The most famous towers: construction history and important facts. Which countries have leaning towers

Stories about travel in its purest form are no longer interesting to anyone. Everyone wants scandals and intrigues. There will be no big headlines today and this post is doomed to fail.

I just stopped by the village of Abernathy, where the oldest tower in Scotland is perfectly preserved. She is a thousand years old. But who cares!

1 Village - nine hundred inhabitants. And even here there is a hotel and a couple of cafes. About how the Scottish village lives, I recently.

2 Here, almost all houses still use stove heating.

3 Abernathy Market Square, and that same tower. The market has not been gathering even on weekends for a long time, but the memorial to those who died in the First World War is not forgotten, wreaths are laid.

4 The Scots themselves say that the tower is very unusual. And not just age. There are documents confirming that it was built in the 11th century. And today there are only two of them in the country. Both served as bell towers for churches and also served as a refuge for the villagers in times of danger.

The unusual thing is that such round towers are more typical of Ireland, and not at all of Scotland. Well, it's time to explore it from the inside. Someone told me that you can climb the tower, you must first find the key.

5 He showed up at the local museum, at the other end of the village. The museum aunt gladly gave it to me, for free.

6 The key is massive and old, to match the round tower.

7 Inside, it turned out not at all as I expected. No mold, spiders or bats.

8 Here, in general, a reconstruction was recently made and a new, iron staircase was installed. Everything for the convenience of visitors.

9 The tower appears to be built of shell rock or similar material. Suddenly. And this stone can stand for a thousand years?

10 The tower serves as a bell tower to this day. And the bell here is also of respectable age, cast in 1782.

11 We go upstairs. Not so long ago, the Scottish flag fluttered here, but then it was torn off by the wind, and a new one was never hung up.

12 General view of Abernathy.

13 Ancient cemetery and church at the foot of the tower.

14 Yes, probably such posts are really very boring. I won't put them in separate articles anymore. More hot topics!

I'll start the post with arguments from one LiveJournal, which I accidentally stumbled upon while searching for information on this topic. Moreover, the author has exactly the same questions that I have.

Tower of Kurt and Taga in the Kurtatinsky gorge

"I'm not a historian, not an archaeologist, I'm a photographer. I have been doing photography for a long time and, as some people say, successfully. Most of my archive consists of photographs of various places in North Ossetia, my homeland. Naturally, in my collection there is also a section dedicated to medieval architecture Ossetia. After all, our unique tower complexes, lonely medieval towers and crypts are not an adornment of the republic, but its face, and even, to some extent, the philosophy of our life.

Tsmyti - the most beautiful tower complex in Ossetia

While traveling and shooting towers, admiring the boldness of the architectural and engineering solutions of our ancestors, given their modest technical capabilities, one involuntarily asks the question - “For what? For what purpose?". As a child, when, without hesitation, I believed everything the elders said, I was quite satisfied with the military-defensive version of the construction of these towers. Kindling fires, throwing stones at the attackers, a sentinel point, climb into an inaccessible place and wait ... But, judge for yourself. Why was it necessary to build a heavy architectural structure only in order to build a fire on it in a moment of danger, when there is a suitable stone or rock nearby and it is enough to build a light shed for storing brushwood. For defense, many of the medieval towers (from the point of view modern man) are also not suitable. I climbed many of them, tried to imagine myself as a medieval warrior…. Well, it’s very inconvenient, standing upstairs, pouring boiling water down (it’ll get cold in the wind anyway), throwing big stones in passing, or to drag molten lead upstairs. And to shoot from firearms, in my opinion, it is much more convenient from the side of the mountain, hiding behind some boulder. “Hide and wait”, but many towers “stuck” into the rocks have such a small usable area that there is nowhere for two to turn around, and only a professional rock climber with a set of hooks and ropes can climb to the saving bastion. And it was necessary to hide and protect respectable elders, obese women and small children. In general, I doubt the military-defensive version of the origin of the towers.

