Chernigov Detinets or Val (Черниговский Детинец) is the central and most ancient part of Chernigov, where the main city fortifications were located in the Old Russian era and in the 16th-17th centuries. It is located on a high ledge of the right bank of the Desna valley, bounded on both sides by the river and its tributary, the Strizhen.
The first fortifications were formed here in the 8th
century on the site of an older settlement. Chernigov soon became one of
the most significant cities in Rus', as evidenced by its mention under
the year 907 in the Tale of Bygone Years. In Oleg's treaty with
Byzantium, he is mentioned as the second most important after Kyiv.
Detinets occupied the entire southwestern section of the cape (about
11 hectares). It was surrounded by an earthen rampart with a wooden wall
and a deep moat, had three entrances: Water, Kyiv and Burnt gates. The
citadel housed the princely court, rich estates of the rich nobility and
the main cathedrals of the city. The fact that the detinets was built up
to a large extent with stone structures, in addition to the
Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral and the Borisoglebsky Cathedral that have
survived to this day, is also evidenced by the remains of the princely
court of the 10th century, which consisted of two stone towers in two or
three floors, and its episcopal farmstead of the 12th century with stone
wall and gate church. Significant influence in the city enjoyed the
clergy - until the end of the X century pagan, and then Christian. The
pagan temple was probably located on the territory of the citadel, where
two silver idols were found at the beginning of the 18th century. From
the north and west, Okolny Grad adjoined the citadel - the most populous
craft and trade part of Chernigov, which was not inferior in area to the
Kyiv city of Yaroslav. It was surrounded by powerful walls after the
battle of Listven, when Chernigov became the center of a vast
principality. At the foot of the citadel on the river side there was a
vast Chernihiv hem, part of which (probably the area of the ancient
pier) was reinforced with a rampart with wooden structures. The edges of
the Desna and Strizhnya terraces were also quite densely built up.
In the XII century, the area of the detinets was significantly
expanded, which amounted to 16 hectares. The original ditch, which ran
70 m east of the Transfiguration Cathedral, was filled in and the
citadel expanded to the east. At the same time, the border of the
Roundabout city expanded to the east, the area of which reached 40
hectares. On the western side, Tretyak adjoined the citadel - an
independent fortified area of \u200b\u200bOkolny Castle with an area of
20 hectares. To the north and west of the Roundabout there was a vast
Frontyard, fortified with a palisade, a rampart, and a moat.
In
October 1239, the city was burned by the hordes of Khan Mengu. The
fortifications of the citadel were renovated by the Lithuanian prince
Vytautas in the 14th century. The city suffered great destruction from
the Crimean Tatars in 1482 and 1497.
In 1500, the Seversk land,
together with Chernigov, was ceded to the Russian state. During the 16th
century, the city repeatedly became the object of Lithuanian-Polish
attacks, but they were all repulsed. Since the old fortifications fell
into disrepair, in 1531, by decree of Grand Duke Vasily III, on the cape
protruding into the side of the Desna, the construction of a new wooden
citadel-kremlin with five high towers, a deep moat and an underground
passage to the Strizhen River was completed. The fortress was armed with
27 guns, and its garrison numbered about 1000 people. Three years later,
the fortress successfully withstood the Lithuanian siege. After a series
of sieges during the Livonian War, the damaged Chernihiv Detinets was
again rebuilt and fortified in 1584-1592. The street from Pogorelaya
(Northern) became the main one. Administrative houses, barracks and an
artillery yard were built along it.
Chernihiv was devastated by
the Polish during the Time of Troubles in 1610, when detachments of the
Kyiv subcommittee Samuil Gornostai tricked into the city and completely
burned it.
After the Khmelnytsky uprising and the Russian-Polish
war of 1654-1667, the Chernigov fortress became the administrative and
political center of the Chernigov regiment, while maintaining the
importance of the fortress. Here, in the 17th century, the house of
Colonel Yakov Lizogub was built.
In the 18th century, Detinets
was built up with new buildings. The predominant element of the
composition was the Chernihiv Collegium with a bell tower. In 1799 the
fortress was liquidated. According to the new development plan of
Chernigov, at the beginning of the 19th century, the ramparts of the
fortress were partially excavated. In their place is a boulevard. After
1845, a park called Val was founded on the site of Detynets and the
Chernihiv fortress. Two squares were created: Gymnasicheskaya and
Sobornaya.
Since 1964, the modern name of the park has been
adopted - the Central Park of Culture and Recreation. M. M.
Kotsyubinsky, and the monuments on its territory became part of the
National Architectural and Historical Reserve Chernihiv ancient. One of
the main attractions of the citadel is the cannons from the bastions of
the Chernihiv fortress, which, according to legend, were donated to the
city by Peter I. There are 12 cannons in total.
Now Detinets conventionally refers to the territory that forms a
plot similar to a triangle between Mira Avenue (in the west),
Yeletsskaya and Preobrazhenskaya streets (in the north), Museumnaya
Street (in the east) and Podvalnaya Street (in the south).
Historical and cultural heritage:
Architectural monuments: the
Collegium (1700), the Archbishop's House (1780), the Governor's
House (1804) (now the historical museum is located in the building),
the House of the Regimental Office (Lyzogub's House) of the late
17th century, the Chernigov Women's Gymnasium of the late 19th
century (since 1983 The building houses an art museum.
Churches:
Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral of the middle of the 11th century,
Borisoglebsky Cathedral of the beginning of the 12th century,
Catherine's Church of the beginning of the 18th century.
Monuments: T. G. Shevchenko (installed on the site of the former
citadel), A. S. Pushkin, Monument to Hetman Mazepa, Monument on the
mass grave to the soldiers of the liberators (1943), Partisan stone
(installed on the site of the house of the city committee of the
Communist Party burned by the Nazis in 1943 G.).
In addition,
there are 12 cast-iron cannons from the bastions of the Chernigov
fortress (16-18 centuries), put on gun carriages in 1911, on the
slope of a hill in the place of a once-existing defensive rampart,
donated (according to legend) by Peter I to the city for the courage
of the Chernigov Cossacks in the war against the Swedes; fountain;
park of culture and recreation. M. M. Kotsyubinsky.
The citadel
offers a beautiful panorama of the Desnyanskaya floodplain and the
Boldin Mountains, where the Yeletsky Uspensky and Trinity-Ilyinsky
monasteries are located.
conservation status
Decree of the
Cabinet of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR dated July 21, 1965 No.
711 “On the approval of the list of monuments of art, history and
archeology of the Ukrainian SSR” (“On the approval of the list of
monuments of art, history and archeology of the Ukrainian SSR”) was
assigned the status of a monument of history of republican
significance called Detinets 9 -13 centuries, the center of the
ancient city of Chernihiv.
Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers
of Ukraine dated 03.09.2009 No. 928 “On the inclusion of objects of
cultural heritage of national importance in the State Register of
Immovable Monuments of Ukraine” (“On the entry of objects of
cultural heritage of national importance to the Sovereign Register
of Unruly Monuments of Ukraine”) was awarded the status of a
monument of archeology of national importance with security number
250001-N under the name Detinets of the annalistic city of Chernihiv