The cultural and historical landscape of the Izborsko-Malskaya valley as a unique monument of nature and history in Pskov region

Abstract

A cultural-historical landscape is understood as a compound historical-cultural and natural formation that developed in a specific territory possessing certain homogeneous natural (landscape) properties as a result of long-term interaction between the man and the landscape that occurred in the course of their coherent development. The Izborsko-Malskaya valley is a single, coherent cultural and historical landscape, with the unique nature of which modern villages and an archaeological monument – Truvorovo gorodische of the VII-VIII centuries, the Izborsk city fortress of the XIV century, the remains of the Malskaya fortress-monastery, churches and chapels, ‘Truvorov’ stone cross – blend in. Already in the X century, an agricultural district with a dense network of settlements was formed around the city. The Malsky cross stands as a witness to one of the branches of the historical path From the Varangians to the Greeks, since it served as a special indicator of the route’s direction. The specific nature of the Izborsko-Malskaya valley is due to its geological features and the history of its relief evolution. The dissected topography, with outlets of picturesque karst springs – the Slovenian springs – and the mosaic nature of the local landscape complexes predetermined the great variety and variegation of vegetation and fauna. The natural basis for the morphological structure of the Izborsk-Malsky cultural-historical landscape is formed by four physical and geographical areas belonging to three interfluvial plains: undulating end-moraine, glaciolacustrine and abrasion-depositional, dissected by dells formed by streams of melt glacial water, with inherited river valleys. The cultural and historical landscape of the Izborsko-Malskaya valley is characterized by a balanced combination of the natural and anthropogenic components, aesthetic appeal and economic feasibility, which all together created the cultural and historical image of a national landscape, formed by the culture of many generations.