Almost inaccessible tower in the village. Zintsar (Castle of Os-Bagator)

Why were they built? Why are towers being built these days? On temples, at the entrance to the village, at the entrance to the alpine camp, in your yard? For defense? - No, for storage of utensils? - No, to attract tourists - hardly. So in the XII - XIV centuries, "perhaps, there was also a custom on the territory of our republic (fashion, if you like). Each self-respecting surname had to perpetuate its family with such a monument. After all, it is not for nothing that many towers are family. Or a monument - the tower was erected in honor of any significant event, like the tower of Kurt and Tag in the Kurtatinsky gorge. Our ancestors entertained their "I". They did not eat up, did not fill up, did not rest, but built riddles for us, their descendants."

Taken from the Journal of Vladimir Mayorov.

The mystery of the Svan towers (Georgia)

First of all, Svaneti is famous for its towers. There are a great many of them here, Mestia and Ushguli, in general, are a continuous forest of towers. There are towers in every courtyard here. Precisely, in order to look at the towers, huge crowds of tourists come here.

But here's what's interesting, at the moment, no one knows for sure, neither how these towers were built, nor why.

In general, the tower is a structure of the correct form, with smooth walls, two or three stories high. The time of construction of most towers dates back to the XII-XIII centuries.

The main theory of the emergence of towers is combat, they say, they were built for defense, which is not without meaning, after all, a tower. But the trouble is, there were no internal wars in Svaneti, and most of the towers were built during the “golden age”, when no one invaded Svaneti. So why build towers? A vision for the future? May be. That's just, the towers, in their current state, are not very suitable for defense, a simple example is that most of the towers have windows on only one side, and what is most interesting, often, these windows look into opposite side, from the likely location of the enemy. Agree that it looks silly for a combat tower. True, on the upper floors, there are often windows looking at the foot of the tower, but they look more like observation windows than loopholes, while they are narrow enough to drop something significant from them, perhaps, pour resin .

Another theory is living quarters. But this theory is very weak, all the locals unanimously claimed that no one had ever lived in the towers. And this is very similar to the truth, for one simple reason - there is no fireplace in the tower. And this, given the harsh climate of Svaneti, is a very serious argument.

Some say the towers were used to store supplies. But then it is not clear why the tower? Why do we need vertical, smooth walls and windows that look so much like loopholes? But the fact that food was sometimes stored in the towers is true.

Also interesting is the fact that during the capture of the village, the towers were most often demolished? For what? After all, if this is a protective structure, isn't it better to use it for your own purposes?

In general, there is a lot of mystery in the history of the Svan towers, and the most mysterious thing is that no one knows exactly why they were needed. In the meantime, scientists are guessing, the towers continue to stand, empty, like many centuries before.

Vainakh towers in Chechnya and Ingushetia

The lands of Chechnya and Ingushetia are often called the "country of the Vainakhs". The Vainakhs are the common ancestors of the Chechens and Ingush, from whom they inherited a single language (possessing different dialects) and culture. For many centuries, this people lived on the territory between Ossetia and Dagestan, along the Main Caucasian Range.

Here, in the valleys of turbulent rivers and between high mountain ranges, he left behind a great architectural heritage: pagan sanctuaries, temples, family crypts and towers.

"Towers of two rivals" in Ingushetia

In the mountainous Dzheirakhsky region of Ingushetia and adjacent mountainous areas Chechnya, there are hundreds of medieval stone tower complexes, villages, just stand-alone towers. The practice of building towers dates back to the 5th century.

Almost all of them are located on hills. Many of them are little studied, but striking in their splendor. The fact that they are little known is a consequence of their actual inaccessibility. In other words, the passage to them is extremely difficult and dangerous.

Twin towers from Ushkaloy, Argun gorge

It is believed that these towers are divided into combat and residential. Maybe later they were already adapted for these purposes, but for what purpose they were built is unknown.

Ingush towers

The most famous tower complex of Ingushetia is Vovnushki. Standing in the picturesque gorge of the Guloi-Khi River, stone towers look like a natural continuation of the rocks. Vovnushki tower complex in 2008 became a finalist of the competition "Seven Wonders of Russia".

