The stone Smolensk fortress is not the first such building in the city, and not even the last. Back in the 12th century, the Smolensk prince Rostislav Mstislavich surrounded the city with a wooden wall. In the 15th century, when Smolensk was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the city was surrounded by a high earthen rampart, on which Ivan the Terrible built a wooden fortress in the middle of the 16th century. Today, nothing remains of the wooden structures, only fragments of the Lithuanian Wall in the southern part of the fortress.
After the construction of a modern stone fortress in Smolensk in 1602, earthen fortifications of a closed form were erected twice more: in the 17th century, the Poles built a five-sided Royal Fortress on the site of a site blown up by them during the siege of the city in 1609-1611 (there is still in the Lopatinsky Garden ), and in the 18th century, at the beginning of the Northern War, Peter I built on the right bank of the Dnieper, opposite the main bridge, a stone-and-earth kronverk, completely dismantled in the 30s of the 19th century.
The stone fortress in Smolensk was built by order of Tsar Fyodor Ioanovich in 1596-1602 by the forces of the entire State of Moscow, since in 1603 the truce with the Commonwealth expired. For the first time in national history, the labor of almost 30,000 hired workers was used. For 6 years, fortress walls were erected up to 18 m high and 38 towers, from 22 to 33 m high (mostly three-tiered). The thickness of the walls is up to 6 m. The total length of the fortress along the combat perimeter was 6.5 km. There was no more powerful wall in Russia either then or now. The fortress was built by the "city master", a native of the Smolensk region Fedor Kon.
In the 17th century during the Russian-Polish wars, the fortress withstood three sieges, with a total duration of more than 3 years, and no one was able to take it from battle (in 1609-1611, the Poles besieged it, and in 1633-1634 and in 1654 - Russian troops) . In August 1812, the walls of the fortress withstood a two-day assault and artillery shelling by the army of Emperor Napoleon. In November of the same year, retreating from Smolensk, Napoleon ordered to mine and blow up the fortress towers. On November 5, 9 towers flew into the air, the rest were repulsed and cleared by the Don Cossack Corps of Ataman M.I. Platov.
Unfortunately, not war, but peacetime destroyed the Smolensk fortress. In the 1820-30s, it was dismantled into stone and brick to restore buildings destroyed by the war, and in the 1930s - to expand new sites during the active Stalinist construction (brick was again used). So, 18 towers and 9 fragments of the wall have survived to this day, with a total length of almost 3.5 km. These fragments are found in different parts of the city. The longest section, more than 1.5 km long, is located in the eastern part of the city along the street. Zhukov and st. Timiryazev from the Nikolsky Gates in the southeast to the Veselukha Tower in the north.
At the Eagle Tower, you are completely free to climb the fortress and take a walk on the site from the Abraham Gate Tower to Veselukha. Only here you will understand all the power and grandeur of the Smolensk fortress, which are enhanced by the panoramic effect, since on both sides the eastern section of the wall is limited by deep (up to 30 m) ravines. On the slope of the outer ravine "Devil's ditch" there is a ski slope with a drag lift. A particularly impressive view of the city and its surroundings, the Assumption Cathedral and the fortress, opens from the top platform of the Eagle Tower, which is very easy to climb.
Today in the August table of orders we have a theme from an old friend res_man : Smolensk fortress, and why it is incorrect to call it the Kremlin. (It’s really incomprehensible to me. It doesn’t seem to contradict the definition of the Kremlin)
The Smolensk fortress (often called the Smolensk Kremlin) is a defensive structure built in 1595–1602 during the reign of Tsars Fyodor Ioannovich and Boris Godunov. The city of Smolensk has always been the "key of the Muscovite state", the guardian of Russia on its western borders. Almost no major war in Europe over the past 500 years has left him aside: the Russian-Polish-Lithuanian wars, the Patriotic War of 1812 and the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. always Smolensk was of strategic importance for the Muscovite state, the Russian Empire, and then the USSR.
The possession of Smolensk has always opened a direct road to the capital, to Moscow. That is why the city has always been surrounded by advanced and powerful fortifications: first wooden, then stone.
There is every reason to believe that Smolensk became a fortified point before the annalistic period. Probably built on Cathedral Hill, on the Shklyana, Tikhvin and Voznesenskaya mountains and in a number of other places, the settlements were the first fortified tribal settlements of the Eastern Balts. The Smolensk hills (there are 12 of them) attracted ancient people by the fact that they could be relatively easily fortified and turned into hard-to-reach settlements due to the steep slopes and deep ravines that surrounded them.
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Such high hills and terrain heavily indented by ravines are not found either upstream or downstream of the Dnieper. The area on which Smolensk arose is notable for the fact that trade routes crossed here, there was a key point of the most significant ancient communication - the route "from the Varangians to the Greeks." Initially, the city was located 10 km west of modern Smolensk. It was a large tribal center of the Dnieper Krivichi. Having assimilated the local tribes of the Balts, the Krivichi Slavs by the 9th century. formed their proto-city, in which about 4-5 thousand people lived, merchants-warriors, as well as artisans. Ancient Smolensk (the modern village of Gnezdovo) controlled and served one of the most important sections of the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks”: 10 km to the west, the Katynka River flows into the Dnieper, along which a difficult section began - “drag”. The world's largest burial mound was formed here - a consequence of the fact that the city was located at a lively crossroads of trade routes.
The first written mention of the city under 862 reports that Smolensk is "great and many people." Askold and Dir sailed by, not daring to capture the city, which, no doubt, was vast in area, and part of it was properly fortified with an earthen rampart.
In the XI century. a new stage in the formation of Smolensk began. In 1054, the son of Yaroslav the Wise, Vyacheslav Yaroslavich, began to rule in the city. Probably, it was at this time, under the first Smolensk princes, that the princely residence was erected on the high hills of the left bank of the Dnieper in the Smyadyn region.
The child of the city was Cathedral Hill. Its top was surrounded by a shaft with a wooden wall. From the south, the fortified platform of the mountain was cut off from the floor part by an artificial moat. Already during the time of Vladimir Monomakh (1053-1125), defensive structures covered almost the entire city territory, protecting the roundabout city.
They were an earthen rampart with a tyn on top. The fortifications of the citadel and the roundabout city looked quite impressive on the high hills. Gradually, an urban settlement grew in an uninhabited place, with the simultaneous decline of Gnezdov. Posad freely developed on the territory along the Dnieper between the Bolshaya Rachevka and Churilovsky streams. Its eastern part was called the Kryloshevsky end, the western - the Pyatnitsky end.
In 1078 the Polotsk prince Vseslav attacked the city, who set fire to the settlements and besieged the fortress for a long time. Vladimir Monomakh hastened to help the city. Vseslav lifted the siege and fled.
Polotsk in the XII-XIII centuries. constantly fought with Smolensk, trying to defend its independence. No less acute was the struggle between Smolensk and Novgorod. It was at this time that new defensive structures were built in Smolensk. They were erected in 1134 by Prince Rostislav Mstislavovich. They were a high earthen rampart that stretched from the upper reaches of the St. George's ravine and left the Avraamievsky monastery outside the fortifications.
Circular defensive structures in several lines were a characteristic feature of the ancient Russian fortifications of the 12th century. The “big old wooden city” mentioned in older written sources is the Smolensk wooden fortress.
The defense of the city was strengthened by stone churches and monasteries. Borisoglebsky Monastery controlled the overland road to the west, Spassky - to the south. Even the Tatars could not take the powerful Smolensk fortress. In the spring of 1239 they did not reach the city. However, in the summer of 1333, the Bryansk prince Dmitry Romanovich led the Tatar detachment under the very walls of Smolensk. For a long time, the enemies besieged the fortress, but were forced to leave with nothing. In 1339, in winter, Smolensk was again besieged by a detachment of Tatars with the support of many Russian regiments.
