Poltava fortress
The Poltava Fortress (Ukrainian Полтавська фортеця / Poltawska fortezja ) was a wooden Cossack fortification in Poltava in the 17th century, at that time already part of the Russian tsarist . It was built from 1608 onwards. The last remains of the ruins were removed in 1817.
In 1709, the fortress came into focus during the Great Northern War when it was besieged by a Swedish army in the run-up to the Battle of Poltava .
history
Poltava was at that time one of the most important settlements along the Vorskla and the trading center of the Cossacks. In 1608 the Polish hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski had the fortress built. In 1640 the fortress was expanded for the first time by Hetman Stanislaw Koniecpolski .
The Poltava fortress is located on the right bank of the Vorskla and was first mentioned in a plan (see picture) by the French military engineer Guillaume le Vasseur de Beauplan , who built fortifications in Ukraine between 1630 and 1647.
In 1649 Poltava became the administrative center of the newly established Ukrainian Cossack regiment , the first of which was Colonel Martin Pushkar . This fortress played an important role in the system of defensive fortifications against the Crimean Tatars and other invaders. She stood on the raised right bank of the Worskla . Except for the north-western side, the fortress was surrounded by steep slopes. This was then followed by a heavily swamped valley.
After the signing of the Treaty of Pereyaslav , the fortress was partially renovated in 1658. The fortress was expanded in the run-up to the Battle of Poltava. It now consisted of two parts, divided by the Masurov Gorge. The earth walls were reinforced by palisades . Ten defense towers were built on the outer palisade fence and another five towers were built to defend the fortress gates. At the end of 1708, Colonel Alexej Kelin was appointed in command of the fortress. The fortress garrison at the time consisted of 4,182 men and became a depot for the Russian army in the war against Sweden.
At the end of April 1709, the Swedish army advanced under the leadership of Charles XII. on Poltava. The Swedish efforts in the siege of Poltava were limited to the construction of trenches which were opened on May 10th and the installation of explosive charges. The defenders of the fortress have repeatedly defused the charges by failures . After the Battle of Poltava, the Swedes broke off the siege. The remnants of the Swedish army withdrew south to the Dnieper River and were captured there.
The last time the fortress was renewed in the late 1720s. After another war with the Ottoman Empire , which ended in 1774, the border of the Russian Empire shifted further south. As a result, the fortress lost its strategic function. Its last remains were removed in 1817 in the course of preparations for the visit of Emperor Alexander I to Poltava.
Web links
- http://poltavahistory.inf.ua/history7_u.html (Ukrainian)
- http://www.battle.poltava.ua/german/festung-poltawa.htm
literature
- Knut Lundblad: History of Charles the Twelfth, King of Sweden . F. Perthes, 1840
Coordinates: 49 ° 34 ′ 55 ″ N , 34 ° 33 ′ 5 ″ E