A fortress that cannot be taken. The main requirement is inaccessibility. Underground complex in Cheyenne Mountain
In the past, Dunnottar Castle was one of the most impregnable castles in Scotland, but not due to thick walls, but due to the fact that it stands on top of a high cliff and is almost completely surrounded by water North Sea. It was possible to get inside only through the gate, sandwiched in a crevice of the rock.
Everyone who approached them was clearly visible from above, so if necessary, the defenders of the castle could easily repulse the enemy. From the side of the sea, Dannottar was reliably protected by the sheer walls of the cliff.
Let's find out more about it...
Photo 2. 
There was and secret passage to the castle - a narrow path led through a cave at its base to a well-guarded expanse above.
The place where the castle is located has been inhabited since the time of the Picts (5000 BC - 700 AD), although the exact date is unknown. The significance of this site to the Picts stems from their religion, which is believed to be close to Druidism, and revered masculinity, femininity and nature spirits. The place where the castle stands and the surrounding area have a pronounced feminine nature and symbolism, which is displayed in the image of the "green lady". The spirit of the green lady has been seen in the castle's brewery. She is said to be looking for her "missing children", which are the Picts who converted to Christianity around the 5th century AD.
This is evidenced by the name of the castle - the word dun was present in many ancient languages of Britain and meant "fort" or "city" in translation. In the Annals of Ulster (the so-called medieval chronicle of Ireland) there is an entry for 681, briefly reporting on the siege of the fortress of Dún Foither. It is believed that we are talking about Dannotara, and the fort that has not survived to our time was besieged by the Pictish king Bruid III in one of his conquest raids.
In other early chronicles, Dannottar is mentioned twice more: as the site of a battle between Donald II and the Vikings (900), during which the king was killed, and in a story about big trip King Æthelstan of England (934) to Scotland.
Photo 3. 
In 1276, a church was built on the top of the cliff - on the ruins of an old temple, according to legend, founded by St. Ninian, a missionary bishop who converted the Picts and Britons to Christianity in the 5th century. It is believed that at the end of the 13th century it was set on fire along with the English soldiers who had taken refuge inside, William Wallace, a national hero and fighter for the independence of Scotland. After 300 years, a new, already third church was built on that site.
Photo 4. 
In 1336, King Edward III of England captured Dunnottar and sent masons and carpenters there to rebuild the castle, but the Scots recaptured it and destroyed everything the king had built there. Later, Dannotar became the property of the Keith family, Counts Marshal, who erected that castle, the ruins of which have survived to this day. The whales were quite an influential family. William Keith, 4th Earl Marshal, was in the guard of Mary Stuart during her childhood, and then was a member of her personal council. It is known that the queen visited Dannotara twice - in 1562 and 1564. Also in 1580, her son, King James VI, visited the castle.
Nine years later, he sent George Keith, 5th Earl, on an embassy to Denmark to negotiate his marriage to the fifteen-year-old Princess Anne of Denmark. Around the same time, the Whales rebuilt the castle, turning the gloomy medieval fortress into a pompous palace.
Photo 5. 
The title of Marshals, like the surname of the Stuarts, came from the position that the Whales occupied at court from the 12th century and passed on to their sons by inheritance. She had nothing to do with the military. The marshals were responsible for the life of the king during his visit to Parliament, were responsible for organizing various ceremonies and for the safety of the royal regalia.
Photo 6. 
The royal regalia of Scotland are the crown, sword and scepter.
The crown of the monarchs of Scotland is made of gold and decorated with precious stones and Scottish pearls. When and by whom it was made is not known for certain. In 1540, the crown was remade by the Edinburgh jeweler John Mosman by order of King James V (velvet inserts and an ermine fur trim were added). Scepter of Scotland - a gift from Pope Alexander VI to King James IV (1494) - made of gilded silver and decorated with Christian symbols, images of saints and the Virgin Mary. The sword, made by Italian masters, also came to Scotland from the Vatican - in 1507, Pope Julius II presented it to James IV.
Photo 7. 
The opportunity to fulfill the last duty with honor was given to the Whales in the middle of the 17th century, during the invasion of Cromwell. In the same period, Charles II, the son of Charles I, who was executed by Cromwell, arrived in Scotland. Without losing hope of taking the throne, in January 1650 he was crowned in Scone. Meanwhile, Cromwell's army was actively advancing inland, defeating the Scots at the Battle of Dunbar and capturing Edinburgh.