“And the army standing at Smolesk for many days was scattered, but the city was not taken,” says the chronicle.
In the next 1340, "Smolensk burned down all on the night of Spasov Day." This message indicates that the wooden city fortifications had to be maintained in proper order, since the threat from Lithuania was growing for the weakening Smolensk principality. And there is no doubt that they are constantly updated and improved. This allowed the fortress to withstand repeated attacks by the Lithuanians (in 1356, 1358, 1359, 1386). Somewhere in 1392-1393. Vitovt's henchman Gleb Svyatoslavovich ascended the princely throne in Smolensk. Under him, the city acquired huge siege cannons, from which the first artillery salute in Russia was fired in honor of the arrival of Moscow Prince Vasily Dmitrievich. In 1395, the great Lithuanian prince Vytautas seized the city by cunning. Realizing that the fortress could not be taken by storm, he spread the rumor that he was going on a campaign against the Tatars. When he approached the city, curious Smolensk people came out with gifts to greet him and look at the Lithuanian army. A large detachment of Lithuanians broke into the city through the open gates.
“They did a lot of evil in the city, took a lot of wealth, and led a lot into captivity, and executions without mercy,” the chronicle tells about this episode.
Proskudin-Gorsky, North-eastern part of Smolensk with a fortress wall. 1912
At the beginning of 1401, the rebellious Smolensk overthrew the Lithuanian governor. Vitovt, not wanting to lose the most important city for himself, in the autumn of the same year led his army to Smolensk and laid siege to it. He brought guns with him. Smolensk also organized a reliable defense of the city. Moreover, they made frequent sorties into the Lithuanian camp and during one of these attacks they recaptured the enemy's new weapon - cannons. Vytautas had to lift the siege.
Only on June 24, 1404, Vytautas finally captured the city after a long siege. The absence of Prince Yuri in Smolensk, hunger, illness, betrayal of the boyars did their job. Smolensk was under the rule of Lithuania for 110 years. Vitovt bestowed special benefits on the inhabitants of the region, wishing to bind the people to himself. In this he succeeded completely. And six years later, in the bloody Battle of Grunwald, the brave Smolensk regiments proved their loyalty to him.
In 1440, an uprising against the Polish-Lithuanian lords took place in Smolensk, which received the name "Great Jam". In this and the following year, the city was subjected to fierce artillery shelling and assaults until it was taken. It was after this that the Lithuanians thoroughly remade the badly damaged fortress wall. Its restructuring was necessary, especially since artillery was rapidly developing.
At the end of the XV century. The Muscovite state was so strengthened that it began the struggle for Smolensk. The campaign of the troops of Ivan III. 1492 ended with the annexation of Vyazma. In 1500 Moscow conquered Dorogobuzh. However, an attempt to take Smolensk in 1502 ended in failure. A decade later, the struggle for Smolensk took on a decisive character.
On December 19, 1512, Grand Duke Vasily III himself led a campaign against the city. However, the six-week siege ended in vain: the powerful fortress survived.
In 1514, Vasily III undertook a third campaign against Smolensk, which was preceded by intensive preparations. All the artillery of the Muscovite state was assembled: about 300 cannons, including heavy siege weapons. Never before had so many forces been concentrated for the siege of one city.
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Even before the campaign, private negotiations were held with the Russian population of Smolensk and the mercenaries defending the city on the surrender of the fortress. The storming of the city was carried out by the governors in an organized and planned manner, and on July 21 the fortress surrendered. On August 1, Vasily III entered the city, at the gates of which he was met with a procession by all the people with "pure souls, with much love."
So Smolensk became part of the Moscow State. Lithuania repeatedly tried to return the city, but Moscow did everything to protect a key outpost on the western border. Many service people were sent to Smolensk. In 1526, the settlement on the right bank of the Dnieper was fortified with a tyn. The garrison of the fortress was strengthened so much that it was able to fight in the open field. In 1534, the Smolensk people proved this in practice, not allowing the Lithuanians to even approach the city and burn the suburbs.
Under Ivan the Terrible, work began on the construction of new city fortifications. A fire in the spring of 1554 almost completely burned the city, and Smolensk had to be rebuilt. The real threat of attack and the need to protect a much larger area of the enlarged city were the reasons that led to the creation of a new fortress, which was called the "Big New City". In addition, the defensive structures of the new fortress had to match the increased power of siege artillery.
To achieve access to the Baltic Sea - this was one of the main tasks of Moscow's foreign policy. Its interests ran into opposition from Sweden and Poland. In 1590 peace was concluded with Poland for a period of twelve years. Military clashes with Sweden ended with the signing of the "eternal peace" in 1595. Thus, for six years, starting from 1596, the Moscow government received a peaceful respite on the western borders. It foresaw a war with Poland, which sought to deepen the successes of the Livonian War and, having captured Smolensk, use it as a base for economic and political expansion in the border regions of Muscovite Russia.
In January 1603, the truce with Poland ended. That is why, immediately after the peace with Sweden, Moscow decided to turn Smolensk into a well-defended fortress. On December 15, 1595, preparations for its construction began. By royal decree, Prince V. A. Zvenigorodsky, S. V. Bezobrazov, clerks P. Shipilov and N. Perfiryev, “city master Fyodor Savelyev Horse” were ordered to hastily arrive in Smolensk by Christmas (December 25) to build a stone city.
Fedor Horse
Fedor Kon was born on July 4, 1556 in Dorogobuzh. Fyodor Kon's father, Savely Petrov, was a carpenter. And in 1565, Savely Petrov came to Moscow to work, he brought his nine-year-old son Fedor with him to the capital to teach him the craft of ward construction. Savely Petrov belonged to the number of "black people" who had almost no rights. At that time, a new royal palace was being built across the Neglinnaya River, where Savely Petrov settled down. The work was supervised by an experienced master - a foreigner Johann Clairaut. In Moscow, Fyodor Kon was delighted with the almost fabulous beauty of St. Basil's and the grandeur of Ivan the Great.
The harsh walls of the Moscow Kremlin and Kitay-gorod made a great impression on him. At first he helped his father: he dragged boards, dug ditches for foundations, got used to the craft of ward construction, but in the fall of 1568 an epidemic of fireweed swept through Moscow: many townspeople and newcomers died. The carpenter Savely Petrov also died. Johann Klero left his son Fyodor at the construction site, appointing him as a junior assistant to the carpenter Foma Krivousov. Soon a stranger from his native place informed Fedor about the death of his mother and younger brothers. The orphaned Fyodor Savelyev left the construction of the royal chambers and continues to work in Moscow, erecting stone walls and log huts, built at that time according to the “patterns” worked out by experienced carpenters and masters of chamber construction. In 1571, the hordes of the Crimean Khan attacked Moscow and almost all wooden buildings were destroyed by fire. Fedor "with his comrades" continued to build. A tall and smart young man becomes a senior in a carpenter's artel. He stood out among his comrades with extraordinary strength and endurance. It is no coincidence that the sixteen-year-old Fyodor Savelyev was nicknamed the Horse.
