What is the Smolensk fortress famous for and how many times has it defended the city from enemies. Smolensk Fortress or Kremlin? Smolensk Kremlin tower names

The Smolensk Fortress in Smolensk is an architectural monument that in the Middle Ages served as a defensive structure. Currently, only half of the fortress has survived: most of this landmark of Smolensk was destroyed during the War of 1812. Excursions around Smolensk almost always include a visit to the fortress.

Story

Under Ivan the Terrible, a wooden structure with an earthen rampart stood on the site of the fortress. The history of the Smolensk fortress is eventful. The city of Smolensk was an important defensive point and was often subject to attacks, which the wooden fortress could not withstand. Therefore, in 1595, they began to build a stone fortification with towers here - the Smolensk Fortress. Thirty thousand mercenaries were employed at the work, who worked for six whole years. As a result, a fortress appeared eighteen meters high, the thickness of the walls reached six meters. 38 towers were also built - mostly they had three tiers of different heights - from twenty to thirty meters.

Towers

The towers of the Smolensk fortress performed several functions at once. From them it was possible to conduct observation, shelling, protect the gates, troops took refuge here. Nine structures had gates. The main tower - Frolovskaya - was a roadway, through which one could get to the capital. All other towers were made simpler: 13 buildings were completely blank, rectangular in shape, 7 were sixteen-sided, 9 were round.

Pyatnitskaya Tower

In the Middle Ages, passage to Smolensk opened through this tower. But in 1812 it was destroyed by Napoleon's army. Then the Church of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk was built in its place. Today the Pyatnitskaya Tower has been restored and ennobled; the Russian Vodka Museum has been opened here, where you can taste the distillery’s products.

Thunder Tower

It is considered the most beautiful of all the towers of the fortress in Smolensk and has other names - Topinskaya, Round, Tupinskaya. The Thunder Tower was the very first to be restored and restored to its original form. Inside you can see the unique interior, climb the steep stairs and enjoy the beauty of the wooden dome.

On the second tier of the tower there is an exhibition telling about the construction and defense of the fortress. There is also a model of the original appearance of the structure with all the towers, gates and loopholes.

On the third tier of the Thunder Tower there is an exhibition “The Battle of Grunwald, 600 years later.” Among the exhibits are reconstructions of weapons and armor of soldiers of the Smolensk Principality. On the fourth tier there is an observation deck where various concerts are held.

The significance of the Smolensk fortress

During the Russian-Polish War in the eighteenth century, the Smolensk fortress was often attacked, during which four towers were destroyed to the ground, but no one could take it immediately from the battle. The enemies had to attack the structure again and again.

One of the sieges of the Smolensk fortress lasted more than three years. In 1786, the artillerymen and their guns were distributed to other fortifications. But in an attempt to capture the city, Napoleon again stormed the fortress and its gates. The walls withstood a two-day assault during the defense of Smolensk and shelling by the French army, and during its retreat, Napoleon ordered all the towers to be mined, as a result of which nine of them were completely destroyed.

However, the fortress wall of Smolensk was destroyed not only as a result of wars. In the twenties of the nineteenth century, its walls were dismantled, and the bricks were used to restore buildings destroyed during hostilities.

Smolensk Fortress today

Today, the total length of the Smolensk fortress wall is 3.5 kilometers, it includes nine fragments of walls and eighteen towers. The largest section of the wall, one and a half kilometers long, is located in the eastern part of Smolensk. Tourists love this fortress very much and come here regularly, appreciating this beautiful and interesting place in Smolensk.

The main historical monument is a museum, a meeting place and a favorite site for parkour enthusiasts. A walk through the fortress will be remembered for a long time, because from here you can look at the ancient city from above and admire the Dnieper. A film about the Smolensk Fortress is currently being filmed – “Bastions of Russia”.

How to get there

The address of the Smolensk Fortress is Smolensk, st. Bolshaya Sovetskaya, 11, Smolensk State Museum-Reserve. Getting there is very easy. From the railway station - by bus No. 2 and 10, stop Trukhachevskogo Street or by tram No. 6, 7 - get off at Pl. Smirnova. The fortress exhibitions can be explored from Monday to Friday from 9.00 to 18.00.

For me, a passionate history buff, there is nothing more beautiful and interesting than architectural monuments in the cities I visit. The walls of castles, estates, churches, and fortifications can tell about the city’s past better than any guide. The main thing is to be attentive and be able to listen to the whispering of the walls. When I come to a new place, I first of all look for ancient buildings, and the older the better. So, having arrived in Smolensk, I first of all decided to get acquainted with one of the oldest silent storytellers of history - the Smolensk fortress wall.

Unfortunately, most of the fortification was destroyed as a result of the wars, and only fragments of the wall and a few towers have reached us. But, nevertheless, they are well preserved, and the traveler, seeing this defensive object of amazing beauty, will receive a lot of impressions.

Historical reference

The stone fortress wall was erected at the beginning of the 17th century on the site of the old fortress by the “sovereign master” Fyodor Kon, famous throughout Rus' at that time. For hundreds of years, the wall protected the western borders of the Russian state from enemies and was a symbol of Smolensk.