In 1651, the British were at the walls of Dannotar in order to seize the royal regalia and personal papers of the king, which were kept there after the visit of Charles II. The 70-man garrison defended for a long eight months, but then artillery arrived to help the British, and after a ten-day shelling, the castle fell. However, there were no regalia or documents inside. By that time, they had already been carried out of Dunnottar through a secret passage and hidden in the church of the nearby village of Kinnlef. There they lay for 11 years, and after the restoration of the monarchy, they returned to their original place in Edinburgh castle where they are to this day.
Photo 8. 
Dunnottar was not only hard to get into, it was just as hard to get out of. In 1685, in the damp and cramped basement of the castle, later called Whig's Vault, 167 men and women, opponents of James II, spent two months in prison. Some of them starved to death, others were subsequently sent to work in the West Indies, and only a few managed to escape. Later, in 1689, fourteen Jacobites were held in the castle for almost a year, and in 1715 the owner of Dannotar was himself accused of treason for participating in the Jacobite uprising. His title was frozen, and the possessions went to the crown.
A few years later, Dunnottar was sold to the York Construction Company, which bought up land in Scotland taken from the Jacobites by the government, after which only bare walls remained of the castle. In 1925, Viscountess Caudret bought Dunnotard (her husband was at the origins of Pearson PLC, which owns publishing house Penguin Group and the Financial Times), and the castle is still owned by her descendants.
Photo 9. 
Visiting Dunnottar Castle is an unforgettable experience. The grandiose, evocative view of the dilapidated castle on the hill is a truly breathtaking sight. A leisurely walk through the spacious halls, starting with the donjon, then past the barracks, living quarters, stables, barns, and ending with the less ruined part with the chapel and living room, will help you to feel the historical significance of Dunnottar - an impregnable castle that holds a great many secrets from the rich and the colorful past of Scotland.
William Wallace, Mary Stuart, the Marquis of Montrose, the future King Charles II and other significant figures of history honored the castle with their presence. However, he became famous for the fact that it was in Dunnottar Castle that a small garrison withstood the onslaught of Cromwell's army, which lasted for 8 months, thereby saving the royal regalia and jewels of Scotland from destruction. And now, the crown, scepter and sword take pride of place in Edinburgh Castle. A darker chapter in Dunnottar's history is connected with the "Whig's Crypt". This is a macabre story from 1685 about the imprisonment of a group of Covenanters who refused to acknowledge the king's religious domination. The castle was also the seat of the Earl Marshals of Scotland, once one of the most powerful dynasties in the area. The last of the earls was found guilty of treason for participating in the Jacobite rising of 1715, which resulted in all his property, including Dunnottar Castle, being confiscated by the government. From that moment, the buildings of the castle began to gradually fall into disrepair, until the first Viscountess Cowdray began a systematic restoration of the castle. After the renovation, the castle was officially opened to visitors.
Photo 10. 
Photo 11. 
Photo 12. 
Photo 13. 
Photo 14. 
Photo 15. 
Photo 16. 
Photo 17. 
Photo 18. 
Photo 19. 
Photo 20. 
Photo 21. 
Photo 22. 
Photo 23. 
Photo 24. 
Photo 25. 
Photo 26. 
Photo 27. 
Photo 28. 
Photo 29. 
Photo 30. 
Photo 31. 
Photo 32. 
Photo 33. 
Photo 34. 
During the defense, the architecture of the fortress played a decisive role. Location, walls, equipment - all this determined how successful the assault would be, and whether it was worth taking at all.
Athenian long walls
After the victory in the Greco-Persian wars, Athens began to flourish. To protect against an external enemy, a huge policy was covered by a fortress wall, which not only surrounded the city, but also protected the path to the main sea gate Athens - the port of Piraeus. Built in a short time long walls extended for six kilometers. Since in the 5th century BC Athens was supplied with bread from the colonies of the Northern Black Sea region, it was strategically important to preserve the possibility of supplying the huge city by sea.
