The oblique caponier was built in 1844 as a defensive structure of the Hospital fortification in the system of the New Pechersk Fortress. At first, the Oblique Caponier was used to store weapons and artillery supplies. The oblique caponier is a semi-underground structure with thick brick and stone walls. The walls contain embrasures and loopholes for firing cannons and rifles. This is the only place in Europe where the embankments were restored to their full size and represented a complex system of earth embankments 10-15 meters high and deep ditches. The ramparts cut through the patterns - long, up to 40 meters, tunnels lined with bricks and closed on both sides by gratings. The ground part of the Oblique Caponier overlooked the slopes of Cherepanova Mountain. For the convenience of flanking artillery fire, the Oblique caponier is located at an angle to the earthen rampart of the fortress and therefore received the name “Oblique”. The multi-level defense system of the fortress did not give the slightest chance of taking it. So, after the Oblique caponier there was the next part of the defense, a horseshoe-shaped caponier. There was a moat around, you could get inside through a hanging gate. If the enemy broke through the first defense, then immediately fell under a barrage of fire from another fortification. Thus, the fortress was considered impregnable.
In the early 60s of the 19th century, the caponier was turned into a political prison. For the brutal regime, the Oblique caponier was called "Kiev Shlisselburg". In the "Oblique Caponier" there were political prisoners, and in the Lysogorsk Fort, which was far from residential areas, in 1906 a gallows was installed - here they executed state criminals. Three executioners have killed more than 200 people in 11 years. Those delivered to the place of execution were met by the executioner with his henchman and the priest. Despite the confession before death, the executed were deprived of the right to a Christian burial, so the executioner buried the bodies of the hanged near the gallows.
At present, the Oblique Caponier is one of the components of the historical and architectural monument - the Kiev Fortress Museum. The "Kiev Fortress" includes the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, the territory of the National Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War, the Arsenal plant and many other facilities located mainly in Pechersk. On the territory of the Oblique Caponier itself, there are two museums, the expositions of which are devoted to the history of this fortification.
The first museum is located underground, it is presented in the form in which it was converted for prisoners, but initially it had rooms for soldiers and weapons. The loopholes for guns and cannons were later turned into windows with bars. The museum displays a lot of old utensils, weapons, uniforms, and personal belongings of prisoners. The second museum was opened 2 years ago. It presents uniforms from different times and historical documents concerning the history of the city and the fortress itself.
Four years ago, during the restoration of one of the parts of the fortification, caponier No. 2, they discovered that its large vaulted hall had very good acoustics. Since then, it regularly hosts chamber literary and musical evenings.
In April 2001, a musical and theatrical show was held on the territory of the Oblique Caponier as part of the presentation of the Stella Artois beer in Ukraine. This was the reason for my first visit to the fortress. My friends from several historical reenactment and fencing clubs participated in the performance, and their skill perfectly underlined the original purpose of the Oblique Caponier, giving this place a spirit of glory and victory.
In ancient times (by the standards of one human life), when earthen ramparts and thick walls were reliably protected from cannons, Kiev fortress.
Kyivska Fortetsyathat defended the heights of the Capital City from barbarians in different guises at different times.
Oblique caponier, which has survived to this day almost intact, is part of this metropolis of structures.
This important element Kiev-Pechersk Fortress, was built, according to historians, in 1844.
In general, there were three fortresses on the territory of the modern center of Kiev: Starokievskaya, Podolskaya and Kiev-Pecherskaya.
Built at different stages, they turned Kiev into a well-fortified fortress, which made one think about the advisability of attacking the city at different stages of its existence.
Since the newly built part of the fortress did not have a chance to fight - the enemies were afraid of only one type of it, the oblique caponier lost its defensive significance pretty soon - at the beginning of the 60s of the nineteenth century.
Although it was previously used as a reliable and well-protected armory. And it turned into a well-fortified prison, which was difficult, almost impossible to take by storm, and from which it was impossible to escape.
Well, this is the fate of many fortresses around the world and the Oblique Caponier was no exception. Moreover, the prison has become political, since the criminals who are especially dangerous for any state are not thieves, murderers and rapists, but those who pose a threat to the ruling elite.
These are usually kept behind secure locks. In general, there was nothing good. Prison, executions, possibly torture.
The prison carriage in which the death row, including Dmitry Bogrov, Stolypin's murderer, was taken to execution, can also be seen if you come here on a tour.
Death carriage in the Oblique caponier.
Later, the Bolsheviks used the walls of the Oblique Caponier for the Museum of the Revolution.
But what happened is gone.
At the moment it is also a museum, but already as part of the Kiev Fortress Museum.
You can come and imagine the moments of that troubled time when revolutions changed history and distorted people's destinies.
The Oblique Caponier fortress was lost among the houses of the center of Kiev.
The oblique caponier in the very center of Kiev is hidden behind residential buildings. Few of the Kievites know about this building.
You can travel around half of Ukraine in search of new impressions and not see such historical interest close by.
But the structures within the Kiev fortress are worthy of the attention of our public.
But they were so absorbed in the city that they are now almost invisible. And it is difficult to imagine the true size of the Fortress, which was considered one of the most, if not the largest in Europe.
