Tower of Kamianiec
Encyclopedia
White Tower
-Geography and history:* White Tower of Thessaloniki, a monument and museum in Greece* White Tower of Tehran, Iran* White Tower of Tsarskoye Selo, landscape architecture element in Tsarskoye Selo, Russia...
, is the main landmark of the town of Kamianiec
Kamianiec
Kamyanyets is a town in the Brest Voblast of Belarus and the center of the Kamenets Raion. The town is located in the northwestern corner of Brest voblast on the Liasnaja river, about 40 km north of Brest. As of 2002, the population was about 9,000 people...
in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. Erected in 1271–1289 by the architect Oleksa as a frontier stronghold
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
on the northern border of the principality of Volhynia
Volhynia
Volhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...
, it is the only such tower remaining to this day in the area. The name Bielaja Vieža (alternative transliteration: Belaya Vezha), which literally means White Tower or White Fortress in Belarusian
Belarusian language
The Belarusian language , sometimes referred to as White Russian or White Ruthenian, is the language of the Belarusian people...
, presumably derives from the tower's proximity to the Belavezhskaya Pushcha Forest, but not from its color, which has been brick-red through the ages, never white.
Standing atop a gentle rise overlooking the Liasnaja river, the tower is the main landmark of Kamianiec
Kamianiec
Kamyanyets is a town in the Brest Voblast of Belarus and the center of the Kamenets Raion. The town is located in the northwestern corner of Brest voblast on the Liasnaja river, about 40 km north of Brest. As of 2002, the population was about 9,000 people...
today. The first record in the chronicles about the foundation of the tower dates from 1276. It was erected in the 1270s. Today it is a national historic site. Since 1960 the tower houses a branch of the Brest regional museum
Brest Voblast
Brest Voblast or Brest Oblast is a province of Belarus with its administrative center being Brest.Important cities within the voblast' include: Baranovichi, Brest, and Pinsk.-Geography:...
.
Once similar towers were built in Brest
Brest, Belarus
Brest , formerly also Brest-on-the-Bug and Brest-Litovsk , is a city in Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the city of Terespol, where the Bug River and Mukhavets rivers meet...
(Bierascie), Hrodna
Hrodna
Grodno or Hrodna , is a city in Belarus. It is located on the Neman River , close to the borders of Poland and Lithuania . It has 327,540 inhabitants...
, Turaŭ
Turau
Turaŭ or Turaw is a town in the Zhytkavichy Raion of Homiel Province of Belarus and the former capital of the medieval Principality of Turov and Pinsk.-History:...
, Navahradak
Navahradak
-Early history:First mentioned in the Sophian First Chronicle and Fourth Novgorod Chronicle in 1044 in relation to a war of Yaroslav I the Wise against Lithuanian tribes. It was also mentioned in the Hypatian Codex under 1252 as Novogorodok -Early history:First mentioned in the Sophian First...
, but they were destroyed in the course of wars. The tower of Kamianiec is the only one that survived in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
until the present.
Foundation
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
with a keep
Keep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...
on the northern border of Volhynia
Volhynia
Volhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...
principality was found by Oleksa. Vladimir Vasilkovich
Vladimir Vasilkovich
Vladimir Vasilkovich was a son of Vasilko Romanovich, prince of Volhynia, now part of Ukraine. He succeeded his father when the latter died in 1269, and was famous for numerous construction and reconstructions of town fortifications in Volhynia....
, the prince of Volhynia
Volhynia
Volhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...
, liked the place and ordered Oleksa to build the castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
.
Layout
The castle was built as an enclosed community. Like many European castles, it had a great round towerTower
A tower is a tall structure, usually taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires....
, on the raised mound
Mound
A mound is a general term for an artificial heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. The most common use is in reference to natural earthen formation such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. The term may also be applied to any rounded area of topographically...
(motte
Motte-and-bailey
A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle, with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade...
), enclosed by a moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
and the river on the northern side, and an adjoining enclosure (bailey
Ward (fortification)
In fortifications, a bailey or ward refers to a courtyard enclosed by a curtain wall. In particular, an early type of European castle was known as a Motte-and-bailey. Castles can have more than one ward. Their layout depends both on the local topography and the level of fortification technology...
), that was completely destroyed in 1903. This type of the motte-and-bailey
Motte-and-bailey
A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle, with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade...
castle appeared in the 10th and 11th centuries between the Rhine and Loire
Loire
Loire is an administrative department in the east-central part of France occupying the River Loire's upper reaches.-History:Loire was created in 1793 when after just 3½ years the young Rhône-et-Loire department was split into two. This was a response to counter-Revolutionary activities in Lyon...
rivers and eventually spread to most of western Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and even to the area of the present Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. The red-brick tower with service and residential rooms on 5 levels inside was actually a donjon or a keep
Keep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...
, that was quite common in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
till the 16th century. It is 30 metres (98.4 ft) high, the redbrick walls are about 2.5 m (8.2 ft) thick, with a pitched roof
Roof
A roof is the covering on the uppermost part of a building. A roof protects the building and its contents from the effects of weather. Structures that require roofs range from a letter box to a cathedral or stadium, dwellings being the most numerous....
at the top.
Brickwork
Unlike the narrow loopholes on lower levels, the pointed big lancet windows and niches
Niche (architecture)
A niche in classical architecture is an exedra or an apse that has been reduced in size, retaining the half-dome heading usual for an apse. Nero's Domus Aurea was the first semi-private dwelling that possessed rooms that were given richly varied floor plans, shaped with niches and exedras;...
on the upper floor are an excellent example of early Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. The openings of the windows and niches were plastered and whitewashed. The windows were designed to permit the entry of light into the apartments, where the nobility used to live during sieges. Glass windows was another contribution to Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
. It is apparent that the residents were eager to make themselves at home in the keep
Keep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...
. The upper part of the tower was furnished with battlement
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
s and a pattern of surface modeling of the brickwork
Brickwork
Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar to build up brick structures such as walls. Brickwork is also used to finish corners, door, and window openings, etc...
, several nice ring dog tooth courses running below the battlement
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
s.
The brickwork features a peculiar Baltic bond: a course consists of 2 stretchers and 1 header.
Some bricks on the exterior were damaged or dismantled by the local peasants, the brickwork was repaired in 1903 while the archeological excavations were going on around the tower. 10,000 bricks were used for the work.
Architect
Oleksa lived in the 13th century. He was a prominent builder and architect in Volyn principality. His talent was highly appreciated by Vladimir VasilkovichVladimir Vasilkovich
Vladimir Vasilkovich was a son of Vasilko Romanovich, prince of Volhynia, now part of Ukraine. He succeeded his father when the latter died in 1269, and was famous for numerous construction and reconstructions of town fortifications in Volhynia....
, the prince of Volyn, who ordered him to construct castles with keep
Keep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...
s in Brest
Brest, Belarus
Brest , formerly also Brest-on-the-Bug and Brest-Litovsk , is a city in Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the city of Terespol, where the Bug River and Mukhavets rivers meet...
and Kamyanets
Kamyanets
Kamyanets may refer to:* Kamyanyets, Belarus* Kamianets-Podilskyi, Ukraine* Khmelnytskyi Oblast, a province in western Ukraine also known as Kamianets-Podilskyi Oblast* Kamenets, Bulgaria...
.