This area is no stranger to stories of heroism. According to one founding myth, it was below the iconic Shum-Gora, one of the biggest burial mounds in Northwestern Europe, that Prince Rurik, a Varangian chieftain who founded the Russian state, was buried “in a golden coffin with 40 barrels of silver.”
The Batetsky land has links to Princess Olga (she travelled along the Luga River in 947 to determine the places to collect quitrent and tributes), princes Yaroslav the Wise and Alexander Nevsky, the family estate of the old noble family of Muravyov and many other prominent figures.
The present-day area of the Batetsky District has belonged to Novgorod from time immemorial and was part of the Vodskaya Pyatina. Chronicles mention settlements Batetsko, Chyornoye, Volnaya Gorka, Zaosye, Skacheli, Kositskoye, Rusynya, Ivnya, Radzha and others. Over subsequent centuries, several reforms were conducted in Russia concerning its administrative division. The Batestky area was partially included in the Novgorodsky District, with the majority lying in the Luzhsky District of the Petersburg Province.
According to the 1498-1500 Novgorod cadastres, the present-day Batestky area was in the Poluzhskaya part of the Vodskaya Pyatina. Poluzhye (the area along the Luga River, especially its northwest) is recognised for its especially scenic landscapes.
Impressive ancient monuments, including kurgans, mounds and medieval settlements stretch for many kilometres. The riverbanks were dotted with medieval villages mentioned in historical chronicles, which also recorded Olga’s visits to collect tributes.