The fortification had to be erected during the Time of Troubles, when the Russian kingdom was faced with the question of protecting its borders from the invasion of Polish invaders. In the spring of 1596, the construction of the wall began in full swing in Smolensk: the Great Construction, in which tens of thousands of people from many cities of the country participated. It was decided to make the fortification so that the defenders could fire at the enemy from three points at once: from below (bottom battle system), from the center of the wall (called the middle battle) and from above (top battle).

Seven years later, the wall was completed, and already in 1609–1611 it successfully withstood a 20-month siege by the army of the Polish king Sigismund III. The diagram of the Smolensk fortress wall is presented below.

Explore the Smolensk fortress wall

As I already said, the fortress wall is located within the city: it surrounds the Leninsky district (old Smolensk) and goes down the hills to the Dnieper. You should start exploring the fortification from the Volkov Tower (I’ll say right away that exploring the wall will take you about 4–5 hours). If you don’t have a car, you can get to the city center from the train station by public transport: you need to get off at the Sobolev stop. You can see how to get to this stop by public transport from the railway station.

• We examine the Volkov tower and move to the next one - Kostyrevskaya - one of the few that stands apart (see the map above).

If you finished your route at the Kopytenskaya Tower, then you can get to the restaurant by bus No. 38 or minibus No. 38 n. Just cross the road (Dzerzhinsky Street) as shown on the map and wait for the necessary transport at the Dzerzhinsky stop.

We get to the Sobolev stop and go to the restaurant (shown on the map).

Towers of the Smolensk fortress wall

In terms of length, the Smolensk fortress wall ranks third in the world (after the Great Wall of China and Constantinople). Initially, its length was 6.3 km, and the wall itself connected 38 towers. Currently, the length of the surviving fortification is 2.5 km, and only 18 towers remain. The height of the Smolensk fortress wall in some places reaches 19 meters, but on average it is 14–16 meters. Thickness - 5–6 meters.

The western part of the fortification, where the Zaaltarnaya, Dolgochevskaya, Voronina towers stand, is in excellent condition. When you look at them, you get the feeling that this defensive area has not been touched by time.

The two most visited towers by tourists, the Eagle and the Thunder, are also well preserved.

Almost all the towers that have survived to this day are closed. Of course, if you want, you can get into them through secret loopholes, but you won’t see anything inside except building materials, garbage, and wooden beams. Over the past ten years, restoration work has been carried out repeatedly: something has been tampered with, something has been repaired, but the interior of the towers has not been brought into complete order.

Eagle Tower of the Smolensk fortress wall

The multi-faceted, checkerboard-shaped Eagle Tower is located in the eastern part of the fortress on Timiryazev Street. Previously, it was easy to get into, but two years ago local authorities, for an unknown reason, decided to wall up the entrance. Because of this, residents and guests of Smolensk lost the stunning observation deck, the function of which was performed by the Eagle Tower: it offered an amazing panoramic view of the city. The only good thing is that not far from the tower, in the thickness of the wall, there is a steep staircase that allows you to climb the wall and look at the city.

Thunder Tower of the Smolensk fortress wall

The Thunder Tower is located near the Blonier Garden, and, in fact, is the only defensive structure of the wall where entry is allowed. It is impossible not to notice it, it stands apart right in the middle of a busy street. Address: October Revolution Street, 3. A small part of the fortification has been preserved nearby. You can walk along the wall: you can access it from the second tier of the tower. It is interesting that the building itself has reached us almost in its original form: part of the unique interior and a narrow steep staircase have survived.

Now the tower houses the Smolensk - Shield of Russia museum, dedicated to the military history of the city. The museum occupies three tiers, and on the fourth there is an observation deck from which you can admire the panorama of Smolensk. The view may not be as breathtaking as from the tower, but it is also impressive.

The museum is open from Tuesday to Friday from 10:00 to 18:00. Ticket price - 80 rubles.

Secrets of the Smolensk fortress wall

The Smolensk Fortress is not only an architectural monument, but also a very mysterious structure, with many interesting secrets and legends associated with it.

The Legend of a Cheerful Girl

The legend about the name of the tower is very dark and ominous. It is connected with the story of a cheerful and cheerful girl nicknamed Veselukha. The legend says that the builders of the fortress had to sacrifice it in order to get rid of the constantly appearing crack in the tower. The chief builder had a dream in which the spirits told him: to prevent the crack from appearing again, he needed to find the most beautiful and cheerful girl in the city and wall her up in the wall. When the girl was killed, the crack disappeared instantly, but since then, for more than three hundred years, women’s laughter has allegedly been heard from the tower at night, which in rainy weather develops into ominous laughter. And on a calm and moonlit night, near the tower you can see the white silhouette of a lonely girl walking. They say that if you scare Veselukha, you can die. This is how she takes revenge for her own death.

Horse skull

Among the residents of the city there is a legend about a horse neighing, coming from different parts of the fortress and always foreshadowing trouble. Legend has it that when they began to build the fortress, it was decided to wall up the skull of a horse, and not just any horse, but the war horse of St. Mercury of Smolensk, the patron saint of the city, who in 1239 stopped the invasion of Smolensk by the Mongol Khan Batu. Since that time, the horse allegedly warns the city residents of impending danger with its neighing.

