Fortress Khotynskaya: description, history, legends

In the book of the history of the ancient Ukrainian town of Khotyn recorded multiple battles and fierce battles, great uprisings and glorious victories. Khotinskaya fortress has always been a tasty morsel for many conquerors. Favorable geographical location at the intersection of important routes of traders made it such a welcome catch. Khotyn fortress wanted to win the Turkish sultans, Polish and Moldovan rulers. At one time it was the most powerful structure in all of Eastern Europe. Today the fortress in the city of Khotyn is recognized as one of the seven wonders of Ukraine. It's worth to visit those who love adventure, ancient relics and ancient legends.

Legends of origin

The origin of the word "Khotin" has many different options. Some legends say that everyone who came here wanted to live in this unique fortress.

Khotyn fortress, the photo of which is presented below, truly fascinates. However, there is another legend. It tells of a guy and a girl who lived in remote antiquity on these lands. They wanted to get married. The name of the bride was Tin, and the bridegroom was Ho. But the girl's parents were against this union. Lovers built a boat and sailed down the Dniester, dragged by the current to unknown areas. Where she sticks to the shore, there and live it.

The shuttle to this very place, where now stands the ancient city and its majestic fortress, has become attached. Behold Ho and Tin live here. In total they were in abundance, and nature pleased them with its beauty.

Lovers appeared in the children. They grew up and married or got married. So gradually the city grew up here, named after its founders Ho-Tin. However, these are only legends. On the origin of the fortress there is also historical information.

The Origin of Khotin

The history of the Khotyn fortress is diverse and permeated with the spirit of heroism. According to the researchers, the first settlements in the territory where the fortress is now located appeared in the 8th-9th century. That Khotyn fortress is really a great place to stay, you can see by looking at the photo below.

This is an excellent place in all respects. Thanks to the convenient approach to the water, a ferry across the Dniester River was carried out here. This led to the emergence on this site of one of the most important trade routes for many people. To defend this crossing, and a fortress was built. It was created in the 12th century and at that time was built of wood.

In 1199, Khotin became part of the Galicia-Volyn principality. Almost at the same time (in 1219) raids on these lands hordes of Mongol-Tatars begin. In this situation, the brave prince Danila Galitsky decided to seriously strengthen his fortresses. Wooden buildings were replaced with stone ones.

Khotinskaya fortress also knew the same perestroika. Around it was built a high seven-meter wall, dug a deep ditch. The fortress was rebuilt in the fifties of the 13th century. In size, it was somewhat inferior to the modern structure, but its defensive role performed perfectly. Here was built the first church of this majestic fortification.

History of the fortress

Khotyn fortress, the photo of which is located in the review, today stores in itself the traces of many centuries that have passed through its stone walls.

In the second half of the 14th century, the land of Khotin was placed under the jurisdiction of the Moldavian principality. Since the end of the same century, Moldovan settlements began to appear here, and from the 15th century - Armenians. In 1408, the Moldovan governor Alexander Dobry decided to take on the road in Khotin a fee of 2 pennies "for horses".

The first sieges began in the fortress in the 30s of the 15th century by the Polish feudal lords. In 1450-1455 there was a Polish garrison here. In order not to become dependent on the Ottoman Turks, Governor Stephen III the Great radically changed the look and layout of the fortress in Khotin.

The area was enlarged, the level of the courtyard was raised, and towers about 40 m in height were built. In thick walls (5 m) loopholes were constructed. There is a legend that when constructing these walls, a young girl was burned alive in them - as a victim to the gods. So the locals explained the occurrence of wet spots on the walls. In fact, the latter appeared on the site of the old buried ditch.

In the courtyard at the same time were built two palaces with deep cellars. They were connected by a gate. A passage to the chapel was created from the eastern palace. This type of structure will not change for 6 centuries.

Fortress plan

Khotyn fortress, whose plan should be considered more closely, is a really well-planned defensive center. Here there are a number of different towers. These include Gateway, South-West, Commandant, North, East Tower. On the territory now is the Knyazhiy (Commandant's) Palace. In the 18th century barracks were built here.

In ancient times, a church was built here and a deep well was dug. One of the mysteries of the fortress walls is a dark wet spot that does not dry out either in the heat or in the cold.

Inside the castle you can get on the bridge. In ancient times, he rose and fell. There is also a bridge on the back of the gate. He had in himself one important secret. If the enemies still broke through the gate, they fell on a wooden platform. The action of the hidden mechanism drove it, and the enemies simply fell down. There was dug a deep hole in which sharp stakes protruded. Now, such a terrible mechanism that the Khotyn fortress had, for obvious reasons, is absent, but you can still see the depth of the enemy's fall to this day.

Entering the courtyard, on the right you can see a long building. Here there were barracks. Behind them is the church. And further away is the palace of the prince. These two buildings are here since the time of Stephen the Great. Near the palace in the rock at the same time, a well was hollowed out. It is now located in the center of the courtyard.

Well

According to the description, the well, located on the territory of Khotyn fortress, has a depth of 68 meters. Its width reaches 2.5 m. It is hollowed out in rock, and till now the water raised from its depths is suitable for drinking. This is not all information that can be learned about the well in the Khotyn Fortress.

For many centuries this object has never ceased to fascinate people with its power. Many legends are associated with it, which is generated in the minds of the Khotyn fortress itself. Legends say that in the time of the first capture by the Turks of this impregnable structure, there lived a witch doctor here. He had a daughter - a beautiful Katerina. At the Turkish pasha, who lived then in the castle, the only son fell ill. And no one could heal him. Obeying his duty, the doctor restored the king's offspring to life. But while the son of the pasha was at the healer's house, he fell in love with Katerina. And so she sank into his soul, that the prince did not dare to take the girl by force in marriage, wanted that she herself came to him.