The “black” man Fedor Horse loved Russia with all his heart and soul of the simple Russian people and gave all his knowledge and strength to strengthen its power. Wanderings around Moscow and the half-starved life of a “smerd” did not add up in Fyodor Kon an indefatigable interest in stone city buildings. Fyodor lived at that time on the Arbat in the courtyard of the parish priest Gur Agapitov, from whom the inquisitive young man learned to read and write, and learned some information from sacred history. Fedor continued to walk around the yards in search of odd jobs. The thirst for knowledge led Fedor to the master Johann Clairaut. The educated engineer Clairaut undertook to teach the Horse mathematics and the principles of structural mechanics. Stories about great architects, about ancient Greek and Roman architecture, about castles and fortresses, revealed a new unknown world to the young carpenter.
From Claireau Horse learned German and Latin, independent reading of foreign books. Fyodor Kon's friendship with the cannon maker Andrei Chekhov dates back to this time. Meanwhile, the life of the artel carpenter went on as before. Huts, sheds, chambers - rarely when a large order fell out. The spring of 1573 came. Fyodor Kon "with his comrades" set up mansions for the German Heinrich Staden, who served at court. For a long time the Horse did not have a big job, and he devoted himself with enthusiasm to the implementation of an interesting order. The work was coming to an end, around the new mansion the carpenters put up a high fence. The Horse himself cut the gate patterns. But the owner, the German, did not like the magnificent Russian carving. Without a word, he hit the Horse and turned to walk away. Fyodor Kon flared up and, seized with anger, knocked the German to the ground. A fight ensued...
Fragment of the 1591 tsar's order to the Astrakhan voevodas, calling Fyodor Kon "church and chamber master" (LOII Archive, f. 178, No. 1, gluing 12)
Fedor was accused of rebellion and godlessness. Knowing full well that severe punishment awaited him, Fyodor Kon fled from Moscow. The refugee hid in the Boldin Monastery near his native city of Dorogobuzh. The Boldin Monastery by the time Fyodor Konya arrived in it was one of the richest in Russia. The monks wanted to enclose the monastery with stone. Fyodor had the opportunity to try his knowledge and experience on a large stone construction project. Standing out for his knowledge and courage of artistic thought, Kon headed the monastery construction. Under the leadership of Fyodor Kon, a cathedral with three altar niches, a monastery belfry, a refectory with a small church attached to it, and chopped oak walls were built. But Fyodor Kon' did not escape for long in the monastery. He was forced to leave it. The participation of Fyodor Kon in the construction of the Boldin Monastery is confirmed by many researchers of Russian architecture. Analyzing the architectural details of the Odigitrievskaya Church of the Ivano-Predtechensky Monastery in Vyazma, one cannot help but be convinced that they were made by the hand of the same master as the stone buildings of the Boldin Monastery. Simultaneously with the work on the construction of the Ivano-Predtechensky Monastery, Fyodor Kon was entrusted with the construction of the Vyazemsky city cathedral, which later received the name Trinity Cathedral. The Trinity Cathedral in Vyazma has survived without significant changes to this day and testifies to the great creative talent of the architect. Fedor Kon clearly imagined what Russian fortresses should be like. Based on the experience of Russian fortification art, he paved his own way in this area. Longing for a big job forced Fyodor Kon in March 1584 to leave Vyazma and secretly return to Moscow. There he wrote a petition addressed to Tsar Ivan the Terrible. But Grozny could not forgive the escape from the sovereign's justice.
That is why a week later Fyodor Kon received an answer: “The city master Fedor, the son of Saveliy, is allowed to live in Moscow, and beat the batogs fifty times for escaping.” Fedor with firmness endured the punishment for the escape. Thus began a new stage in the life of Fyodor Kon, who was destined to multiply the power and glory of Muscovite Russia. In Moscow, Fyodor Kon met his old friend, the foundry master Andrei Chekhov, who at that time was casting the Tsar Cannon. Again the ward master had to leave Moscow. This time, Fedor Kon worked in the Moscow region on the construction of the Pafnutiev Monastery in Borovsk. The reign of Boris Godunov continued Ivan the Terrible's policy of strengthening the Russian state. Godunov paid great attention to the defense of the Fatherland and especially the capital. At his suggestion, in 1586, work began on the construction of a new Tsarev-city around Moscow. Godunov remembered the city foreman Fyodor Kon. The dream of the "black" man came true - he was entrusted with the construction of the Tsar's city. Fedor Kon set to work with great energy, judging by the excavations carried out during the laying of the Moscow Metro, the depth of the foundations of the White City was 2.1 meters. The width of the walls at the level of the foundation reached six meters, and in the upper part it was 4.5 meters. Loopholes were arranged in the walls for short and long-range shelling, 28 towers rose above the walls.
In 1593 the construction of the White City was completed. As a reward for his work, Fyodor Kon received a piece of brocade and a fur coat from the boyar Godunov, and Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich allowed the town planner to get his hands on it. The construction of the White City brought honor and wealth to Fyodor Kon. Fyodor Kon married the widow of a merchant from the "cloth row" Irina Agapovna Petrova and he is accepted into the cloth hundred. At the same time, he was building the Church of the Don Mother of God in the Moscow Donskoy Monastery. Upon completion of the construction of the Don Church, Fyodor Kon begins the construction and strengthening of the Simonov Monastery - one of the brightest pages in the history of Russian fortification. Upon completion of work in the Simonov Monastery, Fyodor Kon was entrusted with the construction of the Smolensk fortress wall. In 1595, Fyodor Kon arrived in Smolensk on the orders of the tsar to build a fortress. The Smolensk fortress is the second major building of Fyodor Savelyevich Kon.
Construction managers received a detailed instruction on how to organize the work. They had to take into account all the specialists in stone processing and brickwork, all "sheds and ovens where they made bricks"; find out where there was rubble stone and wood on piles, determine the routes and distances of transportation; calculate the number of people involved in the construction and hire them, paying for the work from the state treasury. Already in the current winter, very high norms for the preparation of piles for the foundation were set for the peasants, which had to be delivered to the construction site before the onset of spring.
In the spring of 1596, Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich approved the estimate and sent to Smolensk to lay a fortress "his boyar and servant and equestrian Boris Fyodorovich Godunov", who carried out the royal decree solemnly and with great pomp.
Based on the volume of construction work and the special importance of the fortress being built, the royal decree ordered to send masons, brick-makers and even potters "from all over the Russian land." Moreover, under the threat of the death penalty, any stone construction in the Muscovite state was strictly prohibited until the completion of work in Smolensk.
The scale and urgency of the construction required a huge effort from the state. The annals noted that the city of Smolensk was made “by all the cities of the Muscovite state. The stone was brought from all cities ... ”The limestone, which went to the lining of the lower belt of the wall and to the manufacture of lime, as well as the rubble stone of the internal masonry and foundation, was delivered from rather remote places, since these materials were not available near Smolensk. In Smolensk, only bricks were made. It is estimated that only 320,000 piles, 100 million bricks, a million wagonloads of sand, etc. were used to build the wall.
The most expensive and time-consuming work (procurement and transportation of building materials) were turned into state duties. For the transportation of building materials, the government mobilized peasants with carts even from the Moscow district. However, it nevertheless made a bet on the use of hired labor and applied it in the construction of a fortress on a large scale, which was not typical for the economic life of that time. Moreover, in order to speed up the work, it raised the daily wages of skilled master masons significantly above the usual level - up to 16 kopecks per day.
Thanks to emergency measures, the construction of the fortress was completed on time. At the end of 1602, a solemn ceremony of its official consecration took place.
Sigismund began to gather his forces for a campaign against Russia after the January Diet of 1609. At his disposal was a relatively small army, only about 12.5 thousand people. Of these, about 7,800 people were cavalry of diverse composition and 4,700 were infantry.