Oddly enough, but the towers of the North Caucasus are similar to the towers from the Sichuan province in China and the towers of the Anasazi Indians in California.

Towers of Tibet

in Tibet and Chinese province Sichuan also has strange ribbed towers, some of them as tall as a ten-story building. There are more than a thousand of these ancient structures in southwest China. The local population does not know who, when and why created them. It is said that the very first towers were built in these places as early as 1700 BC.

Unlike the Ingush towers, the Sichuan towers are star-shaped: some have an eight-pointed star in plan, others have a twelve-pointed one.

Anasazi Indian Towers, whose culture developed in the southwest of North America in the beginning. III-XV centuries, also resemble the towers of the Caucasus.

Watchtower (Desert View Watchtower), a replica of Indian towers, built in 1932.

Round towers of Ireland

Ireland is literally dotted with incomprehensible towers that are not found anywhere else. More precisely, there are still two in Scotland and one on the Isle of Man. For three centuries now, historians and architects have been unable to explain their purpose. There are 65 of these towers throughout the island. And another 23 completely or partially destroyed towers.
The towers were obviously built according to the same technology, differing only in diameter and height. The height ranges from 18 to 34 meters. The walls of the tower are made of poorly processed stone with lime mortar. The tower has two walls - inner and outer. The inner one goes straight, and the outer one with a slight slope to the top. The space between the walls is filled with mortar.

The stone dome of the towers, which has a conical shape, also raises questions. Why is it so complex and massive?

Interestingly, the entrance to the tower is located at a height of 1.5 to 7 meters above the base. No steps leading to this entrance were provided by the builders. Towers were erected over 5 centuries, from 700 to 1200.

The first written mention of these towers appears in the XII century. It was written that the towers symbolize people's desire for God. Well, what else could write in those years, the prelate of the church, about incomprehensible structures?

Only in the Enlightenment in the 17th century, it was suggested that these towers had nothing to do with the church. And a diametrically opposite version arose - the Vikings erected towers to control local population. But the Vikings, then, would have to build such towers not only in Ireland. Yes, and in the central part of the island, there are towers, but there are no traces of the Vikings. So it's not Vikings.

Last official version, says that the towers were built to hide in them during the Viking raids. Indeed, the towers are located near Christian churches. And the high entrance allowed people to climb the ladder and hide during the raids. And lime mortar began to be used only during the time of Christianity.
But as it turned out, lime mortar was used on the island in the Bronze Age. This is evidenced by the crypt discovered by archaeologists in Belfast, of the Bronze Age. And how much such a shelter, like a tower, could protect from the Vikings?
It seems that the purpose of these towers has not been fully disclosed.

Fantastic towers of Bologna

Of all the antiquities, the towers in Bologna are the most striking. Especially standing in the center of Torre Asinelli and Torre Garisenda.

With a height of 97.2 m, the tower is the most high structure the historic center of Bologna and the highest of the "leaning towers". Even during construction, the tower began to deviate, and today this inclination is 1.3 °, with an offset of 2.2 m in the upper part. And the neighboring Garisenda tower was shortened three times due to its slope of 3 m, and today its height is 48 m.

There is no exact date for the construction of the Asinelli tower, but it is believed that construction began between 1109 and 1119. However, the first document mentioning the tower of Asinelli dates only to 1185, almost seventy years after the estimated date of construction. The tower's name comes from the family traditionally credited with building the structure.

According to legend, in the Middle Ages, there was an unspoken competition among the richest families of Bologna: whoever builds a tower higher than the others deserves the highest honor.

In the XIV century, the city authorities became the owners of the Asinelli tower. Since then, the tower has been used both as a prison and as a fortress.

They also write that then, in the 12th century, all wealthy families built such towers, so that Bologna in those years resembled Manhattan. It was later which towers themselves collapsed, which were dismantled, so that only a few have survived to this day.

