Khotinskaya Fortress: description, history, legends

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

The history book of the ancient Ukrainian city of Khotyn records numerous battles and fierce battles, great uprisings and glorious victories. Fortress Khotynskaya has always been a tasty morsel for many conquerors. Its advantageous geographic location at the crossroads of important trading routes made it such a desirable prey. The Turkish sultans, Polish and Moldavian rulers wanted to conquer the Khotyn fortress. At one time it was the most powerful building in all of Eastern Europe. Today, the fortress in the city of Khotyn is recognized as one of the seven wonders of Ukraine. It is definitely worth a visit for those who love adventure, ancient relics and ancient legends.

Legends of origin

The origin of the word "Khotin" has many different options. Some legends say that everyone who came here wanted to stay and live in this unique fortress.

The Khotyn fortress, the photo of which is presented below, is truly mesmerizing.

However, there is another legend. It tells about a guy and a girl who lived in ancient times on these lands. They wanted to get married. Bride's namewas Ting, and the groom was Ho. But the girl's parents were against this union. The lovers built a boat and sailed down the Dniester, carried away by the current to unknown lands. Where she landed, there she would live.

The boat nailed to this very place, where the ancient city and its majestic fortress now stand. Ho and Ting began to live here. They had enough of everything, and nature pleased them with its beauty.

Lovers have children. They grew up and got married or got married. So the city gradually grew here, named after its founders Ho-Tin. However, these are only legends. There is also historical information about the origin of the fortress.

Origin of Khotin

The history of the Khotyn fortress is diverse and permeated with the spirit of heroism. According to researchers, the first settlements on the territory where the fortress is now located appeared in the 8th-9th century. That the Khotyn Fortress is a really great place to live, you can see by looking at the photo below.

This place is great in every way. Thanks to a convenient approach to the water, a crossing over the Dniester River was carried out here. This led to the emergence at this place of one of the most important trade routes for many people. To defend this crossing, a fortress was built. It was created in the 12th century and was built of wood at that time.

In 1199, Khotyn became part of the Galicia-Volyn principality. Almost at the same time (in 1219), the Mongol-Tatar hordes began to raid these lands. In this situation, the brave princeDanila Galitsky decided to seriously strengthen his fortresses. Wooden buildings were replaced with stone ones.

Khotinskaya Fortress experienced the same reconstruction. A high seven-meter wall was built around it, a deep ditch was dug. The fortress was rebuilt in the fifties of the 13th century. In size, it was somewhat inferior to the modern structure, but it performed its defensive role perfectly. The first church of this majestic fortification was also built here.

History of the fortress

The Khotyn fortress, the photos of which are located in the review, today keeps traces of many centuries that have passed through its stone walls.

In the second half of the 14th century, the lands of Khotyn were given under the jurisdiction of the Moldavian Principality. From the end of the same century, settlements of Moldovans began to appear here, and from the 15th century, Armenians. In 1408, the Moldavian voivode Alexander Dobry decided to take a fee of 2 pennies “for horses” on the road to Khotyn.

The first sieges began in the fortress in the 30s of the 15th century by the Polish feudal lords. In 1450-1455 there was a Polish garrison here. In order not to become dependent on the Ottoman Turks, Governor Stephen III the Great radically changed the look and layout of the fortress in Khotyn.

The area was expanded, the level of the yard was raised, and towers about 40 m high were built. Loopholes were arranged in thick walls (5 m). There is a legend that during the construction of these walls a young girl was immured alive in them - as a sacrifice to the gods. This is how the locals explainedthe appearance of wet spots on the walls. In fact, the latter appeared on the site of an old, filled-in ditch.

In the courtyard at the same time, two palaces with deep cellars were built. They were connected by gates. A passage to the chapel was created from the eastern palace. This type of structure will not change for 6 centuries.

Fortress plan

Khotin fortress, the plan of which should be considered more closely, is a really well-planned defensive center. There are a number of different towers here. These include Over the Gate, South-Western, Commandant, Northern, Eastern towers. The territory now houses the Prince's (Commandant's) Palace. Barracks were built here in the 18th century.

In ancient times, a church was erected here and a deep well was dug. One of the mysteries of the walls of the fortress is a dark wet spot that does not dry out either in the heat or in the cold.

You can get inside the castle via a suspension bridge. In ancient times it went up and down. There is also a bridge on the other side of the gate. He had one important secret in him. If the enemies nevertheless broke through the gate, they fell on a wooden platform. The action of the hidden mechanism set it in motion, and the enemies simply fell down. A deep hole was dug there, in which sharp stakes stuck out. Now such a terrible mechanism that the Khotyn fortress had, for obvious reasons, is absent, but you can still see the depth of the enemy’s fall.

When you enter the courtyard, you can see a long building on the right. Here were locatedbarracks. Behind them is a church. And even further is the palace of the prince. These two buildings have stood here since the time of Stephen the Great. At the same time, a well was dug in the rock near the palace. It is now located in the center of the courtyard.

Well

According to the description, the well, located on the territory of the Khotyn fortress, has a depth of 68 meters. Its width reaches 2.5 m. It is hollowed out in the rock, and until now the water raised from its depths is drinkable. This is not all the information that can be found about the well in the Khotyn fortress.

For many centuries, this object has never ceased to fascinate people with its power. Many legends are connected with it, which the Khotyn fortress itself generates in the minds. Legends say that at the time of the first capture of this impregnable building by the Turks, a healer lived here. He had a daughter - the beautiful Katerina. The Turkish pasha, who then lived in the castle, fell ill only son. And no one could heal him. In obedience to his duty, the doctor brought the royal offspring back to life. But while the pasha's son was in the healer's house, he fell in love with Katerina. And so she sunk into his soul that the prince did not dare to marry the girl by force, he wanted her to come to him.

