Smolensk Fortress Wall

Smolensk fortress wall - History, architecture, heritage

The history of the Smolensk Fortress Wall is very unusual, unique, and not predictable. It is our Smolensk fortress wall - has a numerous number of names, both national and imperial - it was called the "necklace of Russia" by Boris Godunov himself, Empress Catherine II herself called it the "Crown of the Russian Empire", people call it "the Great". It ranks third in the world in length.

The Smolensk Fortress Wall - its length during construction, was 6.5 km, at the moment only a small part of the Smolensk Fortress Wall, 3.5 km long, the largest and longest section, is 1.5 km - you see it now in the photo, has survived. The thickness of the walls is 6 m - someone found it 6.5 m. - but there is another thing, they say that even three horses could race along the Smolensk fortress wall.

The height of the walls was different, although sources say 10-12 m. Can you tell me why? The answer is simple, look at how the fortress wall is placed - it is on hills and hills of different sizes, most likely the height of the walls was from 12 m to 15 m. By the way, our opinion, confirmed by Professor Andriyanov V.A. in 2015 at the conference in Smolensk and was dedicated to the Smolensk fortress wall.

The main builder of the fortress wall is Fedor Savelyevich Kony - the architect of Boris Godunov himself, by whose decree they began to build the fortress wall in 1595. At that time it was the main building of the country. Bricks were brought from all over Russia for the construction of the fortress, although it was enough, it was in Smolensk that more than 4,000 stonemasons and handymen from all over Russia worked (this is what Murzakevich, the first historian of Smolensk, says).

Smolensk Fortress Wall - survived, numerous sieges - there were 4. The first was one of the greatest and most significant for the city, it began in 1609, when the army of King Sigismund III of the Commonwealth approached the city - it numbered 43,000 soldiers, well armed according to the latest word of those times. The army consisted of a variety of peoples - not only Poles, but also Zaporozhye Cossacks, Germans, Swedes, British and French.

While the Russian army - Smolenskaya, commanded by the voivode Shein, numbered no more than 4000 people. For a while, they also took up arms and they were women and children. That's how Smolensk loved their city.

In July 1611, after a traitor told him where to put the bomb, the Fortress Wall broke and the city was taken by Poland for 43 years. After breaking the Fortress Wall, many events happened in the Fortress Wall itself - this is the Raznitskaya massacre on the streets of Smolensk, which was committed by the Cossacks. The explosion of Monomakhov Cathedral (built in 1101) now stands on this site the Assumption Cathedral of Smolensk.

Only in 1667, after the signing of the Armistice of Andrusov (this place we show the same), our great city-shield again returned to the Russian state this time for always.

The Smolensk Fortress Wall failed to resist for the second time, but did not surrender while the French army under the command of Napoleon approached the Smolensk Gate. Napoleon was able to enter only after the nuclei of fire on the second day of the siege burned Smolensk. After the French entered the city, they ruined everything they could, everything that they did not burn - they burned, but they did not touch the Assumption Cathedral and the Fortress Wall, but at the same time on the way back, when they walked back through Smolensk and the Emperor Napoleon himself - ordered to blow up the Fortress Wall (in fury he was! from the failure of the Russian company in 1812), but thanks to the Jaeger regiments, they were able to save more towers - we see them now.

During the Second World War, the wall again experienced pain and suffering. It takes a long time to talk about. I will say one thing, the Germans could not take the fortress at once, but they took most of it. In the Fortress operated underground camps of Smolensk during the occupation and much more. After the Second World War - namely, the brick of the Smolensk fortress wall - became the main building material of the city. About 17 buildings were built, about 1 km of walls were dismantled. People lived in the Fortress Wall until 1953 because the city was largely completely destroyed by the war.

Now we see that the fortress has already been restored to some extent.