the position on the River Lowat ; the Soviet offensive at the end of 1942, however, led to the fact that the German troops, around 7,000 men, were encircled in the city of Velikiye Luki. They were eventually almost completely wiped out in early 1943 in the Battle of Velikiye Luki , devastating the city.

Population development

year	Residents
1897	8,466
1939	34,932
1959	58,939
1970	85.281
1979	101.505
1989	113,745
2002	104,979
2010	98,778

Note: census data

coat of arms

Description: Three golden arches in red without an arrow with a golden string set in a row of bars and directed to the right.

traffic

Velikiye Luki is connected to Moscow , Saint Petersburg and Vitebsk by motorways (including the M9 trunk road ) , it is also an important railway junction and has a small regional airport.

POW camp

War memorial in Velikiye Luki

In the city there was the prisoner of war camp 285 for prisoners of war of the Second World War .

See also : List of Soviet POW Camps from World War II

Personalities

• Dmitri Anatoljewitsch Alenitschew (* 1972), football player
• Allan Ritschardowitsch Erdman (* 1933), marksman
• Sergei Nikolajewitsch Firsanow (* 1982), racing cyclist
• Chariton Prokofievich Laptew (1700–1763), polar explorer
• Dmitri Jakowlewitsch Laptew (1701–1771), polar explorer
• Oleg Igorewitsch Maritschew (* 1945), mathematician
• Yulia Viktorovna Martissova (* 1976), racing cyclist
• Viktor Sergejewitsch Safronow (1917–1999), physicist and astronomer
• Evgenija Nikolajewna Sinskaja (1889–1965), botanist
• Iwan Alexandrowitsch Stebut (1833–1923), agronomist
• Ivan Matwejewitsch Vinogradow (1891-1983), mathematician, was born nearby and grew up in the city
• Galina Georgijewna Zarjowa (* 1950), track cyclist, six-time world champion in sprint

Web links

Commons : Velikiye Luki  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Velikije Luki on mojgorod.ru (Russian)
• Unofficial website (Russian)

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. ↑ Maschke, Erich (Ed.): On the history of the German prisoners of war of the Second World War. Verlag Ernst and Werner Gieseking, Bielefeld 1962–1977.