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04.12.2020

History of the Smolensk Fortress

Thanks to the advantageous geographical location Even in pre-chronicle times, Smolensk was the most important strategic outpost of a small appanage principality. It was part of the trade route “From the Varangians to the Greeks.” 10 kilometers from Smolensk, at the fork of the Katynka and the Dnieper, a difficult section of the “drag” route began for merchants, so the city at the crossroads flourished, attracting the attention of invaders. Over time, it turned into the “key of the Moscow state”, standing guard over the main road leading to Belokamennaya. The construction of capital fortifications here was one of the primary tasks.

In different centuries, princes and kings sought to make the city impregnable. The beginning of the history of the Smolensk fortress is considered to be 1554, when, by order of Ivan the Terrible, capital wooden fortifications were built. Since the work was part of a plan to restore the settlement after a major fire, the fortress received the name “Big new town" However, due to the rapid development of weapons and artillery, such structures no longer provided adequate protection. In this regard, by the end of the century, during the reign of Fyodor Ioannovich and Boris Godunov, the construction of a stone fortification began, fragments of which have survived to this day.

The foreign policy of the Moscow state included gaining access to the Baltic Sea, which ran counter to the plans of rival countries. To get a break for western front, in 1590 a non-aggression pact was signed with Poland, guaranteeing the absence of war for the next 12 years. In 1595, an “eternal peace” was concluded with Sweden. It was during this period of time that the Muscovite state intended to replace the wooden fortress in Smolensk with a large-scale stone fort, anticipating the end of a fragile period of stability.

In the winter of 1595, active preparations began for the construction of defensive fortifications. A decree was issued by the tsar, commanding princes S.V. Bezobrazov and V.A. Zvenigorodsky, clerks N. Perfiryev and P. Shipilov, as well as the architect Fyodor Kon to appear in Smolensk by Christmas to supervise the construction. They were instructed to find and register all the craftsmen, the places where bricks were made, determine where rubble piles and stone would need to be imported from, develop supply routes and hire the required number of workers. Labor was paid from the state treasury.

That same winter, the peasants received an order to increase the standards for the preparation of foundation piles, which had to be delivered to the construction site as the weather warmed. In the spring of 1596, the tsar signed the estimate documents and sent Boris Godunov to supervise the foundation of the Smolensk fortress. Construction of the fort continued until 1602.

The first test of strength came already in 1609, when Polish troops began attacking the city. The total duration of the siege was then more than 3 years. In 1633-1634 and 1654, a Russian army was already standing under the walls of the fort, trying to recapture the fortress from the enemy.

Peter I decided to further strengthen the damaged structure, so in 1698 he initiated restoration work. At the site of Shein's breach, a stone pentagonal fortification with storage for weapons was built. The royal bastion was turned into a real citadel, separated by a trench even from the city. Digging or deepening of ditches took place along the entire wall - the width of such barriers reached 6.4 meters. Additionally, traverses and bastions were erected.

New round military history fort began in 1812, when Russian troops, under the cover of fortifications, entered into battle with French army. Despite the organized retreat while maintaining combat effectiveness, the defenders still lost the fortress to the invaders. Napoleonic troops left the city on November 17 at night, blowing up 9 towers of the wall. The remaining bastions of the Smolensk fortress were cleared by the Don Cossack corps. Until 1844, the fortifications were on the balance sheet of the military department, which did not allocate any funds to maintain the structure. The already damaged fortifications continued to collapse. By 1889, only 19 towers remained, some of which were used as warehouses.

In the period 1889-1917, the remains of the Smolensk fortress wall were under the jurisdiction of a commission, which included local officials, an architect and a governor. Measures to preserve the fortress yielded virtually no results. Emperor Alexander II took more serious actions, declaring fortifications an important part of cultural heritage countries.

During the Second World War Smolensk Kremlin suffered from the actions of both domestic and German military. Particularly great damage was caused during the defense of the city in 1941 and during its liberation from the occupiers in 1943. It is believed that 2 towers were destroyed during this period. The wall was actively destroyed not only in war time. It was dismantled into brick and stone to restore other city buildings and expand the housing stock in the 1820s-1830s and in the 1930s.

On this moment Less than half of the buildings (3.3 km) survived in the form of 9 fragments. One of the largest sections has a straight view on the southeast side. The fortress, even in its current state, gives the impression of a majestic stronghold. Traces of the fortification can be found in other areas of Smolensk, although these remains are no longer subject to reconstruction. In total, 17 towers have survived, 22 are irretrievably lost.

Surviving towers

Volkova (Semenovskaya, Strelka).
Kostyrevskaya (Red).
Veselukha (Luchinskaya).
Dnieper Gate.
Pozdnyakova (Rogovka).
Orel (Gorodetskaya).
Avraamievskaya.
Zaaltarnaya (Belukha).
Voronina.
Dolgochevskaya (Shembeleva).
Zimbulka.
Nikolskaya Tower (Nikolsky Gate).
Mokhovaya.
Donets.
Gromovaya (Tupinskaya).
Bubleyka.
Kopytenskaya Tower (Kopytenskaya Gate).
Pyatnitskaya Tower.

Unpreserved towers

Antifonovskaya.
Bogoslovskaya.
Ivorovskaya (Verzhenova).
Water Gate (Resurrection Gate).
Faceted.
Gurkina.
Frolovskaya.
Evstafievskaya (Brikareva).
Kassandalovskaya (Kozodavlevskaya, Artishevskaya).
Round No. 11 and No. 13.
Kryloshevsky Gate.
Lazarevsky Gate.
Molochov Gate.
Mikulinskaya tower.
Stefanskaya.
Kolominskaya (Sheinova).
Gorodetskaya (Semyonovskaya).
Quadrangular No. 8, No. 12, No. 19.