San Gimignano: the city of "a hundred towers".

In another Italian small San Gimignano, the concentration of towers is so high that it creates the feeling of a little man among the skyscrapers.

Why is this, why? But, again, they write "then, in order to show their wealth and power, the families built towers, so in the XIV century there were 72 towers, of which 14 survived."

"Medieval Skyscrapers"

Towers of Central Asia and the Middle East

Many will say that there is nothing unusual in them - these are minarets, but ...

Burana Tower, Kyrgyzstan, circa 10th century.

For some reason the entrance is not at ground level. Builders weren't looking for easy solutions?

The original height of the tower was at least 40 m, its upper part was thrown off by an earthquake. Today, the height is just over 21 meters.

Inside the tower

Swastika

Near the Burana tower there is an ancient settlement covered with soil.

Qaboos Tower (Iran), built in 1006-1007. We see the same conical massive roof as in Ireland.

This is what the tower looked like before restoration.

Sanbenito. Minaret al Malwiya, Iraq. The approximate date of construction is 849.

The quality of the processing of stone blocks is amazing.

Jam minaret in Afghanistan.

In one of the remote and deserted corners of Afghanistan, there is a mysterious tower. The height of more than 1500 meters above sea level and the rocks made it difficult to access, and this is what allowed it to survive to this day. For a long time, this tower was forgotten until it was rediscovered in 1957.

The top of the first tier contains the text from the Koran. There is also another inscription here, indicating that this minaret was built by Ghiyas-ud-Din Muhammad ibn Sama, one of the leading rulers of the Ghurid Empire. According to the same inscription, it is believed that the Jam minaret was built in 1194.

And his riddle is also in the fact that the entrance to this structure was not found. Now his role is played by a passage already punched in our time.

These are just some of the towers - minarets, according to modern historians. Maybe this is one of their appointments, but I think not the original.

Everyone knows the Leaning Tower of Pisa. But do you know what a miracle like a tilted building can be seen in almost every country? And sometimes, as, for example, in China, Italy or Russia, there are several of them. But PR is a great force. the tower, the photo of which is replicated so that everyone, even an avid stay-at-home, has seen it, overshadows all other inclined buildings. And not only that: this masterpiece of medieval architecture with such a dangerous flaw began to be copied. People like to tickle their nerves and live in buildings that supposedly fall. That is why buildings are now being erected, in the design of which the angle of inclination is specially laid down. Such "falling" new buildings appeared in Dusseldorf, Abu Dhabi, Madrid, Montreal and Las Vegas. But in this article we will talk about old buildings. Some of them, such as the tower in the Spanish city of Zaragoza, could not stand the fight against gravity, but many still stand and even fixed their angle of inclination tightly.

Why are they falling?

There can be many reasons for a building to deviate from the vertical axis. Architects, starting construction, must not only outline the design of the structure, but also explore the soil at the site of its construction. Sandy or swampy soils sag over time from the severity of the building, which can cause it to roll. This is what caused the Leaning Tower of Pisa to fall. The building itself of multi-colored marble is perfect. The building resembles a frozen stone lace. However, it began to roll even during its construction. Gradually, the angle of inclination became menacing. But now the restorers were able to solve this problem. They completely secured the soil under the base of the tower and stopped its fall. Earthquakes often destroy buildings or ... tilt them. The movement of tectonic plates can also cause tall towers to roll. This process is not as fast as an earthquake, but over the years the angle of inclination becomes more and more noticeable. Now, if you look closely at London's Big Ben, you can see that it is almost half a meter shifted to the northwest. There are also such “falling” buildings that appeared not as a result of an engineering miscalculation, but, on the contrary, as a result of ingenious foresight. There are many such towers in China. The architects, taking into account the wind rose and the soil, specifically gave the buildings such an angle of inclination so that they were more stable.

