Bender fortress: history, photo, tour

An outstanding monument of defensive architecture of the XVI century is the Bendery fortress. Photos of this stronghold, as well as interesting information about the pages of its richest history, you can find in this article.

Bendery: foundation of the city and construction of the fortress

Bender town appeared somewhere in the beginning of the XV century. Originally it was called Tigina (by the way, Romanians, and also some Moldovans call it so still). The origin of this toponym is most likely connected with the word "tug", as the settlement itself arose near a large crossing across the Dniester.

Renamed the city in Bendery Turks, who seized the land in 1538. They, two years later, started building a powerful fortress here. Although it is known that even before this Bendery entered the defensive belt of the Moldovan king Stefan the Great.

The Bendery fortress was designed by the famous architect Sinan, who built more than three hundred buildings in his time (almost a century) in the then Ottoman Empire. In the territory of the former USSR there is another architectural monument of its authorship - this is Khan-Jami Mosque in Yevpatoria.

Inaccessible fortress in Bendery

Evliy Celebi, the famous Turkish traveler of the 16th century, gives us the very first historical description of the fortress in this Transnistrian city. The Bender fortress is a typical West European bastion-type defensive structure . Her erection began almost immediately after the city entered the Porta. The whole city was first surrounded by a deep moat and a high rampart. The very fortress, which took a huge area of 67 hectares, is divided into two parts: the upper and lower.

Thanks to its geographical location, the Bender fortress has become a key strategic point for many years. It played an important role during the Russo-Turkish wars.

The history of the Bendery Fortress remembers many attempts to storm it. However, most of them were unsuccessful. Until the 1770s the fortress remained completely inaccessible.

Fortress during the Russian-Turkish wars

During the Russo-Turkish wars, Russian troops, as is known, took this strategically important fortress three times on the banks of the Dniester. The first capture of the Bender fortress took place in 1770. The operation, which lasted more than 60 days, was led by Perth Panin. The attackers managed to destroy one of the towers of the castle, after which the Russians began the assault. During the capture of the Bender fortress, up to 30% of Panin's army was killed - about six thousand soldiers. However, the goal was achieved: at the end of September 1770 the Russian military band in Bendery Fortress announced in its capture.

By the way, the Russian Empress Catherine II criticized this victory, calling it a Pyrrhic one. Nevertheless, for the Ottoman Empire the loss of this important object has become a real tragedy.

The subsequent capture of the Bender fortress by the Russians took place in 1789 and 1806. But then everything went without blood. So, in 1789 Russian troops under the leadership of Gregory Potemkin took it without a fight, and in 1806 - the fortress was captured as a result of the cunning and bribery of the Turkish garrison guarding it.

As is known, the Russo-Turkish wars ended very badly for the Ottoman Empire. After their termination, Russia extended its influence to the lands of all Bessarabia.

Interesting facts about Bendery Fortress

With this architectural and fortification monument there are quite a lot of interesting facts that attract tourists to the fortress. Here are some of them:

• Bender fortress performed its defensive functions right up to the end of the twentieth century! And even today a military unit of the unrecognized state, the Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublika, is stationed near it .
• The fortress sheltered in 1709 the Ukrainian hetman Ivan Mazepa and the Swedish King Charles XII, who fled after the defeat at Poltava. Soon Mazeppa died here, on the outskirts of Bender, in the village of Varnitsa.
• With the Bender fortress is associated with the adoption in 1711 of the so-called first constitution of Europe - the constitution of Pilip Orlik, who was the successor of the deceased Mazepa.
• In the Bendery Fortress the Museum of Torture is now located - the only one in Transnistria.

Munchausen's core in the courtyard of the Bendery Fortress

Not everyone knows that the famous inventor and adventurer Baron Munchausen is not a fictional character at all. Such a person, under the same name, actually existed. Baron Munchausen of the German Bondenverder in the middle of the 18th century served in the Russian army and took part in the capture of the Russians by Bakhchisarai, Perekop, Khotin and Evpatoria. But to take the Bender fortress this time the Russians failed, and the baron witnessed it.

