'
Ingria', or ''Ingermanland'', was a
dominion of
Sweden from
1580 to
1595 and then again from
1617 to
1719, when it was ceded to
Russia in the
Treaty of Nystad.
It consisted of the area along the basin of the river
Neva, between the
Gulf of Finland, the
Narva River,
Lake Peipsi in South-West, and
Lake Ladoga in North-East. Bordering to
Swedish Karelia by the followed the
Sestra ''(Rajajoki /Systerbäck)'' rivulet in North-West.
Ingria fell to Sweden in the
1580s, was returned to Russia by the
Treaty of Teusina (
1595), and again ceded to Sweden in the
Treaty of Stolbovo (
1617). Sweden's interest of the territory was strategical: as a
buffer zone against Russian attacks on the
Karelian Isthmus and present-day Finland; and Russian trade was to pass through Swedish territory. In addition, Ingria became the destination for Swedish deportees.
Ingria remained sparsely populated. In
1664 the population was counted to 15,000. Swedish attempts to introduce
Lutheranism were met with repugnance by the
Orthodox peasantry obliged to attend Lutheran services; converts were promised grants and tax reductions, but Lutheran gains were most of all due to voluntary resettlements from
Savonia and
Finnish Karelia. Ingria was enfeoffed to
noble militaries and state officials, bringing their own Lutheran servants and workmen.
Nyen became the trading centre of Ingria, and in 1642 was made its administrative centre. In 1656 a Russian attack badly damaged the town, and the administrative centre was moved to
Narva.
[1]
In the early
1700s the area was reconquered by
Russia in the
Great Northern War after a bare century in
Swedish possession. On the place of the Swedish town
Nyen or in Finnish ''
Nevanlinna'' (Castle of Neva) close to the Neva river's estuary at the Gulf of Finland, the new Russian
capital Saint Petersburg was founded in
1703.
Governors-General
''Main article:
Governor-General in the Swedish Realm''
★
Carl Carlsson Gyllenhielm (
1617-)
★
Bengt Oxenstierna (
1634-
1643)
★
Simon Grundel-Helmfelt (
1659-
1673)
★
Gustaf Adam Banér (
1678-
1681)
★
Goran von Sperling (
1683-
1690)
References
1. Kurs, Ott (1994). Ingria: The broken landbridge between Estonia and Finland. ''GeoJournal'' 33.1, 107-113.
See also
★
Nöteborg
★
Ingria