Akkerman Fortress is an ancient fortress in Belgorod-Dnestrovsky. Akkerman fortress, Belgorod-Dniester
April 13th, 2015
The Ukrainian city of Belgorod-Dnestrovsky (Ackerman) is in the top ten ancient cities world and gained special fame thanks to the ancient fortress, which has become one of the most interesting and outstanding monuments of defensive architecture of the Middle Ages.
The history of the city begins at the end of the 6th century BC, when west bank Dniester, immigrants from the Asia Minor city of Miletus founded the city of Ophiussa - Tyra. During its thousand-year history, Tira has changed a lot of names - the Romans called this city Alba-Iulia, the Cumans and Polovtsians - Ak-Liba, the Antes - Turis, the Venetians and Genoese - Mon-Castro, the Moldavians - Chetatya-Albe, the Turks - Ak-Kerman, Hungarians - Farievar. Slavic tribes - Ulich and Tivertsy - called it the White City.
By the end of the 14th century, the construction of a powerful fortress in the White City was being completed, which lasted almost 200 years. Some historians consider the fortress Moldavian, some Turkish, and the citadel - Genoese.
Let's find out more about it...
With its appearance at the end of the VI century BC. Belgorod-Dnestrovsky, then Tyre, is obliged to immigrants from the Ionian policy of Miletus. The city was founded at the intersection of major trade routes, which served as an impetus for its rapid transformation into a rich independent city-state, which, moreover, from the 4th century BC. starts minting its coin.
Even after joining in the 1st century AD. to the Roman province of Moesia, Belgorod-Dnestrovsky retained a significant part of its sovereign rights: minting coins, issuing laws, etc.
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With the weakening of the Roman Empire, after the withdrawal of the defensive garrison, Tira was captured in the middle of the III century by the Goths (a German tribe) and transformed into a major military-political center of the Black Sea Kingdom.
The rule of the Goths lasted a little over a hundred years and ended in 375 with the complete destruction of the city by the militant tribes of the Huns (an alliance of nomadic Turkic-speaking tribes) during their conquering Eastern European wars.
The favorable strategic position again provided the city in the 6th century with an objection already as the residence of the militant Antes tribe - one of the strongest Slavic tribes.
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However, in the 9th century, the city passed into the possession of the East Slavic landowning tribe of Tivertsy, who annexed it, already as Belgorod-on-Ust-Dniester, to the lands of the newly formed Kievan Rus. As part of the Old Russian state, the city is experiencing rapid growth and development due to its border location.
The XIII century turned out to be rich in historical events for the city: with the weakening of Old Russian domination, it passes in 1214 under the rule of the Kingdom of Hungary with the name Feger-Var, and already in 1241, at the entrance of the Western campaign of Batu (1227 - 1255/1256) joins the Golden Horde under the name of Ak-Libo. It is this period that is considered the beginning of the construction of the Belgorod-Dniester fortress in the form in which it remains today. Its construction continued for two centuries.
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The beginning of the XIV century was marked for the city by the arrival of the Genoese, who made the Golden Horde transfer the possession of this fortified shopping center(Moncastro) to expand the scope of their trade.
In 1362, the city, renamed Belgorod, again becomes Slavic as a result of the weakening of the power of the Golden Horde at the entrance of the Great Memory, when, after the murder of the twelfth Khan Berdibek (Tat. twenty-five khans.
The construction of a fortress on the territory of the city (the Moldavian name Chetatya-Alba) was completed under the rule of the Moldavian principality in 1438, although nominally the rights to the city belonged to the Polish crown under the Treaty of Lublin in 1412. The city is still playing importance in world trade as a crossroads of trade routes of East and West.
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The city ended up in Turkish citizenship on the third attempt in 1484 after the defeat of the Moldavian troops by the army of Bayezid II (Os. with border states. Thanks to the Turks, the city gets a new name - Akkerman ( White stone) And new system defensive structures in the spirit of the times.
Under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, the city was destined, despite the desperate attempts of the Russian Empire to liberate it during the Russian-Turkish wars, to exist for 328 years. Only in 1812, Russian attempts were crowned with success and the city became part of Russia.
With the development of siege technology, powerful stone fortifications were not a guarantee of security. More and more clashes began to be decided in open battles on the field. So gradually to XIX century Akkerman fortress obsolete as a fortification object. And in 1806 during the Russian-Turkish war of 1806-1812. Russian troops led by Richelieu took it virtually without a fight. And in 1832. the fortress was already officially abolished as a military-defensive object and it was transferred to the care of the city. From this time on old fortress for a long time there was no supervision: in the 60s of the 19th century, the city duma even decided to appoint auctions for the fortress walls, i.e. an attempt was made to dismantle it for building material. The Imperial Odessa Society of History and Antiquities intervenes in defense of the monument. And only in 1896. The Archaeological Commission manages, with the consent of the Minister of the Interior, to transfer the Akkerman fortress to the jurisdiction of this society, but despite this, the society did not have the funds to maintain the fortress.
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After the removal of the status of a military facility from the Belgorod-Dniester fortress in 1832, the city authorities dismantled internal buildings, but the walls, thanks to the strong mortar, withstood. The fortress had to resist human encroachments until 1896, when it was given the status of a historical and architectural monument. And in 1900, excavations of the first settlement, Tira, began on the territory adjacent to the fortress.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the main gate began to collapse, as did the watchtower, which split after digging and storms. The walls on the side of the estuary were in particular danger, where, as a result of erosion and sampling of the clay on which the rock lies, the northeastern tower of the citadel and a large section of the walls collapsed. In 1927-1928, being the mayor, P. Nicorescu organized the restoration of the storage or guard tower, as well as the main gate, the roof of which had completely collapsed. Here the buttresses were restored and holes were patched up, new floor beams were installed to replace the rotten ones, the tiled roof was restored, for which tiles were collected from old city houses. But all these works were isolated.
In the period from 1918 to 1940, Akkerman was part of the Kingdom of Romania, which, with the collapse of the Russian and Austro-Hungarian empires, expanded its borders at the expense of Banat, Bessarabia, Bukovina, Transylvania, Maramures.
The USSR did not abandon attempts to annex to its territories the lands lost during the collapse of the Russian Empire. His attempts were crowned with success in 1940, when on August 2, the victory of the Red Army, Akkerman County was included in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
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Less than a year later, on July 26, 1941, the city was captured by the combined Nazi and Romanian troops and until August 1944 was part of the occupied territories.