Construction of the fortress

The main architect was Fyodor Savelyevich Kon, who had previously worked on the creation of the Moscow “White City”. When planning the future structure, he used Kremlins already built in Moscow, Tula, Nizhny Novgorod, Serpukhov, Kolomna, Zaraysk. The great defensive importance of fortifications prompted the architect to increase the number of towers, expand the battle system, and lay more powerful walls than usual.

At the same time, Fyodor Kon used a number of traditional proven methods for constructing fortifications: half-ruble masonry, fencing with high dovetail teeth, laying a plinth with a bolster, and convex arches on the inside. The fortress was not only impregnable, but also beautiful. The architect decided to decorate the loopholes with carved platbands, which were used to frame the windows of residential buildings, and white stone elements.

It is interesting that throughout the Smolensk fortress the towers differed in shape: 13 rectangular solid, 9 round, 7 polyhedral. The three-tier structures had a height of 22 to 33 meters, located at a distance of 150-160 meters from each other. Each had its own characteristics and name. The height of the fortification was 13-19 meters, depending on the topography of a particular area. The walls facing steep ditches were made a little lower. The width of the fortification ranged from 5-5.2 to 6 meters - they said that it was easy to drive along it in a troika.

The new Smolensk fortress largely repeated the shape of the old wooden structure, which, just in case, was not demolished until the work was completed. This provided protection in case of unexpected danger. The stone wall mostly ran outside, along the line of the second shaft, but in some places it ran right along the old structures. The western section was built first, since it was from here that the likelihood of an enemy attack was highest.

Considering the importance of the fortifications and the scale of the work that needed to be completed in a short time, Fyodor Ioannovich ordered brickmakers, masons and potters from all over Rus' to be sent to Smolensk. At the same time under fear death penalty In the state, stone construction was prohibited until the construction of the laid fortifications was completed, so the chronicles noted that Smolensk was made all the cities of Rus'.

Only bricks were made on site, which were passed along a long “human chain”. Limestone, rubble stone and other materials were delivered from other, sometimes very distant places. They used not only ordinary, but two-handed bricks. They were one and a half times larger than the standard ones, which made it impossible to hold them with one hand, hence the name. Archaeologists have calculated that at least 320 thousand piles, about a million carts of sand and 100 million bricks were used to build this structure.

The most difficult and expensive work (procurement and transportation of building materials) was elevated to the rank of state duty. It is believed that from each yard throughout the country, on pain of death, they demanded 2 bricks, and even residents of the Moscow district who had carts were mobilized to transport piles and stone. The main emphasis was placed on the use of hired labor, which became an uncharacteristic phenomenon for the economic life of that time. More than 30 thousand people built the Smolensk fortress. At the same time, experienced craftsmen received a fairly high salary - 16 kopecks per day.

Construction was carried out in a hurry, since the grandiose structure had to be completed before the expiration of the peace treaty with Poland in 1603, which did not hide its intentions to confirm the success of the Livonian War. Weather conditions were not favorable to the work: in 1597 there was an extremely rainy summer, which forced the builders to additionally strengthen the sliding soil with piles. In 1600, a severe drought caused crop failure, which caused famine in the country. Under these conditions, many sought to become workers in order to feed themselves. In 1602, there was a rainy autumn, which affected the strength of the eastern wall, which the Polish troops later took advantage of.

The construction of the fortress wall was in full swing from dawn to dusk; the mercenaries lived in heated dugouts, which were often flooded with water. Severe punishments were imposed for the slightest offenses, which is why many people died or became crippled. As a result, in 1599, workers staged a large-scale riot, forcing the government to improve working conditions and raise wages. Such emergency measures made it possible to complete the construction of the Smolensk fortress on schedule. In 1600, major work was completed; about two more years were required for finishing. In 1602, a magnificent ceremony of consecration of the fort took place.

Design Features

Under the foundation of the future Smolensk fortress, a pit was dug, into the bottom of which thick oak piles were driven. The space between them was filled with soil and compacted thoroughly. New piles were also driven in here. A structure of longitudinal and transverse logs with a cut-out joint was laid on top. The square gaps were again filled with soil and crushed stone and carefully compacted. In some places the soil was too hard - here large stones were placed directly on the bottom of the pit, holding them together with lime “cement”. This approach made it possible to create a strong, wide foundation that could support the weight of thick walls.

“Rumor” galleries were dug under the massif. They were required to carry out secret reconnaissance and combat forays in small detachments. The bricks there are laid in strictly horizontal rows, with the exception of the inclined fence on the river side. The middle part of the fortifications had a kind of rigidity belt. Here a double wall was built, into the space of which a stone was poured and poured with lime mortar.

Along the entire length of the wall, passages were equipped to move the garrison between the towers. Cannon and rifle loopholes and small ammunition depots were also built. The wall was crowned by a brick-lined battle area, surrounded by dovetail battlements. The distance between the protrusions was 4-4.5 meters.

The side of the Smolensk fortress facing the city was decorated with a series of shallow arched niches, in which there were embrasures for firing at the enemy. At the very bottom of the wall there was a level of plantar combat. For convenience, guns (arquebuses, cannons) were placed in niches called pechurs. In the center of the fort there was a middle battle, where the artillerymen climbed up the ladders provided. The upper platform had battlements with loopholes cut into them, and between them there were compact stone ceilings, allowing you to safely shoot from your knees. The warriors and guns were protected from precipitation by a two-slope plank roof.

The towers were designed in such a way that the garrison soldiers were able to fire along the wall and defend the gate. Entrances to the city and inside the fortress were provided in 9 bastions. The main gate was the Frolovskaya (Dnieper) tower, from where the road towards Moscow began. Also great importance had the Molokhov bastion, which opened the way to Kyiv, Roslavl, Krasny.

