Toropets

Toropets ( _ru. Торо́пец) is a town in Tver Oblast, Russia, where the Toropa River enters Lake Solomeno. Population: 14,600 (2002 Census); 17,510 (1989 Census).

History

In 1074, when the town was first mentioned in chronicles, Toropets belonged to the Princes of Smolensk. By 1167, it was large enough to have its own princes. The most famous of its rulers was Mstislav the Bold, whose grandson Alexander Nevsky wed Alexandra of Polotsk in Toropets in 1239.

In the mid-15th century the town passed to the Great Duchy of Lithuania, which had to surrender it to Ivan III following the Battle of Vedrosha in 1503. In the early 17th century, Toropets was ransacked by the Polish army. In 1777, the town became a part of the Pskov guberniya.

The Soviet authority in Toropets was established on October 30 (November 12), 1917. In 1935, the town was included into Kalinin Oblast (today's Tver Oblast). The town was occupied by the Wehrmacht from August 29, 1941, until January 21, 1942, when it was liberated during the Toropets-Kholm Operation.

The oldest brick churches in the town are dedicated to St Nicholas (1666–1669), to Our Lady of Kazan (1698–1765), and to John the Baptist (1704).