There was no external threat to Greece at that time, most of the Greek policies had much smaller armies than Athens, and the main probable enemy of the Athenians - the Spartans - were invincible in a field battle, but they did not know how to take fortresses. Therefore, Athens theoretically turned into an impregnable fortress, capable of withstanding many years of siege, with no prospects for the enemy to capture the city. In fact, it turned out that way - to defeat Athens, Sparta had to build a fleet, and only after sea routes were blocked, Athens was forced to capitulate. Under the terms of the peace, the inhabitants of the city were forced to destroy the walls, which were subsequently restored and finally destroyed only in the Roman era.
Castle Krak des Chevaliers
In the Middle Ages, when small armies consisting of several tens, hundreds and extremely rarely thousands of people fought against each other, powerful stone walls surrounded by a moat were practically impregnable. Prolonged sieges, which required enormous exertion of forces, were also practiced extremely rarely. Only in cinema and a number of works of fiction can one find a dashing description of the assault medieval castle. In reality, this task is difficult and extremely complex. One of the most powerful fortresses of the Crusaders in the territory of modern Syria was the castle of Krak des Chevaliers. Through the efforts of the Order of the Hospitallers, a wall was erected with a thickness of 3 to 30 meters, reinforced with seven towers. In the 13th century, the castle had a garrison of up to 2000 people and a huge amount of supplies that made it possible to withstand a long siege. Krak des Chevaliers was virtually impregnable, repeatedly repulsing the onslaught of the enemy .. He was besieged more than once, but always unsuccessfully. Only in 1271 the fortress was taken, however, not by storm, but only with the help of military cunning.
San Elmo. Malta
By the middle of the 16th century, the stronghold of the Knights of Malta was an impressive fortress. It was surrounded by a system of fortress walls with bastions, and the batteries were able to cross fire, causing significant damage to the attackers. To destroy the fortress, it was necessary to bombard it systematically with artillery fire. The Maltese fleet was safely hidden in the inner bay behind the line defensive structures the city of Borgo.
The narrow entrance to the bay was blocked by a massive chain. In 1565, when the Turks attempted to capture the fortress, the garrison consisted of 540 knights, 1,300 hired soldiers, 4,000 sailors and several hundred residents of Malta. The siege army of the Turks numbered up to 40 thousand people. During the fighting, the Turks, at the cost of colossal losses, managed to take Fort San Elmo, but later they had to abandon attempts to storm other fortifications of the fortress and lift the siege.
Shusha
The security of a fortress does not always depend on the massiveness of its walls and defensive structures. A favorable position can nullify any numerical superiority of the siege army. For example, as in the case of the Shusha fortress in Karabakh, which was defended by Russian troops in 1826. The citadel, erected almost on sheer cliffs, was virtually impregnable. The only way to the fortress was a winding path, which was perfectly shot from the fortress, and two guns mounted along it could repulse any attempt to approach the gates with grapeshot.
In 1826, Shusha withstood a 48-day siege by a 35,000-strong Persian army. Two assault attempts were repulsed with huge losses for the besiegers. The peculiarities of the position of the fortress did not allow the enemy to completely block the tiny fortress, which received food from the outside. It is noteworthy that during the siege the garrison of the fortress lost only 12 people killed and 16 missing.
Bobruisk fortress
By the beginning of the Patriotic War of 1812, the fortress of Bobruisk was considered new and one of the strongest on the western frontiers. Russian Empire. The main defensive line of the fortress included 8 bastions. The four thousandth garrison was armed with 337 guns, huge stocks of gunpowder and food. The enemy could never be sure of the success of a frontal assault, and a long siege meant that the fortress was fulfilling its main role - to delay the enemy and gain time. IN Patriotic war In 1812, the Bobruisk fortress withstood a months-long blockade, being in the deep rear of the Napoleonic army throughout the war. The 16,000-strong Polish detachment that carried out the siege, after several unsuccessful clashes, limited itself only to the blockade of the Bobruisk fortress, leaving attempts to storm.
Most people associate the most impregnable fortress in the world with Troy, which, besieged by a huge army, was taken only in the 10th year of the siege and only with the help of cunning - the Trojan horse.
The higher the safer
What should be an impregnable citadel? What are the requirements for it? It can be easily assumed that it should be on a hill, because from its walls in this case it is easier to survey the surrounding area and notice the approach of the enemy.
Yes, and climbing the steepness of the enemy is both more difficult and more dangerous. Inaccessibility, obviously, implies not only strong and high walls, but also possible on the way to them.
