Smolensk Fortress Wall
Smolensk Fortress is one of the most important defense structures of Russia. The federal monument of architecture is located on the picturesque bank of the Dnieper River. For more than four centuries the fortress protected the city and Russian lands from invaders: Polish and Lithuanian troops, Napoleon’s army. Initially, the closed fortification had walls with a total length of 6.5 kilometers, including 39 towers. The fortifications were the embodiment of advanced engineering solutions for their time. The stronghold impresses with the power and beauty of the architectural composition.
Video: Smolensk Fortress
Contents- History of the Smolensk Fortress
- Preserved towers
Unpreserved towers - Construction of the fortress
- Construction features
- Tourists
History of Smolensk Fortress
Due to its favorable geographical position, Smolensk was the most important strategic outpost of a small appanage principality back in pre-Christian times. It was part of the trade route “From the Varangians to the Greeks”. In 10 kilometers from Smolensk at the fork of Katynka and Dnieper for merchants began a difficult section of the road “volok”, so the city at the crossroads thrived, attracting the attention of invaders. Over time, it turned into the “key of the Moscow state”, becoming the guardian of the main road leading to the White Stone. The erection of capital fortifications here was one of the primary tasks.
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In different centuries, princes and tsars sought to make the city impregnable. The beginning of the history of the Smolensk fortress is considered to be 1554, when capital wooden fortifications were built by order of Ivan the Terrible. Since the works were part of the plan to restore the settlement after a major fire, the fortress was called “Big New Town”. However, due to the rapid development of gunsmithing 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, began the construction of stone fortifications, fragments of which have survived to this day.
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The foreign policy of the Moscow state provided for gaining access to the Baltic Sea, which went against the plans of rival countries. To get a respite on the western front, in 1590 a non-aggression pact was signed with Poland, which guaranteed the absence of war for the next 12 years. In 1595 an “eternal peace” was concluded with Sweden. It was during this interval that the Moscow state was about to replace the wooden fortress at Smolensk with a large-scale stone fort, anticipating the end of a fragile period of stability.
In the winter of 1595, active preparations for the erection of defensive fortifications began. There was a decree of the tsar, commanding princes S. V. Bezobrazov and V. A. Zvenigorodsky, clerks N. Perfiriev and P. Shipilov, as well as architect Fyodor Konya by Christmas to come to Smolensk to guide the construction. They were entrusted to find and take into account all the masters, places of brick making, to determine from where it would be necessary to bring in piled timber and stone, to work out supply routes and to hire the necessary number of workers. The labor was paid from the state treasury.
That same winter, the peasants received an order to increase the norms for procuring foundation piles, which were to be delivered to the construction site with warming temperatures. In the spring of 1596 the Tsar signed the estimated documents and sent Boris Godunov to supervise the laying of the Smolensk fortress. The erection of the fort continued until 1602..The first test of strength was already in 1609, when Polish troops began to attack the city. The total duration of the siege then amounted to more than 3 years. In 1633-1634 and 1654 under the walls of the fort was already the Russian army, which sought to repel the fortress from the enemy.
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Peter I decided to further strengthen the damaged structure, so in 1698 he initiated restoration work. On the site of Shein’s breach, a stone pentagonal fortification with a weapons storage was built. The royal bastion was turned into a real citadel by separating it with a trench even from the city side. The ditches were dug or deepened along the entire wall – the width of such barriers reached 6.4 meters. Additionally, traverses and bastions were erected.
.A new round of military history of the fort began in 1812, when the Russian troops under the cover of the fortifications entered the battle with the French army. Despite an organized retreat while maintaining combat effectiveness, the defenders still ceded the fort to the invaders. Napoleon’s troops left the city on November 17 at night, having blown up 9 towers of the wall. The remaining bastions of the Smolensk fortress were demined by the corps of Don Cossacks. Up to 1844 the fortifications were on the balance of the military department, which did not allocate any funds for the maintenance of the structure. The already damaged fortifications continued to deteriorate. By 1889, only 19 towers remained, some of which were used as storage facilities.
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Between 1889 and 1917, the remains of the Smolensk fortress wall were under the jurisdiction of a commission that included local officials, an architect, and the governor. Measures to preserve the fortress had little effect. More serious action was taken by Emperor Alexander II, who declared the fortifications an important part of the country’s cultural heritage.
