Ust-Izhora is a municipal settlement

Administrative divisions of Saint Petersburg

The federal city of Saint Petersburg, Russia, is divided into eighteen city districts , which are in turn subdivided into municipal okrugs, municipal towns, and municipal settlements.-Admiralteysky District:...

 in Kolpinsky District

Kolpinsky District

Kolpinsky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the 18 in Saint Petersburg, Russia....

 of the federal city

Federal cities of Russia

The Russian Federation is divided into 83 federal subjects, two of which are federal cities....

 of St. Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, situated at the confluence

Confluence

Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...

 of the Izhora

Izhora River

The Izhora , also known as Inger River, is a left tributary of the Neva River on its run through Ingria in northwestern Russia from Lake Ladoga to Gulf of Finland. A settlement of Ust-Izhora is situated at the confluence of Izhora and Neva, halfway between Saint Petersburg and Schlisselburg. The...

 and Neva River

Neva River

The Neva is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length , it is the third largest river in Europe in terms of average discharge .The Neva is the only river flowing from Lake...

s, and is roughly equidistant to Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

 and Schlisselburg, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, 30 kilometres (18.6 mi) from both the Gulf of Finland

Gulf of Finland

The Gulf of Finland is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland and Estonia all the way to Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. Other major cities around the gulf include Helsinki and Tallinn...

 in the west and Lake Ladoga

Lake Ladoga

Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, not far from Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake in Europe, and the 14th largest lake by area in the world.-Geography:...

 in the northeast. Population:

The settlement is believed to mark the location of the Battle of the Neva

Battle of the Neva

The Battle of the Neva was fought between the Novgorod Republic and Swedish armies on the Neva River, near the settlement of Ust-Izhora, on July 15, 1240...

 (July 15, 1240), when weak forces led by Prince Alexander Yaroslavich

Alexander Nevsky

Alexander Nevsky was the Prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Vladimir during some of the most trying times in the city's history. Commonly regarded as the key figure of medieval Rus, Alexander was the grandson of Vsevolod the Big Nest and rose to legendary status on account of his military...

 of Novgorod

Novgorod Republic

The Novgorod Republic was a large medieval Russian state which stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains between the 12th and 15th centuries, centred on the city of Novgorod...

 defeated the Swedes

Lands of Sweden

The lands of Sweden are three traditional parts, essentially three collectives of provinces, in Sweden. These "lands" have no administrative function, and there is no official designation for this subdivision level...

 here, and prevented them from advancing farther south into Ingria

Ingria

Ingria is a historical region in the eastern Baltic, now part of Russia, comprising the southern bank of the river Neva, between the Gulf of Finland, the Narva River, Lake Peipus in the west, and Lake Ladoga and the western bank of the Volkhov river in the east...

. The chronicles tell of a "great battle," in which Alexander's men stormed and sank three Swedish ships, and Alexander himself wounded Birger, the Swedish commander.

Following this victory on the Neva, the prince was renamed Alexander Nevsky

Alexander Nevsky

Alexander Nevsky was the Prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Vladimir during some of the most trying times in the city's history. Commonly regarded as the key figure of medieval Rus, Alexander was the grandson of Vsevolod the Big Nest and rose to legendary status on account of his military...

. The Russian Orthodox Church

Russian Orthodox Church

The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...

 eventually canonized him, and he is now the patron saint

Patron saint

A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...

of Saint Petersburg. A church was built on the bank of the Neva in 1799 to commemorate the famous battle. Close by the church are two monuments honoring Alexander Nevsky, in whose memory the church is dedicated.