Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle
Encyclopedia
Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle is a former Ruthenia
n-Lithuania
n castle located in the historic city of Kamianets-Podilskyi
, Khmelnytskyi Oblast
(province
), in the historic region of Podolia
in western Ukraine
. The castle and its surrounding complex is one of the Seven Wonders of Ukraine
.
The castle was built on top of a peninsula carved out by the winding Smotrych River
, forming a natural defense system for the castle and Kamianets-Podilskyi's Old Town neighborhood; a bridge over the river forms the only entrance to the castle. The castle's name is attributed to the root kamin, from the Slavic
word for stone. Today, along with the Old Town, the castle is listed as part of the National Historical-Architectural Sanctuary "Kam'ianets," created to protect its architecture and cultural heritage. It is also a candidate UNESCO World Heritage Site, nominated in 1989 by the Ukrainian representatives.
Historical accounts date the Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle to the early 14th century, although recent archaeological evidence has shown human existence in the area from the 12th-13th centuries. Initially, the fortress was built to protect the bridge connecting the medieval town with the mainland. Its location on a strategic transport crossroad in Podolia made the castle a prime target for foreign invaders, however, who rebuilt the castle to suit their own needs, adding to its multicultural architectural diversity. In spite of the many architectural and engineering changes to the original castle structure, the Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle still forms a coherent architectural design, being one of the few medieval
constructions in Ukraine that is relatively well preserved. It is the most recognized landmark of the city, serving as an important regional and national tourist attraction
.
Traditionally, the Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle was thought to have been founded during the second half of the 14th century, as the first accurate historical accounts of the castle date back to the mid-14th century, when most of the territories of western Rus'
were under control of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
. A written document by Prince Yuriy Koriatovych in 1374, for example, mentions that the Magdeburg rights
would be presented to Kamianets inside the castle. Archaeological excavations during the 1960s, however, provided contrasting evidence suggesting that the castle might date back even earlier to the end of the 12th or the beginning of the 13th centuries. It is also clear from historical and archaeological evidence that an earthen fortress existed in the area during the time of the East Slavic
state of Kievan Rus', but not on the same site as the current castle.
The castle was outdated but remained vital to the defense of Kamianets and nearby trade routes; as a result, the voivode of Kraków
, Spytek of Melsztyn, began modernizing the complex at the turn of the 15th century. During the reconstruction, the old towers were renovated and ten new towers were added. A century and a half later, the castle was updated again, this time by military engineer and architect Yov Pretfes, who built the New Western and Eastern Towers, the castle's eastern wall and an underground gallery, as well as the Full Gates and housing for the town's starosta
community.
During the mid-14th to mid 15th centuries, the Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle was located on one of the main frontiers of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
. From 1434 until its annexation by the Russian Empire
in 1793, the castle played a major role in the defense against the oncoming Cossack, Ottoman
and Tatar invasions; through the 15th-17th centuries, the castle was attacked by Tatar hordes
a total of 51 times. The Tatar invasions of 1448, 1451, 1509 and 1528, as well as the Ottoman siege of 1533, caused damage to both the castle and the city but all of these invasions were successfully repelled.
The Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle played an important role during the Khmelnytsky Uprising
between 1648-54, when the Zaporozhian Cossacks led by Hetman
Bohdan Khmelnytsky
, allied themselves with the Crimean Tatars
and the local Ukrainian
peasantry against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's army and militia. During the uprising, the castle was unsuccessfully besieged by local Cossacks and insurgents led by Commander Maksym Kryvonis. In 1651, the castle was then subject to another Cossack siege led by Hetman
Ivan Bohun
, before an unexpected counterattack by Polish insurgents under commanders Aleksandrenka and Chuika re-established the Polish presence in the area and relieved the siege. A 60,000 force army led by Khmelnytsky himself reasserted Cossack control over the castle in 1652. Just one year later, the castle was attacked yet again, this time by a 40,000 strong Crimean Tatar
horde.
In the beginning of August 1672, a 300,000 Ottoman
force led by Sultan
Mehmed IV
and a 40,000 combined force of Tatars and Cossacks led by Hetman Petro Doroshenko
laid siege to the castle. After conducting negotiations with their attackers, the city's leaders surrendered control of the fortress to the Ottomans on August 18. In a sign of protest, the fortress's Commandant Michał Wołodyjowski and Major Hejking blew up the castle's remaining gunpowder, killing themselves along with 800 defenders. For 27 years after the attack, the fortress served as the base of Ottoman rule in the Podolia
. The 1699 Karlov Peace Treaty
saw the return of Polish control over the area after the Ottoman Empire ceded its control in the area.
s, and even the three-year-old pretender to the Polish throne, Stanisław August Poniatowski.
After the Second Partition of Poland
of April 21, 1793, both the Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle and the city were transferred to the sovereignty of the Russian Empire
. On the same day, the castle's commandant gave up the key to the castle and swore allegiance to the empire in the city's cathedral. One hundred and one artillery cannons later saluted the commandant's decision inside the castle. During the French invasion of Russia
of 1812, the Russian Imperial Army was stationed in the castle. In 1815, Konstantin Batyushkov
, who later became a well-known poet and writer, was stationed as an officer in the castle. In 1846, poet Vladimir Raevsky
was stationed in the castle, during which time he established a pro-Decembrist
organization of progressively-minded army officers.