Learning about that, the Turkish pasha forced the girl to marry with his son, otherwise her father was threatened with death. A year later, Katerina gave birth to a son. He had blond hair and blue eyes. Pasha could not gratify his grandson and gave him a golden cradle.

The witch all this time did not find a place for grief, all he wanted was to rescue the only daughter from shameful captivity. And then one day he found a way. Having collected a certain set of herbs, I cooked the potion. He was able to transfer it to the palace.

The potion had to turn Katerina and her son into water. So they could escape from the palace. Katerina drank the potion and gave them her baby. Then she threw the golden cradle in the well. So they were able to penetrate the smallest drops through the walls of the fortress. Their father was a witch doctor. But he could not spoil the fugitives, since the cradle was enchanted by an even stronger spell.

Some locals say that a wet spot on the wall is Katrusia, who is waiting to be spoiled by her son. This will happen only when someone reaches for the golden cradle from the bottom of the well. They say that on a moonlit night you can see how it gleams in the water. But it has not been given to anyone yet.

Features of the structure

The area where the Khotyn fortress is located is rocky. It's hard to imagine what an enormous amount of work the ancient builders did to build such a structure.

The peasants of nearby villages built it. To get to the top where the Khotyn fortress was, they had to drag up stone, water and lime. In those days, a decree was issued on the collection of dues in the form of eggs and milk. These products were added to the solution to give strength to the construction. Thanks to this miracle solution, the walls of the fortress stood until today without significant destruction. Some historians argue that during the Turkish governance of the fortress, nursing mothers were forced to bring breast milk, which was also added to the solution when reconstructing the destroyed walls after the siege.

Khotyn fortress, information about which is given to tourists and guests, has a system of underground tunnels. They connect all the buildings in the fortress. Under the ground, the inhabitants kept provisions, stored weapons. Here was also the prison. The rebels, who refuse to carry heavy stones from day to day, were put in a dungeon. In 1491 there was even a peasant uprising led by Andrei Borulya. The protest was quickly suppressed, and the main ringleader and his comrades long languished in the dungeons of this fortress. Andrei Borule was cut off in the main square. His supporters were thrown off the North Tower. It was the tallest building on the site.

Usually the prisoners in the dungeons were dumped down from the Eastern Tower. Therefore, it was also called the Death Tower. The executioners fell on the Dniester rocks below. It was considered a bad sign if the blood spilled in peacetime in the fortress. This predicted a bloody battle.

The Princely Palace

The prince's palace was also built in the 15th century. Later he was given the name of the Commandant's Palace. It is one of the most beautiful buildings, which has on its territory Khotyn fortress. The description of it can take a long time. But the most interesting detail on the facade is a beautiful pattern of red brick and white stone. In front of the palace there is a wooden summer hall for banquets.

At the time of the Turkish capture of the fortress on the second floor, a pasha harem was in the palace. In it at that time there were about 30 women who were the wives of the ruler. According to legend, there was also Sophia Potocki's sister, who was famous for her beauty. They say that the sisters even met several times

Pasha loved his wives and appeased them in every possible way. For them, according to his order, baths were built near the fortress walls, and even there was a swimming pool.

Water supply system

In the distant 15th century, the inhabitants of the fortress had a water supply and sewage system. This is a rather unusual situation for that time. Water was supplied directly from the river.

The facilities were used not only by the people, but also by ordinary residents. Khotyn fortress had toilets, in which water was supplied for the higher ranks, and ordinary people were satisfied with the sewage system that drained along the walls of the fortress.

In the White Tower of the Tower of London there was the same sewage disposal system. This is a fairly acceptable principle of the drainage system for that time. High above the wall can not be seen, because the tap is made from the outside. Rain and snow washed everything.

For the high-ranking officials even the basins operated. Comfort from the use of running water, this despite the fact that the 15th century was in the yard, it is difficult to overestimate. Fortress Khotynska this favorably differed from many European castles.

Notable events

Many significant events took place under the walls of this fortress. In 1621, there was a battle between the Ukrainian-Polish army and the Turks. Thus, the advance of the Ottoman Empire to the west was stopped. This important historical battle saved Europe from the rule of the Turks. Khotyn fortress watched it. How to get to this landmark location will be discussed later.

Thanks to courage and ingenuity, the Cossacks, led by Hetman Pyotr Sagaidachny, won this battle.

In 1673 there was the Battle of Khotyn. Hetman Jan Sobieski defeated the army of the Turks. A lot of historically important events were realized in these lands.

In the 18th century, the Russian Empire was four times taken by Khotin. Lomonosov wrote "The Ode to the Taking of Khotin", dedicated to one of these battles.

How to get to the fortress

To get to Khotyn fortress, you need to come from Kiev to Kamenets-Podolsk by train. From bus number 1 in Khmelnytsky also follows the bus. If you plan to travel on your car, then to the destination of the traveler will lead the route M20. From Kamenetz-Podolsk should move to the south. It will take only 27 km. It is necessary to take into account the time when visitors are allowed in Khotyn fortress. Otherwise, after traveling many kilometers, it is necessary to search for a night, and the trip will need to be extended.

The time of Khotyn fortress starts at 9 am and ends at 6 pm. Entrance to the territory costs about 30 rubles. And if there is a desire to take pictures or remove the beauty of the ancient building on video, you will need to pay another 20-30 rubles.

Khotynska fortress will undoubtedly leave a sea of unforgettable impressions. The enchanting beauty of nature, combined with the secrets and legends that keep the walls of this building, all this will not leave a single guest indifferent.