Topic: Miscellaneous
In an another forum there came a question about the state of the Swedish provinces Ingria and Estonia in 1700. I have mostly studied Livonia, but I will try and give some details about the others as well. I'll start with Ingria.
The most recent work in Swedish about Ingria is Kasper Kepsu's dissertation Den besvärliga provinsen (2014). He has the following to say:
The province Ingria: About 15,000 square kilometers, population around 60,000 (based on an estimate by Forsström in 1890). It consisted of four counties: Ivangorod, Jama, Koporie and Nöteborg. The province had two towns: Narva and Nyen. The administrative capital was Narva, where the Governor General (later the Governor) resided. Ingria was adminstratively joined with Kexholm county. When war broke out in 1700 General Otto Vellingk (1649-1708) was Governor. Other key military officials were the garrison commanders Henning Rudolf Horn (Narva and Ivangorod), Johan Apollof (Nyen) and Gustaf Wilhelm Schlippenbach (Nöteborg).
The main fortress was Narva, which had been substantially expanded during the 1690's. Nyen was significantly weaker and Nöteborg quite neglected. The two minor fortresses Jama and Koporie were insignificant.
In february 1698 Erik Dahlbergh gave the following estimate:
Nöteborg was basically as it had been, but one tower had been added.
Nyen was a town of major importance, but the existing fort was useless. The Russians had a great appetite for a Baltic port and wanted to recapture Ingria. A stronger fortification hade been planned and work begun in 1672, but it had never been finished. It was of vital importance to strengthen Nyen.
Narva and Ivangorod had been in a terrible state in 1682 and Charles XI had decided that something had to be done. He had asked Dahlbergh to submit ideas and one of the designs had been approved. Much work had been done, but it was still insufficient. Ivangorod was in a reasonable state, but also needed strengthening.
Jama was basically a ruin.
Koporie was worth preserving.
Wasknarva was an old, almost ruined castle on the shore of the Peipus where the Narva river began. It was a place that need a strong fort as ships based there could dominate the entire lake and keep communications with Dorpat open.