The path to Moscow was blocked by Smolensk - a powerful fortress on the western border of the state. The fact that Sigismund's troops consisted of 62 percent cavalry, unable to besiege fortresses, proves that the king hoped to quickly take possession of the city, being sure of his voluntary surrender.
Sigismund was confident in the ease of the campaign being undertaken and argued that one had only to draw a saber to end the war in Russia with victory.
Moscow saw a threat from the West. It is no coincidence that at the end of 1607, Mikhail Borisovich Shein, who had rich combat experience, was appointed chief voivode to Smolensk.
However, the numerous garrison was not reliable. Many nobles sympathized with the Polish interventionists and secretly assisted them. Sigismund raged cursing the "rude bear people" who did not leave their homes to the enemy.
The Poles made their first assault on October 4, an hour and a half before dawn. The shelling of the fortress had been going on since September 28, but this night it was especially intense. During the attacks, the Abraham Gates were destroyed. The passage to the fortress was open. The defenders of the city lit torches on the walls and illuminated the advancing German and Hungarian infantry. Twice the Poles burst into the gate and both times the Smolensk in a fierce hand-to-hand fight threw them back.
After an unsuccessful assault, the Poles fired heavily on the walls of the Smolensk fortress in order to intimidate the defenders. The defenders, on the other hand, avoided open combat with a strong enemy, but often made sorties in small groups.
The Polish king refused to go to Moscow without capturing Smolensk. He considered it a duty of honor to take it. In addition, it was dangerous to leave an armed fortress in the rear. Having failed in the assault, the Poles relied on starvation and, having stopped hostilities in November, resumed them in July of the following year.
In general, five main assaults were organized on Smolensk
On April 13, 1610, the Poles took the city of Bely. Of the 16 thousand people of the garrison of this small fortress, only 4 thousand survived. The already difficult situation of Smolensk worsened even more, since now the city was completely cut off from the rest of Russia. Hope for help from Moscow was illusory. In order to get help to Smolensk, Shuisky's government would have to take the fortresses of Vyazma and Dorogobuzh. Smolensk had to rely only on themselves.
On August 8, 1610, Prince Mortin and nobleman Sushchov fled to the Poles. The traitors were supported in the fortress by several dozen people. The traitors advised the Poles to storm simultaneously from the west and from the east. They expected to supplement the assault with an uprising inside the fortress. The second winter in the besieged fortress was the most terrible in its consequences. Disease, starvation and extreme exhaustion claimed hundreds of people. However, the fortress did not give up.
In the spring of 1611, Hetman Potocki exerted all his strength to put an end to the fortress. He used the advice of defectors. Of particular importance to him were the testimony of another traitor - Andrey Dedeshin, who took part in the construction of the fortress and pointed to the site near the Abraham Gates, where the wall was very fragile.
On June 2, 1611, the Poles began preparations for a general assault. Throughout the night, artillery shelling of the city was carried out. On the night of June 2-3, when the summer dawn was already breaking, in complete silence, four Polish detachments went on the attack. Each of them outnumbered the defenders of the fortress several times. The attackers eventually managed to break through from several sides - from the side of the Avramievskaya tower and the Bogoslovsky tower. In addition, the Poles used the information of a defector who, on the eve of the assault, said that gunpowder could be placed in one of the drainpipes of the fortress near the Kryloshevsky Gate. The Poles blew up the wall and here they were also able to break into the fortress. Crowds of people gathered in the Cathedral Church. Seeing that there was no salvation, a certain Belavin set fire to the powder warehouse under the lord's house.
A terrible explosion destroyed the chambers, and part of the cathedral collapsed, burying many women and children under it. Some of the survivors voluntarily threw themselves into the flames that engulfed the cathedral, deciding to die rather than endure the reproach of the victors.
Shein with his family and fifteen soldiers locked themselves in the Kolomenskaya Tower. They fought off the German attack, killing more than ten of them, but were eventually forced to surrender. The wounded governor was interrogated, which was accompanied by torture, and then sent to Poland. The king hoped to get treasures that were not in the city.
Having received no outside help, the fortress garrison refused to capitulate and fought until exhaustion. After a twenty-month siege, Smolensk and the county turned into a desert. “This two-year siege killed 80,000 people, devastating the Smolensk region to the end, where there was “neither a sheep, nor a bull, nor a cow, nor a calf left - the enemies exterminated everything,” a contemporary wrote. The city was captured, but contributed to the salvation of the country from enslavement.
Exhausted by the siege, the royal army was completely disorganized and unfit for combat. Sigismund had to dissolve it without helping his troops locked in the Moscow Kremlin. Having captured Smolensk, the Poles immediately fixed the fortress. In the western section, the affected, more than others
They poured a high shaft, called the "Royal Bastion. The Muscovite state did not hesitate to liberate the city. Already in March 1613, troops were sent to the west. However, according to the Deulinsky truce signed in 1618, Smolensk remained in the hands of Poland.
S. M. Prokudin-Gorsky. View of the Kepostnaya wall from the Veselukha tower. Smolensk. 1912
In January 1654, Ukraine became part of the Muscovite state, and almost immediately the war with Poland began. The main task of the Russian army in the central direction was to take Smolensk. The city was surrounded, and from June 20, the Russian army began its intensive artillery shelling. It greatly outnumbered the Polish garrison, which consisted of three and a half thousand people. The king ordered to take the fortress by storm simultaneously from all sides. The assault began on the night of August 16 and lasted seven hours. A fierce battle took place on the royal bastion, at the Dnieper gates, at the Sheinov breach. Having lost about 15 thousand people, the Moscow army retreated. Preparations began for a new assault, but on September 23 the garrison capitulated. Smolensk finally became part of Russia.
The Moscow government turned the city into the most powerful outpost in the west. It evicted the gentry from the fortress, populated it with military service people.
In 1698, at the behest of Peter I, work began again to strengthen the city. The royal bastion was turned into a citadel, separating it from the city with a moat. A bastion with a stone armory was erected on the site of the Sheinov breach. Along the entire perimeter of the fortress wall, a moat was dug, reaching a width of 6.4 m, fortifications were built - traverses, bastions were built in front of the towers. In the St. Petersburg suburb (as the Zadneprovye was then called) they fortified the building built back in 1658-1659. bridgehead - the so-called "new fortress", or kronverk.
Under the cover of the walls of the Smolensk fortress, on August 4-5, 1812, Russian troops entered into a major battle with the Napoleonic troops. The French suffered losses, but were never able to prevent the connection of the two Russian armies, which gained time and retreated, maintaining their combat effectiveness.
Leaving Smolensk, the French army on the night of November 17, 1812 (according to the new style) blew up 9 fortress towers.
Until 1844, the wall was in the military department, dilapidated and collapsing, since no measures were taken to maintain it, at least in outwardly proper condition. By the time of transfer to the civilian department, only 19 towers had survived, and some of them were used as warehouses.
Before 1917
From 1889 to 1917 the wall was under the supervision of a special commission, which consisted of the governor, architect and officials. During this period, some measures were taken to maintain the wall in decent shape, but the effect of this was negligible. The walls continued to deteriorate and they were gradually dismantled both by decree of the Civil Department and by the inhabitants themselves.
The situation was saved by Emperor Alexander II, who, in a report presented to him about the Smolensk fortress, wrote wishes for its preservation as "one of the oldest monuments of Russian history."
During the war of 1941-1945, during the defense of Smolensk in 1941 and its liberation in 1943, the wall suffered from the actions of both German and Soviet troops. It is believed that two towers were blown up during the Nazi occupation.