After the liberation by the Soviet troops, the city was returned to its Slavic name - Belgorod-Dnestrovsky - and was given the status of an architectural monument.
Akkerman fortress, built on a high rocky shore of the Dniester estuary, has always admired and surprised with its special power and inaccessibility. Local limestone was used as building material.
In plan, the fortress is an irregularly shaped polygon with an area of just over 9 hectares. The length of the defensive walls is almost 2.5 km, their thickness is from 1.5 to 5 m, and the height is from 5 to 15 m.
On the north side, the fortress is washed by the waters of the Dniester estuary, and on the other sides it is surrounded by a deep moat carved into the rock. This ditch, previously filled with water, has a width of 14 m and a depth of about 20 m.
34 towers are built into the walls of the fortress, different in height and purpose. Some of them were hollow inside and were living quarters. Some of the towers have names associated with ancient traditions and legends: Dungeon, Treasury, Komendantskaya, Ovid and Pushkin towers.
From the side of the city, one could enter the fortress through the Main (Kiliya) gate, which was the most important object in the defense. At one time there was a drawbridge here, there were folding gates, two pointed gratings (gers), and on the second tier there were holes through which boiling water and resin could be poured.
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Inland territory Belgorod-Dniester fortress divided by defensive walls into 4 courtyards, each of which had a specific purpose and could independently withstand a siege.
The purpose of the Civil Court was to protect the population during the siege. The yard occupied the largest area - almost 5 hectares, and at that time residential buildings were located there. Today, at the highest place are the highest Watchtower and the remains of a Turkish mosque built on the ruins of a Christian church of the XII-XIII centuries.
The next yard is Garrison, the area of which is about 2 hectares. On the territory of this courtyard there were barracks, ammunition depots, stables. It was possible to get into the territory of the courtyard through special gates with a special protection system. Now a ring road is paved from this gate.
The port or economic yard, which was intended for warehousing and trade, was completely destroyed.
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The citadel (a fortress within a fortress) is the oldest (end of the 12th century) and mysterious structure. At the four corners there are 4 most powerful towers, the initial height of the walls of which is 20 m, and the thickness is 5 m. The courtyard, which occupied a little more than 300 square meters, was densely built up. The commandant's headquarters was located in the Commandant's Tower, there was also the commandant's palace, the commandant's guards were located, the city treasury was stored, and there was a powder cellar. The citadel had all-round defense and was an impregnable castle.
Now Belgorod- Dniester fortress It is a monument of national importance and attracts many tourists. Despite many historical events, reconstructions and repairs, the fortress has retained its original structure.
Every summer, at the end of June, a youth music Festival"Fortress" and knightly battles.
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Address: Ukraine, Odessa region, Belgorod-Dnestrovsky.
Opening hours: from 8 to 21, seven days a week.
Films in which the fortress is involved: “ Knight's castle”, “Musketeers 30 years later”, “Fiery Roads”, “Othello”, “Devil's Dozen”, “At a High Price”, “At the Beginning of Glorious Deeds”, “Waves of the Black Sea”.
How to get there
By motor transport on the highway T 16 04 (through the city of Zatoka), T 16 10 (through the city of Sergeevka), T 16 26 (at the exit from the highway E 87).
Belgorod-Dnestrovsky is located 90 km. from Odessa, travel time in a minibus is about an hour and a half.
If you get on your own, it is most convenient to fixed-route taxi No. 560, which leaves every 10 minutes from the Odessa railway station (from the side of Privoz).
If you slowly go around the fortress, it will take from 3 to 5 hours, so it is better to take something to eat with you, as there are only small stalls with cookies, chips and beer in the area and on the territory of the fortress.
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Maiden's Tower– According to the legend, a Moldavian princess, the daughter of the Moldavian ruler Alexander the Good, was immured in this tower of the ball for cruelty and self-will.
Watchtower- from the open platform of the last tier of the tower, sentinels gave danger signals.
Minaret- this is all that remains of the Turkish mosque, which was built in honor of Sultan Bayezid Veli and bore his name. It was erected on the site of a Christian church of the 13th century.
Pushkin Tower- named after the great Russian poet A.S. Pushkin, who in 1821. visited our region and visited the Akkerman fortress.
Treasury Tower- according to legend, the treasury of Belgorod was kept in this tower. In 1888 most of the tower collapsed washed away by the waters of the estuary.
evacuation tower- was intended for defense and residence of the garrison. On the first tier there was an additional exit to the east.
Tower Dungeon- damp and gloomy served as a place of imprisonment for prisoners of war.
commandant's tower- it was the headquarters of the commandant of the fortress, and it was in it that in 1789. The Turks handed over the keys to the fortress to M.I. Kutuzov.
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Most majestic building on the right bank of the Dniester River - the walls of the ancient Belgorod-Dniester. A day later, we reached the Bessarabian land. After drinking a cup of coffee in Odessa and spending the night in inexpensive hotel in Zatoka, early in the morning on May 9th, we Natasha already stood near the Chilia gates of the ancient city.
This year, taking into account what is happening in Ukraine, the mandatory spring trip for Kharitoshkina and me seems possible only through photographic memories. This time I will talk about one of the largest buildings on the territory of Bessarabia.
Whatever names are assigned to this region in last hundred years, for me, the interfluve of the Dniester and the Prut has always been and will wear a proud, impregnated rich history and culture name - Bessarabia. Behind the scenes, in everyday life this name is used to this day - both in the Ukrainian part and in the Moldavian one. "Bessarabian cuisine", "Bessarabian wines" are the most familiar signs that you will find on the streets of Belgorod-Dnestrovsky.
1. In the very center of Belgorod, which until 1944 was called Akkerman ("white fortress" in Turkish), is its main attraction. based on leftovers ancient Greek city Tyra, Belgorod-Dniester fortress is more than eight centuries old, and has absorbed the influence of various cultures and rulers.
2 . We approach the entrance to the fortress from the side of the city. The entrance itself - the Main (Kiliya) gate - miraculously did not get on my film. The fortress wall is separated by a moat of some unimaginable depth. But during the heyday of the ancient Akkerman, the depth of the moat reached 20 meters and the waves of the Dniester splashed in it.
3 . Right at the foot of the fortress - excavations of ancient Tyra, which began relatively recently - in Soviet times.
