Veliky Novgorod Kremlin or Detinets ("little child"
in Russian) was constructed in the 11th century during reign of
Prince Vladimir Yaroslavich, son of Yaroslav the Wise. He also
ordered construction of the Holy Sophia Cathedral, the main church
in the city. It was erected in 1045- 52. According to local legends
the site for the new church was chosen by bishop of Novgorod, Ioakim
Korsunianin. Judging by his last name he was ethnically Byzantine
Greek who came from Korsun or
Chersonesus in Crimean
Peninsula (modern day Ukraine).
First military
fortifications of Novgorod consisted of a ditch, earthen embankments
with wooden palisade on top. In the early 14th century parts of
defensive towers and walls of Detinets were re- built in stone.
Archbishop Vasily Kalika (1330- 52) further increased walls of the
city between 1331 and 1335. Part of stone defensive wall collapsed
into Volkhov River in 1437 and had to be hastily reconstructed by
Archbishop Evfimy II (1429- 58). However new stone walls didn't
protect Novgorod Republic from attack of the Moscow Principality in
1478. Moscow troops under leadership of Grand Prince Ivan III
captured the city and put an end to the first democratic experiment
in a Russian history. Muscovite engineers reconstructed city walls
between 1484 and 1490.
Novgorod Kremlin has an oval shape
with a total perimeter of 1487 meters. Its length is measured 545
meters and 240 meters wide. Originally there were 12 towers. Today
only 9 survives. The tallest tower is Kokui Tower that was
constructed in the eighteenth century. It is easily recognizable by
a silver dome that covers it. It was added after German aviation
bomb destroyed the upper level of the structure. Some believe the
name of the Kokui tower is Baltic or German in origin and can
roughly translated as Looking Tower. During World War II German did
just that. They used Kokui Tower to keep an eye for partisan
movement as well as regular Red Army. Today it is open to the public
and contains binoculars available.
The northern part of the modern Detinets was once a delta formed by a
tributary of the Volkhov with two branches, the territory of which was
divided into two sections with an island position. G. M. Shtender
assumed that the very first fortress occupied the middle part of modern
Detinets in the sector between the Vladimir and Prechistenskaya towers
(that is, the central island). According to V. L. Yanin, the oldest
Detinets was located in the northwestern part of the modern Kremlin in
the area of Vladychny Dvor (that is, on the northern island).
On
the site of the Novgorod citadel in the X-XI centuries, there were
residential estates of Lyudin end. Excavations at the site of the former
Prechistenskaya tower of the Novgorod Kremlin have revealed fragments of
a wooden city wall on which the wall stood. Radiocarbon analysis of saw
cuts from oak logs gave the dates 951 ± 27 years and 918 ± 41 years,
which, according to Oleg Oleinikov, indicates the existence of a
fortification on the site of the northern part of Detinets in the second
or third quarter of the 10th century.
The wooden citadel was
founded under Prince Vladimir Yaroslavich, the son of Yaroslav the Wise.
In 1045, Prince Vladimir Yaroslavich began the construction of a
stone St. Sophia Cathedral in Detinets to the north of the 13-domed
wooden temple "made of oak with 13 tops", which burned down in 989. The
main temple of the Lord Veliky Novgorod was built for 7 years. Its
consecration by Bishop Luka Zhidyata took place in 1052. After the
consecration, Vladimir Yaroslavich lived for less than a month and was
buried in the newly built cathedral.
In 1065, the wooden Detinets
was captured by the Polotsk prince Vseslav Bryachislavich. The fortress
of the 11th century had only two gates, which were approached by the
main highways of the Sofia side - the Great Street of the Nerevsky End
and the Breakthrough Street of the Lyudin End. The first went to the
north gate, the second to the south gate. The main street of Detinets
was Piskuplya (that is, Episcopal), paved with the money of the bishop,
which crossed the territory of the fortress from west to east and went
to the Volkhov Great Bridge.
The oak walls of Detinets were at
almost the same distance from St. Sophia Cathedral and formed a round
fortification.
In the middle of the 11th century, the
northeastern and southern parts of the modern Novgorod Kremlin were
attached to Detinets (the first part was called “Okrom”, and the second
“Okolotok”). In 1097, the wooden Novgorod citadel once again burned
down. Again, it was cut down only under the son of Vladimir Monomakh,
Prince Mstislav I in 1116. In the same year, Detinets was enlarged to
the south and reached the size of the modern Kremlin. The total area of
the Kremlin inside the walls is 12.1 hectares.
