The beginning of Kyiv fortification reached the times of Trypilska culture (V-III thousand years B.C.), which was confirmed by archeological investigations. In Kievan Rus times Kyiv had three fortresses — Old Kyiv, Podol and Kyiv-Pechersk.
Old Kyiv fortress obtained the maximum power in the XI century during the rein of Yaroslav the Wise. Its total area was 0,7 km². At the beginning of the XIX century it was abolished because Kyiv-Pechersk fortress became the main one. Podol fortress with a trade and commercial town was the thick wooden fortifications with the total area of 2 km². It was abolished after the destructive conflagration in Podol in 1811.
Kyiv-Pechersk fortress became the only fortress of Kyiv from the beginning of the XIX century. Its construction began in the XI century from the palisade around the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Kyivans replaced the palisade by a powerful stone wall destroyed by Baty-khan in 1240. The main Gates — Troytska church (XI c.) still stand there. Cossack troops under the directions of Ivan Samoylovych erected the rectangular wooden earthwork around the Lavra in 1679. At the same time Samoylovych united all three fortresses: Old Kyiv, Podol and Kyiv-Pechersk forti¬fied by the bank retrenchment passing through Pechersk to the Golden Gates. Along with the bank there was slit a street which name remained till nowadays — Prorizna (Slit) street. Thus, the total area of the fortress was made up about 10km².
At the beginning of the XVIII century a new system of fortifications was widely spread throughout the Europe. At this period Pechersk citadel was built by hetman Ivan Mazepa's Cossacks and Russian militaries in Kyiv grounded by Peter I on 15 August 1706 by the project of the French engineer Sebastian Voban. During the XVIII century improvement works on Kyiv fortifications proceeded. In 1812, on the Eve of the war with Napoleon, Zvirynetske earthwork was erected by a military engineer Karl Opperman's design in Kyiv. A plan for Kyiv fortress enlargement was adopted in 1830. This plan provided the construction of two separate Vasylkivske and Hospitalne fortifications.
In the closing stages of Kyiv fortress construction there was built the largest in the world Lysohirsky fort in 1875 with total area of nearly 1, 2 km², which closed the approaches to Kyiv from the South and remained intact to our time.
In the XIX century after a numerous constructions Kyiv fortress consisted of Citadel, Vasylkivske and Hospitalne fortification complexes and a number of separate installations enclosed with a defensive wall and banks, separate casernes and towers, which encircled the central part of Pechersk district. The total area of the main territory was around 10 km². Furthermore there existed separate Zvirynetske fortification (Hryshko Central botanical garden) and Lysohirsky fort; Mikhin's bastions in Podol, bridgehead fortification on the left bank of the Dnieper for covering the bridge over the river (the present territory of «Dnipro» metro station). It's necessary to accentuate on the interesting peculiarity of Kyiv — Pechersk fortress — it had three rope-ways so called "the flying cradles" for transportation the building materials, ammunitions and troops.
Especial stage in the development of Kyiv long-term fortifications related to the history of construction of Kyiv fortification district during the times of the Second World War.
In 1995 the revival of Kyiv fortress was begun by museum officers with the help of Ministry of Defense of the Ukraine and Kyiv military garrison. |
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