4 . And we are already, meanwhile, inside the fortress. Entrance last spring cost 20 hryvnia per person. This "pipe" in the photo below is the remains of a minaret that once existed here. Yes, as I wrote above, over hundreds of years of history, Akkerman Fortress has been influenced by many cultures.
Historians believe that a Genoese fortress was originally built on the site of Akkerman. In particular, the castle-citadel with four towers (one of which has not survived) on the rocky shore of the Dniester Estuary is attributed to that era, although a number of historians do not find confirmation of the "Genoese" theory, attributing the construction of the citadel to hardworking Moldovans. By the end of the 14th century, this territory became part of the Moldavian Principality, and the fortress city founded here was called Cetatea Albă - "White City".
The layout of the fortress, found by me on one of the thematic forums, shows the full scale of this grand building. Unfortunately, part of the fortress overlooking the banks of the Dniester has been significantly destroyed over the past centuries, but, nevertheless, the city is striking in its scale.
5 . In the 15th century, the Moldavian principality experienced its heyday. All of Bessarabia, from the Carpathian Bukovina to the steppes of Budzhak, belonged to the Moldavian rulers, who intensively built a network of fortresses to protect themselves from the Ottoman Empire. The main buildings of the Belgorod-Dniester fortress date back to the period of Moldavian domination over it. The walls of the Civic Court were erected during the reign of Stefan cel Mare.
6 . And here is the citadel itself. Left - tower-dungeon, right - commandant's tower. The one that overlooks the side of the Dniester, crowned with a dome that has survived to this day, is the court tower. The walls of the fourth, the treasure tower, collapsed into the waters of the estuary.
7 . Inside the citadel. A city within a city, the most privileged nobility of the White City lived here.
8 . Inside the Commandant's Tower.
9 . The fortress is built of limestone, which in itself is a rather fragile building material. Nevertheless, the margin of safety of the fortress walls is such that it allows them to stand for hundreds of years. Perhaps the point is in the impressive thickness of the buildings.
10 . View of one of the watchtowers of the Garrison Yard wall. We'll go there soon.
11 . So all the same, Moldovans or Genoese? The similarity of the Belgorod fortress with fortifications, for example, in Soroca, which is higher along the Dniester, speaks in favor of the Moldovans. In favor of the Genoese - that in the 13th century these lands belonged to them. In part, the architecture of the fortifications is similar to the same Genoese fortress in Sudak, but the walls bear the marks of the Moldavian rulers. The historical documents of Genoa say nothing about the possible construction of a fortress on the site of Belgorod-Dnestrovsky.
12 . Four-tier Watchtower. Gunpowder was stored in it, and patrols were conducted from its upper platform for the enemy. At the beginning of the 20th century, part of the tower collapsed, but in the 30s it was already restored by Romanian archaeologists. Well, yes, the Romanians also once belonged to Bessarabia. And the whole Odessa region. And then Hitler shot himself, and...
13 . Kharitoshkina thought about something on the steps of the fortress wall. By the way, it is fenced to walk along the walls, but only who will listen ...
14 . So, through a magnificent arch we pass from the Garrison yard to the Civil one.
15 . Beauty!
16 . View of the Civil Court. The main territory of the settlement of ordinary residents of the city was located here.
17 . Remains of the foundation of some buildings. According to some reports, the Turks built a mosque here when they captured the fortress.
18 . View towards the wall separating the Garrison Yard and the citadel located in it from the rest of the fortress.
19 . Natasha and I still could not resist and climbed onto one of the walls of the Civil Court. total area the territory of the fortress is more than 9 hectares, and it is impossible to keep track of all the tourists. There are also people like us who violate the prohibitions.
20 . To our left is the Dniester Estuary. At the confluence with the Black Sea, the Dniester spills into huge area, creating a shallow but very extensive freshwater body of water.
21 . The same arch through which we came here.
22 . Behind the wall there was another yard - Economic, aka Port, aka Quarantine. The waves of the Dniester slowly "ate" its walls and towers, leaving only a few dilapidated limestone buildings.
23 . Section of the former wall.
24 . The height here, I tell you, is pretty decent.
25 . One of the observation towers.
26 . We return back. On the horizon is the Pushkin Tower. They called it that already in the 19th century on behalf of a Russian major general. Pushkin, during his exile in Chisinau, visited Akkerman, staying with Mikhail Fedorovich Orlov, commander of the Chisinau infantry division. The military leader, taking advantage of his official position, gave the tower the name of a Russian poet in honor of his visit to the territory of the fortress.
27 . The weather vane that crowns the tower was once marked by a desperate lover: Alina, I will give you Crimea!
28 . We move towards the Maiden's Tower. Note that the fortress walls are worse preserved here - probably, the lower quality of the masonry affects. Still, this is the Civil Court, and it was possible to save money. The Maiden's Tower is named after the legend that here the townspeople walled up Tamara, the daughter of the Moldavian ruler Alexander the Good. Immured for her sophisticated cruelty. And everything in this legend would be fine, if not for one moment - Alexander did not have a daughter, Tamara. He had a daughter, but her name was Vasilisa, and she went to Wallachia, becoming the wife of the Wallachian prince Vlad II Dracula and giving birth to his son (the one who became known to the whole world thanks to Bram Stoker).
29 . Let's take another look at the Pushkin Tower...
30 . ...and return to the entrance to the fortress. There are some remake exhibitions like the "torture room" and souvenir shops. But it is much more interesting to look at the elements of ancient decor folded in the corner that adorned local buildings.
31 . This could be the end of the tour, but without a hike to the banks of the Dniester, it would be incomplete. I remember this path from childhood - it leads to the now abandoned pier on the banks of the Dniester. Once excursion boats from Odessa and Zatoka approached him. Oh, it was one of the most vivid childhood impressions - for the first time to see the Akkerman fortress from the side of the Dniester estuary, when in the rays of the morning sun it majestically rises above its waves!
32 . The northern coastal bastion acts like a powerful wedge towards the Dniester. Once it was crowned with another tower. After the tower was destroyed, the wall was rebuilt, along with ten huge cannonballs built into it in the shape of a triangle. Why is a mystery.
33 . How big is everything! I can't imagine how much effort this fortress was built. But there are still legends about an extensive system of late passages that have not yet been studied.
