Lake Peipus | Estonia, Russia, Baltic | Britannica (original) (raw)

Lake Peipus, lake forming part of the boundary between Estonia and Pskov oblast (province) of Russia. It is connected by the narrow Lake Tyoploye to a southern extension, Lake Pskov. Lake Peipus has an area of 1,370 square miles (3,550 square km), although this varies. The lake bottom, reaching a depth of about 50 feet (15 m), consists of gray mud; only in the south is it sandy. The banks are predominantly low-lying. The lake, which is frozen for six months of the year, forms the headwaters of the Narva River.

In 1242 the Russians under Alexander Nevsky defeated the Teutonic Knights on frozen Lake Peipus. In 1239 the Livonian Knights (Order of the Brothers of the Sword) had begun a military campaign in northwestern Russia to expand their territory and convert the Russians to Roman Catholicism. Interrupted by the Mongol invasion of Poland and Silesia (1241), the campaign was resumed by the Teutonic Knights (with whom the Livonian Knights were affiliated). In 1241 the Knights captured Pskov, then proceeded against Novgorod in March 1242. But Nevsky led an army against them. Recovering all the territory seized by the Knights, he engaged them in battle on the frozen Lake Peipus, known as the “Battle on the Ice” (Ledovoye Poboishche). His victory (April 5) forced the grand master of the Knights to relinquish all claims to the Russian lands that he had conquered and substantially reduced the Teutonic threat to northwestern Russia.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.