Having learned that the Turkish pasha forced the girl to marry his son, otherwise her father was threatened with death. A year later, Katerina gave birth to a son. He had blond hair and blue eyes. Pasha could not get enough of his grandson and gave him a golden cradle.

The medicine man all this time did not find a place for himself fromgrief, everyone wanted to rescue the only daughter from the shameful captivity. And then one day he found a way. Having collected a certain set of herbs, he brewed a potion. He was able to deliver it to the palace.

The potion was supposed to turn Katerina and her son into water. So they could escape from the palace. Katerina drank the potion and gave it to her baby to drink. Then she threw the golden cradle into the well. So they were able to seep in tiny drops through the walls of the fortress. Their father was waiting for them. But he could not disenchant the fugitives, as the cradle was bewitched by an even stronger spell.

Some locals claim that the wet spot on the wall is Katrusya, who is waiting to be disenchanted with her son. This will only happen when someone gets the golden cradle from the bottom of the well. They say that on a moonlit night you can see how it gleams in the water. But no one has yet fallen into the hands.

Building features

The area where the Khotyn fortress is located is rocky. It is hard to imagine what a colossal work the ancient builders did to build such a structure.

It was erected by the peasants of nearby villages. To get to the top, where the Khotyn fortress was located, they had to drag stone, water and lime up on themselves. In those days, a decree was issued on the collection of dues in the form of eggs and milk. These products were added to the solution to give strength to the building. Thanks to such a miraculous solution, the walls of the fortress have stood up to this day without significant damage. Some historians claimthat during the time of the Turkish administration of the fortress, nursing mothers were forced to bring them breast milk, which was also added to the solution when restoring the destroyed walls after the siege.

Khotin fortress, information about which is provided to tourists and guests, has a system of underground tunnels. They connect all the buildings in the fortress. Under the ground, the inhabitants stored provisions, stockpiled weapons. There was also a prison here. Rebels who refused to carry heavy stones up the mountain every day were imprisoned in the dungeon. In 1491, there was even a peasant uprising, led by Andrei Borulya. The protest was quickly suppressed, and the main instigator and his comrades languished in the dungeons of this fortress for a long time. Andrei Borula was beheaded in the main square. His associates were thrown from the North Tower. It was the tallest building in the area.

Usually, the prisoners in the dungeons were thrown down from the East Tower. Therefore, it was also called the Death Tower. The executed fell on the Dniester rocks below. It was considered a bad sign if blood was shed in peacetime on the territory of the fortress. It foretold a bloody battle.

Prince's Palace

The Prince's Palace was also built in the 15th century. Later he was given the name of the Commandant's Palace. This is one of the most beautiful buildings that the Khotyn fortress has on its territory. Describing it can take a long time. But the most interesting detail on the façade is the beautiful pattern of red brick and white stone. Located in front of the palacewooden summer banquet hall.

During the time of the Turkish occupation of the fortress, the Pasha's harem was located on the second floor of the palace. At that time there were about 30 women in it, who were the wives of the ruler. According to legend, the sister of Sophia Pototskaya, who was famous for her beauty, was also here. They say the sisters even met repeatedly

Pasha loved his wives and pleased them in every possible way. For them, on his orders, baths were built near the fortress walls, and there was even a pool.

Plumbing system

In the distant 15th century, the inhabitants of the fortress had a water supply and sewerage system. This is a rather unusual situation for that time. Water was supplied directly from the river.

Conveniences were used not only by the pans, but also by ordinary residents. The Khotyn fortress had toilets in which water was supplied for the highest ranks, and ordinary people were content with a sewerage system that flowed down the walls of the fortress.

The White Tower of the Tower Palace had the same sewage disposal system. This is a fairly acceptable principle for a sewerage device for that time. High above the wall, nothing is visible, because the withdrawal is made from the outside. Rain and snow washed away everything.

Even swimming pools worked for high-ranking persons. The comfort of using the water supply, despite the fact that the yard was in the 15th century, is hard to overestimate. Fortress Khotynskaya this compared favorably with many European castles.

Notable events

Many significant events took place under the walls of this fortress. In 1621, a battle took place here between the Ukrainian-Polish army andTurks. Thus, the advance of the Ottoman Empire to the west was stopped. This historically important battle saved Europe from Turkish domination. She was observed by the Khotyn fortress. How to get to this significant place will be discussed later.

Thanks to courage and ingenuity, the Cossacks, led by Hetman Petro Sahaidachny, won this battle.

In 1673 the Battle of Khotyn took place. Hetman Jan Sobieski defeated the Turkish army. Many historically important events took place in these lands.

In the 18th century, the Russian Empire took Khotyn 4 times. Lomonosov wrote "Ode on the Capture of Khotin", dedicated to one of these battles.

How to get to the fortress

To get to the Khotyn fortress, you need to come from Kyiv to Kamenetz-Podolsk by train.

From the bus station number 1 in Khmelnitsk, there is also a bus. If you plan to travel by your own car, then the M20 highway will lead to the traveler's destination. From Kamenetz-Podolsk, you should move south. You will have to drive only 27 km. You should take into account the time at which visitors are allowed into the Khotyn fortress. Otherwise, after driving many kilometers, you will have to look for accommodation for the night, and the trip will need to be extended.

The working hours of the Khotyn fortress starts at 9 am and ends at 6 pm. Entrance to the territory costs about 30 rubles, and if you want to take pictures or film the beauty of the ancient building on video, you will need to pay another 20-30 rubles.

The Khotyn Fortress will undoubtedly leave a sea of unforgettableimpressions. The magical beauty of nature, combined with the secrets and legends that the walls of this building keep, all this will not leave any guest indifferent.