Fragments of the Smolensk wall can now be seen in different parts of Smolensk, but the most impressive is the long chain of its majestic strands and towers, interrupted in places, covering the space of the ancient city from the southern and eastern sides. Together with written materials and engravings of the early 17th century. these fragments allow us to imagine the architecture of the Smolensk "city".
P.S. and, well, yes, by the way, we also had a question, why can’t the Smolensk fortress be called the Kremlin? Found the answer only in Wikipedia:
Kremlins are sometimes incorrectly called some fortifications.
Often, the Kremlin walls are duplicated by additional external defense structures. If the external stone fortress under construction surpasses in its fortification qualities the wooden walls of the old Kremlin existing by that time, it can take on the function of the main fortification structure: for example, the Smolensk fortress erected in the 16th century, which encircled not only the Kremlin space, but also widely spread Posad, often referred to as the Kremlin itself. Link to the article from which this copy is made -
Smolensk fortress wall (1596-1602)- the largest defensive structure at that time in Russia. In terms of the fortress, it looked like an irregular closed figure. With a length of 6.5 km, the Smolensk fortress wall covered the city with an area of about 2.7 square meters. km.
The structure of the fortress included 38 spindles and the same number of towers. The average size of the spins between the towers is about 158 m, the width is from 5.2 to 6 m. The height of the walls is on average from 13 to 19 m, including battlements. The width of the combat platform of the Smolensk wall is 4-4.5 m.
Among the 38 towers: 16 polyhedral (round), 13 blind rectangular towers and 9 rectangular with gates. The main gate towers were in the northern part of the fortress - the Frolovskaya (Dneprovskaya) tower, in the southern part - Molokhovskaya.
In addition to the two main travel towers, the Smolensk fortress had 7 additional gate towers, which were not intended for front entrances to the city. They had a so-called "knee" passage and were intended for internal use. Avraamievskaya, Yeleninskaya, Lazarevskaya, Kryloshevskaya towers were located on the eastern side of the city, and Kopytenskaya, Pyatnitskaya and Pyatnitskaya water towers were located on the western side. Differing from each other in size, these towers were almost the same inside, but some of them had two tiers, while others had three. Some of them (Lazarevskaya, Avraamievskaya, Yeleninskaya and Kopytenskaya) have survived to this day. Protruding strongly forward in relation to the walls, these towers are almost square in plan. Each of them is equipped with two wide arched openings, one of which is located on the back side, and the other - on the side facing the field.
In the thickness of the wall, directly at the gate towers, Fyodor Kon also laid out narrow vaulted stairs, which are called stone shoots in the Painted List of 1665. These shoots made it possible to climb both to the upper tiers of the towers and to the battlefields of the walls adjoining them. The surface of the battlefield had a brick pavement.
The bottom of the fortress is laid out of regular, well-hewn rectangular blocks of white stone 92 to 21 cm long and 34 to 20 cm high, and at the top - of well-burned red brick, the dimensions of which are 31x15x6 cm. The weight of the brick in a dry state was 6, 5 - 7.5 kg.
The masonry technique of the wall is half rubble. The wall consists, as it were, of two vertical walls, the space between which is filled with rubble (brick battle, fragments of white stone, cobblestones and even cores filled with lime mortar).
The whole fortress was summed up under an oak roof. The roofs of the blind and gate towers, as well as the roofs of the two main towers of the fortress, were wooden, apparently in two boards. With high tents, the Smolensk towers are also depicted in an engraving by Wilhelm Gondius. Watch towers, as was the case on the Frolovsky and Molokhov Gates, these towers did not have.
For the first time in the history of military defense construction, the Smolensk fortress wall was equipped with 3 tiers of battle: sole, middle and upper. An important feature of the Smolensk fortress is the second (middle) tier of battle. The sole and middle battles were located in vaulted niches arranged in masonry. The upper one is in the teeth set along the outer edge of the upper combat stroke.
Plan.
1. Introduction.
2 Smolensk fortress is an outstanding architectural and fortification structure
a) the need for construction
history reference
b) architect Fyodor Kon
c) building a fort
d) the defensive capabilities of the fortress
3 Conclusion.
4 Applications.
1. Introduction
This is a chronicle of battles, This is a story about the fate of Russia! This is a stone shield
What keeps her heart Moscow!...
City-worker, city-warrior, city of Russian glory!
So historians call Smolensk. For the second millennium, he has stood unshakably on the steep Dnieper hills, at the crossroads of many roads, honestly and courageously taking upon himself everything that history has assigned him. In the entire centuries-old history of the city, there was no such century when the Smolensk people did not have to take up arms.
Smolensk is the very history of our Motherland,
his fate has always been inextricably linked with
the fate of the state.
M.S. Gorbachev
At the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, Smolensk, as an important strategic point, was fortified with a powerful stone wall. For six years, from the spring of 1596 to the autumn of 1602, the Smolensk fortress was built. Four hundred years ago, builders were working on the creation of a wall. The wall was erected under the guidance of the outstanding Russian architect Fyodor Savelyevich Kon.
He was nicknamed the Horse for his strength:
The power of the bityug played in him!
Tsar Ivan Vasilyich the Terrible himself
He dubbed the kid the Horse.
And indeed, accurate, though not flattering,
That nickname has stuck with him:
His tousled mane
Just like a horse curled ...
Dmitry Kedrin.
The walls were built so skillfully that they became a reliable defense to the city. Smolensk is called the "key-city", the road to Moscow. The Smolensk fortress played an important role not only for the Smolensk region, but for the whole of Russia. This wall has endured many sieges and wars.
On September 13, 1609, seven years after the completion of the construction of the fortress, the Polish king Sigismund 3 approached Smolensk with a huge army and laid siege to it. For more than twenty months, the defenders of the city, all its population, selflessly held back the onslaught of a well-armed army of invaders.
In the summer of 1708, the troops of the Swedish king Charles 12 approached the southern borders of the Smolensk land, it was through Smolensk that he threatened to pass to Moscow. But Peter I arrived in the city, the most energetic measures were taken to repair the fortress and meet the enemy at the distant approaches. Having come across well-equipped fortifications, having suffered several major defeats and almost being captured, Charles 12 realized that it was impossible to break through to Moscow through Smolensk, turned south, to Ukraine, where the famous Battle of Poltava took place (1709).
The ancient city increased its military merits in the Patriotic War of 1812. On Smolensk land, two Russian armies joined - M.B. Barclay de Tolia and P.I. Bagration. This destroyed the strategic plan of Napoleon to break them apart. On August 4-5, 1812, a major battle took place near the walls of the Smolensk fortress, in which the French troops suffered heavy losses, and the Russian army was able to carry out a strategic maneuver and maintain its combat capability. When the city was abandoned, a guerrilla war unfolded in its vicinity throughout the entire Smolensk land. By this time, 38 towers remained in the fortress wall. At the end of the war, during the retreat of Napoleon, his army blew up 8 towers.
The hardest trials fell on the lot of Smolensk during the Great Patriotic War. On the far and near approaches to the ancient city, on its streets and squares, throughout the surrounding land, the largest battle of the initial period of the war thundered for two months - the battle of Smolensk, which destroyed Hitler's plans for a "blitzkrieg". When the city was under temporary occupation, the population remaining in it continued to fight the enemy. September 25, 1943 Smolensk was liberated.
The ruins of buildings, mountains of crumbled bricks, charred trees, brick chimneys on the site of former dwellings were seen by the soldiers of the Red Army when they entered the city. A new heroic feat was required to overcome devastation, to revive life in the ashes and ruins. And this feat was accomplished.