The name Akkerman, which also means "White Fortress" in Turkish, was assigned to the bastion in 1484, after the troops of the Ottoman Empire occupied the lands of the Moldavian principality. In 1812, as a result of another Russian-Turkish war, the territory of Bessarabia, and with it Cetatea Albă, came under the control of the Russian Empire. After the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917, the neighboring Romanians did not miss the opportunity to seize Bessarabia, referring to the freshly baked legend of "Great Romania". After 22 years Soviet Union he regained the Bessarabian province, but in an interesting way cut off its southern part with the fortresses of Izmail and Akkerman and annexed the Akkerman (later Izmail) region to the Ukrainian SSR. In 1954, Khrushchev attached this territory to the Odessa region.
So the Moldavian fortress, conquered by the Russians from the Turks, became a part of the history of Ukraine.
The city (50 thousand inhabitants) 40 kilometers from Odessa, beyond the Dniester estuary, was founded in 501 BC by immigrants from Miletus. At least this is official version, and Miletus is Thales, Anaximenes, Anaximander ... The city was called Tyra, and was perhaps the most influential in the Northern Black Sea region, except perhaps for the policies of Taurica. At the end of the last era, it became the possession of Thrace, then Thrace became the possession of the Roman Empire, and somewhere in the years 8-17 AD, when Jesus Christ was still a teenager in Judea, according to legend, the poet Ovid served part of the exile here. A few more centuries later, Tyra was destroyed by the Huns, and who and when revived it is still a moot point: there is a version that in 910 the Tivertsy, the Slavs who lived between the Dniester and the Prut, founded the Belgorod fortress here. According to other versions, the new fortress was founded by the Byzantines, but it is unambiguously known that in 1261, at the suggestion of the Golden Horde, the Genoese colony of Monkastro appeared here, the largest in the Black Sea region outside the Crimea. After the Battle of the Blue Waters (1362), the mouth of the Dniester was recaptured from the Horde by the Lithuanians, and a decade and a half later, Lithuania was supplanted by Moldavia, under which Chitate Alba (“White Fortress”) flourished, becoming the most powerful fortress of the Black Sea region. The place was strategic: Sultan Mehmed II called the mouth of the Dniester "the key to all of Poland, Russia, Tataria and the Black Sea", and his rival Bayezid II in 1484, throwing unprecedented forces into the assault, captured the city and renamed it Akkerman - again, White fortress. In the 16-18 centuries, the fortress was stormed dozens of times - Moldavians, Cossacks, Poles and finally Russians, who captured Akkerman three times (1770-74 and 1789-93) and only for the third time (1806, Duke Richelieu) finally included it in the empire. In 1918-44, Akkerman was part of Romania, and only under the Soviets received his current overly long name. And in general, there are not many cities in the former USSR with such a history.
My story about Belgorod-Dnestrovsky will consist of two parts: in the second we will go around the city itself, and in the first we will explore the White Fortress itself, which is approximately the size of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin (2.1 km along the perimeter).
Despite the romantic image of a "fortress by the sea", Akkerman, like the whole city, stands on the banks of the Dniester estuary, that is, in fact salt lake communicating with the sea. The city has the shape of an almost regular triangle, and the fortress standing at its "top" has approximately the same shape:
Of its 35 towers, 26 have survived, but the plan itself has not changed much. A small fort with four towers is the Citadel, built by the Genoese in the 14th century. The rest of the fortification lines were built by Moldova, first of all by Stephen the Great, who created a "stone belt" along the borders, from which three super-fortresses survived on the Dniester: Akkerman, Soroca and. The Citadel covers a small Garrison Yard, behind which is a huge Civic Yard - in fact, a fortified settlement. Along its edges, at the tops of the triangle, there are two of the most powerful towers, near Russia that received the names of the most eminent exiles: on the left is the Ovid tower, on the right is the Pushkin tower. Finally, to the right of the Garrison and Civil yards is the Karatin yard, that is, the economic part of the fortress near the ancient harbor. Around the fortress to this day there is a vast empty space:
There are also excavations of ancient Tyra, which we will examine only in the next part. In general, in Akkerman I forgot to do what I try to do in any fortress - bypass it, where possible, along the perimeter. I didn’t even bother to get off at the pier, to take a picture of a postcard view with waves crashing against the foot of the towers - traveling in three together and by car is very relaxing. So there are few views from the outside:
At the corner of the eastern wall is the already mentioned tower of Ovid, perhaps the most spectacular in the fortress:
The fortress covers the most powerful ditch that I have ever seen - if it is filled with water, a boat will pass through it freely:
Entrance. There were two gates in the fortress, these are just the Main:
View of the moat from the bridge - I don’t know exactly its depth, 10-15 meters:
Looking ahead - a view of the bridge from one of these towers:
Main gate, view from the Civil Court. At the gate - cash desk, entrance fee. On the left is the highest of the towers of the Garrison Yard, and on the right...
Most of all, this building looks like a pipe of some ancient forge or brick factory - but in fact it is the minaret of the Small Mosque, built by Bayazed II on the site of the Moldavian church. Islam-Girey II, the Crimean Khan, who was actually a puppet of the Turkish Sultan, rested here.
The wall of the Civic Courtyard with medieval houses clinging to it - most likely some kind of garrison lodges, the nearest of which now houses a museum:
The permanent exhibition, occupying only one room, looks very impressive:
Here are several lapidariums, where millstones and tombstones are piled nearby:
In the same way, once Turkish cannons were aimed from here along the Russian coast:
There are a lot of tourists in the fortress, and the staircase without railings looks extremely tempting, despite the sign "Danger!". We asked the watchman if it was possible to climb in, and his answer blew our minds a little:
Yes, you can, just be careful out there. We have people falling often!
In principle, I observed a similar attitude towards climbing walls in Kamenets-Podolsky, Khotyn, Sudak (2004), maybe somewhere else. In general, in Ukraine this phenomenon is widespread, while in Russia I recall such liberties from protected fortresses only in Ivangorod. I still don't know how to deal with this.
Lapidarium at the foot - mainly household appliances such as millstones or a pool (probably a tanning pool):
Tiled roof and tourist entertainment under the Middle Ages. In 2004, I observed how such trebuchets shoot in Sudak. The calculation is two people, one shows the tourist what to do, and the other runs to the place where the stone fell and disperses the people. Here, the trebuchet did not shoot, but sometimes the roar of a cannon was heard - it greatly contributes to the fact that you can roll from the wall into a 10-meter failure:
View outside. Behind the moat, the excavations of Tyra are visible - about them later, but at least it was clear how they are located relative to the fortress:
People on the tower - there will be many more such shots. I didn’t get to that tower by the sea specifically - well, it’s dumb for me to climb the cornices, especially if everyone has already climbed up to me:
View from the other side, to the tower of Ovid:
We will go to it past the already mentioned lawn with trebuchet. A wooden house is good: a shooting gallery in Tire.