From 1816 until 1914, the fortress was converted from a military prison into a jail for debtors, criminals and political prisoners. In 1831, Russian lexicologist Vladimir Dal
worked in the castle, at the time writing a dictionary of the Russian language
. The castle was the center of the anti-feudalism movement
in the Podolia during the 19th century led by the Patriotic War of 1812
cavalry veteran Ustym Karmaliuk
(1787-1835), who is now regarded by Ukrainians as a national folk hero
.
. In 1906, a total of 67 political organizations were based in the castle. Among them was the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
's newspaper "Iskra" (Spark). A decree issued by the Sovnarkom of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1928 declared the Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle complex a historical-cultural preserve. During the late 1930s, plans were made to turn the castle into a museum, and reconstruction work on the buildings was started in 1937. Among the museum attractions added was a scene depicting Karmaliuk in the castle's prison cell in the Pope's Tower, where he was kept during his imprisonment in the castle. Visitor numbers for the castle during the 1930s reached 300,000 a year.
In 1947, the Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle was placed on the all-Union
list of historic preserves. A memorial plaque and a bas-relief resembling Karmaliuk was erected near the Karmaliuk exposition on April 18, 1958. Restorational and archaeological works have been conducted in the castle since 1962 under the supervision of architects Y. Plamenytska and A. Tyupych.
On September 13, 1989, the Ukrainian SSR Government placed both the Kamianets-Podilskyi historic center and castle on the tentative list of UNESCO
World Heritage Site
s. In August 21, 2007, the complex was declared one of the Seven Wonders of Ukraine
when it came in 3rd place in a nation-wide competition. A severe storm on August 1, 2011 partially destroyed the New Western Tower; the city mayor's office didn't deny that the tower's structural integrity was weakend during its last reconstruction in 2007, paving the way for its collapse just four years later.
canyon. Consequently, its foundations were built using limestone, as well as local and imported brick and stone. Indeed, the castle's name is attributed to the root kamin, from the Slavic
word for stone. The two main parts of the castle, the Old Castle and the New Castle , were built during different periods. The Old Castle defended the approach from Kamianets-Podilskyi's Old Town, and was constructed to protect against direct assaults from enemy soldiers. The New Castle was formed during the numerous later modernizations of the castle; its purpose was to provide protection from enemy field armies and was designed to support newer military inventions such as long range artillery cannons.
s; the northern, southern, and eastern.
The walls of the northern terrace (about 336 metres or 1,102.4 ft in length) defend the whole inner courtyard. The courtyard's northwestern walls form the Old Castle, ending between the Day and Rozhanka Towers. They are made up of two parallel walls, which include the Petty Western Tower, the remnants of the Black Tower, and a two-level casemate
, or fortified gun emplacement. The older of the two walls dates back to the beginning of the 12th century and is built with crenelations. Another casemate was located at the eastern walls. An entrance to the castle in the eastern walls is known as the New Castle Gate, and there were two more gates, one, in the northern walls, called the Old Castle Gate, and another, the Field Gate, connecting the Water Tower with the rest of the castle. The northern walls are reinforced with the Northern Bastion along their whole length. The bastion was built in 1790, just before the second partition of Poland
. There is also the New Castle that was designed as a hornwork
and located west from the main castle complex.
At the eastern side of the castle's courtyard were the remnants of the St. Stanislaus kosciol, or church, next to which was located a tomb
of M. Potocki. Next to the Kovpak Tower stood an Eastern Orthodox church where Prince Koriatovych was buried. In the courtyard along the southern walls between Kovpak and Tenchynska Towers were a granary
and cart shed
. Across from these, near the northern walls and Lanckorońska Tower, was the residence of the starosta
. Next to the Tenchynska Tower stood the "Rurmush" which served as a water storage tank for the castle. At the southern walls closer to the White Tower (between Tenchynska and White Towers) were a kitchen and a bakery. Adjacent to the White Tower at the southern walls between White and Day Towers stood the starosta's headquarters. Located against the western walls were the chelyadna, or serfs' quarters, which housed up to 70 serfs who served the castle. Located outside of the northern walls were the castle stable
s, which could house up to 30 horses. In the 16th century the castle had a garrison of around 300 soldiers, who lived in the town.
The Kamianets-Podilskyi Industrial Vocational School has investigated the castle walls. They discovered an area of quick sand at the roadside next to the "Podzamche", or sub-castle, neighborhood of the city, which in the previous year had partially undermined the castle's supporting walls. The effects of the quick sand had uncovered the fortress's foundation walls, a little over 5 m (16.4 ft) deep. The foundation walls were built on the limestone that creates a canyon along the river valley. Further excavation work showed that the walls stretched to the west, as well from the Old Castle to the bastions of the new one. The support footings for the old castle bridge were also found in the ditch. From the south in the wall there is a 2.5 m (8.2 ft) wide and 5 m (16.4 ft) tall opening, through which the Vocational School assumed water flowed.