Today's Smolensk is one of the most beautiful cities in the country. In it, gray antiquity coexists with modern buildings, revived buildings delight the eye with their architectural appearance. History here reminds of itself either as an earthen defensive rampart, or as an ancient temple, or as a fortress tower... Smolensk residents are proud of their heroic past, building a new life.
Smolensk Kremlin -
an outstanding architectural and fortification structure.
Someone moves the arrows slowly
On the earthly dial of centuries,
Yes, on a white thread below
A series of golden clouds .
Get down, necklace, on your shoulders
Prydniprovsky green hills
The thread is severely torn
nothing
Patch these strands of injury,
And tie these beads of words:
Zaaltarnaya, Arrow, Belukha,
Shakhovskaya, Zimbulka, Donets,
Thunderous, Eagle, Veselukha -
Father's blood crown of thorns .
In these arches, openings, gaps,
A flock of dispersed days is circling,
Only wind within Russian limits
Only painting of colorless stones .
2.a) The need for construction - a historical background.
In the second half of the 60s of the 16th century, a difficult time came for the Russian state. . The debilitating Livonian War, which lasted a quarter of a century (1558 - 1583), had a very hard effect on the country's economy. . Costing huge sacrifices and not solving the main state task - access to the Baltic Sea, it also fell on the shoulders of the peasantry as a heavy burden. . But in the 80s of the 16th century, the economic power of the country began to gradually level off. . Construction is also revitalizing, greatly reduced during the period of desolation . Then the question of the urgent execution of large construction orders of national importance became especially acute. . Weakened by many years of inconclusive war and internal social contradictions, the country has become a tempting bait for aggressive neighbors . Crimean Tatars constantly threatened from the south , supported by Sultan Turkey . In the west, danger threatened from the Polish gentry - a natural ally of the Crimea in the fight against the Muscovite state, and in the north-west, the Swedes were waiting for an opportune moment to attack . Every precaution had to be taken to prevent the possibility of outside intrusion . Some external cities also demanded protection, the fortifications of which were either lost or simply became unusable in the south and southeast, and to try to return Votskaya Pyatina, that section of ancient Novgorod territory on the coast of the Gulf of Finland, which was lost in the Lebanese War . It was necessary, finally, to satisfy other, already internal construction needs of the country, not related to defense tasks. . However, the government did not have enough skilled labor to carry out all this construction. . Attempts to change the situation in the construction business were made during the Lebanese war . At that time, Russia, blocked from the west, was establishing relations with England, and Ivan the Terrible, in a letter to the English Queen Elizabeth, asked for an architect to be called into temporary service. . The need for specialists - builders did not disappear even during the reign of Boris Godunov (1598-1605) . Replenishment from time to time of Russian architects invited from abroad could not meet the growing building needs . A strong reorganization of the construction business was needed . Therefore, at the end of 1583 or at the beginning of 1584, during the life of Ivan the Terrible, a special construction department was created in Moscow - « Order of stonework ». The Order of Stone Works acquired special significance under Boris Godunov: under him it turned into the largest specialized organization that took over all state building. . It can be said with almost certainty that at the same time, the Order of Stone Affairs regulated the extraction of stone in the long-famous Myayik quarries. . At the end of the 16th century, monasteries were also involved in construction duty . The implementation of these measures allowed the Moscow government to carry out huge construction in the country in a short time. . The initiator of this construction was Boris Godunov . The reign of Ivan the Terrible is also characterized by a large construction activity. . Especially large construction work took place in Moscow . In 1565, like many others, Savely Petrov came to Moscow to work with his son Fedor, who later became a great Russian architect. , who built the Smolensk fortress .
2.b) Architect Fyodor Kon.
Fedor Kon was born on July 4, 1556 in Dorogobuzh . Fyodor Kon's father , Savely Petrov , was a carpenter . And in 1565, Savely Petrov came to Moscow to work, he brought his nine-year-old son Fedor with him to the capital to teach him the craft of ward construction . Savely Petrov belonged to the number of "black people" who had almost no rights . At that time, a new royal palace was being built across the Neglinnaya River, where Savely Petrov got a job. . The work was supervised by an experienced master - foreigner Johann Clairaut . In Moscow, Fyodor Kon was delighted with the almost fabulous charm of "Basil the Blessed" and the greatness of "Ivan the Great" . The harsh walls of the Moscow Kremlin and Kitay-Gorod made a great impression on him. . First he helped his father : he dragged boards, dug ditches for foundations, got used to the craft of ward construction, but in the fall of 1568 an epidemic of fireweed swept through Moscow: many townspeople and newcomers died . Died and carpenter Savely Petrov . Johann Klero left his son Fyodor at the construction site, appointing him as a junior assistant to the carpenter Foma Krivousov . Soon a stranger from his native place informed Fedor about the death of his mother and younger brothers. . The orphaned Fyodor Savelyev left the construction of the royal chambers and continues to work in Moscow, erecting stone walls and chopped huts, built at that time along « samples, developed by experienced carpenters and ward building masters . In 1571, the hordes of the Crimean Khan attacked Moscow and almost all wooden buildings were destroyed by fires. . Fedor « with comrades » continued to build . A tall and smart young man becomes a senior in a carpenter's artel . He stood out among his comrades with extraordinary strength and endurance. . It is no coincidence that sixteen-year-old Fyodor Savelyev was nicknamed the Horse. . « Black » Human Fedor Horse with all his heart of the simple Russian people loved Russia and gave all his knowledge and strength to strengthen its power . Wanderings around Moscow and half-starved life « stink » did not lay down in Fyodor Kon an indefatigable interest in stone city buildings . Fedor lived at that time on the Arbat in the courtyard of the parish priest Gur Agapitov, from whom the inquisitive young man learned to read and write, learned some information from sacred history . Fedor continued to walk around the yards in search of odd jobs . The thirst for knowledge led Fedor to master Johann Clairaut . The educated engineer Clairaut undertook to teach the Horse mathematics and the principles of structural mechanics. . Tales about great architects, about ancient Greek and Roman architecture, about castles and fortresses, revealed a new unknown world to the young carpenter . From Claireau Horse learned German and Latin, independent reading of foreign books . By this time, Fyodor Kon's friendship with the cannon master Andrei Chekhov belongs. . Meanwhile, the life of the artel carpenter went on as before. . Huts, sheds, chambers - rarely when a large order fell out . The spring of 1573 came . Fedor Horse « with comrades » put mansions to the German Heinrich Staden, who served at the court . For a long time the Horse did not have a big job, and he devoted himself with enthusiasm to the implementation of an interesting order. . The work was coming to an end, around the new mansion the carpenters put up a high fence . The Horse himself cut the gate patterns . But the owner - the German did not like the magnificent Russian carving . Without a word, he hit the Horse and turned to walk away. . Fedor Kon flared up and, seized with anger, knocked the German to the ground. . A fight ensued ... Fedor was accused of rebellion and godlessness . Knowing full well that severe punishment awaited him, Fedor Kon fled from Moscow. . A refugee hid in the Boldin Monastery near his hometown of Dorogobuzh . The Boldin Monastery was one of the richest in Russia by the time Fyodor Kon came to it. . The monks wanted to enclose the monastery with stone . Fedor had the opportunity to try his knowledge and experience on a large stone construction project. . Standing out for the knowledge and courage of artistic thought, the Horse led the Monastery construction . Under the leadership of Fyodor Kon, a cathedral with three altar niches, a monastery belfry, a refectory with a small church attached to it, and chopped oak walls were built. . But Fyodor