Tower of Ovid close up. IN stone building at its foot you can go - but there is only one room like a cellar:
Here you can also climb the wall:
But the wall in this place is for hiking adapted even worse:
The fortress is infinitely huge and rather empty. In terms of the length of the walls in Ukraine, it does not even have approximate analogues; in Russia it would be in the top ten in the neighborhood of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin and the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery.
In the future, near the estuary - Pushkin's tower:
From this side, someone's houses are closely molded to the fortress moat:
On the other side - a view of the wall of the Garrison Yard with the towers of the Citadel sticking out from behind it. Wind, subtropical Sun, the smell of salt and iodine - the spirit of Hellas and Rome is already felt here:
Again people on the tower. Two:
The southern wall of the Civil Court is the longest in the fortress, about 700 meters:
From the other end, it is closed by the Pushkin Tower, guarding the water gates:
Path along the northwestern wall - to the gates of the Garrison Yard:
You can also go straight along the wall, more precisely along the cornice near its battlements - a good view of the ruins of the Quarantine Yard near the water opens into the loopholes:
Here came the triremes:
People and stones:
The remains of another tower - quite possibly built before Stephen the Great:
But you can’t get into the Garrison Yard along the cornice - you have to go back to Pushkin’s tower and follow the path to the gate arch:
The garrison yard is even more deserted than the civilian one, diluted with trees. Ahead is the grand Citadel, for all its compactness, also known as the Genoese Castle - and indeed, in Italy there are very similar fortresses:
The outer wall and the second gate of the Garrison Court, separating it from the Civil Court:
You can also climb this wall - in profile, it is very reminiscent of levels from two-dimensional computer games of the early 1990s like "Prince of Persia", where you have to jump over pits, slip through traps and fence with guards:
View from the wall - Garrison Yard at a glance. The citadel of the four towers has retained three: the Commandant's (to the right), the Dungeon (to the left), the Court (behind, under the roof). Characteristically, the Treasury tower was lost:
The wall facing the city, and some other ruins:
And the views from this wall to the Main Gate:
And to the place where the moat ends:
And finally, you can go to the Citadel, the courtyard of which is narrower than the buildings surrounding it. It's cool and quiet here, and you feel protected:
I have seen very few places where the movement of time and its continuity are so well felt. For example, on the Commandant's Tower in 1789, the keys to the fortress were handed over by Pasha Mikhail Kutuzov, who had surrendered, and somewhere here, 305 years earlier, Orthodox Moldavian priests handed over the key to the Turkish pasha. And a couple of hundred years earlier, the noble Stephen the Great stood on one of these towers and watched the construction of the Garrison and Civil Courts.
Here, where these guys are now, once there could well have been guards in armor with a saber or in uniforms with a gun. Where I was walking, holding a camera, someone was running, holding a musket. And the fact of the matter is that almost any ancient fortress has such a "memory of stones". For me, the phenomenon of fortress architecture is also in the fact that here tourists walk around the most strategic regime objects of the past, and about 300 years ago for photography (if there was one at that time) here one could pay even without a camera, but the head.
It should be noted that Ackerman's layout reminded me of a completely different fortress -
"The fortress is silent, sleepy, empty, but majestic and there are so many memories on this land of ours and not ours, ancient and eternal"
I. Krashevsky, 1843
Belgorod - Dniester fortress is calling card cities of Belgorod - Dniester. The fortress itself is a unique building erected on the ruins of the ancient Greek city of Tyre.
The fortress was founded at the end of the 12th century by the Genoese, and in the 14th century, construction continued by the forces of the Moldavian masters with the participation of local residents. The construction was completed in the middle of the 15th century.
The main reason for the construction of a fortification, necessary for the defense of the city, was the protection of the city of Belgorod from a huge number of enemies seeking to seize its convenient economic and geographical position.
The fortress itself at that time was a powerful defensive structure, with its own garrison, provided with everything necessary for protection, even under siege.
Built over 200 years, the fortress was built from local shell rock. The secret of the magnificent strength of the walls lay in a special mortar that held the stones together in the walls of the fortress. Hydrated lime, eggs, crushed marble, coal, silicon, and even frogs were used for cementing. Also, in order to maintain the necessary air humidity in the cellars for storing gunpowder, millet was added to the building materials. The fortress acquired its final appearance after numerous reconstructions carried out by the Turks in the 16th - 18th centuries.
Being a magnificent structure from an engineering point of view, the Belgorod - Dniester fortress played a significant role in ensuring the military interests of the states of which it was located.
Only during the Moldavian Principality, the fortress was one of constituent parts a well-thought-out network of fortifications that covered the main routes into the depths of the Moldavian principality. IN
In the 15th century, the Belgorod fortress was the stronghold of the entire southeastern part of the country. In 1457, Vlaicu, the uncle of Stephen the Great, the ruler of the Principality of Moldavia, was in charge of its defense, then in the same year - Stanchul, a former enemy of his father, but perhaps a particularly valuable military leader, who remained the only one until 1466, when Zbierya came to his aid and then Balco. Between 1471 and 1474, Luka and Balko are mentioned there, in 1475-1476. Hirman and Luka, and the last before the capture - Herman, Duma and Oane. As in Ardyal, the dual leadership in the fortress meant recognition of its significance.
After the Turkish attack in 1475, the representative of the ruler, Luka and Herman (Khirman), a large gate was completed in the fortress, and three years later, under the representatives of the ruler, Duma and Herman, a new wall appeared. Since then, Belgorod has been an important fortification post of the Moldavian rulers, was administrative center cynut (area) and large seaport, located on the intercontinental trade artery connecting Krakow and Lviv with Kaffa and Constantinople through the Black Sea. The fortress was guarded by a constantly present garrison.
For 50 years, the rival of the Moldavian principality, Ottoman Turkey, made three attempts to conquer the city, and only a 300,000-strong army led by the "master of the world" Sultan Bayazet 2 managed to defeat the defenders of the fortress, because, according to Bayazet 2 himself, Belgorod is one of ports, which are "the key to the gates of all Poland, Russia, Tataria and the entire Black Sea."