The preserved northwestern walls are now 13.7 m (44.9 ft) high measured from the outside of the castle and 5.7 m (18.7 ft) high from the courtyard. As a result of the numerous reconstructions, the walls' depth changed throughout the centuries, being 1.45 m (4.8 ft) deep in the Medieval
period, 2.2 m (7.2 ft) during the 14th-15th centuries, and an average of 4 m (13.1 ft) after the reconstruction of the 16th-17th centuries. Conservation works have recently been conducted on the walls to preserve the old Rus' fragments.
neighborhood. It is considered to represent a considerable feat of medieval engineering. The bridge has a length of 88 m (288.7 ft). At the entrance to the bridge, its width is around 8.5 m (27.9 ft), while at the end, it narrows to 6.5 m (21.3 ft). The bridge's height is 27 m (88.6 ft) at the entrance, dropping to 17 m (55.8 ft) on the far side.
At the beginning of the 15th century, a large round gate tower was constructed at the castle end of the bridge; the bridge's height, including the tower, was equivalent to that of eight modern stories
. During the unsuccessful Polish siege of the city in 1687, the castle bridge was rebuilt and fortified by the Turks, acquiring the name "Turkish bridge" , which many locals still call it today. The bridge's stone façade
was in poor repair from 1841 until the end of the 19th century. A subsequent lack of preservation work, together with earthquake damage in 1986, contributed to its poor condition. In 2000, the World Monuments Fund
included the Kamianets-Podilskyi's castle bridge in the 2000 World Monuments Watch.
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The Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle was the most recognized attraction in the city in 2005. The castle also sees a large number of tourists from across Ukraine and abroad, attracting thousands of tourists annually. Its legacy has left behind several local legends. According to one legend, when Ottoman Sultan
Osman II
came to Kamianets in 1621 to capture the city, he was allegedly impressed by its strength and fortifications and asked "Who built this great city?" . Someone then replied to him, "God himself." When Osman could not capture the castle, he then replied "Then let God himself take the city." Another local legend has it that Turkish gold
is buried in the Smotrych River and that a 20 km (12.4 mi) tunnel leads to the Khotyn Fortress
from the Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle.
The events of the 1672 Ottoman
siege were depicted in the 1888 historical novel
Fire in the Steppe
, written by Polish
Nobel Prize laureate
Henryk Sienkiewicz
. The castle has appeared on a commemorative coin of the "Ancient fortresses on the river Dniester
" series issued by the Transnistrian Republican Bank
of Transnistria
, a breakaway, internationally unrecognised republic within Moldova
.
Ruthenia
Ruthenia is the Latin word used onwards from the 13th century, describing lands of the Ancient Rus in European manuscripts. Its geographic and culturo-ethnic name at that time was applied to the parts of Eastern Europe. Essentially, the word is a false Latin rendering of the ancient place name Rus...
n-Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n castle located in the historic city of Kamianets-Podilskyi
Kamianets-Podilskyi
Kamyanets-Podilsky or Kamienets-Podolsky is a city located on the Smotrych River in western Ukraine, to the north-east of Chernivtsi...
, Khmelnytskyi Oblast
Khmelnytskyi Oblast
Khmelnytskyi Oblast is an oblast of western Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Khmelnytskyi.The current estimated population is around 1,401,140 .-Geography:...
(province
Oblast
Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
), in the historic region of Podolia
Podolia
The region of Podolia is an historical region in the west-central and south-west portions of present-day Ukraine, corresponding to Khmelnytskyi Oblast and Vinnytsia Oblast. Northern Transnistria, in Moldova, is also a part of Podolia...
in western Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. The castle and its surrounding complex is one of the Seven Wonders of Ukraine
Seven Wonders of Ukraine
The Seven Wonders of Ukraine are the seven historical and cultural monuments of Ukraine, which were chosen in the Seven Wonders of Ukraine contest held in July, 2007...
.
The castle was built on top of a peninsula carved out by the winding Smotrych River
Smotrych River
The Smotrych River is a left tributary of the Dniester, flowing through the Podillia upland of western Ukraine. Its length is 169 km , and its drainage basin covers 1,800 km² . The average width of the river is 10-15 meters wide, and at one point exceeds 40 m. The historic city of...
, forming a natural defense system for the castle and Kamianets-Podilskyi's Old Town neighborhood; a bridge over the river forms the only entrance to the castle. The castle's name is attributed to the root kamin, from the Slavic
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
word for stone. Today, along with the Old Town, the castle is listed as part of the National Historical-Architectural Sanctuary "Kam'ianets," created to protect its architecture and cultural heritage. It is also a candidate UNESCO World Heritage Site, nominated in 1989 by the Ukrainian representatives.