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During World War II, the Smolensk Fortress suffered from the actions of both the domestic and German military. Particularly great damage was done during the defense of the city in 1941 and during its liberation from the invaders in 1943. It is believed that 2 towers were destroyed during this period. The wall was actively destroyed not only in wartime. It was dismantled for brick and stone to rebuild other city buildings, to expand the housing stock in the 1820s-1830s and in the 1930s.
.At this point, less than half of the buildings (3.3 km) have survived as 9 fragments. One of the largest sections has the appearance of a straight line on the southeastern side. The fortress, even in its present state, gives the impression of a majestic stronghold. Traces of the fortification can be found in other parts of Smolensk, although these remains are no longer subject to reconstruction. A total of 17 towers have survived, 22 have been irretrievably lost.
.Preserved towers
- Volkova (Semyonovskaya, Strelka) .
- Kostyrevskaya (Krasnaya).
- Veselukha (Luchinskaya). .
- Dneprovskie Vorota. .
- Pozdnyakova (Rogovka). .
- Orel (Gorodetskaya). .
- Abrahamievskaya.
- Zaaltarnaya (Belukha). .
- Voronina. .
- Dolgochevskaya (Shembeleva).
- Zimbulka.
- Zimbulka. .
- Nikolskaya Tower (Nikolskie Vorota). .
- Mokhovaya. .
- Donets.
- Gromovaya (Tupinskaya). .
- Bublejka. .
- Kopytenskaya Tower (Kopytenskie Gates).
- Pyatnitskaya Tower.
Unpreserved towers
- Antiphon’s Tower.
- Bogoslovskaya .
- Ivorovskaya (Verzhenova).
- Granovitaya. .
- Gurkina. .
- Frolovskaya. .
- Evstafievskaya (Brikareva).
- Round No. 11 and No. 13. .
- Kryloshevskaya Gate. .
- Lazarevskie Gates.
- Molokhovskie gate.
- Mikulinskaya Tower.
Construction of the fortress
The chief architect was Fyodor Savelyevich Kon, who had previously worked on the creation of Moscow’s White Grad. When planning the future structure as a model he used the Kremlin, already erected in Moscow, Tula, Nizhny Novgorod, Serpukhov, Kolomna, Zaraisk. The great defensive importance of fortifications prompted the architect to increase the number of towers, expand the system of combat, lay more powerful than usual walls.
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At the same time, Fyodor Kon applied a number of traditional proven methods of erecting fortresses: half-boat masonry, fencing with high teeth of the form “swallowtail”, laying the plinth with a roller, convex arches on the inside. The fortress was not only impregnable, but also beautiful. The architect decided to decorate loopholes carved platbands, which framed the windows of residential houses, white stone elements.
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Interestingly, in the entire Smolensk fortress towers differed in shape: 13 rectangular blind, 9 round, 7 polyhedral. The three-tiered structures were from 22 to 33 meters high, located at a distance of 150-160 meters from each other. Each had its own peculiarities and name. The height of the fortification was 13-19 meters depending on the relief of a particular site. Walls facing steep ditches were made a little lower. The width of the fortification varied from 5-5.2 to 6 meters – it was said that it was easy to drive a troika through it.
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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 unforeseen danger. The stone wall was mostly outside, along the line of the second rampart, but in some places it ran right along the old structures. The western section was built first, as it was the most likely place for an enemy attack.
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Given the importance of the fortifications and the scale of the work, which had to be completed in a short time, Fyodor Ioannovich ordered to send to Smolensk bricklayers, masons and potters from all over Russia. At the same time, under pain of death, stone construction was forbidden in the state until the completion of the erection of the laid fortifications, so in the annals it was noted that Smolensk was made by all the cities of Russia.
Only bricks were made on site, which were passed down the long “living chain”. Lime, rubble stone and other materials were delivered from other, sometimes very distant places. Not only ordinary bricks were used, but also two-handed bricks. They were larger than standard bricks by one and a half times, which made it impossible to hold them with one hand, which is where the name came from. Archaeologists have calculated that the construction of this structure took at least 320 thousand piles, about a million cartloads of sand and 100 million bricks.