Additionally, in front of the Smolensk fortress, the architect provided ravelins, ditches with water, ramparts and other elements that would impede the rapid advance of enemy troops. Drainage pipes were placed in the northern part of the fortifications to remove excess moisture that could undermine the strength of the structures. The openings were covered with bars to prevent enemy penetration.

For tourists

Today the Smolensk Fortress remains one of the main attractions of the city. It has retained not only historical, but practical significance:

in the Nikolsky Gate there is a communication center (television tower);
The Thunder Tower is occupied by the museum exhibition “Smolensk – Shield of Russia”;
The Pyatnitsky Bastion is dedicated to an exhibition dedicated to the development of the wine and vodka industry (with tasting);
The Red Tower became the premises of the Red Tower Club;
Oryol is the base for local rock climbing competitions.

The longest section of the fortress wall is 1.5 km long and stretches along Timiryazev and Zhukov streets. The extreme towers of the segment are the Nikolsky Gate in the southeast and the Veselukha Tower in the north. According to legend, the latter got its name due to the magnificent view, “cheerful to the soul,” that opens from the upper platform.

You can climb the wall for free through the Eagle Tower to walk from the Abraham Gate to Veselukha. The ravines surrounding the fortress are so deep that on the slope of the “Devil’s Moat” there is a ski track with a rope tow.

In the immediate vicinity of the surviving fragments of the Smolensk fortress along Barclay de Tolly Street there is a cultural center, a monument to F. S. Kon, the Fyodor Savelyevich tavern, named after the architect, and other attractions.

Address: Smolensk, st. Timiryazeva, 38, st. Barclay de Tolly, 7.

Like an apple split in two, Smolensk lies on both sides of the Dnieper. From one of its hills near the Assumption Cathedral, the preserved part of the city fortress is clearly visible, picturesquely passing along the high ridges of the ravines and running like a smooth ribbon along the Dnieper.

In 1595, the sovereign master Fyodor Kon entered Smolensk through the Dnieper Gate of the city. According to his plan, with the hands of thousands of builders, a fortress wall 6 km 380 m long with 38 towers was erected in just a few years. No city in Russia had ever seen such a scale of construction work before. Even now, the fortress wall, which has not been completely preserved, is quite impressive. Truly, it was made "with great zeal"

The current state of the fortress cannot give a complete picture of it. Only some of its sections and 17 towers have survived: Pyatnitskaya, Volkova (Strelka), Kostyrevskaya (Red), Veselukha, Pozdnyakova, Orel, Avraamievskaya, Zaaltarnaya (Belukha), Voronina, Dolmachevskaya (Shembeleva), Zimbulka, Nikolskaya (Elenevskaya), Makhovaya, Donets, Gromovaya, Bubleika and Kopytenskaya.

In 1692, the Moscow master Gur Vakhromeev came to Smolensk specifically to restore the wall. In 1698, Peter I, having arrived in the city, paid attention to it and ordered its restoration to be intensified. When the wall, having endured hard times Patriotic War 1812, dilapidated, on a report on its condition, Alexander I wrote: “It would be desirable to more carefully protect ancient monuments that, like the Smolensk Wall, had a special historical meaning"Today it is included in the register of historical and architectural monuments.

Erected at a difficult moment in Russian history, the Smolensk Kremlin was evidence of the strong will of the people to defend the fatherland. The craftsmen who arrived to build it left a bright mark on the development of artistic and household crafts in the city. Later, the wall served as a monument that inspired many artists to create paintings and engravings, starting with the well-known Keller engraving of 1610, which was only a figment of fiction, and ending with the sketches of N.K. Roerich and the realistic painting of 1896 by N.A. Andreev . Many of these sketches left a very convincing image of the appearance of the Kremlin.

A huge number of working people were involved in the construction of the Kremlin. This army of suppliers and builders worked for several years. First of all, the Smolensk residents themselves participated in the construction of the wall. A royal decree was also issued to send people from other cities. According to another decree, it was prohibited, under penalty of death, from carrying out any construction work in Rus' using stone during the construction of the Smolensk Kremlin, since its wall was being built by “all cities of the Moscow State.” 6 thousand people worked directly on the construction of the wall.

Due to difficult working conditions, a riot broke out at the construction site in 1599. Unfavorable weather conditions were added: cold rains, early frosts, hunger, and disease. In 1600, the walls in the eastern part were laid even in late autumn, which had not been done before.

From the outside, the smooth wall was finished at the base with a white stone roller. Pipes were installed in the floor for water drainage, and the holes were sealed with gratings. On the back side the wall is decorated with arches, both blind and with combat chambers. The arched openings of the plantar loopholes are decorated with a frame from the outside. The second tier of the battle is located in the center. Here the frames have triangular pediments. The upper platform reaches a width of up to 4.5 meters. Elongated teeth end in a dovetail, but even teeth are also found.

Upon his accession to the throne, Boris Godunov increased attention to Smolensk and in 1600 he sent 200 thousand rubles there, increased the pay of workers, and everyone began to be accepted for construction. This made it possible to successfully complete the wall in 1602, which turned out to be extremely timely, because already in the fall of 1609 Sigismund III with a 22 thousand army (Poles, Hungarian mercenary infantry, Cossacks) stood near the city, which was defended by about 5 thousand people with 200 guns. They lasted 20 months!

The defense was led by Smolensk governor M.B. Shein. From 1610, Smolensk residents began to die of hunger and scurvy. Ammunition has run out. Nobles often violated Shein's orders to report for guard duty, hiring artisans or peasants to replace them. Livestock began to die, there was a shortage of firewood and water, and the use of streams inside the city led to widespread illness. The newcomers huddled in damp, cold dugouts. In the winter of 1609-1610. 40 people were buried daily, in the spring of 1610 - up to 150. By the summer, the townspeople had eaten all the grass. Meanwhile, the monks distilled moonshine from grain reserves and sold it to the defenders of the fortress at a high price. Nevertheless, the townspeople refused any new proposals from Sigismund III. “It’s in vain to talk to these bear people,” complained the king.

