CHERNIHIV FORTRESS:
800 YEARS OF HISTORY.
It is not known exactly when the first fortifications appeared in Chernihiv. Sometimes researchers express the opinion that this happened not later than VII century. Still, these data are not confirmed by archaeological studies. However, already in the X century Chernihiv was fortified. The fortification consisted of a wooden wall filled with earth and a moat. These fortifications were erected at the end of the X century. Subsequently, the city developed and more fortified lines emerged, old ones were rebuilt.
In Old Rus times of the city development, the fortifications of Chernihiv consisted of several defensive lines that arose in the process of city development and settlement of bourgeois. Among them were: Dytynets (Rampart), Okolny Grad (outer city), Peredhoroddia and Podil.
During the construction and redevelopment of the Chernihiv fortress, the townspeople always used the lie of the ground. It is difficult to determine the ancient relief of Chernihiv today. Archaeological studies of the last decades strongly confirm the fact that from the XII-XIII centuries the relief of the city was changing due to the active anthropogenic activity of a man. At the beginning of the XIII century Chernihiv consisted of several fortified parts: Dytynts (rampart), Okolny Grad (outer city), Peredhoroddia and Podil, with a total area of 400 ha. Unfortunately, the development of the city was interrupted in 1239 by the Mongol invasion. The city did not withstand the high impact of the nomads and gradually declined over the centuries. All the fortifications declined; the population of the city decreased in 10 times.
During the XIV–XVII centuries the main role in the formation of the city was played by the Upper Castle. It was located in the southern part of the former medieval fortifications and was separated from its fortifications by a broad moat. From the second half of the XVII century the fortress becomes the main fortified area of the city. It was built on the defensive remnants of the Old Rus fortifications dated to the X–XIII centuries. It is undergoes several stages of reconstruction and redevelopment. This was the case due to the development of artillery. In the first half of the XVII century, wooden walls and towers were turned into earthen ramparts with bastions. The fort was rebuilt according to the Dutch Fortification Schools. At the end of the XVII century the city appeared another defensive line that surrounds the city. In the course of its construction, ramparts and moats of the Old Rus fortifications were used as the basis for the new structures. This defensive line was surrounded by urban development and lasted until the second half of the seventeenth century.
At the end of the XVIII century Chernihiv finally became deep in the rearward of the Russian Empire, which borders moved far to the south and west, and its fortifications were no longer needed. In 1799 the Chernihiv fortress was liquidated, and between 1800 and 1803 the fortifications were basically dug up and dismantled, and a boulevard was appeared in their place.