Korela Fortress, at the town of Priozersk, was founded by the Karelians who named the place Käkisalmi. Novogorodian chronicles refer to it as Korela.
It was first mentioned in a Novgorodian chronicle of 1143 and archeological digs have revealed a layer belonging to the 12th century. Swedish chronicles first reported of the settlement of Korela (Keksholm in Swedish) in 1294.
The Swedes captured Korela twice: in 1580 for 17 years and in 1611 for 100 years. Soon after seizure of the fortress in 1580, the Swedes rebuilt the fortress following a Western European pattern of bastion fortifications.
In the mid-18th century, the fortress was turned into a political prison of the Imperial Russia. Some participants of the Decembrist Revolt (1825) were confined here.
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