In 1610, the Moscow seven-boyars sent an embassy to Smolensk demanding that the Smolensk people swear allegiance to the Polish prince Vladislav and surrender the city. But Smolensk did not open its gates to the enemy and was preparing for a second winter defense. In Moscow, even an anonymous letter appeared on behalf of the Smolensk residents with a call to fight. Only on June 3 (13), 1611, the last, fifth assault on the wall took place. It was conducted from three sides: at the Royal Doorway, Pyatnitsky and Kryloshevsky Gates. Shein fought at the Kolomenskaya Tower, where he was captured and seriously wounded. The Smolensk residents fought for a long time with the interventionists on the walls of the Kremlin and in the streets, then the survivors blew themselves up in the Assumption Cathedral. When Smolensk fell, in the place where Sigismund's troops broke into the city, they built an earthen citadel called the Royal.

The first attempt to return Smolensk to Russia was made in 1613 by Prince A. M. Cherkassky, and decisive battle took place during the Russian-Polish war of 1632 - 1634, when the army led by the same Shein moved towards Smolensk. His siege unfolded. Then Polish army Vladislav IV was surrounded and blocked by Shein's troops. He was forced to sign surrender, for which he was later executed as a traitor. Smolensk was liberated during the next Russian-Polish war in 1654, when, after a desperately daring assault on September 23, the city was surrendered by the invaders “to the service of the Tsar of Moscow.”

But the Kremlin was slowly dying. By the Patriotic War of 1812, eight of its towers were lost. True, the walls were still suitable for defense, which is what the Russian army used. M.B. Barclay de Tolly then called the Smolensk people brave people, firm in the faith. And the French, having entered the city, found there “only swamp water, hunger and a bivouac on the ashes.”

In the very first months of the Great Patriotic War, the ancient fortress witnessed the grandiose Smolensk defensive battle. The city was defended by the 16th Army of General M.F. Lukin, the 19th by I.S. Konev and the 20th by P.A. Kurochkin. During the days of occupation, the Nazis removed the roofs from 9 towers, burned the Dnieper Gate, dismantled the interfloor ceilings in Bubleika, placed an explosives warehouse in the Gurkin Tower, and made a number of breaks in the wall. Our troops liberated Smolensk on September 25, 1943. Smolyan residents restoring the city. Its walls were also partially restored. There are graves near the walls of the Smolensk Kremlin Soviet soldiers and the Eternal Flame burns.

Unfortunately, today the Smolensk Kremlin is in a rather dilapidated state. But nevertheless, the picturesque location of the “necklace of all Rus'”, the thoughtfulness and artistic precision of all decorative elements, along with the functional perfection of this powerful defensive structure, make the Smolensk fortress a unique monument Russian architecture at the turn of the 16th - 17th centuries.

The Smolensk fortress wall is a stone fence with several towers, each of which has its own interesting story. We'll talk about some of them in this article.

In Smolensk it was built at the end of the 16th - early XVII century. The height of the walls reached 18 meters. The 38 towers consisted mainly of three tiers and reached 22-33 m in height. The wall of this fortress is considered the most powerful in the history of Rus'. Even Napoleon only managed to blow up 9 towers. In peacetime, the Smolensk fortress wall served as a source of bricks, which were used to restore buildings destroyed by the war. Today we can see 18 towers and fragments of the wall scattered throughout the city. This is how big the Smolensk fortress wall was, the history of which is filled with many heroic battles.

Altar tower

It consists of 16 faces and is located at the end of Isakovsky Street. It is in the possession of the Smolensk diocese, so its internal part is inaccessible for inspection, since it is part of the monastery territory. Nowadays, the tower has been restored and re-covered with a roof, which was lost during the Patriotic War.

Pozdnyakov Tower

It consists of four sides and is located on Timiryazev Street. It was named in honor of the merchant Pozdnyakov. People called it “Rogovka”. It received this name because it is located in the place where the road forks. The tower was also subject to numerous enemy attacks during the wars. During World War II, it also lost its roof, but was partially restored in 2013.

Volkov Tower

Despite the fact that today we can see at least partially what the Smolensk fortress wall was, the history of the towers of which is associated with repelling numerous enemy attacks, in peacetime it begins to collapse from old age, and nothing can be done about it. For example, Volkov's tower is barely supported by giant metal supports, although it continues to crumble. It is located on Sobolev Street. It is believed that the tower was named after one of its defenders. Although, according to another version, its name comes from the word “volgly”, which means wet, since in ancient times a branch of the Dnieper flowed opposite it. The tower is also called “Strelka” because it offers a direct and clear view of Rachevka.

At the beginning of the 18th century, there was a powder magazine in the tower. Even then she was in a deplorable state. Therefore, it, as well as the adjacent Smolensk fortress wall, were dismantled. The tower was erected again in 1877 and contained the archives of the county court. IN Soviet time They even lived in it, but now it’s dangerous to go into it. It's about to collapse. The city authorities are trying their best to save the architectural monument.

Tower "Veselukha"

When visiting this architectural structure, which, by the way, is included in a sightseeing tour of Smolensk, a tourist would seem to have nothing to fear, because it has such a funny name. But it turns out there is something to be afraid of. At least the legend that says that the daughter of one of the city merchants was walled up alive in this tower. This was done in order to pay off the evil spirits who did not allow the tower to stand normally in its place and not crack. But the girl, apparently going crazy with grief, did not cry, but laughed in her captivity. That is why the tower was called “Veselukha”. Based on this material, Ettinger wrote a novel called “Veseluha Tower.” Although, if you don’t believe the ancient horror stories, it turns out that it got its name for the cheerful landscape that opens up if you climb to the very top. The Smolensk fortress wall includes several towers, but this is the most popular. It has also been completely restored.