Historical accounts date the Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle to the early 14th century, although recent archaeological evidence has shown human existence in the area from the 12th-13th centuries. Initially, the fortress was built to protect the bridge connecting the medieval town with the mainland. Its location on a strategic transport crossroad in Podolia made the castle a prime target for foreign invaders, however, who rebuilt the castle to suit their own needs, adding to its multicultural architectural diversity. In spite of the many architectural and engineering changes to the original castle structure, the Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle still forms a coherent architectural design, being one of the few medieval
Middle age
Middle age is the period of age beyond young adulthood but before the onset of old age. Various attempts have been made to define this age, which is around the third quarter of the average life span of human beings....
constructions in Ukraine that is relatively well preserved. It is the most recognized landmark of the city, serving as an important regional and national tourist attraction
Tourism in Ukraine
Ukraine attracts more than 20 million foreign citizens every year . Visitors primarily come from Eastern Europe, but also from Western Europe and USA and also Canada. The country is the 8th most popular tourism destination in Europe.Ukraine is a destination on the crossroads between central and...
.
Foundation and early history
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus was a medieval polity in Eastern Europe, from the late 9th to the mid 13th century, when it disintegrated under the pressure of the Mongol invasion of 1237–1240....
were under control of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
. A written document by Prince Yuriy Koriatovych in 1374, for example, mentions that the Magdeburg rights
Magdeburg rights
Magdeburg Rights or Magdeburg Law were a set of German town laws regulating the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages granted by a local ruler. Modelled and named after the laws of the German city of Magdeburg and developed during many centuries of the Holy Roman Empire, it was...
would be presented to Kamianets inside the castle. Archaeological excavations during the 1960s, however, provided contrasting evidence suggesting that the castle might date back even earlier to the end of the 12th or the beginning of the 13th centuries. It is also clear from historical and archaeological evidence that an earthen fortress existed in the area during the time of the East Slavic
East Slavs
The East Slavs are Slavic peoples speaking East Slavic languages. Formerly the main population of the medieval state of Kievan Rus, by the seventeenth century they evolved into the Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian peoples.-Sources:...
state of Kievan Rus', but not on the same site as the current castle.
The castle was outdated but remained vital to the defense of Kamianets and nearby trade routes; as a result, the voivode of Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, Spytek of Melsztyn, began modernizing the complex at the turn of the 15th century. During the reconstruction, the old towers were renovated and ten new towers were added. A century and a half later, the castle was updated again, this time by military engineer and architect Yov Pretfes, who built the New Western and Eastern Towers, the castle's eastern wall and an underground gallery, as well as the Full Gates and housing for the town's starosta
Starosta
Starost is a title for an official or unofficial position of leadership that has been used in various contexts through most of Slavic history. It can be translated as "elder"...
community.
Continuous attacks by invaders
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
. From 1434 until its annexation by the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
in 1793, the castle played a major role in the defense against the oncoming Cossack, Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
and Tatar invasions; through the 15th-17th centuries, the castle was attacked by Tatar hordes
Orda (organization)
An orda or horde was an historical sociopolitical and military structure found on the Eurasian Steppe, usually associated with the Mongols. This entity can be seen as regional equivalent of a clan or a tribe...
a total of 51 times. The Tatar invasions of 1448, 1451, 1509 and 1528, as well as the Ottoman siege of 1533, caused damage to both the castle and the city but all of these invasions were successfully repelled.
The Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle played an important role during the Khmelnytsky Uprising
Khmelnytsky Uprising
The Khmelnytsky Uprising, was a Cossack rebellion in the Ukraine between the years 1648–1657 which turned into a Ukrainian war of liberation from Poland...
between 1648-54, when the Zaporozhian Cossacks led by Hetman
Hetman
Hetman was the title of the second-highest military commander in 15th- to 18th-century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which together, from 1569 to 1795, comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Rzeczpospolita....
Bohdan Khmelnytsky
Bohdan Khmelnytsky
Bohdan Zynoviy Mykhailovych Khmelnytsky was a hetman of the Zaporozhian Cossack Hetmanate of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . He led an uprising against the Commonwealth and its magnates which resulted in the creation of a Cossack state...
, allied themselves with the Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars or Crimeans are a Turkic ethnic group that originally resided in Crimea. They speak the Crimean Tatar language...
and the local Ukrainian
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
peasantry against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's army and militia. During the uprising, the castle was unsuccessfully besieged by local Cossacks and insurgents led by Commander Maksym Kryvonis. In 1651, the castle was then subject to another Cossack siege led by Hetman
Hetmans of Ukrainian Cossacks
Hetman of Ukrainian Cossacks as a title was not officially recognized internationally until the creation of the Ukrainian Hetmanate. With the creation of Registered Cossacks units their leaders were unofficially referred to as hetmans, however officially the title was known as the "Senior of His...
Ivan Bohun
Ivan Bohun
Ivan Bohun was a Ukrainian Cossack colonel. Close associate and friend of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, he opposed both the pacts with Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and with Tsardom of Russia ....
, before an unexpected counterattack by Polish insurgents under commanders Aleksandrenka and Chuika re-established the Polish presence in the area and relieved the siege. A 60,000 force army led by Khmelnytsky himself reasserted Cossack control over the castle in 1652. Just one year later, the castle was attacked yet again, this time by a 40,000 strong Crimean Tatar
Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars or Crimeans are a Turkic ethnic group that originally resided in Crimea. They speak the Crimean Tatar language...
horde.