Under the blows of the ground forces (300,000 Turks and 70,000 Tatars) and the navy (100 warships), the fortress capitulated after two days of desperate, and at the same time heroic resistance provided by the garrison of the fortress. Such a rapid fall of such a powerful garrison was due, according to historians, as a result of betrayal. As indicated in historical documents, in the Venetian annals of Malipiero, "five the best people city", and Turkish sources speak of the betrayal of local boyars. Turkish traveler Evliya Celebi writes that "12 priests came out of the fortress and handed over 10 keys to the fortress in a precious chest."
The loss of such an important fortress for the Moldavian principality became very with a strong blow, the enemy could reach the capital of the principality in a few days. But still in the winter of 1484-1485. the Moldavian ruler makes an attempt to recapture the fortress, thinking of taking the enemy by surprise. But, despite all his efforts, Belgorod remains the property of the Ottoman Porte. This event on August 5, 1484 ended the Moldavian segment in the medieval history of Belgorod.
Throughout the entire period of the reign of the Turks, since 1484, they carried out a lot of work to strengthen the fortifications of the fortress, these are: the construction of the first bastion line, for the construction of which French engineers were involved, and the general strengthening of the walls of the fortress, repair work and construction under Bayazid II, a new mosque on the site of the former Christian church.
At this event, the military history of the fortress does not end, during the XVI-XVII centuries the city remains a witness to many military campaigns: the Zaporizhzhya and Don Cossacks, and even the Crimean Tatars, whose leader, Khan Islyam II, was buried in the Akkerman "big mosque".
Turkish rule on the territory of the Akkerman fortress lasted 328 years.
As a result of the anti-Turkish military campaigns carried out by the Russian Empire, in 1812, as a result of the signing of the Treaty of Bucharest, Belgorod passes into the possession of the Russian Empire. However, even after that, the Belgorod fortress did not lose its military significance, and during 1807 - 1832. large-scale construction works were launched on the territory of the fortress. However, soon in 1832, as an independent military facility, the fortress ceased to exist. In 1896, the historical architectural monument. And in 1900, excavations of the first settlement, Tira, began on the territory adjacent to the fortress.
After the October Revolution, as a result of the collapse of the Russian Empire, from 1918 to 1940, the fortress was under the rule of Romania. However, on August 2, 1940, with the victory of the Red Army, Akkerman County was included in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. A year later, on July 26, 1941, the city was captured by the combined German-Romanian troops, and until August 1944 it was occupied. After the liberation by the Soviet troops, the city was returned to its Slavic name - Belgorod-Dnestrovsky and given the status of an architectural monument.
Belgorod itself - the Dniester fortress is an incredible creation of a medieval engineering genius. The total length of the walls of the fortress is about 2.5 km, the height of the walls and towers varies from 5 to 15 meters, the thickness is from 1.5 to 5 meters. From the north, the fortress is washed by the waters of the Dniester Estuary, the remaining sides of the fortress are surrounded by a moat, which was originally filled with water, its depth is 20 meters, width 14 meters. Within the walls of the fortress, engineers built 34 towers, different in layout, height and purpose, 12 of them are floors from the inside and are living quarters, for self-defense or for storing public stocks of grain. Some of these towers have their own names associated with ancient legends and legends - the towers of Ovid, Pushkin, the Prison, the Commandant's and the Treasury. The fortress itself is an irregular polygon with an area of more than 9 hectares.
Entrance to the fortress from the side of the city was possible through the Main (Kiliya) gate, the most important object in the defense, once there was a drawbridge, two folding gates, two pointed lattices - gers, in the second tier there were holes or slots for boiling water and resin . The inner defensive walls divide the territory of the fortress itself into 4 courtyards, which were able, each, separately from each other, to hold a siege.
All courtyards also had their own name and purpose.
Civic Court - intended for protection local population during the siege. It is the largest in the fortress, its area is almost 5 hectares. There were also residential buildings that have not survived to this day. Also on the highest point of the courtyard are the remains of a Turkish mosque - a minaret built on the ruins of a Christian temple. Also in this courtyard is the highest tower - Watchtower.
The garrison yard - has an area of about 2 hectares - stables, barracks, ammunition depots were located here. The entrance to this courtyard is possible only through a special gate with a special security system.
Economic or Port Yard - today it is almost completely destroyed, it was intended for trade and warehousing.
The most ancient and interesting is the Citadel (a fortress within a fortress) - its area is a little over 300 square meters. The buildings here are dense, 4 most powerful towers were located at the four corners, the height of which could initially be 20 m, thickness 5 m. This part of the fortress is administrative, the commandant and his headquarters, the commandant's tower, the commandant's palace were located here. There was also a powder cellar, the city's treasury and the guards of the commandant. From the citadel it was possible to conduct all-round defense. Also in this part of the fortress there are underground shelters, as well as secret passages, which today are practically unexplored.
However, like any other creation of medieval architecture, Belgorod - Dniester fortress has and continues to keep its ancient secrets. So, one of the most mysterious architectural elements of the fortress is a huge triangle located on one of the walls of the towers facing the estuary. The figure itself consists of ten stone cores built into the masonry. Located on one of the most prominent places of the fortress, this architectural element continues to excite the attention of researchers studying it, who have not yet unraveled its secret.