In 1136, due to
the flight of Prince Vsevolod Mstislavich from the battlefield at Zhdana
Gora and his expulsion from Novgorod, the power of the prince was
severely limited, and he became dependent on the veche. The princes
moved from Detinets to Gorodishche, and from that time on Detinets
became the stronghold of the new government - the Novgorod Veche
Republic. A significant part of Detinets was occupied by the residence
of the archbishop - Vladychny yard, which is being built up with
numerous churches, residential and outbuildings. In 1262, Detinets
burned down again, but was immediately restored.
In 1333, the
Novgorod archbishop Vasily (Kalika) began the construction of a new
stone Detinets in Novgorod, fearing the troops of Ivan Kalita with the
Horde and the Swedes. In 1348, the Swedes, violating the Orekhov Treaty,
invaded the Novgorod lands, captured the Vodskaya Pyatina and the
Orekhov fortress, and therefore construction work in Detinets was
resumed only in the second half of the 14th century.
A
14th-century harp was found on the territory of the Vladychny Court of
the Novgorod citadel.
The replacement of the wooden Detinets with
a stone one was completed in the 30s of the 15th century. In 1437, a
part of the St. Sophia Belfry collapsed due to a spring flood, but two
years later this part of the wall and the bell tower were restored.
A radical restructuring of Detinets took place in 1478 under the
Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III, when Veliky Novgorod became part of the
Grand Duchy of Moscow (due to the development of artillery, the
loopholes of Detinets were not convenient enough to place firearms in
them). The reconstruction was undertaken at the joint expense of Ivan
III and Novgorod Archbishop Gennady. Construction ended in 1490. The
reconstruction of Detinets was so significant that in fact it was
rebuilt.
On May 7, 1862, a large section of the wall collapsed
towards Volkhov, a significant part of which had been rebuilt two years
earlier. For the first time, its emergency condition was noted in the
middle of the 17th century. The fortress wall was built anew from new
brick without any observance of the ancient forms. For the sake of
economy, it was made much thinner and with very deep niches. Part of the
new wall is occupied by premises arranged inside the wall for the
archive of the Treasury.
During the German occupation 1941-1944.
these premises were used by the Nazi soldiers as barracks.
In the
autumn of 1986, work began on the restoration of the ramparts of the
Novgorod Kremlin.
On April 30, 1991, a section of the wall near
the Spasskaya Tower fell (more than 20 m), and a little later, on the
night of May 3-4, another part of the wall collapsed nearby, severely
deforming the rampart slope. In 1994-1996, instead of the collapsed
fragment of the wall between the Spasskaya and Knyazha towers, a new one
was erected.
At the end of May 2020, in the northern part of the
Kremlin, as a result of a violation of the tightness of the concrete
pavement of the Battle Pass, a partial collapse of a wall fragment
occurred, the area of \u200b\u200bwhich amounted to 9 square meters. It
is planned to allocate about 400 million rubles of federal funds for the
full reconstruction of the Battle Pass along its entire length in
2020-2021.
Detinets stands on a hill located above the Volkhov level at a height
of 10 m. It has the shape of an irregular oval, elongated from south to
north and somewhat concave from the coastal side. The outer perimeter of
its walls is 1487 m, the greatest length from north to south is 565 m,
the width from west to east is 220 m. The total area inside the walls is
12.1 hectares.
Walls and towers of Detinets
The walls are
built of stone and brick with lime mortar. Its thickness is 1-2.5
bricks. The stonework consists of limestone and cobblestone. The
thickness of the fortress walls in different parts is not the same -
from 3.6 to 6.5 m. The height varies from 8 to 15 m. A distinctive
feature of Novgorod Detinets was the construction of gate churches. In
the construction of the gate temples of Detinets, the main role belonged
to the Novgorod archbishops, and the princes no longer participated in
the construction. Currently, most of the walls, restored in 1950-1960.
under the leadership of A. V. Vorobyov, has the appearance of the XV
century.
Not all currently accepted names of the towers are
historical. The names "Palace", "Prince", "Kokuy", "Metropolitan" were
introduced by the authors of local history literature at the turn of the
19th-20th centuries. (they did not have stable names in the materials of
the 17th-18th centuries). Inside, each tower was divided into five or
six tiers. The tiers of the towers were interconnected by wooden stairs.
Each of the towers had exits to the battle course of the fortress wall.
The lower tiers could be used to store ammunition. The towers, in
addition, were equipped with devices for lifting guns and ammunition.