Dishonest Count

There is also a legend associated with the tower. In the middle of the 18th century, the Polish Count Zmeyavsky arrived in the city and built a brick factory very close to the tower. But this plant was just a disguise. In fact, in the dungeon of the tower there was a workshop for the production of counterfeit coins, which were secretly delivered to Poland and exchanged for real ones. The Count came up with a clever way to keep people from prying into his affairs. Every evening on the Eagle Tower a foreigner put on a performance - he depicted the presence of “ghosts” who were supposed to scare away the residents. Rumors quickly spread throughout the city about evil spirits “sitting” in the tower. But a few years later, Zmeyavsky’s plan was discovered, he was arrested and sent to hard labor. The count's factory was destroyed, and the entrance to the underground workshop for the production of counterfeit money was blocked. They say that even today on Christmastide or Kupala you can see strange shadows that, in some kind of hellish dance, rage on the battlements of the tower.

Dinner at the Pyatnitskaya Tower

After exploring the fortress wall, stop by the Temnitsa restaurant, which is located in the Pyatnitskaya Tower. You will not regret! Above I wrote how you can get to it. Address: Studencheskaya Street, 4. This establishment is famous for its specific game dishes. Very comfortable room, cozy interior and reasonable prices.

Finally

The Smolensk fortress wall is a huge and impressive structure, with which a large number of beautiful legends and secrets are associated. All the towers of the fortress are unique, have their own amazing history and are worth seeing with your own eyes. If you are a lover of antiquity, and defensive fortifications inspire your admiration, then I am sure that you will be delighted with the Smolensk Wall.

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, the preparatory work was completed 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 basically 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 pipeline 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, it has not lost its 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. Nothing is known about the last years of his life. In memory of him, a monument was erected near the Thunder Tower in Smolensk in 1991.

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Since the Time of Troubles, Smolensk has been a city that stood as an obstacle on the path of the conquerors of the Russian land. It served as a gateway to Moscow, which is why all the invaders sought to take Smolensk at any cost. In this regard, the city attached special importance to defensive structures. So, in 1554, by decree of Ivan the Terrible, a high wooden fortress was built. But after some time, such a fortification was considered unreliable, and it was decided to build a new fortress - a stone one.

The architect Fyodor Kon did a great job and created an impregnable defensive structure. The length of the Smolensk fortress is 6.5 km, the width of the walls is about six meters, the height is from 13 to 19 meters.

The Smolensk fortress was erected in seven years - in 1595-1602, during the reign of Fyodor Ioannovich and Boris Godunov. The architect Fyodor Kon did a great job and created an impregnable defensive structure by the standards of that time. Its length is 6.5 km, the width of the walls is about six meters, and the height is from 13 to 19 meters. In addition, the Smolensk Fortress was also very beautiful. For example, loopholes are decorated with platbands following the example of residential building windows.

It is worth noting that many innovations were used during the construction of the Smolensk fortress. So, for example, the Horse considered it necessary to make the fortress much higher than all the previous ones, and to build many towers.

There is not a single identical tower in the Smolensk fortress; they all have their own names and differences. To date, only 17 towers have survived, 22 have been lost.

The construction of the Smolensk fortress proceeded at an accelerated pace, workers worked from morning to night and lived in very poor conditions. They had to huddle in cold dugouts; there was practically nothing to eat. It is not surprising that during the construction of the fortress, workers often died, unable to withstand backbreaking labor. In 1599, the poor people rebelled. Only after this did they pay attention and fulfill some requirements. For example, wages were raised to 16 kopecks per day. The weather conditions left much to be desired - in 1557 it was a very rainy summer. Almost the entire area where the work took place was in water. Three years later, on the contrary, a drought set in and famine began in the country. But the fortress was built, no matter what. The haste was due to the fact that in 1603 the truce with Poland was ending, and the invaders were preparing for another attack on our country. As a result, thanks to the efforts of almost six thousand workers, the Smolensk Fortress was built in 1600. Finishing work continued for another two years.

Today the Smolensk Fortress is considered one of the main attractions of the city. A beautiful view opens up from here, and, of course, all tourists take memorable photos here. It is interesting that even today the walls of the fortress are important for Smolensk. For example, this is where the local TV tower is located.

Address: Smolensk, st. Timiryazeva, 38.

Today in the August order table we have a theme from an old friend res_man: Smolensk Fortress, and why it is incorrect to call it the Kremlin. (It’s really unclear to me. It doesn’t seem to contradict the definition of the Kremlin)

The Smolensk Fortress (often called the Smolensk Kremlin) is a defensive structure built in 1595–1602 during the reign of Tsars Fyodor Ioannovich and Boris Godunov. The city of Smolensk has always been the “key of the Moscow state”, the guardian of Russia on its western borders. Almost no major war in Europe over the past 500 years has left him on the sidelines: the Russian-Polish-Lithuanian wars, the Patriotic War of 1812 and the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Smolensk has always been strategically important for the Moscow State, the Russian Empire, and then the USSR.

Possession of Smolensk always opened a direct road to the capital, to Moscow. That is why the city has always been surrounded by advanced and powerful fortifications: first wooden, then stone.

There is every reason to believe that Smolensk became a fortified point before the chronicle period. Probably, the fortifications built on Cathedral Hill, on the Shklyana, Tikhvin and Voznesensk mountains and in a number of other places were the first fortified clan settlements of the eastern Balts. The Smolensk hills (there are 12 of them) attracted ancient people because they could be relatively easily fortified and turned into inaccessible fortifications due to the steep slopes and deep ravines that surrounded them.