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The heaviest and most expensive works (procurement and transportation of building materials) were elevated to the rank of state duty. It is believed that from each yard across the country on pain of death demanded 2 bricks, and for the transportation of piles and stone were mobilized even residents of Moscow district, who had carts. The main bet was made on the use of hired labor, which was an uncharacteristic phenomenon for the then economic life. More than 30 thousand people built the Smolensk fortress. At the same time experienced craftsmen received a fairly high fee – 16 kopecks per day.
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Construction was carried out in a hurry, because the grandiose construction had to be completed before the expiration in 1603 peace treaty with Poland, which made no secret of its intentions to confirm the success of the Livonian War. Weather conditions were not favorable for the works: 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. In these conditions, many people sought employment as laborers to support themselves. In 1602 there was a rainy fall, which affected the strength of the eastern wall, which was later taken advantage of by Polish troops..
Construction of the fortress wall boiled from dawn to dusk, mercenaries lived in heated dugouts, which were often flooded with water. Harsh punishments were imposed for the slightest offenses, and many people were killed or crippled. As a result, in 1599 the workers revolted on a large scale, forcing the government to improve working conditions and raise wages. Such extraordinary measures allowed the construction of the Smolensk fortress to be completed as scheduled. In 1600 the capital works were finished, it took about two more years for finishing. In 1602, a lavish ceremony of consecration of the fort took place.
.Features of the construction
Under the foundation of the future Smolensk fortress was dug a pit, in the bottom of which thick oak piles were pounded. The space between them was filled with soil and carefully tamped. New piles were also driven in. 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 tamped. In some places the soil was too hard – here large stones were placed directly on the bottom of the excavation, fixing them with lime “cement”. This approach made it possible to create a strong, wide foundation to support the weight of thick walls.
.Underneath the massif, “rumor” galleries were dug. They were required for making covert reconnaissance and combat sorties by small detachments. The bricks there were laid in strictly horizontal rows, except for the sloping enclosure on the river side. The middle part of the fortifications had a peculiar belt of rigidity. Here a double wall was built, in the space of which stone was poured in and lime mortar was poured over it.
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All along the wall were equipped with passageways for moving the garrison between towers. Cannon and gun embrasures and small ammunition stores were also arranged. The wall was crowned by a brick-lined battle ground surrounded by dovetail teeth. 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, which had embrasures for firing at the enemy. At the very bottom of the wall was the level of sole combat. For convenience, guns (squibs, cannons) were placed in niches called pechuras. In the center of the fort there was a middle battle, where the artillerymen climbed up the attached ladders. The upper platform had prongs with loopholes cut into them, and between them were compact stone ceilings that allowed safe firing from the knee. The warriors and guns were protected from precipitation by a two-pitched hewn roof.
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The towers were arranged in such a way that the soldiers of the garrison were able to fire along the wall, to protect the gates. 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 of great importance was Molokhovsky bastion, which opened the way to Kiev, Roslavl, Krasny.
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Additionally, in front of the Smolensk fortress, the architect envisioned ravelins, ditches with water, ramparts and other elements preventing the rapid advance of enemy troops. In the northern part of the fortifications were placed drainage pipes, which diverted excess moisture that could undermine the strength of the structures. The openings were covered with grates to prevent enemy penetration.
.Tourists
Today, the Smolensk Fortress remains one of the main attractions of the city. It has preserved not only historical, but also practical importance:
- Nikolskie Vorota houses the communications center (TV tower); .
- The Thunder Tower is occupied by the museum exposition “Smolensk – the Shield of Russia”; .
- Pyatnitsky Bastion is given to the exhibition devoted to the development of the wine and vodka industry (with tasting); .
- Red Tower became the premises of the club “Red Tower”; .
- The Eagle is the base of competition for local rock climbers.
The longest section of the fortress wall is 1.5 km long and stretches along Timiryazev and Zhukov Streets. The outermost towers of the section are the Nikolskie Gates 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”, which opens from the upper platform.
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You can climb the wall for free through the Orel Tower to walk from Abrahamiev Gate to Veselukha. The ravines surrounding the fortress are so deep that a ski run with a rope tow cable car has been set up on the slope of the “Devil’s Ditch”.
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In the immediate vicinity of the surviving fragments of the Smolensk fortress on Barclay de Tolly Street there is a cultural center, a monument to F. S. Konya, the inn “Fyodor Savelyevich”, named after the architect, and other attractions.
.Address: 38, Timiryazeva St., Smolensk, 7, Barclaya de Tolly St.
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