Ivangorod
town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia
Ivangorod (Russian: Иванго́род, IPA: [ɪvɐnˈɡorət]; Estonian: Jaanilinn; Votic: Jaanilidna) 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, 159 kilometers (99 mi) west of Saint Petersburg, 218 kilometers (135 mi) east of Tallinn, Estonia. The town's population was recorded as 9,854 (2010 census); 11,206 (2002 census); 11,833 (1989 Soviet census). 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 (Narva), 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 (literally: Ivan-town – gorod in Russian 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.
“Ivangorod” enters the record as town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Ivangorod, town and Leningrad can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Ivangorod” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Ivangorod, town and Leningrad provides the most credible route into that argument.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q15256. VIAF identifies the subject as 144399424. Authority coordinates are 59.365, 28.220. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2010, 2002, 1989 and 2025.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Ivangorod”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Ivangorod primary sources, Ivangorod archive and Ivangorod research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Ivangorod”?
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- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Ivangorod” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.