Opakov

Opakov

Location of Opakov on the map of the modern Kaluga region

Opakov is an old border fortress on the high right bank of the Ugra River. It was located at the current village of Palatki in the Yukhnovsky district of the Kaluga region . On the northwestern outskirts of the village there is a settlement , whose population can be traced from the early Iron Age to the late Middle Ages .

At the beginning of the 15th century, Opakov, who belonged either to Smolensk or to the Principality of Mosals , was captured by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania . In the second half of the XV century it was considered a city with a system of volosts on both banks of the Ugra. In military-administrative terms, he was subordinate to Smolensk , considered to be his "suburb" and was an important defense point on the eastern border of the GDL. Belonged to the princes of Zaslavsky , then to the princes of Vorotynsky .

In 1480, near Opakov, the Horde army of Khan Akhmat made one of the unsuccessful attempts to cross to the left bank during the Stand on the Ugra . According to one version, the name of the village of Palatki dates back to the Tatar tents located here.

During the Russo-Lithuanian war of 1487-1494, Opakov was burned by Prince Fedor Vasilievich Ryazansky , who took him, who served the emperor of all Russia, Ivan III . Most of the inhabitants were sworn in to the Grand Duke, and the Lithuanian military men holding the defenses of 530 people were taken prisoner. Under the peace treaty of 1494, Opakov was returned to Lithuania, however, his volosts on the left bank of the Ugra were transferred to the Russian state . The city was handed over to the Sapieham estate, however, already in 1500 it was again taken by the Russian army and officially recognized as the Russian state along the vast territories of Lithuania along with the vast territories of Lithuania in 1503 . After the Russian-Lithuanian border moved west, Opakov lost his strategic importance and fell into decay in the following decades.

The foundation of a large stone defensive tower has been preserved on the Opakovsky hillfort, which indicates the important military function of Opakov. From the tower, presumably, led an underground passage to the river.