The hillfort of Savkina Gorka is located one kilometer from Pushkin`s house in the village of Mikhailovskoye. If you come to the Pushkin Hills, then you must go to Savkina Gorka along the river bed. It is there that you can enjoy the most beautiful landscapes of the Pushkin Hills.
Savkina Gorka is a hill with a flat top. Archaeological excavations showed that the first settlement appeared there in 11 century. In 14 century defensive points were built around the Pskov Republic including the Voronich Fortress and the fortified St. Michael Monastery on the top of the Savkina Gorka. But at the time of the Livonian War, they were destroyed by the troops of the Polish Prince Stephen Bathory during his campaign against Pskov.
After the destruction of the monastery on the top of Savkina Gorka, the natives erected a chapel there, and a small cemetery with ancient crosses was formed around it. A stone with a cross known as Sava`s Cross is in front of the chapel. According to the inscription on the stone, the chapel dates back to 1513. It is believed that the village of Savkino, and Savkina Gorka itself, was named after a priest Sava.
Savkina Gorka was one of the most favorite places of Pushkin. He often came there, going by the mill along the bed of the Sorot river. This land belonged to the local landowner Vyndomsky, but Pushkin wanted to buy it very much.
In 1831 he wrote to the mistress of Trigorskoye: «I would ask you, as a good neighbor and dear friend, to tell me whether I can buy Savkino and on what terms. I would built a hut there, put my books and spend with good old friends several months a year. This project fascinates me and I constantly come back to it».