The most falling tower

Where is this record holder? This is by no means the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The world-famous Italian building has a tilt angle of only 5.2 degrees. But the Huzhu tower, which is located in the Tian Ma mountains in the Chinese province of Songjiang near Shanghai, tilted 6.63 degrees. In addition, this seven-story stone structure, nineteen meters high over Cham, is a hundred years older than its Pisan rival. It was erected under Emperor Yuanfeng, around 1079. The tower was originally conceived as an inclined one. Strong southeasterly winds often blow in this place. The tower is tilted in the opposite direction so that air currents support it. They say that if the building were made strictly vertical, it would have collapsed long ago. With the same calculation, in 1621, the Guilun Dragon Tower was erected on Jiang-sin Island in the middle of the Yujian River. Its top is deviated from the base by more than a meter.

Modest record holder

If the main criterion is not the deviation of the top from the base (measured in meters), but simply the angle of inclination from the earth's surface, calculated in degrees, then a small nameless leaning tower takes the lead. The country of China, Liaoning Province, Suizhong County - these are its coordinates. The angle of incidence - as much as twelve degrees - is two and a half times greater than that of leaning tower of pisa. However, the Chinese structure is small. It consists of three floors and has only ten meters in height (against 90 m at the Leaning Tower of Pisa). Therefore, the deviation of the top from the base is small.

The oldest leaning tower

It is also located in China. This is the Huqiu Tower. The octagonal seven-story black brick building was erected under Xiande (Later Zhou Dynasty) around 959. The reason for the tilt in this case (from this most often falling towers appear) is the lack of architects. Soft soils sank over time, and now the Chinese restorers have a big problem: how to stop the fall of the ancient landmark. The situation became dangerous: the old brick began to crumble. In 1981, the degree of subsidence was stabilized. The angle of inclination was also fixed. It is 2.47 degrees. In this case, the top is separated from the base by 2.32 meters.

Falling towers in Russia

In our country, you can also often find tilted (sometimes at a rather dangerous angle) buildings. The most famous is the Nevyansk Tower. It is located in the district center of the same name. Sverdlovsk region. This is an eighteenth century monument. However, glory Nevyansk tower brought not a noticeable angle of inclination, but a unique auditory room. It has excellent acoustics. There, in the Urals, there is also a bell tower at the cathedral in the city of Usolye. In Kazan, in the local Kremlin, the top of the Syuyumbike tower deviated from the base by almost two meters. And, finally, in Solikamsk, at the Exaltation of the Cross Cathedral, there is also a “falling” bell tower. Interestingly, Russian folk thought never attributes the reasons for the tilt of buildings to the movement of tectonic plates, subsidence of soils or engineering miscalculations. The devils are always to blame, the death of the Kazan princess (Syuyumbike) or the nostalgia of the architect Athanasius for his native Tula (Nevyansk).

Pisa, Bologna, Venice, Rome

The famous bell tower at the Cathedral of Pisa is not the only leaning tower in Italy. And even in this city there is another sloping structure. This is the bell tower of the monastery church of the Barefoot Order. Once upon a time, medieval cities had secular tower houses where noble families lived. Two such buildings remained in Bologna - the Torre degli Asinelli (a hundred meters high) and the Torre Garisenda half as low as it. Both stand on Rizzoli Street and are the symbol of Bologna. There are also two leaning towers in Venice. The first is located on This is the bell tower of the church of San Martino. The second is located in the Kastelo area. This is the bell tower of the Greek Orthodox Church of San Giorgio dei Grechi. The earthquake of 1348 turned the previously straight Militia tower (erected under the Pope into a falling one.

Crooked Towers of Poland

Marshy terrain, strong steady winds, plus construction flaws have given rise to tumbling towers in this country. True, they are modestly called "curves". The most famous of them is Kshiva Vezha in Torun. She is part of medieval cities. Raised in the thirteenth century. Since then, it has deviated from the vertical by one and a half meters. Another "Kshiva Vezha" is located in the town of Zombkowice-Slańsk, which is near the church (1413). Due to the displacement of tectonic plates at the end of the 16th century, the tower began to roll. Now its slope is two meters. The tower houses the Frankenstein Museum. in Wroclaw to oldest building St. Idzi's church in the city is adjoined by the crooked Kapitula tower.