For instance, Gate Church Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is also a fortification of the Kiev fortress. Quite ancient, besides.
It was built in 1108, long before, for example, famous in its modern form.
So, it is worth visiting this place and imbued with the spirit of antiquity, the traces of which are still quite enough in our city.
Not Pyramids of Egypt, of course, but still ...
A few more photos of the Oblique Caponier for a better reading comprehension.
Old map of the fortifications of the Kiev fortress.
The earthen ramparts were supposed to reliably protect the fortress from enemy artillery.
The cannons on the territory of the museum sometimes shoot ...
Another top view.
Inside there is a museum.
The Oblique Caponier fortress is located in the very center of Kiev.
Nearby - Blvd. L. Ukrainka.
And this is how the Oblique Caponier fortress looks from the satellite.
If your desire to visit a museum is stronger than laziness, which usually wins, then here's to you
Museum address: city \u200b\u200bKiev, st. Hospital, 24
Defensive fortification The oblique caponier was built in the first half of the 19th century, or rather, in 1844, as an additional part of the defensive structure in the "Kiev Fortress" system and was intended to conduct artillery fire on the left and right flanks of the front at an angle to the fortress earthen rampart, therefore, fortification and called "oblique". The defensive fortification is a structure buried in the ground with very thick stone and brick walls, embrasures for artillery cannons and narrow loopholes for rifles. The ground part of the fortification "Oblique Caponier" faces the rise of the Cherepanova Mountain.
At first glance, a simple defensive fortification, which is part of the Novo-Pechersk defensive structure, at the end of the 19th century turned into a real political jail. The first prisoners of the dungeon, after the suppression of the Polish uprising in the early 60s, were participants in the armed uprising of the Polish gentry. And the commanders leading the rebel detachments were shot at the fortress wall. At the beginning of the 20th century, participants in the first Russian revolution of the period 1905-1907 were held in this prison, as well as soldiers of the 41st Selenginsky Infantry Regiment, the leader of the uprising of soldiers of sapper battalions - a revolutionary russian officer B. Zhadanovsky. The most active participants in the armed uprisings in 1907 were shot in the caponier's dungeons. Later, the dungeons of this prison became the last refuge and for the Russian anarchist D. Bogrov, the murderer statesman Russian Empire P. Stolypin.
For especially strict conditions of detention of prisoners and extremely harsh regime "Oblique Caponier" among the people received a new name - "Kiev Shlisselburg" - in honor of one of the prison in the Leningrad region for especially important criminals.
Within the walls of the dungeon, political prisoners were serving their prison sentences, and in the fortress next door on Lysaya Gora, state intruders were put to death. The prisoners brought to the place of execution were met by the executioner with an assistant and an Orthodox priest. Although the prisoners could confess before death, they were nevertheless deprived of the right of burial according to the Christian tradition, the prison executioner buried the bodies of the executed near the gallows. Over the course of eleven years, three professional executioners executed more than 200 prisoners. None of the prisoners had the opportunity to escape punishment. After all, the structure, which has a large thickness of walls of stone and brick and is located in a semi-underground, made the Oblique caponier completely impregnable.
Since 1930, a museum dedicated to the revolutionary events in Kiev in the period 1905-1907 was opened in the prison part of the “Oblique Caponier” fortification. In small rooms, a couple of meters in area, in which the guilty political prisoners were crowded, the atmosphere of the oppressive prison days of the past centuries was recreated. 
The current state of the Oblique Caponier Museum
To date, the Museum "Oblique Caponier" presents the exposition of the museum "History of the use of protective structures of the" Kiev Fortress "". The dungeon prison corridors will lead to a punishment cell, to the cells in which the arrested officers and soldiers were kept, where instead of a bed there was straw on the stone floor, and instead of a toilet - a wooden barrel, you can also visit death row. The temperature here did not often rise above "0", and the floor was flooded with water so that prisoners could not sit or lie on the stone floor.
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Description
An integral part of the hospital fortification of the Kiev fortress - the Oblique Caponier - was built in 1844 as a defensive structure of the Hospital fortification in the system of the New Pechersk Fortress. The oblique caponier was built to conduct flanking fire at an angle to the earthen rampart of the fortress, hence the name "Oblique". It is a semi-underground structure with thick walls of brick and stone with gun embrasures and gun loopholes. The ground part of the Oblique Caponier overlooks the slopes of Cherepanova Mountain.
Using
In the early 1860s, the caponier was turned into a political prison. For the brutal regime, the Oblique caponier was called "Kiev Shlisselburg". Its first prisoners were participants in the Polish Uprising of 1863. The commanders of the Polish rebel detachments were shot at the fortress wall. Among the prisoners were participants in the uprising of the Selenginsky regiment in 1905 and the Sapper battalion in 1907. The most active participants in the performances were shot in the Oblique Caponier in 1907.
State of the art
At present, the Museum "History of the use of the structures of the Kiev fortress" is functioning in the Oblique Caponier. The exposition presents information about famous prisoners, the death row carriage in which they were sent to execution, the conditions of the prisoners are described.
