Pskov's medieval defensive system was one of the most elaborate in medieval Russia. By the 16th century the city had six concentric rings of walls — the Krom, the Dovmont Town, the Middle Town, the Okolny Gorod, and the outer suburban rings — covering a perimeter of several kilometres. More survives here than almost anywhere else in Russia: long sections of the limestone walls still stand, along with a number of towers in varying states of preservation.
The most accessible stretches run along Krestovsky embankment and around the Okolny Gorod. Walking the walls gives a sense of the medieval city's scale — Pskov at its 15th-century peak had a population of around 65,000, making it one of the largest cities in Europe north of Rome. The network of towers along the surviving sections can be explored on foot in an afternoon.