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Such high hills and heavily indented terrain are not found either upstream or downstream of the Dnieper. The area where Smolensk arose is notable for the fact that trade routes crossed here and there was a key point of the most significant ancient communication - the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks.” Initially, the city was located 10 km west of modern Smolensk. It was a large tribal center of the Dnieper Krivichi. Having assimilated the local Balt tribes, the Krivichi Slavs by the 9th century. formed their own proto-city, in which about 4–5 thousand people lived, merchants-warriors, as well as artisans. Ancient Smolensk (the modern village of Gnezdovo) controlled and served one of the most important sections of the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks”: 10 km to the west, the Katynka River flows into the Dnieper, along which a difficult section began - the “drag”. The world's largest burial mound was formed here - a consequence of the fact that the city was located at a busy crossroads of trade routes.

The first written mention of the city in 862 reports that Smolensk is “great and has many people.” Askold and Dir sailed past, not deciding to capture the city, which, no doubt, was extensive in area, and part of it was properly fortified with an earthen rampart.

In the 11th century a new stage in the development of Smolensk began. In 1054, the son of Yaroslav the Wise, Vyacheslav Yaroslavich, began to rule in the city. It was probably at this time, under the first Smolensk princes, that a princely residence was erected on the high hills of the left bank of the Dnieper in the Smyadyn region.

The city's centerpiece was Cathedral Hill. Its top was surrounded by a rampart with a wooden wall. From the south, the fortified area of ​​the mountain was cut off from the floor part by an artificial ditch. Already during the time of Vladimir Monomakh (1053-1125), defensive structures covered almost the entire city territory, protecting the outlying city.

They were an earthen rampart with a tine on top. The fortifications of Detinets and the surrounding town looked quite impressive on the high hills. Gradually, an urban settlement grew in an uninhabited area while Gnezdovo declined at the same time. The settlement developed freely on the territory along the Dnieper between the Bolshaya Rachevka and Churilovsky streams. Its eastern part was called the Kryloshevsky end, the western part - the Pyatnitsky end.

In 1078, the city was attacked by the Polotsk prince Vseslav, who burned the settlements and besieged the fortress for a long time. Vladimir Monomakh hastened to help the city. Vseslav lifted the siege and fled.

Polotsk in the XII-XIII centuries. constantly fought with Smolensk, trying to defend its independence. No less acute was the struggle between Smolensk and Novgorod. It was at this time that new defensive structures were built in Smolensk. They were erected in 1134 by Prince Rostislav Mstislavovich. They were a high earthen rampart that stretched from the headwaters of the St. George ravine and left the Avraamievsky Monastery outside the fortifications.

Circular defensive structures in several lines were a characteristic feature of ancient Russian fortifications of the 12th century. The “big old wooden city” mentioned in older written sources is the Smolensk wooden fortress.

The defense of the city was strengthened by stone churches and monasteries. The Boris and Gleb Monastery controlled the land road to the west, Spassky - to the south. Even the Tatars could not take the powerful Smolensk fortress. In the spring of 1239 they did not reach the city. However, in the summer of 1333, the Bryansk prince Dmitry Romanovich led a Tatar detachment to the very walls of Smolensk. The enemies besieged the fortress for a long time, but were forced to leave with nothing. In winter 1339, Smolensk was again besieged by a detachment of Tatars with the support of many Russian regiments.

“And the army stood at Smolesk for many days and became tired, but did not take the city,” says the chronicle.

The following year, 1340, “Smolensk burned all over on the night of Savior Day.” This message indicates that the wooden city fortifications had to be maintained in proper order, since the threat from Lithuania was growing for the weakening Smolensk principality. And there is no doubt that they were constantly updated and improved. This allowed the fortress to withstand repeated attacks by the Lithuanians (in 1356, 1358, 1359, 1386). Somewhere in 1392-1393. Vitovt's protege Gleb Svyatoslavovich ascended to the princely throne in Smolensk. Under him, the city acquired huge siege cannons, from which the first artillery salute in Rus' was fired in honor of the arrival of Moscow Prince Vasily Dmitrievich. In 1395, the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas captured the city by cunning. Realizing that the fortress could not be taken by storm, he spread the rumor that he was going on a campaign against the Tatars. When he approached the city, curious Smolensk residents came out with gifts to greet him and look at the Lithuanian army. A large detachment of Lithuanians burst into the city through the open gates.

“They did a lot of evil in the city, took a lot of wealth, took a lot into captivity, and executed them without mercy,” the chronicle tells about this episode.

Proskudin-Gorsky, North-eastern part of Smolensk with a fortress wall. 1912

At the beginning of 1401, the rebels of Smolensk overthrew the Lithuanian governor. Vytautas, not wanting to lose his most important city, in the fall of the same year led his army to Smolensk and besieged it. He brought guns with him. The Smolyan residents organized a reliable defense of the city. Moreover, they made frequent forays into the Lithuanian camp and during one of these attacks they recaptured the enemy’s new weapon - cannons. Vytautas had to lift the siege.

Only on June 24, 1404, Vytautas finally captured the city after a long siege. The absence of Prince Yuri in Smolensk, hunger, illness, and the betrayals of the boyars took their toll. Smolensk found itself under Lithuanian rule for 110 years. Vytautas granted special benefits to the residents of the region, wanting to bind the people to himself. In this he succeeded completely. And six years later, in the bloody Battle of Grunwald, the brave Smolensk regiments proved their loyalty to him.