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
force led by Sultan
Ottoman Dynasty
The Ottoman Dynasty ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1299 to 1922, beginning with Osman I , though the dynasty was not proclaimed until Orhan Bey declared himself sultan...
Mehmed IV
Mehmed IV
Mehmed IV Modern Turkish Mehmet was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1648 to 1687...
and a 40,000 combined force of Tatars and Cossacks led by Hetman Petro Doroshenko
Petro Doroshenko
Petro Dorofeyevych Doroshenko was a Cossack political and military leader, Hetman of Right-bank Ukraine and a Russian voyevoda.-Earlier life:...
laid siege to the castle. After conducting negotiations with their attackers, the city's leaders surrendered control of the fortress to the Ottomans on August 18. In a sign of protest, the fortress's Commandant Michał Wołodyjowski and Major Hejking blew up the castle's remaining gunpowder, killing themselves along with 800 defenders. For 27 years after the attack, the fortress served as the base of Ottoman rule in the Podolia
Podolia
The region of Podolia is an historical region in the west-central and south-west portions of present-day Ukraine, corresponding to Khmelnytskyi Oblast and Vinnytsia Oblast. Northern Transnistria, in Moldova, is also a part of Podolia...
. The 1699 Karlov Peace Treaty
Treaty of Karlowitz
The Treaty of Karlowitz was signed on 26 January 1699 in Sremski Karlovci , concluding the Austro-Ottoman War of 1683–1697 in which the Ottoman side had been defeated at the Battle of Zenta...
saw the return of Polish control over the area after the Ottoman Empire ceded its control in the area.
From a castle to a prison
From the beginning of the 18th century, the Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle had lost its defensive role, and was used more as a military prison than a military fortification. Numerous people were executed or held captive in the prison, including Cossack starshynas (officers), haidamakaHaidamaka
The haidamakas, also haidamaky or haidamaks , were paramilitary bands in 18th-century Ukraine. The haidamak movement was formed mostly of local Cossacks and peasantry , against the Polish nobility in right-bank Ukraine...
s, and even the three-year-old pretender to the Polish throne, Stanisław August Poniatowski.
After the Second Partition of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
of April 21, 1793, both the Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle and the city were transferred to the sovereignty of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. On the same day, the castle's commandant gave up the key to the castle and swore allegiance to the empire in the city's cathedral. One hundred and one artillery cannons later saluted the commandant's decision inside the castle. During the French invasion of Russia
French invasion of Russia
The French invasion of Russia of 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. It reduced the French and allied invasion forces to a tiny fraction of their initial strength and triggered a major shift in European politics as it dramatically weakened French hegemony in Europe...
of 1812, the Russian Imperial Army was stationed in the castle. In 1815, Konstantin Batyushkov
Konstantin Batyushkov
Konstantin Nikolayevich Batyushkov was a Russian poet, essayist and translator of the Romantic era.-Biography:The early years of Konstantin Batyushkov's life are difficult to reconstruct...
, who later became a well-known poet and writer, was stationed as an officer in the castle. In 1846, poet Vladimir Raevsky
Vladimir Raevsky
Vladimir Fedoseyevich Rayevsky was a Russian poet who participated in the Patriotic war of 1812.After the war, when living in Tiraspol, he became a leading member of the Southern Society of Decembrists. The world's only known statue of him is located in Tiraspol....
was stationed in the castle, during which time he established a pro-Decembrist
Decembrist revolt
The Decembrist revolt or the Decembrist uprising took place in Imperial Russia on 14 December , 1825. Russian army officers led about 3,000 soldiers in a protest against Nicholas I's assumption of the throne after his elder brother Constantine removed himself from the line of succession...
organization of progressively-minded army officers.
From 1816 until 1914, the fortress was converted from a military prison into a jail for debtors, criminals and political prisoners. In 1831, Russian lexicologist Vladimir Dal
Vladimir Dal
Vladimir Ivanovich Dal was one of the greatest Russian language lexicographers. He was a founding member of the Russian Geographical Society. He knew at least six languages including Turkic and is considered to be one of the early Turkologists...
worked in the castle, at the time writing a dictionary of the Russian language
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
. The castle was the center of the anti-feudalism movement
Russian serfdom
The origins of serfdom in Russia are traced to Kievan Rus in the 11th century. Legal documents of the epoch, such as Russkaya Pravda, distinguished several degrees of feudal dependency of peasants, the term for an unfree peasant in the Russian Empire, krepostnoi krestyanin , is translated as serf.-...
in the Podolia during the 19th century led by the Patriotic War of 1812
French invasion of Russia
The French invasion of Russia of 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. It reduced the French and allied invasion forces to a tiny fraction of their initial strength and triggered a major shift in European politics as it dramatically weakened French hegemony in Europe...
cavalry veteran Ustym Karmaliuk
Ustym Karmaliuk
Ustym Yakymovych Karmаliuk was a Ukrainian peasant outlaw who became a folk hero. He is often referred to as the "Ukrainian Robin Hood" and "the last Haydamak".-Early Age:...