The main requirement is inaccessibility
In the old days, almost every impregnable fortress was surrounded, if not by a river (preferably from two sides, like the Moscow Kremlin or Notre Dame), then by all means a moat filled with water. Sometimes inventive owners of castles allowed animals dangerous to human life, such as crocodiles, or a “wolf pit” of pointed stakes was arranged at the bottom of the moat. Where a ditch was dug, there was usually always an earthen rampart, which, as a rule, was poured in front of a water barrier. The place in front of the castle should be deserted and the vegetation low.
Fortification tricks
The fortress was built to protect the owners from attack. To be truly impregnable and withstand many months of sieges, such as Mortan Castle (6 months), it had to have its own source of water and, of course, food supplies. The impregnable fortress was created taking into account many tricks and subtleties of fortification art. So, the crest of the shaft was often supplied with a palisade - a palisade of pointed stakes. The road leading to the castle was laid in such a way that the attackers had an open right side, uncovered by a shield.
Even the bottom of the moat had certain form- V- or U-shaped. The ditch could be both transverse and sickle-shaped - it always went along the wall of the fortress. The tricks used by the builders made digging impossible. For this, most often fortresses were built on rocky or stone ground.
Only a citadel could provide a quiet life
Each impregnable fortress was created for some specific purpose. They all belong to the Middle Ages, to an era when there was still no artillery, and powerful walls could protect the owner. In those distant times, the states were weak and could not protect individual feudal lords, who were attacked not only by foreign enemies, but also by envious neighbors.
Each era has its own methods of warfare, methods of attack and defense. And when building castles, the owner, who could afford such construction, naturally applied the latest achievements of fortification art.
Foundation of foundations - bridge and walls
The bridge connecting the inhabitants of the fortress with the outside world played an important role in protecting the castle. As a rule, it was either retractable or lifting. The impregnable fortress had walls that were difficult to overcome, which, as a rule, were erected on an inclined plinth with deep foundation. They are one of the most important reasons for the impregnability of a fortress or a castle. And it's not just the height, width and material from which the walls are made. Their design played a huge role. After all, even inside, every meter of the fortress was built taking into account the conduct of the battle with the conquerors who had broken through. Everything was calculated in such a way that the defenders were invulnerable for as long as possible, and the attackers were always in sight.
San Leo
An interesting fact is that the impregnable fortresses of the world, emerging on different continents, were built according to the same rules - an open area in front of a castle standing at a considerable height, a rampart, a moat, walls with loopholes, containers with resin, and so on. The fortress of San Leo (Saint Lion, Italy) can fully serve as the embodiment of impregnability. She stands on a steep high rock located at the confluence of two rivers - San Marino and Marecchia. The only narrow road cut through the rock leads to it. This citadel, mentioned by Dante in The Divine Comedy, was also known as one of the most terrible prisons in the Vatican. Spent in it last years his life In the cellars of the fortress, he died.
Valletta
Most often, such fortifications cannot be taken by storm, but only by cunning. The fortress of Valletta is considered the most impregnable citadel. It began to be built as a symbol of the invincibility of the Order of the Knights, after the troops of Suleiman the Great failed to take Malta (in 1566) and retreated. Erected according to all the rules, the fortress is recognized as the most impregnable in the world, primarily because of the shape and location of its bastions, which give the highest defensive effect.
Indian citadel
The list of "The most impregnable fortresses in the world" includes the unique Janjira Fort, standing right in the sea not far from the coast of India. It has been under construction for over 20 years. Twelve-meter walls, standing on 22 deep arches, made the fortress impregnable for enemies for 200 years. The fort itself is about 5 hundred years old.
The powerful artillery made it impregnable, some fragments of which still exist today. The impossibility of digging, the existence of a unique freshwater well in the center of the island - all this contributed to the fact that the defenders could hold positions for a long time.
“The sky will soon fall to the ground…”
The impregnable Turkish fortress of Izmail fell thanks to the military genius of A. V. Suvorov. This brilliant victory of the Russian arms, when, in violation of all the laws of the attackers, an order of magnitude fewer died than the besieged, the hymn "Thunder of victory, resound!" was dedicated. The fortress, surrounded by a high rampart, followed by a wide and deep (10.5 m) ditch, having 11 bastions with 260 guns placed in them, with a garrison of 35 thousand people, neither N. V. Repin nor I. V. Gudovich, nor P. S. Potemkin. A. V. Suvorov prepared for the assault for 6 days, then sent an ultimatum to the commandant of the fortress demanding to surrender voluntarily within 24 hours, to which he received a haughty response.