In 1440, an uprising against the Polish-Lithuanian lords took place in Smolensk, which gave rise to the name “The Great Jam”. This year and the following year the city was subjected to fierce artillery shelling and assault until it was captured. It was after this that the Lithuanians thoroughly rebuilt the heavily damaged fortress wall. Its restructuring was necessary especially since artillery was rapidly developing.

At the end of the 15th century. The Moscow state strengthened so much that it began to fight for Smolensk. March of the troops of Ivan III century. 1492 ended with the annexation of Vyazma. In 1500 Moscow conquered Dorogobuzh. However, an attempt to take Smolensk in 1502 ended in failure. A decade later, the struggle for Smolensk became decisive.

On December 19, 1512, Grand Duke Vasily III himself led a campaign against the city. However, the six-week siege ended in vain: the powerful fortress survived.

In 1514, Vasily III undertook a third campaign against Smolensk, which was preceded by intensive preparation. All the artillery of the Moscow state was collected: about 300 guns, including heavy siege weapons. Never before had so many forces been concentrated to besiege one city.

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Even before the campaign, private negotiations were held with the Russian population of Smolensk and the mercenaries defending the city about the surrender of the fortress. The governors carried out the assault on the city in an organized and systematic manner, and on July 21 the fortress surrendered. On August 1, Vasily III entered the city, in front of whose gates he was met with a procession of the cross by all the people with “pure souls, with much love.”

So Smolensk became part of the Moscow state. Lithuania has repeatedly tried to retake the city, but Moscow has done everything to protect the key outpost on the western border. Many service people were sent to Smolensk. In 1526, the settlement on the right bank of the Dnieper was strengthened with a tyn. The fortress garrison was strengthened so much that it was able to fight in the open field. In 1534, the Smolensk people proved this in practice, not allowing the Lithuanians to even approach the city and burn the settlements.

Under Ivan the Terrible, work began on the construction of new city fortifications. A fire in the spring of 1554 almost completely burned the city, and Smolensk had to be rebuilt. The real threat of attack and the need to protect a significantly larger territory of the enlarged city were the reasons that led to the creation of a new fortress, which was called the “Great New City”. In addition, the defensive structures of the new fortress had to correspond to the increased power of siege artillery.

Achieving access to the Baltic Sea was one of the main goals of Moscow's foreign policy. Its interests encountered opposition from Sweden and Poland. In 1590, peace was concluded with Poland for a period of twelve years. Military clashes with Sweden ended with the signing of the “eternal peace” in 1595. Thus, for six months, starting in 1596, the Moscow government received a peaceful respite on its western borders. It foresaw a war with Poland, which sought to deepen the successes of the Livonian War and, having captured Smolensk, use it as a base for economic and political expansion in the border regions of Moscow Rus'.

In January 1603, the truce with Poland ended. That is why, immediately after peace with Sweden, Moscow decided to turn Smolensk into a well-defended fortress. On December 15, 1595, preparations for its construction began. By royal decree, Prince V. A. Zvenigorodsky, S. V. Bezobrazov, clerks P. Shipilov and N. Perfiryev, “city master Fyodor Savelyev Kon” were ordered to hastily arrive in Smolensk by the Nativity of Christ (December 25) to build a stone city.

Fedor Kon

Fyodor Kon was born on July 4, 1556 in Dorogobuzh. Fyodor Kon's father, Savely Petrov, was a carpenter. And in 1565, Savely Petrov came to Moscow to work; he brought his nine-year-old son Fedor with him to the capital to teach him the craft of ward construction. Savely Petrov belonged to the “black people” who had almost no rights. At that time, a new royal palace was being built across the Neglinnaya River, where Savely Petrov settled. The work was supervised by an experienced craftsman - a foreigner, Johann Clairaut. In Moscow, Fyodor Kon was delighted with the almost fabulous charm of “St. Basil” and the greatness of “Ivan the Great”.

The harsh walls of the Moscow Kremlin and Kitai-gorod made a great impression on him. At first he helped his father: he carried boards, dug ditches for foundations, and learned the craft of ward construction, but in the fall of 1568, a fireweed epidemic swept across Moscow: many townspeople and newcomers died. Carpenter Savely Petrov also died. Johann Clairaut left his son Fyodor at the construction site, assigning him as a junior assistant to the carpenter Foma Krivousov. Soon a stranger from his native place informed Fyodor about the death of his mother and younger brothers. The orphaned Fyodor Savelyev left the construction of the royal chambers and continues to work in Moscow, erecting stone walls and log huts, which at that time were built according to “models” developed by experienced carpenters and masters of chamber construction. In 1571, Moscow was attacked by the hordes of the Crimean Khan and almost all wooden buildings were destroyed by fires. Fedor “and his comrades” continued to build. A tall and smart young man becomes a senior in the carpentry artel. He stood out among his comrades for his extraordinary strength and endurance. It is no coincidence that already sixteen-year-old Fyodor Savelyev received the nickname Horse.