Eagle Tower

Tourists often come here to admire the stunning panoramic views that open from its site. The Smolensk fortress wall is scattered throughout the city. The address of this tower is Timiryazeva Street. She is sometimes confused with "Veselukha". But these two are perfect different towers with your stories. This one is believed to have been home to eagles that flew away as soon as the war began. The tower is not round at all, but has 16 sides. It was called Gorodetskaya differently due to the fact that at its foot there was an earthen fortification, which in ancient times was called a “town”.

An unpleasant story happened to this tower. Funds were allocated for its reconstruction. When work began, a fire broke out. The materials were burned. The authorities walled up the tower. It still exists in this form. It can only be viewed from the outside.

Kopytenskaya Tower

This part of the Smolensk fortress wall is located on the territory of the Lopatinsky Garden. Previously, it was fenced by a moat with water and an earthen rampart. This tower has three tiers and an L-shaped passage. Above the gate, icons have been preserved, which were traditionally installed on structures of this type. It is not difficult to guess that the name of the tower is associated with the word “hoof”. Indeed, it was built on a road along which cattle were driven to pasture. The tower has been restored, but the gate is not used in any way.

Kassandalovskaya Tower

The second name of this tower is Kozadolovska. It is also connected with the fact that pastures were located near it. This tower has not survived to this day. If it had not been blown up by Napoleon's troops, then you would have found it on the site of the Heroes' Memory Square. Instead, a city school building was built here in 1912. During World War II it was destroyed and then rebuilt. Now it houses a museum.

The scope of this article does not allow us to talk about all the towers that the Smolensk fortress wall includes. There is no need to look for tower opening hours. But the museums located in them are usually open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Day off is Monday.

18 Kremlin towers have been preserved, each with its own interesting history.

History of creation

For many centuries, the western borders of Russian lands were under the protection of Smolensk. Under Ivan the Terrible, the city was surrounded by a wooden fortress wall. But by the end of the 16th century, with the development of artillery, it could no longer serve as a reliable defense. It was decided to build a stone wall. They entrusted an important state matter to the famous master Fyodor Kon.

Materials were prepared and collected by the whole world. By the spring of 1596 preparatory work were finished and work began to boil. During the construction of the wall, Boris Godunov strictly forbade all his subjects, regardless of family and rank, to carry out any kind of stone construction. All efforts were devoted to this “all-Russian” construction project. Up to six thousand people, driven from all cities and villages, worked here every day. In the first four years, the fortress wall was mostly completed, but minor work continued for another two years. In 1602, it was consecrated, and the image sent by Boris Godunov - a copy of the ancient miraculous Smolensk icon of the Mother of God “Hodegetria” (translated from Greek - “Showing the Way”) - was placed above the gates of the Dnieper Tower (now Frolovskaya). On the eve of the famous Battle of Borodino, it was carried throughout the camp, blessing Russian soldiers for their feats of arms.

To make the wall impregnable, oak piles were driven into the bottom of the pit, the space between them was filled with compacted earth, and a new row was placed on top of them. Thick logs were laid crosswise on this “picket fence” and covered with rubble and earth. The foundation was laid out from stone blocks. And under it, “rumors” were made - holes to go beyond the walls. The middle part of the wall consisted of two vertical brick walls, between which cobblestones were poured and lime mortar was poured. It contained passages for communication with the towers, ammunition storage rooms, rifle and cannon loopholes located on three levels. And along the top there were teeth in the shape of a swallow’s tail, exactly like on the Moscow Kremlin.

The strength of such a bulk did not raise even a shadow of doubt, but it had an Achilles heel. The autumn of 1600 turned out to be hungry. Angered by the lack of food, the workers rebelled, demanding bread. A message was even sent to the Tsar, which was signed by Fyodor Kon. Boris Godunov ordered workers' wages to be increased, bread prices to be frozen, but the “writers” to be severely punished. The architect poured wine over his grievance over the flogging with batogs for two months. His assistant, the boyar's son Andryushka Dedyushin, was not involved in the work, and the work was done poorly. Later, in 1611, he revealed the secret of a poorly fortified section of the eastern wall to the Poles. It was in this place that the conquerors managed to crush the power of the walls and break into Smolensk.

Fortress towers

The role of a special place and the main decoration of the fortress was assigned to the towers. They were intended for observation, conducting a three-tier battle, protecting gates and sheltering troops, and were equipped with devices for throwing stones and pouring hot pitch on the heads of enemies. None of them were similar to the other, neither in shape nor in height. Nine towers had drive-through gates. Through the main ones - the Frolovskaya tower - the road to the capital opened.

Interestingly, all 38 towers had names. For example, the Nikolskaya tower received its name from the ancient church of St. Nicholas, near which it was built, Kopytenskaya - from the word “hooves” (they drove cattle through it to pasture), Vodyanaya (Voskresenskaya) - because of the water supply system originating in it , and Veselukha - for a wonderful view of the outskirts of the city. By the way, you can now climb Veselukha to admire that very cheerful view of the Dnieper and the city.

However, not only the landscapes opening from the walls of the fortress are pleasing to the eye. In all his works, Fyodor Kon knew how to combine functionality and beauty. Thus, the loopholes are framed with decorative platbands and painted red-brown; the rectangular towers have one or two cornices located under the battlements, and the round ones have the appearance of a roller.

Today you can only see a model of the fortress wall. It is presented in the exhibition of the first of the restored towers - Thunder. The scale of all buildings has been meticulously recreated from ancient drawings and documents.

Over four centuries, only half of the Smolensk stronghold remained: three kilometers of walls and seventeen towers. The northeastern section of the wall along the Dnieper was dismantled in the 19th century, the western section - in the 30s of the last century. Despite this, wounded and aged, she did not lose former greatness and still amazes with the grandeur of the Russian architect’s plan.