(1787-1835), who is now regarded by Ukrainians as a national folk hero
Ukrainian folklore
Ukrainian folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in Ukraine and among ethnic Ukrainians. The earliest examples of folklore found in Ukraine is the layer of pan-slavic folklore that dates back to the ancient Slavic mythology of the Eastern Slavs. Gradually, Ukrainians developed a layer...
.
Museum and conservation
After a series of political changes following the 1905 revolution, political parties and organizations were made legal throughout the Russian EmpireRussian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. In 1906, a total of 67 political organizations were based in the castle. Among them was the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party , also known as Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party or Russian Social Democratic Party, was a revolutionary socialist Russian political party formed in 1898 in Minsk to unite the various revolutionary organizations into one party...
's newspaper "Iskra" (Spark). A decree issued by the Sovnarkom of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1928 declared the Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle complex a historical-cultural preserve. During the late 1930s, plans were made to turn the castle into a museum, and reconstruction work on the buildings was started in 1937. Among the museum attractions added was a scene depicting Karmaliuk in the castle's prison cell in the Pope's Tower, where he was kept during his imprisonment in the castle. Visitor numbers for the castle during the 1930s reached 300,000 a year.
In 1947, the Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle was placed on the all-Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
list of historic preserves. A memorial plaque and a bas-relief resembling Karmaliuk was erected near the Karmaliuk exposition on April 18, 1958. Restorational and archaeological works have been conducted in the castle since 1962 under the supervision of architects Y. Plamenytska and A. Tyupych.
On September 13, 1989, the Ukrainian SSR Government placed both the Kamianets-Podilskyi historic center and castle on the tentative list of UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
s. In August 21, 2007, the complex was declared one of the Seven Wonders of Ukraine
Seven Wonders of Ukraine
The Seven Wonders of Ukraine are the seven historical and cultural monuments of Ukraine, which were chosen in the Seven Wonders of Ukraine contest held in July, 2007...
when it came in 3rd place in a nation-wide competition. A severe storm on August 1, 2011 partially destroyed the New Western Tower; the city mayor's office didn't deny that the tower's structural integrity was weakend during its last reconstruction in 2007, paving the way for its collapse just four years later.
Architecture
The Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle rests on a limestone formation surrounded by the Smotrych RiverSmotrych River
The Smotrych River is a left tributary of the Dniester, flowing through the Podillia upland of western Ukraine. Its length is 169 km , and its drainage basin covers 1,800 km² . The average width of the river is 10-15 meters wide, and at one point exceeds 40 m. The historic city of...
canyon. Consequently, its foundations were built using limestone, as well as local and imported brick and stone. Indeed, the castle's name is attributed to the root kamin, from the Slavic
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
word for stone. The two main parts of the castle, the Old Castle and the New Castle , were built during different periods. The Old Castle defended the approach from Kamianets-Podilskyi's Old Town, and was constructed to protect against direct assaults from enemy soldiers. The New Castle was formed during the numerous later modernizations of the castle; its purpose was to provide protection from enemy field armies and was designed to support newer military inventions such as long range artillery cannons.
The twelve towers
An important and large fortification complex, the Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle had as many as 12 towers, some of which were added during later modernizations to the castle. Some of the towers were located on the peninsula on which the main castle sits; some of the other towers were located on the steep slopes across the Smotrych River. There also were other towers such as the Petty Southern Tower, a Dacia-Roman Tower, while another Dacia-Roman Tower stood just outside the eastern walls and a half tower is located at the western end of the Castle bridge. Of these towers, however, only a few remain unscathed today. Specifically, the 12 towers were the:- Pope's Tower (also known as Karmeliuk's Tower) was built sometime in the 15th and 16th centuries; an artillery arsenal, powder warehouse, treasury, and a mill were housed within the tower, interconnected with the extensive southern bastion;
- Kovpak Tower (also called the Szlachta Tower) an earlier tower originating between the 14th to 16th centuries, where the town's szlachtaSzlachtaThe szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
nobility were quartered; - TęczyńskaTeczynski familyTęczyński family was a powerful family of nobility in the Kingdom of Poland, during the times of the late Piast dynasty, the Jagiellon dynasty and in the early decades of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...
Tower, from the 14th to 16th centuries; - White Tower (also known as Laska Tower), constructed in the 15th century, which housed an additional artillery arsenal;
- Day Tower (also called the Dzienna Tower), a large tower with a second-floor artillery intersection to move guns into firing position as well as onto the New Western Tower. It also housed a small Lutheran chapel and a smaller "orlyk" (eaglet), or observation tower, at the top;
- New Western Tower (or the Great Tower), built in 1544 and which served as a bastion. The tower contained one of the castle's printing presses, and also provided an artillery platform to cover the vast fields surrounding it. It was damaged in a severe storm in 2011.
