Nezhegolsk, Federal cultural heritage fortress in Belgorod Oblast, Russia.

Nezhegolsk is a 17th-century fortress town on the Belgorod defensive line, its remains (ramparts and moats) standing on the high right bank of the Nezhegol River at the eastern edge of the village of Nezhegol. The earthen town was square, about 600 sazhens in perimeter, with wooden towers at each corner and two gate towers; a cemetery with a large wooden cross and a church now occupies the hilltop.

A standing stockade was begun in spring 1647 near the village of Nezhegol, on the high right bank of the Nezhegol River, to guard against Crimean Tatar raids. In 1654, by order of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the town of Nezhegolsk was founded on that base and settled with Cherkasy and Russian service people. Soldiers of Colonel Alexander Kraftertov and his brother Yagan built the earthen town, which stood over 150 years.

The name Nezhegolsk shifted over time to Nizhegolsky and then Nizhe-Gol. Settlers included Cherkasy Cossacks, remembered in a street called Kazatskaya, alongside Russian servicemen transferred from Belgorod, Korocha, Bolkhovets and Karpov. Cossack tales and songs survived among nearby residents into the 20th century.

The gorodishche lies on the eastern edge of the village of Nezhegol, on the high right bank of the Nezhegol River. A village cemetery now occupies the site, with a large wooden cross and a church standing among the graves. Earthworks and the well below the hill survive; digging in the ramparts and moats or private excavation is prohibited and fined up to 200,000 rubles.

The site is now a village cemetery: a large wooden cross stands in memory of the hillfort, and a church occupies the former fortress area. Below the hillfort a well survives, reached by the secret passage that once led from Nezhegolsk. Digging the ramparts or private excavation is fined up to 200,000 rubles.