Traditionally, such an arrangement of nuclei was explained by artillery shelling of the fortress or some kind of Turkish amulet. However, these cores are located in the form of a regular triangle with a central "key" link - a common sacred symbol, known since antiquity under the name tetraktys. The invention of this symbol is attributed to Pythagoras, but the ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher could borrow a figure from ancient Egyptian scientific knowledge - in Egyptian mythology, the triangle was the emblem of God. Tetractys is the supreme symbol of the universal forces and processes that take place in the Universe. round stone(stone hemisphere, core) - a sign of perfection, a symbol of the power of concentration and unity. The number 10 is the sacred number of the Pythagoreans. It is considered integral, perfect, complete and is considered in the ancient mentality as a paradigm of creation. In the Middle Ages, the philosophical and sacred heritage of Pythagoras was borrowed by Freemasonry. Which is not surprising, since geometry is the main intellectual tool of a "freemason" (freemason). Thus, it is possible that this sign was left by the masons, which could include "master Fedorko", an invited professional architect. "Master", in this case - the obvious title of the guild hierarchy. who completed by 1440, by order of the Moldavian ruler Stefan Voevoda, the erection of the walls of the small, Garrison Yard. However, as it turned out, the mysterious triangle was built long before the beginning of the Turkish period in the history of the fortress (1484) by Byzantine architects. With the help of a theodolite and tables of the astronomical calendar, it turned out that the plane of the wall with the tetractys located on it is oriented to the point of sunrise on the first day of spring. It is on the first of March that the sun rises on the lines of this plane for the first time in a year, casting a shadow on the stone cores of the figure. While October 15th is the last day the huge triangle is open to direct rays rising sun. In the next period of the year, until the very spring, the sun rises from the back of the extension. This arrangement of the fortress segment with the tetractys is not accidental. The plane of the wall is specially open for maximum sun exposure from early spring to mid-autumn. Since March 1 and October 15 are the key dates of the European agricultural calendar. They determine the beginning and end of the agricultural season. Moreover, in the Byzantine calendar, the countdown of the new year began on the first of March. Since it was on Friday, March 1, 1st year of the world era, based on biblical premises, Adam was created. This event served the Byzantines as the beginning of the calculation of the entire chronology. The first of March was considered the beginning of the new year by the Romans. It is characteristic that in the Julian calendar the year consisted of only 304 days or 10 months, after which there was an unnamed and unnumbered winter period. Due to the inaccuracies of the Julian calendar, Western Europe in 1492, the first day of the new year was forced to be postponed to September 1. And a century later, on the night of October 14-15, 1582, the transition of Catholic countries to a more advanced, Gregorian calendar took place. The day of October 15 in Byzantium, starting from the 10th century, is marked by the religious holiday of the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God. In the history of agricultural communities, this day is considered the end of the agricultural season, the beginning of the "dead" winter period. Until now, in the south of Ukraine and in Bessarabia, the Holy Intercession is considered the time of completion of work in the field after the harvest. But in the abundance of all these versions, it has not been truly proven by anyone why and for what purposes, the cannonballs were built into the wall of the fortress.
Thus, Belgorod - the Dniester fortress is undoubtedly a great monument and a worthy reminder to the inhabitants of the past of our city, and like the greatest monuments of architecture proudly carries its glorious history into the future, and everything is also zealous, like the inexorable stamina of the defenders who defended it, keeps its secrets.
In our article, we want to talk about an ancient fortress in the south of Ukraine. The city of Belgorod-Dnestrovsky is one of the ten oldest cities in the world. He gained fame thanks to a very old fortress, which is an outstanding monument of medieval military architecture.
Historical digression
The history of the city began at the end of the sixth century BC. At that time on west coast Dniester natives of Miletus founded the city of Ophiussa, later Tyra. For more than a thousand years of history, the city has repeatedly changed its name. The Romans called it Alba-Yulia, the Cumans and Cumans - Ak-Liba, the Genoese and Venetians Mon-Castro, the Turks Ak-Kerman, etc. But the Slavic tribes called it the White City.
At the end of the fourteenth century, the construction of a powerful fortress was completed in the city. Construction work has been going on for almost two hundred years. Historians even disagree about who actually built the fortress. Some consider the structure to be Moldavian, others to be Turkish, and still others to be Genoese.
The Appearance of Tyra
As we have already mentioned, the city of Thira appeared thanks to the Milesian settlers. The future Belgorod-Dnestrovsky was founded in a good place - at the crossroads of trade routes. Actually, convenient geographical position and became the impetus for the transformation of the young settlement into a wealthy and independent city-state. From the fourth century BC, they even began to mint their own coins. Even after the city was annexed to Moesia, one of the Roman provinces, Belgorod-Dnestrovsky still managed to maintain most their rights: issuing laws, minting the moment, etc.
The gradual weakening of the Roman Empire led to the fact that Tyre, in the middle of the third century BC, passed to the German Goths. During this period, the city was turned into the center of the Black Sea kingdom. The power of the Goths lasted a little over a hundred years, after which Tyra was practically destroyed by the gunas. Further, the Ants were in charge of the city.
The era of the domination of the Slavs
Later, in the ninth century, the city passed into submission to the Slavic tribe of Tivertsy, who annexed it as Belgorod at the mouth of the Dniester to the possessions of Kievan Rus. Having become part of the Old Russian state, the city experienced rapid development and growth due to its favorable geographical position.
But in the thirteenth century, the region became a participant in turbulent historical events. The weakening of the Old Russian state led to the fact that the city was under the rule of the Kingdom of Hungary, then under the Golden Horde. It is believed that it was during this turbulent time that the Akkerman fortress was founded.
In the fourteenth century, the city passed to the Genoese, who begged it for themselves from the Golden Horde to strengthen their trade. And in 1362 it was renamed Belgorod and again turns out to be Slavic due to the weakening of the Golden Horde. All these two hundred years, the construction of the Akkerman fortress went very slowly. And it was already completed by the authorities of the Moldavian Principality. The city, as before, continued to flourish, thanks to being on trade routes.
Turkish era
The city found itself in Turkish citizenship only after the third attempt. It was the Turks who renamed it Akkerman, which means White Stone. The fortress was converted into modern spirit that time. The power of the Ottoman Empire lasted 328 years. The Russian Empire during the Russian-Turkish wars repeatedly made attempts to annex the city to itself. In 1812 the city became part of Russia.
With the development of siege technology, stone fortifications could no longer serve as a reliable fortification. The main battles were fought on open fields. So gradually the significance of the Akkerman fortress as defensive structure lost all meaning. In 1832, the fortress was abolished and transferred to the care of the city council. Since that time, there has been no maintenance for the structures for a long time. At first, the city authorities wanted to sell the walls of the Akkerman fortress, and then dismantle them for building materials. But for defense ancient monument the Odessa Imperial Society of Antiquity and History arose.
First excavations
After the Belgorod-Dniester fortress lost the status of a military facility, the city authorities dismantled the internal structures. Surprisingly, the outer walls survived. After the recognition of the Belgorod-Dniester fortress as an architectural monument, the first excavations of ancient Tyra began in the adjacent territory.
A new round of history
Unfortunately, at the beginning of the twentieth century, the main gate began to collapse, and behind them the watchtower also collapsed (as a result of digging). The walls located on the side of the estuary were in a very deplorable state due to the washing out of clay from under the rock. At this time, repair work was organized to restore the roof over the main gate, rotten beams were replaced and tiles were laid. But all these works were isolated. From 1918 to 1940, the Belgorod-Dniester fortress continued its history as part of Romania. And in 1940, after the victory of the Red Army, the city became part of the Ukrainian Republic.