Architectural and technical features

Built in 1595‒1602
Length - 6.5 kilometers (3 kilometers preserved)
Wall width - 5.2‒6 meters
Wall height - 13–19 meters
Total towers - 38 (17 preserved)
The distance between the towers is approximately 150 meters
The driveway gates were in 9 towers
The main road tower is Frolovskaya (Dneprovskaya), through which the exit to Moscow passed

Fedor Kon

Born in 1556 in the family of Tver carpenter Savely Petrov, who taught him the basics of the profession. Left an orphan, he worked in construction cooperatives, earning a piece of bread through hard work, for which he received the nickname “Horse.” At the age of 17, standing up for a comrade, he almost strangled a German guardsman. To escape punishment, he fled abroad. In this he was helped by the Italian engineer, builder of the Oprichnina Court, Johann Clairaut, who sent him to study masonry in Strasbourg. In 1584, Fyodor Kon returned to Moscow, having received royal permission. The first major work of the talented master was the construction of fortifications of the Moscow White City with 27 towers (1586‒1593). His other works, distinguished by outstanding architectural skill: the Smolensk fortress wall, the ensemble of the Pafnutiev Monastery in Borovsk and the ensemble of the Boldinsky Monastery near Dorogobuzh. ABOUT recent years nothing is known about his life. In memory of him, a monument was erected near the Thunder Tower in Smolensk in 1991.

Development of Smolensk monumental architecture in the XIV, XV and 16th centuries we essentially don't know. This does not mean at all that at that time they did not build here from brick, and all buildings were constructed only from wood. After all, even being part of the Lithuanian state, Smolensk has always remained a large cultural and economic center. There is no doubt that monumental construction must have been carried out in the city. Thus, during excavations of the Church of the Trinity Monastery on Klovka, it turned out that it was heavily rebuilt in the 15th or 16th centuries, and two brick civil buildings (apparently for economic purposes) were erected nearby at the same time. It is known that traces of reconstructions of the 15th-16th centuries were also found in some other monuments of Smolensk architecture of the 12th century. Unfortunately, all these buildings and reconstructions have not yet been studied.

In 1514, Smolensk was returned to Rus' and became the most important fortress on the western borders of the Moscow state. Its defense was of great importance for the security of Moscow itself, since the city stood on the main road leading to Moscow from the west. In 1554, the Smolensk fortress was damaged in a fire, and by decree of Ivan the Terrible, Prince Vasily Dmitrievich Danilov was sent here to “make the city of Smolensk.”

Travelers who saw Smolensk in the second half of the 16th century unanimously note that the new fortress was built of oak and protected by deep ditches. In 1593, one of the foreigners who visited Smolensk called it “the most famous border town” and noted that its fortress was “very high, but all wooden.”

At the end of the 16th century, after the strengthening of the Smolensk settlement, the question arose of replacing the old city fortress made of wood and earth with a stone one. Why was there such a need? The fact is that by this time they had learned to cast guns that could easily destroy walls made of wood and clay. Smolensk was; the main fortress on the way to the capital of Russia. 3rd about desire. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth regained it, the Moscow government decided to build a stone fortress.

Preparatory work

The preparatory work for its creation was carefully thought out in advance, carried out on a large scale, with excellent knowledge of construction techniques and construction production.

The surviving sources make it possible to get a clear picture of the entire progress of construction work. They officially began on December 15, 1595. The “administrator” of the construction was Prince Vasily Andreevich Zvenigorodsky, and his assistants were Semyon Bezobrazov and clerks Posnik Shipilov and Nechai Perfiryev. But main role The famous architect, who had recently completed the grandiose construction of defensive walls in Moscow, “city master Fyodor Savelyev Kon,” played a part in the construction.

In the spring of 1596, the official foundation took place. This actually began the strengthening of Smolensk, which found itself under the threat of an enemy attack. The appointed construction managers were required to go to Smolensk immediately. The time of their arrival at their destination was also precisely established - December 25 of the same year at three or four o'clock in the afternoon. This was specifically stipulated by the royal decree. But it was impossible to fortify the border city secretly; enemy scouts would immediately report the start of work to Sigismund III. Taking this into account, the government of Tsar Fedor did not make them a state secret. It was decided to carry out all events not only openly, but also in the most solemn atmosphere. Therefore, construction managers were ordered to enter Smolensk under the sound of the city bells through the suburb, past the Lithuanian Gostiny Dvor, along the Big Bridge across the Dnieper, so that everyone could see, and to appear at the Theotokos Cathedral to Archbishop Theodosius to receive a blessing both for the “city business” and for procuring the necessary “city reserves”. This has never happened before. This clearly demonstrated the importance of the arrival of government officials in Smolensk, raised their authority, showed what a responsible task the government had set for them, what importance Smolensk had acquired in the emerging political situation. The purpose of such a ceremonial entry should have been clear to everyone - both foreign guests who were in the city and its...residents who became direct participants in its strengthening. To carry out the planned construction, the seconded received the “sovereign treasury.” Then everything went as planned, and by the spring of 1596, the preparatory work in Smolensk was basically completed. Construction managers hired “willing people” who began procuring building materials, repaired old and built new sheds and kilns for drying and firing bricks, began their production and the preparation of lime, began transporting stone and preparing piles for the foundations. All this was done “hastily”, without delaying with great “zeal”, as required by the royal order. At the same time, a construction estimate was drawn up and sent to Moscow for approval, and the locations of the walls and towers of the future “city” were established.

To control the expenditure of funds, the Smolensk voivode, Prince Katyrev-Rostovsky, allocated 10 people “Smolny Posad best people” who had to certify with their signature all expenses “so that there would be no theft of money.”

Such an organization would be the envy of modern builders. This made it possible to quickly start work, expand it to its full extent and carry it out without delay.

