The town’s Ore­shek Fortress, was orig­i­nal­ly built from wood in 1323, destroyed by Swedish king Mag­nus IV and rebuilt as the might­i­ly impres­sive stone fortress that Shlis­sel­burg is known for today in 1352.

The town itself, whose name in Ger­man means “key fortress”, locat­ed on the Riv­er Neva’s bank oppo­site Ore­shek, was found­ed in 1702 by Peter the Great. The town cen­tre itself is a stun­ning old town with a hand­ful of 18th cen­tu­ry church­es to explore.