Castle in Kamenetz-Podolsk

 Kamenetz-Podolsk - it's actually an open air museum, is one of the oldest cities in Ukraine, numbering nearly thousand-year history. It was founded as a fortress, which has an important geopolitical position at the border of the Christian and Muslim cultures, the intersection of land and water routes. Located in the Khmelnitsky region, Ukraine, and is the administrative center of Kamenetz-Podolsk district.
Most major cities is a fortress, which consists of two parts - the Old and New Castles. The old castle was provided for the protection and maintenance of close combat. New - designed and built according to the new requirements when the bout was conducted has long-range guns, guns, guns. Trees and high walls of the Old Castle to protect all who were in the courtyard of the fortress from enemy arrows and spears, and the system of cellars with their food supplies and a deep well was provided in case of a long and exhausting siege. New Castle is larger in size, with curtains, a system of passages and casemates, polubastionami, ditches provided an opportunity to fight an artillery weapon, as well as the numerical presence of military garrisons.

Old Castle is a polygon elongated, surrounded by high walls with towers at each corner. To the right of the east gate is single storey pentahedral Black Tower with a well depth of 36 meters and a diameter of 6 meters. Next comes a circle 10 towers - Lyantskoronskaya, Commandant, Rozhanka, Water, New, dennaya, Lascaux, Tenchinskaya, cap and left of the east gate - Papal or Karmelyukova. This is the last name of the tower was in the XIX century. When it was planted Ustimov Karmelyuk - Ukrainian hero of Podolia. The castle was envisaged as a series of cellars to store weapons, gunpowder, foodstuffs and military barracks.

Fortress, Kamenetz-Podolsk, built of limestone rock, lying on a limestone mortar. In the fortress there are also built with brick fragments. Brick was used and the local production and imported, conventional masonry inherent in the art of construction of a historical art. Naturally also the fact that the owners of the fortress construction was carried out on your own. Thus, for example, the Turks were building gunpowder stores, mosques, minarets, the Russians - the military barracks, and basements.
The power of the fortifications Kamenetsky impressed not only travelers, but also enemies. For all its long history, the fortress city of Kamenets-Podolski managed to storm the enemies only twice: in 1393 the Lithuanian Grand Duke Vytautas in 1672 - the Turks.
In addition to the towers and walls, Kamenetz-Podolsk castle is also a complex system of gateways through which the defenders of the city to raise and lower the level of its rivers, thus making their impregnable fortress of truth. Thus, in the 16th century fortress, Kamenetz-Podolsk, is a construction of 11 towers, connected together by stone ramparts in a unique protective structure.
So far, it is not known when there was Kamenetz-Podolsk. Some historians believe that the city was built at the beginning of our era Dacians during the Roman Dacian Wars. It was called then Petridavoyu (from the Greek "petra" - a rock and Dacian "dava" - city). Over time, the city of Kamenetz-Podolsk grew lock. This is a unique defense structure being constructed in the XI-XVII century on a rocky promontory near the narrow neck through which the road led to the city center. First, the fortress was a typical old Russian wooden fortifications. The walls and towers were mostly wooden and stone only partially. In the XV century. Podolia was captured by the Polish gentry, power, and Kamenetz-Podolsk became the center of the province, an important point of the defense of the Commonwealth. In the middle of the XVI century. wood strengthen the fort under the supervision of Job Pretvicha were replaced by stone.

In the first quarter of the 17th century, when the Kamenetz-Podolsk was a member of the Commonwealth, Old Castle, complemented by a complex of buildings of New Castle. These additions have been caused by extensive use of firearms and artillery weapons. Poland was interested in creating such an outpost on its south-eastern borders, which could get in the way the Turks and Tatars. In the years 1672-1699 Fortress, Kamenetz-Podolsk, came under the jurisdiction of the Ottoman Empire, but the Turks support the status of the fortress. They have built up all the shattered towers and walls, brought new buildings. In 1793 the fortress, as a city, passes under the authority of the Russian Empire. Castle, Kamenetz-Podolsk, in this period the Russians are using as a military prison, and the fortress lost its military and defense implications.
With the lock Kamenetskii happened many historical adventure, its walls equally well remembered and Peter I, who praised the fortifications, and Ustimov Karmelyuk, imprisoned in one of the towers. In 1928 the fortress became a republican sanctuary, and in 1937 it was organized by the Museum, which is now included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Reserve "Kamenetz" on which the fortress, has a territory of 121 hectares!