For two days, artillery preparation for the assault was carried out, ending 2 hours before it began. After 8 hours the fortress fell. The victory was so brilliant and incredible that even now there are Russophobes who call the assault a "spectacle." Despite everything, it will remain in history as one of the glorious pages of Russian history.
Once impregnable, but now actively visited
As noted above, impregnable castles and fortresses are scattered all over the world. The most famous is Pingyao (China), built in 827-782. BC and still exists today, and in good condition. The visual personification of impregnability is the fortress of Arg-e Bam (Iran), built in 500 AD, and standing on a sheer cliff in Portugal.
Herons in Japan, Frontenac in Canada, Chenonceaux in France, Hohenwerfen in Austria and some others are among the twenty most impregnable fortresses in the world. The history of each of them is incredibly interesting, and each of them is unusually beautiful and unique.
Still, medieval architects were geniuses - they built castles, luxurious buildings that were also extremely practical. Castles, unlike modern mansions, not only demonstrated the wealth of their owners, but also served as powerful fortresses that could hold the defense for several years, and at the same time, life in them did not stop.
Even the fact that many castles, having survived wars, natural disasters and the carelessness of the owners, are still intact, suggests that they have not yet come up with a more reliable home. And they are insanely beautiful and seem to have appeared in our world from the pages of fairy tales and legends. Their high spiers are reminiscent of the times when beauties fought for the hearts, and the air was saturated with chivalry and courage.
Reichsburg Castle, Germany
The thousand-year-old castle was originally the residence of the German king Conrad III, and then the king of France Louis XIV. The fortress was burned down by the French in 1689 and would have sunk into oblivion, but a German businessman purchased its remains in 1868 and spent most of his wealth to restore the castle.
Mont Saint Michel, France
Swallow's Nest, Crimea
Initially, on the rock of Cape Ai-Todor there was a small wooden house. And its current appearance bird home” received thanks to the oil industrialist Baron Shteingel, who loved to relax in the Crimea. He decided to build romantic castle, which resembles medieval buildings on the banks of the Rhine River.
Castle Stalker, Scotland
Castle Stalker, which means "Falconer", was built in 1320 and belonged to the MacDougal clan. Since that time, its walls have experienced a huge number of strife and wars, which affected the state of the castle. In 1965, Colonel D. R. Stewart of Allward became the owner of the castle, who personally restored the structure with his wife, family members and friends.
Bran Castle, Romania
Bran Castle is the pearl of Transylvania, a mysterious museum-fort, where the famous legend of Count Dracula, a vampire, murderer and governor Vlad the Impaler, was born. According to legend, he spent the night here during the periods of his campaigns, and the forest surrounding Bran Castle was Tepes's favorite hunting ground.
Vyborg Castle, Russia
Vyborg Castle was founded by the Swedes in 1293, during one of the crusades against Karelian land. It remained Scandinavian until 1710, when the troops of I drove the Swedes back far and for a long time. Since that time, the castle managed to visit both a warehouse, and a barracks, and even a prison for the Decembrists. And today there is a museum here.
Cashel Castle, Ireland
Cashel Castle was the seat of the kings of Ireland for several hundred years before the Norman invasion. Here in the 5th century A.D. e. Saint Patrick lived and preached. The walls of the castle witnessed the bloody suppression of the revolution by the troops of Oliver Cromwell, who burned soldiers alive here. Since then, the castle has become a symbol of the cruelty of the British, the real courage and fortitude of the Irish.
Kilchurn Castle, Scotland
Very beautiful and even a little creepy ruins of Kilkhurn Castle are located on the shore picturesque lake Eve. The history of this castle, unlike most castles in Scotland, proceeded quite calmly - numerous earls lived here, who succeeded each other. In 1769, the building was struck by lightning and was soon completely abandoned, as it remains to this day.
Lichtenstein Castle, Germany
Built in the 12th century, this castle has been destroyed several times. It was finally restored in 1884 and since then the castle has become a filming location for many films, including the film The Three Musketeers.