Kon' did not escape for a long time in the monastery. . He was forced to leave . The participation of Fyodor Kon in the construction of the Boldin Monastery is confirmed by many researchers of Russian architecture . Analyzing the architectural details of the Odigitrievskaya Church of the Ivano-Predtechensky Monastery in Vyazma, one cannot help but be convinced that they were made by the hand of the same master as the stone buildings of the Boldin Monastery . Simultaneously with the construction of the Ivano-Predtechensky Monastery, Fyodor Kon was entrusted with the construction of the Vyazemsky City Cathedral, which later became known as the Trinity Cathedral. . The Trinity Cathedral in Vyazma has survived without significant changes to this day and testifies to the great creative talent of the architect . Fedor Kon clearly imagined what Russian fortresses should be . Based on the experience of Russian fortification art, he paved his own way in this area. . Longing for great work forced Fyodor Kon in March 1584 to leave Vyazma and secretly return to Moscow. . There he wrote a petition addressed to Tsar Ivan the Terrible . But Grozny could not forgive the escape from the sovereign's justice . That is why a week later Fedor Kon received an answer: « The city master Fedor, the son of Saveliy, is allowed to live in Moscow, and for escaping, beat the batogs fifty times ». Fedor with firmness endured the punishment for escaping . Thus began a new stage in the life of Fyodor Kon, who was destined to multiply the power and glory of Muscovite Russia. . In Moscow, Fyodor Kon met his old friend, foundry master Andrei Chekhov, who at that time was casting the Tsar Cannon . Again the ward master had to leave Moscow . This time, Fedor Kon worked in the Moscow region on the construction of the Pafnutiev Monastery in Borovsk . The board of Boris Godunov continued the policy of Ivan the Terrible to strengthen the Russian state . Godunov paid much attention to the defense of the Fatherland and especially the capital. . At his suggestion, in 1586, work began on the construction of a new Tsarev-city around Moscow. . Godunov remembered the city master Fyodor Kon . Dream « black » man came true - he was entrusted with the construction of the Tsar's city . Fedor Kon set to work with great energy, judging by the excavations carried out during the laying of the Moscow Metro, the depth of the foundations of the White City was 2 . 1 meters . The width of the walls at the level of the foundation reached six meters, and in the upper part it was 4 . 5 meters . Loopholes were arranged in the walls for close and distant shelling. , 28 towers rose above the walls . In 1593 the construction of the White City was completed. . As a reward for his work, Fyodor Kon received a piece of brocade and a fur coat from the boyar Godunov, and Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich allowed the town planner to his own hands. . The construction of the White City brought honor and wealth to Fyodor Kon . Fyodor Kon married the widow of a merchant from « cloth row » Irina Agapovna Petrova and he is accepted into the cloth hundred . At the same time, he was building the Church of the Don Mother of God in the Moscow Donskoy Monastery. . Upon completion of the construction of the Don Church, Fedor Kon begins the construction and strengthening of the Simonov Monastery - one of the brightest pages in the history of Russian fortification . Upon completion of work in the Simonov Monastery, Fyodor Kon was entrusted with the construction of the Smolensk fortress wall. In 1595, Fyodor Kon arrived in Smolensk on the orders of the tsar to build a fortress. The Smolensk fortress is the second major building of Fyodor Savelyevich Kon.
Smolensk fortress wall: yesterday, today, tomorrow
Wall in numbers
The wall initially included 38 towers.
17 of them have survived to this day.
150 - 160 meters - the distance between the towers of the fortress.
10 - 19 meters - the height of the wall with battlements.
5 meters - wall thickness.
6.4 kilometers - the original length of the wall.
3 kilometers - the length of the surviving part of the wall.
15 - 22 meters - the height of the towers.
4 - 4.5 meters - the width of the combat platform of the Smolensk wall.
20 thousand rubles were allocated from the treasury in 1599 for the construction of the wall.
6 thousand people simultaneously worked on the construction of the wall.
"Necklace of All Russia"
The far-sighted Tsar Boris Godunov spared no expense for the construction of the Smolensk fortress wall for a reason. He understood that the strengthening of Smolensk - the western outpost of Russia - would make the whole state stronger.
The earliest predecessor of the current fortress is a defensive rampart erected around the Cathedral Hill in the initial period of the city's existence. Evidence of this is the mention of Smolensk in historical documents as a fortress along with Kyiv and Vitichev.
The wooden fortifications that appeared around the 12th century consisted of several parts. The old city was located in the area of modern Lenin Street. Pyatnitsky prison - on the right bank of the Churilovka River, closer to the mouth. The outlines of the New City are clearly visible on the map of the 17th century - the remains of these ramparts can still be seen in the Lopatinsky Garden Central Park.
Preparations for the construction of a stone fortress instead of a wooden one from the time of Ivan the Terrible began in 1595, when a special commission was sent to Smolensk. At the same time, the largest Russian architect of that time, the "sovereign master" Fedor Savelyevich Kon, who built the White City in Moscow, was sent to Smolensk. Almost half of Russia worked on the wall: the piles for the foundations of the fortress were made and delivered by the peasants of the palace villages on duty, the rest of the work was done by hired people. Lime was burned in Verkhovye, white stone for foundations was brought from Staritsa and Ruza. Boris Godunov personally went to Smolensk to observe the progress of construction and reported to Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich that the new fortress would become "the necklace of all Orthodox Russia." The haste in the construction of the wall was explained by the expiration of the 12-year truce with the Commonwealth: Russia was preparing for new clashes. Basically, the fortress wall was completed in 1600, but minor work continued for another two years. Then the wall was consecrated. Boris Godunov sent to Smolensk an image of Our Lady of Smolensk painted by Posnik Rostovets. This icon was placed in a niche above the Dnieper Gate and was considered miraculous.
There were 38...
Thanks to the clear and beautiful contour of the towers, the fortress that encircled the entire city could be seen from afar. The towers - hexagonal, square or round - were completed with a high board or tiled roof in the form of pointed tents - this eternal form of Russian national architecture. The towers were intended for observation, firing at the enemy in the event of an attack on the city, and served as a shelter for the defenders. During the siege, the towers became strongholds of defense. Mounted loopholes of the towers were intended for firing at the enemy from squeakers and muskets. They were equipped with even more formidable weapons - devices for dropping stones, pouring boiling water or hot brew on the heads of enemies. The towers were interconnected by passages arranged in the thickness of the wall.
Of the 38 towers, 17 have survived to this day: Avraamievskaya, Bubleika, Dolgochevskaya (Shembeleva), Donets, Gromovaya (Tupinskaya), Kopytenskaya, Red (Kostyrevskaya), Makhovaya, Nikolskaya, Oryol, Pyatnitskaya, Poznyakova (Rogovka), Veselukha, Volkova (Semenskaya ), Voronina, Zaaltarskaya, Zimbulka.
11 curious facts about the Smolensk fortress wall
1. Peter I himself had a hand in strengthening Smolensk. By his order, an earthen fortress was built - Kronverk, which lasted until 1830.
2. The wall stands on oak piles driven into the bottom of a specially dug pit.
3. The towers had deep earthen wells called "rumors". During the period of the enemy invasion, blind elders sat in them, listening day and night to see if the enemy was digging under the walls.
4. They say that a certain girl was immured alive at the base of the Veselukha tower.
5. Because of the haste, the eastern part of the wall had to be erected in late autumn. Later, it was this section that turned out to be the “weak link” and was broken through by the troops of Sigismund after a 20-month siege.
6. In order to pass the water of numerous streams that ran along the beams and ravines to the Dnieper, Fyodor Kon made special pipes in the northern part of the wall, which were closed with iron bars that prevented enemy scouts from entering the city.
7. According to legend, Boris Godunov said that you can drive a troika along the battlefield of the Smolensk fortress wall.