The “black” man Fedor the Horse loved Rus' with all the soul of the simple Russian people and gave all his knowledge and strength to strengthen its power. Wanderings around Moscow and the half-starved life of the “smerda” did not create in Fyodor Kon an insatiable interest in stone city buildings. Fyodor lived at that time on Arbat in the courtyard of the parish priest Gur Agapitov, from whom the inquisitive young man learned to read and write, and gleaned some information from sacred history. Fedor continued to walk around the yards in search of odd jobs. The thirst for knowledge led Fedor to the master Johann Clairaut. The educated engineer Clairo undertook to teach the Horse mathematics and the principles of structural mechanics. Stories about great architects, about ancient Greek and Roman architecture, about castles and fortresses, revealed a new unknown world to the young carpenter.

From Clairo the Horse learned German and Latin and independent reading of foreign books. The friendship of Fyodor Kon with the cannon master Andrei Chekhov dates back to this time. Meanwhile, the life of the artel carpenter went on as before. Huts, barns, chambers - rarely did a large order come up. The spring of 1573 arrived. Fyodor Kon “and his comrades” built mansions for the German Heinrich Staden, who served at the court. Horse had not had much work for a long time, and he devoted himself enthusiastically to completing an interesting order. The work was coming to an end, and the carpenters erected a high fence around the new mansion. The Horse himself cut the collar patterns. But the German owner did not like the magnificent Russian carvings. Without saying a word, he struck the Horse and turned to walk away. Fyodor Kon flared up and, overcome with anger, knocked the German to the ground. A fight ensued...

A fragment of the royal order of 1591 to the Astrakhan governors, calling Fyodor Kon “church and ward master” (LOI Archive, f. 178, No. 1, splice 12)

Fedor was accused of rebellion and atheism. Knowing well that severe punishment awaited him, Fyodor Kon fled from Moscow. The refugee hid in the Boldinsky monastery near his hometown of Dorogobuzh. At the time of Fyodor Kon’s arrival, the Boldinsky Monastery was one of the richest in Rus'. The monks wanted to surround the monastery with stone. Fedor had the opportunity to try his knowledge and experience on a large stone building project. Standing out for his knowledge and courage of artistic thought, the Horse led the monastery construction. Under the leadership of Fyodor Kon, a cathedral with three altar niches, a monastery belfry, a refectory with a small church next to it, and chopped oak walls were built. But Fyodor Kon did not escape for long in the monastery. He was forced to leave it. The participation of Fyodor Kon in the construction of the Boldinsky Monastery is confirmed by many researchers of Russian architecture. Analyzing the architectural details of the Odigitrievskaya Church of the Ivano-Predtechensky Monastery in Vyazma, one cannot help but be convinced that they were made by the hand of the same master as the stone buildings of the Boldinsky Monastery. Simultaneously with the construction of the Ivano-Predtechensky Monastery, Fyodor Kon was entrusted with the construction of the Vyazemsky City Cathedral, which later received the name Trinity. The Trinity Cathedral in Vyazma has survived to this day without significant changes and testifies to the great creative talent of the architect. Fyodor Kon clearly imagined what Russian fortresses should be like. Based on the experience of Russian fortification art, he paved his own path in this area. Longing for big work forced Fyodor Kon to leave Vyazma in March 1584 and secretly return to Moscow. There he wrote a petition addressed to Tsar Ivan the Terrible. But Grozny could not forgive the escape from the sovereign’s justice.

That is why, a week later, Fyodor Kon received the answer: “City master Fyodor, Savely’s son, is allowed to live in Moscow, and for escaping he will be beaten fifty times.” Fedor endured the punishment for escaping with fortitude. Thus began a new stage in the life of Fyodor Kon, who was destined to increase the power and glory of Moscow Rus'. In Moscow, Fyodor Kon met with his old friend, foundry master Andrei Chekhov, who was casting the Tsar Cannon at that time. Again the ward master had to leave Moscow. This time Fyodor Kon worked in the Moscow region on the construction of the Pafnutiev Monastery in Borovsk. The reign of Boris Godunov continued the policy of Ivan the Terrible to strengthen the Russian state. Godunov paid great attention to the defense of the Fatherland and especially the capital. At his suggestion, in 1586, work began on the construction of a new Tsarev city around Moscow. Godunov remembered the city master Fyodor Kon. The dream of the “black” man came true - he was entrusted with the construction of Tsarev-city. Fyodor Kon set to work with great energy; judging by the excavations carried out during the construction of the Moscow Metro, the depth of the foundations of the White City was 2.1 meters. The width of the walls at the foundation level reached six meters, and in the upper part it was 4.5 meters. Loopholes were built in the walls for short and long-range shelling, and 28 towers rose above the walls.

In 1593, the construction of the White City was completed. As a reward for his work, Fyodor Kon received from boyar Godunov a piece of brocade and a fur coat, and Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich allowed the city planner to take his hand. The construction of the White City brought honor and wealth to Fyodor Kon. Fyodor Kon married the widow of a merchant from the “cloth row”, Irina Agapovna Petrova, and he was accepted into the cloth hundred. At the same time, he erected the Church of the Don Mother of God in the Moscow Donskoy Monastery. After completing the construction of the Don Church, Fyodor Kon began building and strengthening the Simonov Monastery - one of the brightest pages in the history of Russian fortress construction. Upon completion of work in the Simonov Monastery, Fyodor Kon was entrusted with the construction of the Smolensk fortress wall. In 1595, Fyodor Kon arrived in Smolensk on the orders of the Tsar to build a fortress. The Smolensk Fortress is the second large structure of Fyodor Savelyevich Kon.