Description of Akkerman fortress
The unique ancient complex deserves close attention. The fortress on the banks of the Dniester estuary strikes and delights with its impregnability and power. At one time, local white limestone was used for its construction.
In the drawings, the plan of the fortress resembles an irregularly shaped polygon. The area of the Akkerman fortress is more than nine hectares. And the length of the walls is approximately 2.5 kilometers. It is difficult to imagine now, but at that time the thickness of the walls was from 1.5 to 5 meters, their height varies between 5-15 meters.
From the north, the fortress is washed by the waters of the Dniester estuary, and from the other sides it is surrounded by a deep moat, carved once in the rock. Previously, it was filled with water. The moat was 14 meters wide and 20 meters deep.
The walls of the fortress are decorated with 34 towers. All of them have different heights and differ in purpose. Some of them were hollow inside and were used as living quarters. Some towers even have their own names associated with ancient legends: Komendantskaya, Treasury, Prison, Pushkin and Ovid towers.
From the side of the city, the fortress can be reached through the Kiliya (Main) gates. They were the most important object in the course of defense. Once there was even a drawbridge here, there were gates, and holes were provided at the top for pouring hot resin or boiling water.
The inner territory of the fortress
The inner courtyard of the fortress was divided by defensive walls into four separate courtyards. This was done for the reason that each yard had its own purpose. Each of them could independently withstand the siege.
The civil court was supposed to protect the population during the siege. He had largest area, about five hectares. In those distant times, residential buildings were located in the courtyard. At present, the highest watchtower is located on a hill, as well as the remains of a Turkish mosque, which was erected on the ruins of an ancient Christian temple.
The garrison yard had an area of about two hectares. On its territory were barracks, stables and ammunition depots. It was possible to get here only through special gates, which were equipped with a special protection system. At present, there is a ring road near this gate.
The economic and port yards were intended for trade and warehousing, but, unfortunately, they were completely destroyed.
Citadel
The most mysterious and oldest structure of the fortress is the citadel. Four towers were built at its corners, their initial height reached five meters, the thickness of the walls was five meters. The courtyard is quite small, its area is not more than 300 square meters.
The commandant's tower served as the headquarters for the commandant, his guards were immediately located, the city treasury was preserved and there were powder warehouses. The citadel, in fact, had all-round defense and was an impregnable castle within a castle.
Modern fortress
At present, the fortress is considered historical monument and attracts many tourists. Despite a turbulent history and frequent rebuilding, it has retained its original appearance.
The address of the Belgorod-Dniester fortress: Ukraine, Odessa region, the city of Belgorod-Dniester. Every year, a youth music festival is held on its territory, as well as knightly battles.
For many years, restoration work was carried out in the fortress. There has always been an increased interest in the ancient complex. The fortress and filmmakers did not ignore. Thirty films were filmed on its territory: “Ships storm the bastion”, “Othello”, “At a high price”, “Eagle Island”, “Notches for memory”, “Salty Dog”, “The Legend of Siyavush”, “Fiery Roads”, "Captain Nemo", "Knight's Castle", "Musketeers Thirty Years Later", "Desert" and many others.
legends
Akkerman fortress in Ukraine is shrouded in secrets and legends. One of them concerns the tower located at the main gate. They call her "Maiden". Regarding the origin of this name, there is a legend that the Moldavian governor had a beautiful daughter. But at the same time, the girl had a tough character. She gathered a squad for herself, and in the absence of her father, who often went on campaigns, the soldiers robbed and robbed people in the district. One day the maiden Tamara asked her father for money for the temple. But she did not build a temple at all, but a powerful fortress, settled there with her henchmen and called herself an independent queen. The news of the robberies and fires that reigned in the district spread far beyond the Dniester and the Danube. When Alexander the Good returned from another campaign and learned the whole truth about his daughter, he stormed her fortress and dealt with the robbers. And he cursed Tamara herself. But as soon as she heard his words, she immediately fell asleep. The sleeping girl was placed in a tower and immured within its walls. Since then, the tower has been called "Maiden".
Tower of Ovid
Another addition regarding the same structure is associated with the name of the famous Roman poet Ovid. He is the author of such works as "Metamorphoses" and "Sciences of Love". The second work caused a storm of indignation from Augustus, who saw in the writings a threat to the morality of Roman society. Already at an advanced age, Ovid was exiled to the city of Moesia Inferior. But there is a legend that in the eighth year of our era, the disgraced poet arrived in Tire. He was incredibly kind and completely harmless.
In memory of Ovid, the estuary is called Lake Ovid. And on its eastern coast, directly opposite the fortress, is the village of Ovidiopol, which means the city of Ovid. In honor of the poet, one of the towers of the fortress is named after him.
Pushkin Tower
Opposite the Ovid tower there is also a Pushkin tower. This building has such a big name by right, since the great poet was really in the city. Many of Pushkin's freedom-loving works aroused revolutionary protests. For this reason, he was exiled by decree of Tsar Alexander Pavlovich to southern edges Russia. The poet spent about three years of exile in Chisinau, after which he went to Odessa. It was during this period that he visited Ackerman, about which there are historical documents. The poet spent only three days in Belogorod-Dnestrovsky, he also visited the fortress. It was here that he came up with the idea of creating epistles "to Ovid"
How to get to the city?
If you are going to visit Belgorod-Dnestrovsky, then the question will certainly arise how to get there. The city is located only 90 kilometers from Odessa. The taxi ride will take about an hour and a half. Minibus number 560 is best suited. Buses depart from railway station in Odessa every ten minutes.
If you plan to see the fortress, then you will need at least 3-5 hours for a walk. Therefore, it is worth stocking up on food and drinks. On the territory of the fortress there are only stalls selling chips and beer.
Instead of an afterword
Akkerman fortress is an amazing ancient building, shrouded in secrets and legends, which is interesting to see with your own eyes. The complex has a complicated history. Many centuries have passed, but the fortress still rises on the shore of the estuary and amazes the guests of the city with its power. Indeed, even now one can judge what kind of fortification it once was, until it lost its direct purpose - to serve as protection for the city. And now the fortress only reminds of the old times and is an outstanding historical monument.
