The old fort of the Krivichi on the cape later called Truvor's gorodishche, about half a km north of the later fortress.
Its wall, oak at first, was faced in stone by the 12th century (en.wikipedia). It guards the road from Pskov to Ugandi (Otepää, Tartu). The fortress on Zheravya Gora and its stone towers are of the 14th century (1303 or 1330); the German attacks of 1233 and 1240 are later.
Who holds it
- Name
- not named
- Title
- Pskov's subject fort
- Confidence
- low
en.wikipedia Izborsk.
Lord in 1200
Pskov, under Novgorod.
How things stand that morning
Pskov's frontier fort.
Council
None recorded.
Communities
Russians and Chud.
Militia
A small garrison and the townsmen.
Walls and castle
Hillfort on the cape with a stone-faced wall (12th century).
Trade and crafts
Road and lake trade towards Ugandi.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Archaeology; no event for 1200.
Primary sources for Novgorod
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Chronicle of Novgorod (kept year by year; the Synodal manuscript written in the 13th and 14th centuries). Novgorod's own record, kept at St Sophia. Read online
- The Laurentian Chronicle (the Suzdal continuation kept in the late 12th and 13th centuries; manuscript 1377). The court record of Vsevolod III of Vladimir. Read online
- The Livonian Chronicle of Henry, Henry of Livonia (1225 to 1227). The chief source for the Baltic mission. Read online
- The birch-bark letters (11th to 15th centuries). Excavated letters and notes on birch bark, dated by the layer they lie in. Read online
- The law of the Gotlanders; The saga of the Gotlanders (Guta lag about 1220, Guta saga about 1220 to 1275; manuscript of about 1350). The law and the short history of the self-governing island. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.