Construction managers received detailed instructions on how to organize the work. They had to register all specialists in stone processing and bricklaying, all “sheds and kilns where bricks were made”; find where there was rubble stone and timber for piles, determine transportation routes and distances; calculate the number of people involved in construction and hire them, paying for the work from the sovereign treasury. Already this winter, the peasants were set very high standards for the preparation of piles for the foundation, which had to be delivered to the construction site before the onset of spring.

In the spring of 1596, Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich approved the estimate and sent “his boyar and servant and groom Boris Fedorovich Godunov” to Smolensk to lay the fortress, who carried out the royal decree solemnly and with great pomp.

Based on the volume of construction work and the special importance of the fortress being built, the royal decree ordered that masons, brickmakers and even potters be sent “from all over the Russian land.” Moreover, under the threat of the death penalty, any stone construction in the Moscow state was strictly prohibited until the completion of work in Smolensk.
The scale and urgency of construction required enormous effort from the state. The chronicle noted that the city of Smolensk was made “all the cities of the Moscow state. Stone was transported from all cities...” Limestone, which was used for facing the lower zone of the wall and for making lime, as well as rubble stone for the internal masonry and foundation, was delivered from rather remote places, since these materials were not available near Smolensk. In Smolensk, only bricks were made. It is estimated that 320 thousand piles, 100 million bricks, a million cartloads of sand, etc. were used to build the wall alone.

The most expensive and labor-intensive work (procurement and delivery of building materials) were turned into state duties. To transport building materials, the government mobilized peasants with carts even from the Moscow district. However, it still relied on the use of hired labor and used it in the construction of the fortress on a large scale, which was not typical for the economic life of that time. Moreover, to speed up the work, it raised the daily wages of qualified masons significantly above the usual level - up to 16 kopecks per day.

Thanks to emergency measures, the construction of the fortress was completed on time. At the end of 1602, a solemn ceremony of its official consecration took place.

Sigismund began to gather his forces for a campaign against Russia after the January Diet of 1609. He had at his disposal a relatively small army, only about 12.5 thousand people. Of these, about 7,800 people were cavalry of various compositions and 4,700 were infantry.

The path to Moscow was blocked by Smolensk, a powerful fortress on the western border of the state. The fact that Sigismund's troops consisted of 62 percent cavalry, unable to besiege fortresses, proves that the king hoped to quickly take possession of the city, being confident of its voluntary surrender.

Sigismund was confident in the ease of the campaign being undertaken and argued that one only had to draw the saber to end the war in Russia with victory.
Moscow saw a threat from the west. It is no coincidence that at the end of 1607 Mikhail Borisovich Shein, who had rich military experience, was appointed chief governor of Smolensk.

However, the large garrison was not reliable. Many nobles sympathized with the Polish interventionists and secretly assisted them. Sigismund raged curses at the “rude bear people” who did not leave their homes to the enemy.

The Poles launched their first assault on October 4, an hour and a half before dawn. The shelling of the fortress had been going on since September 28, but that night it was especially intense. During the attacks, the Avraamievsky Gate was destroyed. The passage to the fortress was open. The city's defenders lit torches on the walls and illuminated the advancing German and Hungarian infantry. Twice the Poles burst into the gates and both times the Smolensk people threw them back in fierce hand-to-hand combat.

After the unsuccessful assault, the Poles intensified shelling of the walls of the Smolensk fortress in order to intimidate the defenders. The defenders avoided open battle with a strong enemy, but often organized forays in small groups.

The Polish king refused to march on Moscow without capturing Smolensk. He considered it a duty of honor to take it. In addition, it was dangerous to leave an armed fortress in the rear. Having failed in the assault, the Poles relied on attrition and, having stopped hostilities in November, resumed them in July of the following year.

In total, five main assaults were organized on Smolensk

On April 13, 1610, the Poles took the city of Bely. Of the 16 thousand people of the garrison of this small fortress, only 4 thousand remained alive. The already difficult situation of Smolensk worsened even more, since the city was now completely cut off from the rest of Russia. The hope for help from Moscow was illusory. In order to get help to Smolensk, Shuisky’s government would have to take the fortresses of Vyazma and Dorogobuzh. The Smolensk residents had to rely only on themselves.

On August 8, 1610, Prince Mortin and nobleman Sushchov ran over to the Poles. The traitors were supported in the fortress by several dozen people. The traitors advised the Poles to carry out the assault simultaneously from both the west and the east. They hoped to complement the assault with an uprising inside the fortress. The second winter in the besieged fortress was the most terrible in its consequences. Disease, hunger and extreme exhaustion claimed hundreds of people. However, the fortress did not surrender

In the spring of 1611, Hetman Pototsky strained all his strength to end the fortress. He used the advice of defectors. Of particular importance to him was the testimony of another traitor, Andrei Dedeshin, who took part in the construction of the fortress and pointed to the area near the Avraamievsky Gate, where the wall was very fragile.

On June 2, 1611, the Poles began preparations for a general assault. The city was shelled throughout the night. On the night of June 2-3, when the summer dawn was already breaking, four Polish detachments launched an attack in complete silence. Each of them outnumbered the defenders of the fortress several times. The attackers eventually managed to break through from several sides - from the Avramievskaya Tower and the Bogoslovskaya Tower. In addition, the Poles used the information of a defector, who, on the eve of the assault, reported that it was possible to plant gunpowder in one of the drainpipes of the fortress at the Kryloshevsky Gate. The Poles blew up the wall and here they were also able to break into the fortress. Crowds of people gathered in the Cathedral Church. Seeing that there was no salvation, a certain Belavin set fire to the gunpowder warehouse under the ruler’s house.