- Różanka Tower (also known as the Burgrabska or Kreslavska Tower), which was constructed in the 14th to 16th centuries, housed a prison in the tower's basement. It is one of three towers (Tenchynska and Lanckorońska) that were finished with specially designed conical vaultVault (architecture)A Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that require a counter resistance. When vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required...
to draw away the gases from the gunpowder stored there; - Water TowerWater towerA water tower or elevated water tower is a large elevated drinking water storage container constructed to hold a water supply at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system....
(also known as the Smotrytska Tower), one of the castle's later constructions dating to the 15th to 18th centuries used to be connected to the castle by the Field Gate, located some distance away from the main compound on the northern side. It contained a well which drew water from the adjacent Smotrych River, and a secret tunnel, whose existence was only known to the lcoal starostaStarostaStarost is a title for an official or unofficial position of leadership that has been used in various contexts through most of Slavic history. It can be translated as "elder"...
and scribeScribeA scribe is a person who writes books or documents by hand as a profession and helps the city keep track of its records. The profession, previously found in all literate cultures in some form, lost most of its importance and status with the advent of printing...
s; - Commandant's Tower, built in the 15th century;
- LanckorońskaLanckoronski familyLanckoroński is a surname of Polish nobility. The Lanckoroński family was based in Kraków and Sandomierz, and representatives of the family held power and influence in the Kingdom of Poland from the times of the late Piast dynasty to the end of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...
Tower (or the second Laska Tower), built in the 14th to 16th centuries; - Black Tower. Only the remains of this tower exist, dating back to the 15th to 16th centuries. It served as a magazineMagazine (artillery)Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...
and was blown up in a protest (see earlier history section); - New Eastern Tower, built in 1544.
Fortification walls
The walls of the Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle are divided into three sections or terraceTerrace
A terrace may refer to:*Terrace , a leveled surface*Terrace , a raised flat platform*Terrace , a step-like landform that borders a shoreline or river floodplain...
s; the northern, southern, and eastern.
The walls of the northern terrace (about 336 metres or 1,102.4 ft in length) defend the whole inner courtyard. The courtyard's northwestern walls form the Old Castle, ending between the Day and Rozhanka Towers. They are made up of two parallel walls, which include the Petty Western Tower, the remnants of the Black Tower, and a two-level casemate
Casemate
A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
, or fortified gun emplacement. The older of the two walls dates back to the beginning of the 12th century and is built with crenelations. Another casemate was located at the eastern walls. An entrance to the castle in the eastern walls is known as the New Castle Gate, and there were two more gates, one, in the northern walls, called the Old Castle Gate, and another, the Field Gate, connecting the Water Tower with the rest of the castle. The northern walls are reinforced with the Northern Bastion along their whole length. The bastion was built in 1790, just before the second partition of Poland
Second Partition of Poland
The 1793 Second Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was the second of three partitions that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition occurred in the aftermath of the War in Defense of the Constitution and the Targowica Confederation of 1792...
. There is also the New Castle that was designed as a hornwork
Hornwork
A hornwork is an element of the trace italienne system of fortification. It consists of a pair of demi-bastions with a curtain wall connecting them and with two long sides directed upon the faces of the bastions, or ravelins of the inner fortifications, so as to be defended by them.The hornwork...
and located west from the main castle complex.
Burial vault (tomb)
A burial vault is a structural underground tomb.It is a stone or brick-lined underground space or 'burial' chamber for the interment of a dead body or bodies. They were originally and are still often vaulted and usually have stone slab entrances...
of M. Potocki. Next to the Kovpak Tower stood an Eastern Orthodox church where Prince Koriatovych was buried. In the courtyard along the southern walls between Kovpak and Tenchynska Towers were a granary
Granary
A granary is a storehouse for threshed grain or animal feed. In ancient or primitive granaries, pottery is the most common use of storage in these buildings. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animals.-Early origins:From ancient times grain...
and cart shed
Carriage house
A carriage house, also called remise or coach house, is an outbuilding which was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and the related tack.In Great Britain the farm building was called a Cart Shed...
. Across from these, near the northern walls and Lanckorońska Tower, was the residence of the starosta
Starosta
Starost is a title for an official or unofficial position of leadership that has been used in various contexts through most of Slavic history. It can be translated as "elder"...
. Next to the Tenchynska Tower stood the "Rurmush" which served as a water storage tank for the castle. At the southern walls closer to the White Tower (between Tenchynska and White Towers) were a kitchen and a bakery. Adjacent to the White Tower at the southern walls between White and Day Towers stood the starosta's headquarters. Located against the western walls were the chelyadna, or serfs' quarters, which housed up to 70 serfs who served the castle. Located outside of the northern walls were the castle stable
Stable
A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals...
s, which could house up to 30 horses. In the 16th century the castle had a garrison of around 300 soldiers, who lived in the town.