Spasskaya (1297)
Palace
Prince
Tower Kokuy (Kukui) - rebuilt
under Peter I.
Intercession (1305)
Zlatoust
Metropolitan -
named after the nearby metropolitan court.
Fedorovskaya
Vladimirskaya
Lost towers
Some towers were destroyed, and
instead of the Prechistenskaya and Voskresenskaya towers, wide travel
arches were arranged.
Prechistenskaya (Bogoroditskaya)
Borisoglebskaya
Resurrection (1296)
The Kremlin is located next to the shore of Lake Nero and has eleven
towers.
Architectural monuments of the Kremlin:
Assumption
Cathedral (1508—1512)
Belfry of the Assumption Cathedral (1682-1688)
Holy Gate (1754)
Gate Church of the Resurrection (circa 1670)
Judgment order (1650–1660)
Gate Church of St. John the Evangelist
(circa 1683)
Church of Hodegetria (1692-1693)
Church of the Savior
on Senya (Savior Not Made by Hands) (1675)
Church of Gregory the
Theologian (1680s)
Red Chamber (1670–1680)
Slaughterhouse (XVII
century)
“House on the cellars” (XVII century)
Household building
(XVII century)
Cook and henchman (XVII century)
Samuel's Corps
(XVII-XVIII centuries)
White (Dining) Chamber (circa 1675)
Walls
and towers of the Metropolitan Garden (1680s, mid-18th century)
Garden tent (XVII century)
Towers and walls of the Kremlin (1670s -
1680s)
Stable yard (late 17th century)
Assumption Cathedral
The Assumption Cathedral (1508-1512) stands on the site of its white
stone predecessors of the 12th-13th centuries. The cathedral is in many
ways similar to the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow. This is a monumental
five-domed structure, made in simple and noble forms. The height of the
cathedral with the cross is 60 m. The cathedral is made of brick, and
the base and strongly protruding blades are made of white stone.
Numerous decorative elements - arcature-columnar belts, horizontal panel
rods, etc. - give the appearance of the temple a special plastic
expressiveness, beauty and stability to this day. In 1991, the cathedral
and belfry were transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church.
Belfry of the Assumption Cathedral
The belfry of the Assumption
Cathedral (1682-1688) was built to the southeast of the Assumption
Cathedral, consists of two volumes and is crowned with four domes. By
order of Metropolitan Jonah, 13 bells were cast, initially the
“Polyeleiny” bell (1000 pounds) and the “Swan” bell (500 pounds) were
cast, and soon after them the largest bell, “Sysoy”, weighing 2000
pounds. The bells had their own tonality and produced harmonious musical
ringing.
The belfry has a completely preserved set of 15 bells.
Church of the Savior on Senya
The Church of the Savior on Senya
was built in 1675. It was the home church of Metropolitan Jonah
Sysoevich. This church is notable for the fact that its architecture
uses decorative features of the Cathedral of the Assumption of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, but only in a simpler and more austere design.
Church of Hodegetria
The Church of Hodegetria is one of the
churches in the Rostov Bishop's Court (Kremlin). It was built in
1692-1693, a little later than other buildings in the ensemble of the
Bishop's Court, under the successor of Jonah Sysoevich, Metropolitan
Joasaph. He is a representative of the Moscow Baroque style. The latest
independent construction of the Bishop's Court.
Church of St.
John the Evangelist
The Church of St. John the Evangelist was built
around 1683. This gate church is one of the last churches from the time
of Metropolitan Jonah. Researchers note that this historical and
architectural monument looks more elegant than other Kremlin churches.
The Kremlin in culture
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the
Rostov Kremlin filmed the episode of the capture of Fantômas by
collector Anisov for the film “Seven Old Men and One Girl” and scenes of
old Moscow for the film “Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession.” In
2010, the Rostov Kremlin again played the role of the Moscow Kremlin -
for the television series “Raskol”.
The view from the Kokuy
tower to the Knyazhaya, Spasskaya and Palace towers and the walls of the
Novgorod citadel are depicted on Russian banknotes in denominations of
5,000 rubles of the 1995 model (inactive) and 5 rubles in denominations
of the 1997 model (valid, but actually withdrawn from circulation). The
architectural panorama of the Novgorod Kremlin, framed by a stylized
arch, is depicted on a 2009 silver coin of 200 rubles.
Also in
Russia, postage stamps were issued in honor of the Novgorod Kremlin.