The ancient fortresses of the world - the silent temples of chivalry - have become a symbol of the Middle Ages. They served as protection against attack by enemies, housing for the nobility, safe storage, and sometimes a prison. Impregnable fortresses were built on the newly conquered territories in order to strengthen power and demonstrate their power. And in peacetime, knightly tournaments were held here.
Unlike other ancient structures such as monasteries, temples or cathedrals, medieval fortresses served several purposes at once - it was both a house for the owner's family, and a place of entertainment for guests, and a center of administration and justice. But these were strong enough fortifications to protect their inhabitants in the event of an attack by enemies. Later, the fortresses and castles of the world gradually changed their meaning, dividing into objects that served only one purpose: forts built for defense and majestic palaces, exclusively for the residence of the nobility.
Early fortresses
In the XIII century BC. The Hittites built stone walls with square towers in Turkey. IN Ancient Egypt 1500 BC built fortified buildings of mud brick with massive gates and square towers to protect the southern borders. From the 16th to the 12th centuries BC small separate kingdoms dominated Greece, each with its own stronghold.
In England, the first fortresses began to appear in the 5th century BC. Maiden Castle in Dorset is one of the most impressive examples of a pre-Roman fortress. Large earthen ditches and embankments are crowned with a wooden palisade wall. However, they did not survive the advance of the Romans. The Romans quickly overcame the hillforts and consolidated their power by building standard rectangular forts across much of England.
Medieval fortresses
IN medieval Europe the first castles appeared in the 9th century, when the Carolingian empire collapsed as a result of Viking raids. The nobles fought for power and territory. They built fortresses and castles to defend their land. These were at first simple, wooden structures supported by natural defenses such as rivers and hills. But soon the builders added earth mounds and ditches around the fortress.
The formation of fortified estates led to the development of feudalism. Princes and lords kept knights to protect their possessions. In the constant struggle for power, some have become almost as powerful as the ruler of the country. So William, Duke of Normandy, after many years of war, became real threat the king of France. In September 1066 he invaded England, claiming the English throne. Fortresses played an important role in the war. William built his first defensive post within the walls of the old Roman fort at Pevensey, then the castles at Hastings and Dover. After winning the Battle of Hastings, he traveled to London, where he was crowned King of England.
Many early wooden fortresses were later rebuilt in stone. The first stone buildings, as a rule, are concentrated on a large tower. The earliest of these was built in 950 at Due-la-Fontaine in France. In 1079, work began on a large stone tower in London, now known as the White Tower ( White Tower) in the Tower of London. The stone tower was much stronger than the wooden one, and the height provided additional protection for the soldiers and good view for the line of fire.
Some fortresses were built rectangular (in Ukraine), others round (), square (in Ukraine), or multilateral (in Wales). Each fortress had its own unique character and different designs. The corners of the fortress masonry were more vulnerable than the evenly curved surface.
In the 13th century, during the Crusades, Western architects had the opportunity to study the massive fortifications of the Byzantine Empire. Throughout England and France, fortifications began to appear with a concentric design, as in Constantinople. These fortresses were completely surrounded by an outer chain of walls low enough to allow free direct fire from the inner walls. Good examples of such structures can be seen in castles and in Wales, the first British forts of concentric design. In Ukraine a prime example such a defense system is in Sudak.
When the struggle for power subsided, the construction of fortresses continued at a leisurely pace. At some points in history, they guarded the king from the rebellious population and the threat of invasion. This led to the construction and - the most impressive in size among medieval castles and fortresses of Wales. The largest building in Ukraine is.
Fortress sunset
During the Renaissance, the weakening of warfare changed the importance of ancient fortresses as fortified dwellings. The nobility sought more comfortable homes, and forts manned by professional soldiers took over defensive duties. Some fortresses remained centers of local administration, or served as prisons. Others turned into luxurious castles and palaces, which were often cheaper to build using building materials from the old fortress.
The fate of many buildings was sealed in civil war. Throughout the country, the surviving fortresses were occupied as bases for the opposing forces. But after the victory, they tried to destroy them in order to prevent the possibility of being used in future conflicts.
Eventually, the introduction of gunpowder led to the disappearance of traditional fortresses as military installations. They could no longer withstand cannon fire. The fortresses not destroyed by wars turned into peaceful mansions, or became the center of a fortified city that grew up around them.