8. Initially, the brickwork was covered with lime whitewash, so that the Smolensk fortress was white.
9. The Thunder Tower got its name from the fact that lightning often hit it.
10. Once, an underground passage led from the Eagle Tower to Lake Rachevsky, in which robbers and counterfeiters hid during the time of Catherine II.
11. A small section of the fortress, located in the TsPKiO, was turned by fans of Viktor Tsoi into a wall of his memory. Inscriptions like “Tsoi is alive” and so on regularly appear on the stones of the wall.
Quote
“If the same steps are taken as for the spinners No. 1 and No. 23, then the Smolensk fortress wall will be preserved for another, maybe 100 years, to please our children and grandchildren”
(V.A. Kazepin, Director of the Center for the Protection and Use of Historical and Cultural Monuments).
Fortress wall: a new reality
Today, some of the surviving "pearls" of the "necklace of all Russia" have found a new life. Thus, the Nikolskaya Tower houses the City Center for Communications and Information (NCCA) and an Internet club. The Thunder Tower in Smolensk, devastated by the Great Patriotic War, was used for housing, and now its building houses the Smolensk - Shield of Russia museum. But in the Pyatnitskaya Tower there is a museum of Russian vodka, the exhibits of which, step by step, reveal the secrets of wine and vodka production in Russia.
Red tower on the street. Soboleva has been the Red Tower nightclub beloved by informal youth for several years. Another part of the Smolensk informals, namely the punks, chose a section of the wall located near the Eagle tower as their place of "hangout". Rock climbing competitions are held at the same place: the stones of the Smolensk fortress, worn out by time, act as “rocks”.
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View from space
Recently, not only the Great Wall of China can be seen from space: now, thanks to digital technologies, every inhabitant of the Earth with Internet access can walk along the Smolensk fortress. The first virtual tour in our city was developed as part of the Smolensk Travel project based on the most popular Google Maps mapping service. Now, with a light press of a button, a computer “tourist” can go on a journey through the 17 towers of the wall, get acquainted with their history, and look at photographs. At the same time, he will be able to trace his route from above - from "space".
To our shame
The main historical and architectural monument of the Smolensk region today resembles a large dump. Over the past few years, employees of the Center for the Protection and Use of Historical and Cultural Monuments have been trying to solve the problem of cleaning the most visited towers by attracting students from Smolensk universities.
- I was extremely unpleasant and ashamed, - shares Vitaly Alekseevich Kazepin, - when representatives from Poland, Germany, visiting the Smolensk fortress, walked on fragments of bottles, which it was impossible not to step on. After that, together with volunteers, we tried to clean up the garbage, but cleanliness and order are kept only for a month and a half. They tried to brew with bars to protect access, but they were immediately broken out. And you can't put a company of soldiers there for protection.
Due to the fact that the inhabitants of the city use the wall and the area around it for leisure activities, in some places the spinners and towers are literally littered with mountains of garbage! From time to time, various volunteer movements try to clear the main Smolensk landmark from rubble. One of the largest attempts was made in the summer of 2004 as part of the Russian-American SYNergy program: Smolensk schoolchildren, together with American volunteers, tried to remove debris around a section of the wall behind the Nikolsky Gates, then there was no strength or garbage bags left to clean the fortress itself.
By the way, this year the fortress wall was finally cleared of bushes. Previously, foreigners passing along Sobolev Street photographed the overgrown walls as a local curiosity, probably later showed them to their friends and were surprised at such a dismissive attitude of the Smolensk people towards the monument.
It comes to the point that athletes invited from other cities themselves clean our fortress wall. Recently, the Cup of Russia on mountain tourism was held there, and rock climbers had a subbotnik before the competition.
Employees of the Center for the Protection and Use of Monuments would like to agree with universities on the systematic cleaning of the area around, and for cleaning on the wall, on the tower - to attract people who have climbing experience. And one more thing - to convey to the Smolensk people a simple truth: if you litter, clean up after yourself.
How much more to do!
The Smolensk fortress wall requires a complete restoration, which requires about 250 million rubles. Galina Nikiforova, Deputy Director of the Center for the Protection and Use of Historical and Cultural Monuments, told us.
- Every year we submit applications for participation in the federal target program for maintenance of works on repair, restoration, emergency protection, conservation of historical and cultural monuments, - said Galina Ivanovna. - In 2007, 40 applications were sent, and only five were approved. 10 million rubles were allocated for the restoration.
Last year, within the framework of the federal target program "Culture of Russia" (2006 - 2010), restoration work began on the spindle No. 1 (from the Volkova Tower to the Dnieper Gates along Sobolev Street) and the spindle No. 23 (from the Governor's Break to the Donets Tower near the Eternal Flame) .
By the end of November, the work there will be completed.
And in 2007, the administration of the Smolensk region turned to the Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography on the issue of allocating funds for repair and restoration work on the Donets Tower. But, unfortunately, it did not provide funds for restoration work, but allocated money for project documentation, which will be ready by the end of the year.
As for the plans for 2008, according to the director of the Center Vitaly Kazepin, “an action plan for the restoration of the fortress wall has already been drawn up, which includes the Donets tower (scientific and design documentation will be ready for it) and spinner No. 26 in the Central Park of Culture and Culture - these objects are included in the federal target program "Culture of Russia" (2006 - 2010), and now the issue of allocation of funds is being considered.
A project of measures for 2008-2012 has also been prepared, which provides for the restoration of part of the fortress wall, as well as the towers. The problem of financing is handled by the Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography. The project requires funding in the amount of 234 million 200 thousand rubles. When calculating this amount, the specialists of the Center took into account the restoration coefficients, which change annually. This figure, however, does not include the cost of the adaptation project, which the users or tenants will be required to develop in accordance with the functional purpose of the facility at their own expense.
The root of all troubles is ownerlessness
As for the remaining 16 towers and 3.2 kilometers of the fortress wall, the situation with them, as the Center's employees admit, is much more complicated. Many towers do not have a roof, without which they are in danger of destruction from precipitation. In addition, it is necessary for the adaptation of these towers (their functional purpose will be considered after the completion of the restoration work, at the same time users and tenants will be determined).
- We tried together with the city and the Ministry of Culture to develop a concept for the preservation and adaptation of the Smolensk fortress, - says Vitaly Kazepin, - but this work has not been completed. We are now reactivating it. The issue is being considered at a very high level: after the report of the region's governor Viktor Nikolayevich Maslov in August this year, the government's proposal to give a helping hand to the Smolensk region, in particular, to preserve the Smolensk fortress, followed.
Now there is no so-called owner of the monument of federal significance, hence the continuous, “chronic” destruction.
- In my opinion, the main problem in the maintenance of the fortress wall is the uncertainty of property ownership. Today it has been handed over to the treasury. What is a treasury? The abyss, - says Vitaly Alekseevich. - The Smolensk fortress is under its jurisdiction, but there are no people responsible for the state of the “necklace of all Russia”, carrying out any measures for conservation and use. From January 1, 2008, in accordance with Federal Law No. 258, the Russian Federation transfers powers in the field of conservation, use and state protection of cultural heritage objects to the constituent entities of the country. I think that there will be fundamental changes in the property issues of monuments of federal significance and the situation will stabilize.
After the transfer of powers in the region, a Territorial Federal Service for Supervision of Compliance with Legislation in the Field of Mass Communications, Communications and the Protection of Cultural Heritage should be created, which will control and apply penalties. It will become possible to punish unlawfully acting users, tenants or owners, whereas today regional bodies do not have such powers, which contributes to the destruction, even destruction of monuments.