Early history According to archeological research, the area of what is now Vyborg used to be a trading center on the
Vuoksi River's western branch, which has since dried up. The region was inhabited by the
Karelians, a
Balto-Finnic tribe which gradually came under the domination of
Novgorod and
Sweden. It has been claimed that Vyborg appeared in the 11th–12th centuries as a mixed Karelian-Russian settlement, although there is no archeological proof of any
East Slavic settlement of that time in the area, and it is not mentioned in any of the earliest historical documents, such as the
Novgorod First Chronicle or the
Primary Chronicle. Wider settlement in the area of Vyborg is generally regarded to date from 13th century onwards when
Hanseatic traders began traveling to
Novgorod.
Vyborg Castle was founded during the
Third Swedish Crusade in 1293 by
marsk Torkel Knutsson on the site of an older
Karelian fort which was burned. The castle, which was the first centre for the spread of Christianity in Karelia, was fought over for decades between Sweden and the
Republic of Novgorod. As a result of the
Treaty of Nöteborg in 1323 between the Novgorod Republic and Sweden, Vyborg was finally recognized as a part of Sweden. The 1721
Treaty of Nystad, which concluded the war with Sweden, finalized the transfer of the town and a part of
Old Finland to Russia. Another result of the loss of Vyborg was that its
diocese was moved to
Borgå, transforming the town into an important learning centre. edited by
Zacharias Topelius and published 1845–1852. Over the course of the 19th century, the town developed as the centre of administration and trade for eastern Finland. The inauguration of the
Saimaa Canal in 1856 benefited the local economy, as it opened the vast waterways of Eastern Finland to the sea. Vyborg was never a major industrial center and lacked large production facilities, but its location made it serve as a focal point of transports of all industries on the
Karelian Isthmus, Ladoga Karelia and southeastern Finland.
Trams in Vyborg started in 1912. The
Bolshevik revolutionary
Vladimir Lenin lived in the town for a period between the
February Revolution and
October Revolution of 1917.
Finnish period In June 1917, Viipuri hosted a convention of ethnic
Polish military men stationed throughout Finland, at which it was decided to form the
Polish Legion in Finland to fight for Finnish independence from Russia (see also
Finland–Poland relations). The 1,700-strong Legion was then stationed in Viipuri. Of the total inhabitants in the census area, 67,609 spoke Finnish, 2,103 Swedish, 1,807 Russian and 439 German. In 1939, the population was slightly less than 75,000 and was Finland's second-largest (Population Register) or fourth-largest (Church and Civil Register) city, depending on the census data. Vyborg had sizable minorities of
Swedes,
Germans,
Russians,
Romani,
Tatars and
Jews. During that time,
Alvar Aalto built the
Vyborg Library, an icon of
functionalist architecture.
Winter and Continuation Wars During the
Winter War between the Soviet Union and Finland in 1939–1940, over 70,000 people were evacuated from Vyborg to other parts of Finland. The Winter War was concluded by the
Moscow Peace Treaty, which stipulated the transfer of Vyborg to Soviet control, and the whole Karelian Isthmus, and those places were emptied of their residents, to Soviet control. It was incorporated into the
Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic on 31 March 1940. As the town was still held by the Finns, the remaining Finnish population, some 10,000 people, had to be evacuated in haste before the handover. Thus, practically the whole population of Finnish Vyborg was resettled elsewhere in Finland. The town became the
administrative center of
Vyborgsky District. The evacuees from
Finnish Karelia came to be a vociferous political force, and their wish to return to their homes was an important motive when Finland sought support from
Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union. As a result, Finland fought with Nazi Germany as a co-belligerent during the
Second World War. On 29 August 1941, Vyborg was captured by Finnish troops. At first, the
Finnish Army did not allow civilians into the town. Of the 6,287 buildings, 3,807 had been destroyed. The first civilians started to arrive in late September, and by the end of the year, Vyborg had a population of about 9,700. In December 1941, the Finnish government formally annexed the town, along with the other areas that had been lost in the Moscow Peace Treaty. By 1942, the population had risen to 16,000. About 70% of the evacuees from Finnish Karelia returned after the reconquest to rebuild their looted homes but were again evacuated after the
Red Army's
Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive, timed to coincide with the
Battle of Normandy. By the time of the Soviet offensive, the town had a population of nearly 28,000. The town was captured by the Red Army on 20 June 1944, but the Finnish forces, using war material provided by Germany, managed to halt the Soviet offensive at the
Battle of Tali-Ihantala, the largest battle fought by any of the
Nordic countries, in Viipuri Rural Municipality, which surrounded the town, during which the town was seriously damaged. In the subsequent
Moscow Armistice on 19 September 1944, Finland returned to the borders set by the Moscow Peace Treaty and ceded more land than the treaty originally demanded. In the
Paris Peace Treaties (1947), Finland relinquished all claims to Vyborg.
Soviet era After the Second World War,
Leningrad Oblast wanted to incorporate the area of Vyborg, but it took until November 1944 for the area to be finally transferred from the Karelo-Finnish SSR. During the Soviet era, the town was settled by people from all over the Soviet Union. The naval air bases of
Pribylovo and
Veshchevo were built nearby. In 1940s and the 1950s, new factories were built: shipbuilding (1948), instrumentational (1953). In 1960, a local history museum was opened. ==Administrative and municipal status==