Leningrad Oblast of two great lakes of the European Part of Russia, Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega. Its northeastern part, between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga, occupies the Karelian Isthmus. Some islands in the Gulf of Finland (including Kotlin, on which the city of Kronstadt has been built) and Lake Ladoga (including Konevets) also belong to the oblast. Much of the area of the oblast belongs to the drainage basin of the Neva, which is the only outflow of Lake Ladoga. Whereas the Neva, which flows to the Gulf of Finland (the city of Saint Petersburg is located in its
Staraya Ladoga the Volkhov River.The fortress was rebuilt at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. In 1703, Peter the Great founded the town of Novaya Ladoga (New Ladoga) closer to the bank of Lake Ladoga. The ancient fortress thenceforth declined and came to be known as Staraya Ladoga (Old Ladoga), in order to distinguish it from the new town. The mid-12th-century churches of St. George and of Mary's Assumption stand in all their original glory. Inside St. George's, some magnificent 12th-century frescoes are still visible. In addition, there is a mid-12th-century church of St. Climent, which stands in ruins. There