A terrible explosion destroyed the chambers, and part of the cathedral collapsed, burying many women and children. Some survivors voluntarily threw themselves into the flames that engulfed the cathedral, deciding it was better to die than to endure the reproach of the victors.

Shein with his family and fifteen soldiers locked themselves in the Kolomenskaya Tower. They fought off the Germans, killing more than ten of them, but were eventually forced to surrender. The wounded governor was interrogated, which was accompanied by torture, and then sent to Poland. The king hoped to get treasures that were not in the city.

Having received no outside help, the fortress garrison refused to capitulate and fought until their strength was completely exhausted. After a twenty-month siege, Smolensk and the district turned into a desert. “This two-year siege killed 80,000 people, completely ruining the Smolensk region, where there was “not a sheep, not a bull, not a cow, not a calf - the enemies destroyed everything,” wrote a contemporary. The city was captured, but contributed to saving the country from enslavement.

Exhausted by the siege, the royal army was completely disorganized and incapable of combat. Sigismund had to disband it without providing assistance to his troops locked in the Moscow Kremlin. Having captured Smolensk, the Poles immediately repaired the fortress. The western section suffered more than others
They built a high rampart, called the “Royal Bastion.” The Moscow state did not hesitate to liberate the city. Already in March 1613, troops were sent to the west. However, according to the Deulin Truce signed in 1618, Smolensk remained in the hands of Poland.

S. M. Prokudin-Gorsky. View of the Kepostnaya wall from the Veselukha tower. Smolensk 1912

In January 1654, Ukraine became part of the Moscow state, and almost immediately a war with Poland began. The main task of the Russian army in the central direction was to take Smolensk. The city was surrounded, and from June 20 the Russian army began intensive artillery bombardment. It significantly outnumbered the Polish garrison, which consisted of three and a half thousand people. The king ordered the fortress to be stormed from all sides simultaneously. The assault began on the night of August 16 and lasted seven hours. A fierce battle took place on the royal bastion, at the Dnieper Gate, at the Sheinov Gap. Having lost about 15 thousand people, the Moscow army retreated. Preparations began for a new assault, but on September 23 the garrison capitulated. Smolensk finally became part of Russia.

The Moscow government turned the city into a powerful outpost in the west. It evicted the gentry from the fortress and populated it with military servicemen.
In 1698, by order of Peter I, work began again to strengthen the city. The royal bastion was turned into a citadel, separating it from the city with a moat. In place of the Sheinov breach, a bastion with a stone weapons storage was erected. A ditch was dug along the entire perimeter of the fortress wall, reaching a width of 6.4 m, fortifications were built - traverses, and bastions were built in front of the towers. In the St. Petersburg suburb (as the Trans-Dnieper region was then called), they strengthened what was built back in 1658-1659. bridgehead strengthening - the so-called “new fortress”, or crownwork.

Under the cover of the walls of the Smolensk fortress, on August 4-5, 1812, Russian troops entered into a major battle with Napoleonic troops. The French suffered losses, but were unable to prevent the connection of two Russian armies, which gained time and retreated, maintaining their combat effectiveness.

Leaving Smolensk, the French army on the night of November 17, 1812 (new style) blew up 9 fortress towers.

Until 1844, the wall was in the military department, deteriorating and collapsing, since no measures were taken to maintain it, at least in outwardly proper condition. By the time of transfer to the civil department, only 19 towers had survived, some of them being used as warehouses.

Before 1917

From 1889 to 1917 the wall was under the supervision of a special commission consisting of the governor, architect and officials. During this period, some measures were taken to maintain the wall in good condition, but the effect was insignificant. The walls continued to deteriorate and were gradually dismantled both by order of the Civil Department and by the residents themselves.
The situation was saved by Emperor Alexander II, who, on the report presented to him about the Smolensk Fortress, wrote wishes for its preservation as “one of the most ancient monuments of Russian history.”

During the war of 1941-1945, during the defense of Smolensk in 1941 and its liberation in 1943, the wall suffered from the actions of both German and Soviet troops. It is believed that two towers were blown up during the Nazi occupation.

Fragments of the Smolensk wall can now be seen in different parts of Smolensk, but the greatest impression is made by the long, sometimes interrupted chain of its majestic walls and towers covering the space of the ancient city on the southern and eastern sides. Together with written materials and engravings from the early 17th century. These fragments allow us to imagine the architecture of the Smolensk “city”.

P.S. oh, yes, by the way, we had a question, why can’t the Smolensk fortress be called the Kremlin? I found the answer only on Wikipedia:

Some fortifications are sometimes incorrectly called Kremlins.

Often the Kremlin walls are duplicated by additional external defense structures. If the external stone fortress under construction surpasses the existing wooden walls of the old Kremlin in its fortification qualities, it can take on the function of the main fortress structure: for example, the Smolensk fortress, built in the 16th century, encircled not only the Kremlin space, but also the widely spread Posad is often called the Kremlin itself. Link to the article from which this copy was made -