Construction of the fortress

Due to the fact that the importance of Smolensk in the overall defense system of the western border of Russia was enormous, Tsar Fedor sent his brother-in-law, boyar Boris Fedorovich Godunov, who was then the de facto ruler of the state, to lay new fortifications there. Boris Godunov arranged his trip to Smolensk with great pomp and ceremony. Arriving in the city “with great zeal,” he served a prayer service in the Bogoroditsky Cathedral, and then with his retinue “toured the place where there would be a city,” previously planned by Fyodor Kon and other construction leaders, and “loved to lay a hail of stones.” After this, Boris Godunov returned to Moscow, and the okolnichy I.M. Buturlin, Prince V.A. Zvenigorodsky, clerk N. Perfiryev and many nobles and boyar children were sent to Smolensk, who were ordered to build the “city” “quickly”.

The volume of construction is evidenced by documents that preserve information on the consumption of building materials. 100 million bricks and several hundred thousand pounds of strip iron were laid into the wall and towers.

At the same time, a broad, almost universal mobilization of all master masons, brickmakers and even potters was carried out in the country, who poured in a wide stream “for the masonry and brickwork business” to Smolensk. Some monasteries were also involved in the work; They not only provided people and carts to Smolensk, but also delivered stone, barrels of lime and other building materials. They were brought from wherever they were available. Staritsa, Ruza, Bely and other “distant cities of the whole earth” were then suppliers of Smolensk construction. At the end of the 16th century, the country did not know its equal. It was the largest in terms of the volume of work performed and the number of workers employed. The city was turned into a gigantic, unprecedented construction site, where huge masses of “black people”, collected from all cities of the state, worked. Ordinary workers worked on digging pits for foundations, driving piles into soft soil, and delivering bricks and stones to places where they were laid. More qualified craftsmen, masons and brickmakers, wise from previous experience, erected walls and towers with their loopholes, battlements, internal staircases, vaults, inter-storey log bridges and roof support pillars, and nearby carpenters erected scaffolding, made formwork for vaults and arches, and covered sections of the fortress have already been completed. It grew by leaps and bounds, plot by plot, fathom by fathom. There was no downtime in the work. Their uninterrupted operation along the entire length of the “city” being built was ensured by separate construction teams that worked in areas assigned to them in advance, and by the constant supervision of the architect moving from one place to another. This went on for more than three years. Some work was obviously carried out at night, by the light of fires lit everywhere. At the final stage they did not stop even in late autumn, which was not usually done before.

Fortress plan

The Smolensk Fortress has irregular outlines in plan, since during its construction the natural conditions of the area were most fully taken into account. From the north, the fortress rests on a natural defensive line - the Dnieper. From the east and west, the walls run along the ridge of hills so that in front of the walls there are low areas everywhere, over which the fortress completely dominates. The most difficult thing was to create defensive lines on the southern side, where there are no natural barriers. Here the walls stood on level ground in some places, so ditches were dug in some areas. The Smolensk fortress had no ramparts at all.

At the middle of the northern and southern walls were the main gate towers of the fortress. The Dnieper (or Frolovskaya) tower opened the way to the Dnieper, to the bridge that led to the road to Moscow. Opposite it, approximately in the area of modern Smirnov Square, stood the Molokhov Tower - the main gate from the south. These two towers were the highest and, in addition to their functional purpose, served as a place for ceremonial entrances to the city. In addition to them, the fortress had seven more passage towers, that is, those in which there were gates. no driveways.

The towers are located quite evenly along the perimeter of the fortress, at an average distance of 150 meters, and the sections of walls between them are straight throughout. This made it possible to conduct effective flanking fire from all sections of the walls.

From the point of view of the military engineering art of that time, the Smolensk Fortress was a first-class fortification structure. And it was not without reason that one foreigner noted in his notes, compiled shortly after the completion of construction, that the Smolensk fortress “cannot be taken by storm.” Unfolded here 10 years later fighting This was completely confirmed.

At the base of the foundations of the fortress walls, where there is no dense continental soil, there is a complex system of piles and wooden structures filled with earth. In those areas where it could be reached, a stone foundation was immediately laid at the base. The lower part is made of well-hewn white stone blocks, and the higher wall is brick. At the same time, only the outer and inner surfaces of the walls are made of brick, forming, as it were, two independent, rather thick brick walls, and their inner part is filled with broken stone and boulders filled with lime mortar.

There are three tiers of loopholes: the lower tier is a plantar battle, the middle and upper tier is with a combat platform at the top. Firing from the walls, from all three tiers, was carried out only from small guns, and larger artillery was concentrated in the towers. Here, special combat chambers are made to accommodate guns. The interior space of the towers was divided into tiers, mostly four, using wooden flooring. However, some towers also had vaulted ceilings.

The surface of the lower part of the walls outside has a slight slope, and above it is strictly vertical. At the turn of these sections, a decorative semicircular roller runs along the walls and towers of the entire fortress. On the back side the walls are dissected by large arched niches. The outside of the fortress was whitewashed, and some areas were also decoratively painted with red-brown brick paint.

The Smolensk Fortress is located on a difficult terrain. Naturally, it was necessary to ensure free flow of rainwater in all places, which otherwise could stagnate near the walls and destroy them. Therefore, many stone pipes are laid in the basement to drain water. To prevent enemy spies from penetrating through them, the pipes were blocked with iron bars.