Inclined bell towers and other buildings

We can only list the falling towers scattered around the world. This is the Old Church (Oude Kerk) in the Dutch town of Delft, the Church of St. Margaret in the Romanian Medias. Due to the peculiarity of the soils of such inclined buildings, at least a dime a dozen in the UK and Ireland. You can call the Greyfriars tower in King's Lynn, Bridgnorth (Shropshire), Kilmacdu in Galway (Ireland), in Wales, Albert's clock tower in Belfast. In Germany, Ulm also has a 3.3° leaning tower. And even in the Kyiv Lavra, the Great Bell Tower tilted 62 centimeters in northeast direction, which is very noticeable with a building height of 96 meters.

85-meter clock tower, made in the Venetian and Gothic styles. Located on the campus of the university in the southern part of Mumbai, India. At one time was the most tall building in the city. The construction of the Rajabai Tower was started on March 1, 1869, designed by the English architect Sir George Gilbert Scott, and completed in November 1878.

Old Joe (Old Joe)

Old Joe or the Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Tower is located on the campus of the University of Birmingham, in the suburb of Edgbaston, UK. It is the tallest free-standing clock tower in the world. Its height is 100 meters. It was built in 1908 and named after the university's first chancellor, Joseph Chamberlain.

Peace Tower

In eighth place in the list of the most famous clock towers is the Peace Tower, officially the Victory and Peace Tower. Located in the heart of the parliament building in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. This 92.2-meter tower was built on the site of the old 55-meter Victoria Tower, which burned down in 1916, along with for the most part complex.

Zytglogge

Zytglogge - a medieval clock tower with astronomical clock located in the historical part of the city of Bern, Switzerland. It was supposedly built between 1218 and 1220 and was used in different periods as a defensive tower, a prison, and also as a clock tower, which served as the official determinant of the exact time for the city. Now, perhaps, it is considered the most popular attraction in Bern.

The Spasskaya Tower (formerly the Frolovskaya Tower) is one of the 20 towers of the Moscow Kremlin overlooking Red Square. It houses the main gates of the Kremlin - Spassky, and in the tent are installed famous watch- chimes. The 71-meter tower was built in 1491 by the Italian architect Antonio Pietro Solari during the reign of Ivan III.

Rathaus-Glockenspiel is a popular tourist attraction located on central square Marienplatz, in the city of Munich, in southern Germany. It was built in 1908 as part of New City Hall. Every day at 11 a.m. (as well as at noon and 5 p.m. on summer time) to the sound of chimes, 32 human-sized figures stage two stories that took place in the 16th century in Munich. The show is about 12-15 minutes long.

The Old Town Hall with a height of 56.59 meters is located in historic district Czech capital Prague. The complex was founded in 1338, and over time it was gradually completed and expanded. The Old Town Hall Clock, first installed in 1410, is the third oldest astronomical clock in the world and also the oldest still in operation.

Abraj al-Beit is a complex of high-rise buildings with a total area of ​​1,500,000 square meters, located in the city of Mecca, in the west of Saudi Arabia. It is the largest building in the world by mass and also the tallest building in Saudi Arabia. The tallest skyscraper, the Royal Clock Tower Hotel, is 601 meters high. The diameter of the watch is 43 meters.

Philadelphia City Hall - 167-meter seat of government American city Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Second Empire style building was built between 1871 and 1901 by Scottish-born architect John MacArthur Jr.

Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower)

Big Ben is the informal name for the largest of the six bells in the Palace of Westminster in London. Often the clock and even the tower itself are called Big Ben, although the correct name for the 96.3-meter tower is “Elizabeth Tower”. It was built in 1858 and opened in May 1859. Considered one of the most famous landmarks in the world. Big clock With a dial diameter of 7 meters and a total weight of 5 tons, Westminster is the world's largest four-sided striking clock.

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