One of the famous fortification monuments of Kerch is the Turkish fortress Yeni-Kale. Its name is translated from Turkish as "new fortress".
Instructions
Step 1
In 1701, on the western coast of the Kerch Strait, the Turks began building a new fortress in order to make it difficult for Russian ships to enter the Black Sea. A new fortress appeared on the unapproachable coast, right opposite the Chushka spit. It was an inconvenient place for passing ships: it was impossible to make a maneuver, as a result, the ship was, as it were, “exposed” to coastal artillery fire.
The construction was supervised by the Italian Goloppo, who converted to Islam. Several French engineers also took part in the construction. In 1703, the main work was completed. The fortress was built in a shape close to an irregular trapezoid. The fortress was surrounded by high battlements along the perimeter. On the land side, in front of the fortress walls, a deep ditch was dug, and on the side of the sea coast a platform was paved on piles along which the road passed. In total, three roads led to the fortress: one - from Kerch, along the sea; the second - from the northeast, from the berths of the Yeni-Kalsky Bay and the crossing from Taman; the third - from the side of Dzhankoy. Another entrance led from the sea. The gates were reinforced with towers and platforms for troops.
Step 2
The fortress occupied a large territory and had powerful walls. It was an imposing structure, built in three tiers, covered from land by an earthen rampart and a moat. Despite such protection, during the Russian-Turkish war in 1771, Russian troops captured the fortress, and in 1774, according to the Kuchuk-Kainardzhiyskiy treaty, Kerch and Yeni-Kale were transferred to Russia. After which the fortress lost its military significance. Since 1776, fairs began to be arranged near the walls of Yeni-Kale, to which merchants from the Crimea, Russia, and the Caucasus flocked.
In 1783, Catherine II signed the "Decree on the entry of the Crimean Khanate into the Russian Empire." Kerch and Yeni-Kale ended up in the depths of Russia. At the same time, the construction of the Alexandrovsky and Pavlovsky redoubts, reinforced by a small Pavlovsk fortress, began on Cape Ak-Burun, which closes the Kerch Strait from the south. Yeni-Kalskaya artillery fades into the background. After the formation of the Tauride region, a settlement called Kerch-Yeni-Kale receives the status of a city. Soon the city center finally moved to Kerch, and Yeni-Kale fell into decay. In 1825, the Yeni-Kale fortress was abolished, and a military hospital was located on its territory, and the city gradually turned into a small village. In 1855, the fortress took part in the wars for the last time - its battery fought a short battle with the Anglo-French landing in Kerch. But the forces were unequal and the Russians had to retreat.
Step 3
Today Yeni-Kale is one of the sights of the Crimea. The fortress was given the status of an architectural monument protected by the state. Despite the fact that in the second half of the 20th century, a number of restoration works were carried out in Yeni-Kala, almost the entire fortress is in ruins. The most preserved are the gates, fragments of the fortress walls and a semi-bastion from the coastal side. Directly through the territory of the fortress there is a single-track railway line connecting Kerch with the Kerch ferry crossing. Vibration generated by the movement of trains creates the threat of gradual destruction. A view of the port of Crimea opens from the territory of the fortress.
