First recorded in 1139, Novy Torg (the 'New Market') sits on the Tvertsa where the road from the Suzdal land reaches Novgorod's country.
Through it comes the grain on which Novgorod depends, so whoever holds it can starve the town (en.wikipedia). The grand princes have taken it before: Vsevolod seized it in 1178 and in 1181 besieged it for five weeks, when the townsmen with Prince Yaropolk ate horseflesh before surrendering; he led Yaropolk away in fetters, took the people captive and burned the town. In the winter of 1196 the expelled Yaroslav Vladimirovich went to Novy Torg, whose people welcomed him; its men marched with him in 1198-99.
In 1215 Yaroslav Vsevolodovich will sit here and stop the grain, causing a great famine (later).
Who holds it
- Name
- not named for 1200
- Title
- posadnik of Novy Torg
- Confidence
- low
Novgorod chronicle under 6667, 6686-6689, 6704-6705; first named posadnik in 1215.
Lord in 1200
Novgorod, through a posadnik not named for 1200.
How things stand that morning
Novgorod's; quiet since 1197.
Council
Not recorded.
Communities
Novgorodian merchants coming and going on the grain road.
Fairs and markets
None recorded; a market town by name.
Militia
The men of Novy Torg.
Walls and castle
A wooden fort on the Tvertsa (it stood a five-week siege in 1181).
Trade and crafts
The grain trade from the Suzdal Opolye; the river road to the upper Volga.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Its sieges are in the chronicle; its officers in 1200 are not.
On the map: The district is drawn as the modern Torzhok district.
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): Torzhok
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.