Fortress Kamenetz-Podolskaya: photo, history

The fortress of Kamenets-Podilsky, also called the Outpost of Christianity, was built to defend the so-called Turkish bridge, which carries out the connecting functions between the big earth and the Old Town.

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Archaeologists have carefully studied this place. According to their conclusion, the local castle was built on the territory where in the 9th-12th century there was a detainer and a rampart from the ground, as well as a wall made of wood. Thanks to them, the settlement was protected, whose residents were citizens of the Galicia-Volyn state.

The place where the Kamenetz-Podolsk fortress now stands was surrounded by fortifications made of stone in the 12th-13th centuries. And in 1240 the army of Batu appeared here, which exterminated these walls, the city itself and its population.

For over a hundred years the Mongol-Tatars reigned here. In 1362, there was a battle in the Blue Waters, as a result of which the conquerors were defeated. They were overthrown by the troops of Olgerd, who ordered the land in such a way that the Kamenets-Podolsk fortress (Khmelnytsky region) was under the control of his nephews.

Development

When this territory was managed by the Lithuanian stewards in the years 1363-1430-ies, there were positive changes in the life of the fortress - work was underway to restore it. Merchants and szlachtichi made donations, at the expense of which it was possible to collect the necessary sum for the betrayal of the fortress of its remarkable appearance. In addition, the fees involved the Roman popes, who gave "alms from St. Peter."

When Vytautas died, he and his heirs began to quarrel. Since the ruler did not manage to decide, the land where the Kamenetz-Podolskaya fortress towers up to this time fell under the control of the Commonwealth for the period from 1434 to 1793 years.

And in 1672-1699 years. Here the rules of the Ottoman Empire. It was then that important strategic functions were imposed on this point, because it was the center of the province of Poland, as well as the city with royal status.

Changes

Under the power of the Poles, the old fortress-castle Kamenets-Podolsky was changed somewhat. Reconstructions were carried out here - one of the most large-scale ones occurred in 1621. It was directed by T. Schomberg, who worked to adapt the named point to the defense of artillery.

And at the height of the war, which lasted between the Polish people and the Turks from 1672 to 1676, one of the attacks ended with the surrender of the local population. At the same time, two towers were defeated.

But a quarter of a century later, the Kamenetz-Podolsk fortress, whose history is set forth in the article, was returned to Poland. This was due to the conclusion of the Karlovitsk peace agreement.

Now this point did not have such a strong significance for Christians, as it was before. Much more attention was paid to his fighting ability and the ability to carry out the defense. The buildings were reconstructed for the money allocated by the state.

Change of power

Since 1793 this land was under the control of the Russian Empire, since 1795 this is the central point of the Podolsky province. When the Russo-Turkish War was over in 1812, the borders of the state expanded to the south. Then the Kamenetz-Podolsk fortress became no longer so important for military purposes, and it was used as a correctional institution.

At the time of the First World, we again had to recall the defense - here the front headquarters was located in the south-west of Russia. In 1917-1923, when the Civil War broke out, the authorities at this point many times changed. The nationalists of Ukraine, the Bolsheviks, and the Austrian-German troops also ruled here. In the years 1919-1920. There was a period when this city was even appointed the capital of Ukraine after the capitulation of the government of the UPR and the Directory from Kiev.

Importance

In 1928, the fortress of Kamenets-Podolskaya received the status of a cultural and historical reserve of state significance. But during the Second World War this place was badly damaged, as there were bombings and cruel battles here.

Now it is an architectural and historical reserve of national importance, which is one of the monuments of the culture of peace included in the UNESCO heritage. This structure can be described as impregnable, thanks to the efforts of builders, as well as favorable circumstances created by nature. So people who lived in the Middle Ages even said that the very hand of God built these fortifications.

There are steep slopes of great height, deep ravines and a vast channel of the Smotrych River, reaching 250 m in width. Above all this, the walls are decorated with embrasures. From here they fired from cannons of great power - all in the fortress there were 10 guns, as well as the tarasnitsa.

The old castle is the heart, where the powerful and impregnable Kamenetz-Podolsk fortress grew. The photo, which you can see in the article, only to a small extent convey the greatness of the local buildings. The form of the castle is quadrangular. Inside is a closed area, which has an area of 1.5 hectares. Its perimeter is decorated with 11 towers.

Important constructions

One of the protective structures in the south is the Papal Tower. It is closest to the entrance on the left side. It was built between 1505 and 1515 years. To ensure the work, funds received from the Pope were used.

In the 19th century, U. Karmeliuk, who led the insurgent peasant movement, was held there three times. There are five tiers here, looking at which one can note that the first two have a section in the form of a square, the next pair is an octagon, and the last one is a cylinder.

In addition, the fortress has a tower in the form of a hood. It was created in the XIV century. The walls are built so that they make up the cylinder, and the tower is a cone. In 1544, it was modernized - reinforced the foundation, covered the facades with plaster, the inner passage was removed and an external one was built, from the north. When the war broke out between the Turks and Poles in 1672-1676, the tower was seriously damaged. Previously, it was much higher, but today we can observe only 22 m of its height.

Interesting buildings

An important role is played by the Tenchinskaya Tower, which was built at the very beginning of the 15th century, in conjunction with its opening to the arrival of Y. Tenchinskiy from Kraków, who was responsible for the proper functioning of the fortification, and for the safety of being in it.

Interesting is the location of this building - it is three quarters away from the Old Castle. Therefore, in order to make its safety higher, in the XVIII century the tower fell asleep on the fourth tier. Now it rises to 21 meters.

On the fourth position from the entrance is Laskaya Tower with four cylinders, which was built in the beginning of the XV century. In it, the values of the bishops were kept. The masonry is white. Here there is an inscription in Latin, saying that it is more difficult to find a true friend than to see a phoenix. The second tier of this structure was changed in 1544. Thanks to this, a staircase appeared inside the wall, which was covered with plaster. The fourth level was used for military purposes. The current height of the tower is 22.5 m.

The oldest building

In the west there is the Daytime Tower, near the entrance to the building. It is older than all the rest, because it was created in the XII-XVI centuries. It has the shape of a rectangle and a large number of loopholes. From here they monitored for strategic purposes. At the top there was a superstructure made of wood, which also played the role of a springboard through which arms were delivered to the upper level of the New Tower. An interesting detail is that the structure does not have a roof.

The Big Tower was established in 1544 and is the largest in the fortress. Its perimeter has five faces. The objectives of the creation of defensive - during the battles here rolled up weapons. In 1672 the Turks carried out an explosion, because of which the structure was seriously damaged, and the castle had to be handed over.

Everything described is only the most important points. In fact, the Kamenetz-Podolsky fortress is grandiose, and there are many interesting things.