It took the craftsmen six years to build the fortress wall, which became the pride of Russia, its “necklace”. In 1602, the construction of the fortress was completed. The architecture of the wall had almost nothing to do with the traditions of old Smolensk architecture. But, despite this, the fortress not only protected, but also decorated the city. The length of the walls was 6.5 km, height - from 10 to 13 meters, width - from 4 to 6 meters. None of its 38 towers was the same as another. They were divided into 3 groups: round (16-sided), rectangular and rectangular with gates. The tower of the Frolov or Dnieper Gate was especially beautiful. She stood on the bank in front of the Big Dnieper Bridge. The passage was closed with wooden cobbled gates and an iron grating (gersa). The tower stood out from all the others due to its height. Its five tiers rose 30 meters above the ground. At the top there was an observation tower and a bell hanging. The appearance of the tower was complemented by the double-headed eagle that crowned it and the icon of Hodegetria above the passage gate. The Dnieper Tower was created by F. Kon not only as a structure that was rightfully considered the pearl of the “necklace of all Rus'”. The gate was also a ceremonial entrance that opened the way to Moscow.

In the southern part the wall stood on a stone foundation, and in the northern Dnieper part it rested on oak piles.

Basically, the Smolensk church was completed by 1600, but some work continued in the future. At the same time, new masses of masons, brickmakers, potters, potters, jug makers, stove makers and other craftsmen were then sent to help the builders. They arrived in Smolensk from different regions of the country in accordance with the orders of Boris Godunov.

They were in a great hurry to end the Smolensk “city affair”, since in 1603 the twelve-year truce with Poland, whose aggressive policy intensified every day, was expiring. In an effort to complete this “business,” Boris Godunov in 1600 sent a large sum of money to Smolensk, and to supervise the work, he sent Prince S.I. Dolgoruky to it. In addition, under pain of death penalty, he banned all stone construction in the country that was not related to government orders, which anticipated the famous decree of Peter I, which in 1714 closed stone construction in all cities Russian Empire in order to speed up the development of St. Petersburg. This ultimately contributed to the fact that in 1602 the Smolensk construction was completely completed. The subsequent solemn ceremony of consecrating the fortress indicated that the direct route to Moscow from the west was reliably closed. At the same time, the Smolensk fortress was immediately armed with cannons of various types and calibers, and nobles, boyar children, gunners, archers and townspeople were assigned to its towers and walls, who in 1609, when the Poles approached Smolensk, took the places assigned to them and fulfilled their national duty. This, in fact, is the whole story of the creation of the Smolensk “city”, a story full of interesting facts and, perhaps, even instructive.

Conclusion

In a short time (1596-1602), an impregnable fortress was built around Smolensk on the site of ancient fortifications. It was a first-class structure of that time, possessing outstanding defensive qualities and great artistic expressiveness.

Now it’s time to get closer to the Smolensk Fortress, carefully examine its sections, and admire its architecture. Despite the huge potholes, significant losses and colossal planes of peeling brickwork, it still makes an indelible impression. Having seen it once, it can be difficult to forget later. I inspect it every time I come to Smolensk. Old and new residential buildings, cinemas, clubs, schools, kindergartens, nurseries, hospitals, clinics, department stores, shops and many other modern buildings - all this fits into its long-broken ring. As if with a giant red ribbon it encircles Smolensk, its central and most old part. It is just as impossible to imagine the city without this fortress wall, as it is without the majestic bulk of the Assumption Cathedral.

Particularly impressive is the huge, uninterrupted section of the fortress, located in the eastern part of Smolensk. A mighty wall, evenly fortified with towers, stretches here for almost two kilometers. Following the whimsical curves of the ravine, but maintaining rigor and regularity, it either goes down or climbs up the slopes of the hills, avoiding wide depressions. Behind it is a picturesquely located urban development, immersed in the greenery of gardens; in front of her is a deep, slightly swollen ditch, overflowing with water in the rainy season. A majestic picture opens from this wall onto the surrounding area. It can be difficult to take your eyes off it. Here the city ends. Further on stretch deep ravines that limit its territory. Their slopes are steep and cut by ravines. In some places they are overgrown with perennial trees and dense thickets of bushes. It is difficult to climb up or down them even now They served as an excellent cover for Smolensk before. No one could approach it from the east. Here, nature did everything to make it inaccessible. People also worked on this, increasing the protective properties of nature by building a fortress wall, like a crown, only a narrow one. , a path almost clinging to it, running like a snake from tower to tower, allows you to move towards the Dnieper River visible in the distance and the freely spread out left bank of the city behind it. The height of the wall is enormous. It grows out of the ground with a leisurely white stone slope of the base and at a height of two meters. picking up speed, it takes off into the endlessly open sky above the Dnieper steeps. A narrow, neatly hewn white stone roller seems to pierce it along its entire length. There is no end in sight. Like pieces on a chessboard, narrow arched slots for the middle and sole battlements are located on the smooth surface of the wall.

The Smolensk Fortress is not only a wonderful monument of Russian military engineering. This is also a magnificent architectural monument. The talent of the “city master” Fyodor Kon was reflected in the fact that, while erecting a structure that had primarily an applied, defensive purpose, he also created a wonderful architectural ensemble.

The proportions of the towers and their silhouettes reveal the hand of a great master, not only a military engineer, but also an artist. All architectural details are drawn with exquisite skill. True, there are very few of them: the military fortress had to look stern, and unnecessary decorative elements could give it an elegant and thereby less impregnable appearance.

The architect skillfully used purely decorative elements: external frames of loopholes, designed as window frames, frames of gate openings, corner blades of towers, etc. The entrance portals of the gate towers were especially elegantly designed. Profiles carved from white stone, pilasters with panels, a niche for an icon above the passage are arranged by the hand of an experienced craftsman.

To date, only half of the fortress has survived - 18 towers and about 3 km of walls. Most of the towers were destroyed during wars and battles. The northeastern section of the wall along the Dnieper was dismantled in the 19th century, the western section - in the 30s of our century. At the same time, in the 1880s, restoration (restoration) of the fortress began, which continues to this day.

The fortress wall did not disrupt the layout of the city. She, like a marvelous necklace, fit into the local landscape, and to this day delights us with her austere and majestic beauty.