The Kamianets-Podilskyi Industrial Vocational School has investigated the castle walls. They discovered an area of quick sand at the roadside next to the "Podzamche", or sub-castle, neighborhood of the city, which in the previous year had partially undermined the castle's supporting walls. The effects of the quick sand had uncovered the fortress's foundation walls, a little over 5 m (16.4 ft) deep. The foundation walls were built on the limestone that creates a canyon along the river valley. Further excavation work showed that the walls stretched to the west, as well from the Old Castle to the bastions of the new one. The support footings for the old castle bridge were also found in the ditch. From the south in the wall there is a 2.5 m (8.2 ft) wide and 5 m (16.4 ft) tall opening, through which the Vocational School assumed water flowed.
The preserved northwestern walls are now 13.7 m (44.9 ft) high measured from the outside of the castle and 5.7 m (18.7 ft) high from the courtyard. As a result of the numerous reconstructions, the walls' depth changed throughout the centuries, being 1.45 m (4.8 ft) deep in the Medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
period, 2.2 m (7.2 ft) during the 14th-15th centuries, and an average of 4 m (13.1 ft) after the reconstruction of the 16th-17th centuries. Conservation works have recently been conducted on the walls to preserve the old Rus' fragments.
Castle bridge
As a result of the castle's unique location on a peninsula, the castle bridge serves as the only transport link to the city's Old TownOld Town
Old Town is the typical designation of a historic or original core of a city or town. Although the city may be larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations...
neighborhood. It is considered to represent a considerable feat of medieval engineering. The bridge has a length of 88 m (288.7 ft). At the entrance to the bridge, its width is around 8.5 m (27.9 ft), while at the end, it narrows to 6.5 m (21.3 ft). The bridge's height is 27 m (88.6 ft) at the entrance, dropping to 17 m (55.8 ft) on the far side.
At the beginning of the 15th century, a large round gate tower was constructed at the castle end of the bridge; the bridge's height, including the tower, was equivalent to that of eight modern stories
Storey
A storey or story is any level part of a building that could be used by people...
. During the unsuccessful Polish siege of the city in 1687, the castle bridge was rebuilt and fortified by the Turks, acquiring the name "Turkish bridge" , which many locals still call it today. The bridge's stone façade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
was in poor repair from 1841 until the end of the 19th century. A subsequent lack of preservation work, together with earthquake damage in 1986, contributed to its poor condition. In 2000, the World Monuments Fund
World Monuments Fund
World Monuments Fund is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and training....
included the Kamianets-Podilskyi's castle bridge in the 2000 World Monuments Watch.
Legacy
Ottoman Dynasty
The Ottoman Dynasty ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1299 to 1922, beginning with Osman I , though the dynasty was not proclaimed until Orhan Bey declared himself sultan...
Osman II
Osman II
Sultan Osman II or Othman II was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1618 until his death on 20 May 1622...
came to Kamianets in 1621 to capture the city, he was allegedly impressed by its strength and fortifications and asked "Who built this great city?" . Someone then replied to him, "God himself." When Osman could not capture the castle, he then replied "Then let God himself take the city." Another local legend has it that Turkish gold
Sultani
The Sultani is an Ottoman gold coin. It was first minted during the reign of Mehmed II, weighing about 3.45 grams. The Sultani is the classic Ottoman gold coin also known as altın .-External links:**...
is buried in the Smotrych River and that a 20 km (12.4 mi) tunnel leads to the Khotyn Fortress
Khotyn Fortress
The Khotyn Fortress is a fortification complex located on the right bank of the Dniester River in Khotyn, Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine. It is situated on a territory of the historical northern Bessarabia region which was split in 1940 between Ukraine and Moldova...
from the Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle.
The events of the 1672 Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
siege were depicted in the 1888 historical novel
Historical novel
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
Fire in the Steppe
Fire in the Steppe
Fire in the Steppe is a historical novel by the Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz, published in 1888. It is the third volume in a series known to Poles as "the Trilogy," preceded by With Fire and Sword and The Deluge...
, written by Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Nobel Prize laureate
Nobel Prize in Literature
Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
Henryk Sienkiewicz
Henryk Sienkiewicz
Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz was a Polish journalist and Nobel Prize-winning novelist. A Polish szlachcic of the Oszyk coat of arms, he was one of the most popular Polish writers at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1905 for his...
. The castle has appeared on a commemorative coin of the "Ancient fortresses on the river Dniester
Dniester
The Dniester is a river in Eastern Europe. It runs through Ukraine and Moldova and separates most of Moldova's territory from the breakaway de facto state of Transnistria.-Names:...
" series issued by the Transnistrian Republican Bank
Transnistrian Republican Bank
The Transnistrian Republican Bank is the central bank of Transnistria. It issues its own currency, the Transnistrian ruble and also a series of memorable gold- and silver coins, among them The Outstanding People of Pridnestrovie....
of Transnistria
Transnistria
Transnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...
, a breakaway, internationally unrecognised republic within Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
.
See also
- List of castles in Ukraine
- List of historic reserves in Ukraine
- National Historical-Architectural Complex Kam'ianets on the Ukrainian WikipediaUkrainian WikipediaThe Ukrainian Wikipedia is the Ukrainian language edition of the Wikipedia encyclopedia. The first article was written on January 30, 2004. On October 1, 2005, it reached the 20,000-article mark and is currently the...