Smolensk Kremlin is a kremlin

Kremlin

A kremlin , same root as in kremen is a major fortified central complex found in historic Russian cities. This word is often used to refer to the best-known one, the Moscow Kremlin, or metonymically to the government that is based there...

 (a fortress) enclosing the center of the city of Smolensk

Smolensk

Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...

 in western part of Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. The partially preserved fortress wall was built between 1595 and 1602, durings the reign of Tsars Fyodor I Ioannovich

Feodor I of Russia

Fyodor I Ivanovich 1598) was the last Rurikid Tsar of Russia , son of Ivan IV and Anastasia Romanovna. In English he is sometimes called Feodor the Bellringer in consequence of his strong faith and inclination to travel the land and ring the bells at churches. However, in Russian the name...

 and Boris Godunov

Boris Godunov

Boris Fyodorovich Godunov was de facto regent of Russia from c. 1585 to 1598 and then the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. The end of his reign saw Russia descend into the Time of Troubles.-Early years:...

. The length of the walls is about 6.5 kilometres (4 mi), of which less than the half was preserved. The fortifications were built under supervision of the architect Fyodor Kon

Fyodor Kon

Fyodor Savelyevich Kon was a 16th century Russian military engineer and architect, the builder of Smolensk Kremlin and the Bely Gorod fortification ring of Moscow ....

. The Smolensk Kremlin is classified as an architectural monument protected at the federal level, and also has a great historical significance, in particular, as the fortress protecting the Russian state from the west over centuries.

History

Smolensk historically had a great significance for the defence, and this is why Russian rulers paid considerable attention for its fortifications. In the spring of 1554, Tsar Ivan the Terrible ordered to build a new tall wooden fortress. After the development of artillery

Artillery

Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...

, it became clear that a wooden fortress is no more suiteble for the defence, and in the end of the 16th century it was decided to build a new stone fortress at the place of the old one.

In December 1595, the preparations for the construction started after the official decree was issued. The construction works were very intense and were performed daily from sunrise to sunset. The construction workers, however, lived in harsh conditions, and revolted in 1599 because of hunger, cold, and diseases. In the summer of 1597 long and heavy rains flooded all the trenches and ditches, and the construction workers had to strengthen the landslide soil by piles. In 1600, because of the heat and heavy rains, a large amount of crops was lost in Russia, causing the famine.

The construction of the new fortress used the old existing fortifications, so that in some places the wall was built on top of them, and in certain areas the new fortress was extended beyond the limits set by the old one.
. The construction started from the western side of the fortress.

Towers and walls

Several sections of the wall survived, the eastern section with nine towers, the south-western section with five towers, and the northern section with three towers.

Main Gate Tower was Frolovskaya (Dnieper Tower), through which was the exit to the capital of the Russian state. The second most important was Molohovskaya tower, opens the way to Kiev

Kiev

Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....

, Krasny and Roslavl

Roslavl

Roslavl is a town and the administrative center of Roslavlsky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia. It is a road and rail junction and a market town. Population: It was founded in 1137 by the Smolensk prince Rostislav Mstislavitch, hence the name...

.

The surviving towers are

• Pyatnitskaya (Water Tower)
• Volkova
• Kostyrevskaya (Red Tower)
• Veselukha (Luchinskaya)
• Pozdnyakova (Rogovka)
• Oryol (Gorogetskaya)
• Avraamievskaya
• Zaaltarnaya (Belukha)
• Voronina
• Dolgochevskaya
• Zimbulka
• Nikolskaya
• Mokhovaya
• Donets
• Gromovaya
• Bubleika
• Kopytenskaya

External links

• Fortifications of Smolensk