In general, the storyteller Munchausen could safely "fly" on the famous core over any fortress in Europe. But in Bender they were the first to gather that it is possible to successfully use this story for themselves. In the courtyard of the Bendery Fortress, the same legendary cannonball was installed , on which a Saxon baron flew.

Modern state and reconstruction of the Bendery fortress

In 2008, the previously planned large-scale reconstruction of the fortress began. In the same year, in Bender, a theatrical performance was held to capture the Bender Stronghold. On the territory of the fortress, the alley of Russian glory was set up, a monument to the Constitution of Pilip Orlik was established, as well as to the famous baron Munchausen.

On the territory of the fortress now operates two museums: the first is a kind of museum of torture, and in the second one can learn about the history of the Bendery fortress. Since the autumn of 2012, a souvenir shop for tourists, where, in particular, you can buy luxury products made of ceramics and wood, made by local craftsmen.

In autumn 2013, the second major reconstruction of the Bendery fortress began. In particular, work began on the restoration of two towers of the architectural complex. In addition, the artists painted the interiors of the serf temple of Alexander Nevsky. By the way, this year the dynamics of growth in attendance was the largest: in 2013 the fortress was visited by more than 14 thousand people.

In 2014, on the territory of the complex appeared a beautiful shooting gallery, where every tourist can practice shooting from a real bow or crossbow, and feel like a real medieval warrior. In the same year, work began to restore the lower fortress. Today, the fortress of Bendery is increasingly becoming an attractive tourist destination. The only thing that can embarrass tourists here is a military unit located nearby. Although the soldiers themselves have long been accustomed to tourists.

The Bender fortress is imprinted on postage stamps and banknotes of both the Republic of Moldova and the unrecognized Transdniestria. So, the stronghold can be seen on bills of 100 Moldovan lei and 25 Transnistrian rubles. In addition, the fortress is depicted on a souvenir 100-ruble coin, issued in Transnistria in 2006.

Bendery fortress: excursion, work time

Every year more and more tourists from the countries of near and far abroad attract the city of Bendery. Of course, the famous landmark of the city is the famous Bendery Fortress. Excursion to the territory of the fortress is the best way to learn about the most fascinating pages of its history.

The fortress in Bender is open to everyone today. It works every day, from 9am to 6pm. The entrance fee for the fortress is 25 Transnistrian rubles. Here it is worth noting two important nuances: firstly, payment can be made exclusively in the currency of the unrecognized republic, and secondly, the price of the entrance ticket for representatives of foreign countries will be twice as high.

In the fortress you can book an excursion, the price of which will vary from 50 to 150 Pridnestrovian rubles (depending on the size of the group and the duration of the excursion itself). Recently in the fortress it became possible to order a guide who speaks English. However, for such a service, foreign tourists will have to pay another 25 rubles.

Bendery Fortress: Museum of Torture

There is in the territory of the Bendery fortress a museum unique in its content - the Museum of Torture. It was opened only recently, in the fall of 2012. In this museum medieval guns, tools and gloomy units for various tortures are exhibited. It is worth noting that there is no need to pay for the entrance to this museum separately.

The idea of creating a similar museum among the fortress workers was born suddenly, after visiting one of the castle towers. In it, as you know, there used to be a prison for small robbers and marauders. The tower still has old handcuffs and shackles for prisoners. They were soon added a few more exotic instruments of torture, and as a result, the tower turned into a whole museum. Today, tourists can see here an interrogation chair, a knee crusher, piercing goats and other eerie things.

Finally...

Bender fortress is a unique fortification monument in south-eastern Europe. Built in the distant 1540-th year, she survived many stormy events in her lifetime. Today the fortress is the most popular tourist site in Transnistria.