A fort and trading place on the upper Lovat, first recorded in 1166, at the edge of Novgorod's land towards Polotsk, Smolensk's Toropets and the Lithuanian forests.
Princes have used it as a meeting place: Yaroslav met the Polotsk princes 'on the border' here in 1191 and agreed to join them each winter against the Lithuanians or the Chud. In the autumn of 1198 the Polotsk men with the Lithuanians attacked Luki and burned its trading quarter; the people had been warned and escaped into the fort. That winter Yaroslav led the men of Novgorod, Pskov, Novy Torg, Ladoga and the whole province against Polotsk, and peace was made at Lake Kasplya.
The fortress was rebuilt in 1211.
Who holds it
- Name
- not named for 1 January 1200
- Title
- commander of Luki
- Confidence
- low
Novgorod chronicle under 6674-6677, 6699, 6706, 6708, 6719.
Lord in 1200
Novgorod. Prince Izyaslav Yaroslavich, set at Luki to guard Novgorod against the Lithuanians, died there in the spring of 1198; no commander is named until Nezdila Pekhchinich is appointed during 1200.
How things stand that morning
Exposed frontier fort; trading quarter burned in the autumn of 1198; no commander named.
Council
Not recorded.
Communities
Russians; Latgalian and Lithuanian neighbours.
Fairs and markets
None recorded.
Militia
The men of Luki and a small retinue under the commander (Nezdila's raid of 1200 was made with 'a small druzhina').
Walls and castle
Earth ramparts of the 12th century with timber walls; a new fort in 1211.
Trade and crafts
The Lovat route from the Dvina and the Dnieper portages to Lake Ilmen.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1200 (chronicle under 6708)Nezdila Pekhchinich is made commander and raids the Latgalians, surprising them in their homes, killing men and taking women and children (the chronicle says forty were killed).Depends on: Novgorod's choice. Stopped by: Peace with the Latgalians' overlords.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Chronicle; no commander for the winter itself.
On the map: The district round the fort; the march beyond is forest.
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
- The Chronicle of Novgorod 1016-1471 (Novgorod First Chronicle), tr. R. Michell and N. Forbes (1914): entries for 1164-1215 read through the archive.org full-text search (scan pp. 76-106)
- Wikipedia (en): Velikiye Luki
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.