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Links
- http://community.livejournal.com/interesniy_kiev/251968.html
- http://www.thisisukraine.org/index.php/ru/what-to-see/muzei/433-kosij-kaponir.html
- Fayno-e.com
Excerpt from the Oblique Caponier
Finally, all the monster-like monsters disappeared somewhere, and we could allow ourselves to breathe freely ...This was my first, still quite "childish" war with real lower astral creatures. And I can't say that she was very pleasant or that I was not at all scared. Now, when we live in the twenty-first century literally "littered" with computer games, we are used to everything and almost completely ceased to be surprised at any horror ... And even small children, having completely mastered the world of vampires, werewolves, murderers and rapists, themselves in the same way, they delight in killing, cutting, devouring and shooting, just to "pass to the next level" of some favorite computer game ... And probably, at that moment, some real terrible monster appeared in their room - they would not even think to be scared, and without hesitation, they would calmly blame everything on the special effects, holography, time travel, etc., so well known to them, despite the fact that the same "time travel" or other favorite "effects" none of them in reality have yet managed to survive.
And the same children proudly feel themselves to be the “fearless heroes” of their favorite, cruel games, although it is unlikely that these heroes would have behaved as “heroically” if they had seen any LIVE lower astral monster in reality ...
But, let's return to our, now "cleared" of all claw-fanged dirt, room ...
Little by little I came to my senses and again was able to communicate with my new acquaintances.
Arthur sat petrified in his chair and now looked at me dumbfounded.
All the alcohol from him had disappeared during this time, and now a very pleasant, but insanely unhappy young man was looking at me.
- Who are you? .. Are you also an angel? He asked very quietly.
I was asked this question (only without "too") when meeting with souls, and I got used to not reacting to it, although at the beginning, to be honest, it continued to confuse me for a long time.
This made me suspicious.
“Why -“ too ”?” I asked, puzzled.
- Someone came to me who called himself an "angel", but I know that it was not you ... - Arthur answered sadly.
Then a very unpleasant guess dawned on me ...
- Didn't you feel bad after this "angel" came? - Having already understood what was the matter, I asked.
- How do you know? .. - he was very surprised.
- It was not an angel, but rather the opposite. They just used you, but I can't explain it to you correctly, because I don't know myself yet. I just feel when it happens. You have to be very careful. - That was the only way I could tell him.
(where there is also a map and history) we walked from the Arsenalnaya metro station to the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, examined the Lavra itself and most of its fortifications. , past the Arsenal, Novovvedensky monastery and Vasilkovsky fortification we came to the old military hospital, which is adjacent to what is called the Kiev fortress in everyday life - the old Hospital fortification with the tsarist political prison in the Oblique caponier became the museum "Kiev Fortress" back in Soviet times ... and due to its excellent condition and lack of development, it is the most spectacular part of the fortress. Well, then, past the Indendantskaya tower and the Arsenal plant, we will return to where we started the hike - to the Arsenalnaya metro station.
Like other elements of the New Pechersk Fortress, the Hospital Fortification looks best from above. It can also be seen that it practically merges with the Vasilkovsky fortification. We examined objects 1, 2 and 3 in the last part, and stopped at point number 4. The introductory shot was shot from point # 5 to the left. The hospital fortification is located that is necessary - on the top of Cherepanova Mountain (the name is from 1815, when the civil governor Pavel Cherepanov set up his estate here), steeply descending to the local SC "Olympic" (1937, rebuilt several times), where Euro-2012 ended ... And in general, even on the map, the cleared and landscaped territory of the Kiev Fortress museum is clearly visible.
The hospital fortification, built in 1834-46, covered the Military Hospital known since 1755, and was the most powerful in the New Pechersk Fortress. One of its elements - the Oblique caponier (number 7) before the revolution was known as "Kiev Shlisselburg" - that is, a political prison. After the revolution, there were two destinies for such objects: either they were equated with the ground - or they were made museums of revolutionary glory. Fortunately, the second option worked in Kiev, the museum has been here since 1930, and this part of the fortress stands out sharply against the surrounding background.
View of the gate from the territory of the hospital:
I considered it impractical to enter through the gate, and climbed onto the shaft. Behind the gates is perhaps the most spectacular structure of the entire fortress, the Northern half-tower, a fortified barracks, which housed a museum exposition, which has repeatedly changed its format for 80 years.
East corner of the shaft. Behind the houses is Lesya Ukrainka Boulevard, the fortress stands as if in the courtyard, and I remember that in 2004 we also had to look for it (and I was here too!).
View of the rampart from the west. Everything is as it should be - a mowed lawn, cannons on the ridge ... In the distance you can see the highest building in Ukraine - a residential building on Klovsky Spusk (162 meters):
View from the same point in the opposite direction - directly to the Oblique Caponier, the gate of which is decorated with a palisade:
Guest workers on the background of the stadium. As far as I know, Georgians actively travel to Ukraine in this capacity.
In general, there are excellent views of the city from the rampart. It can be clearly seen how, behind the Krasnoarmeyskaya street, which runs along the bottom of the hollow, the quarters are again climbing the slope. On the left you can see the top of the Ministry of Transport and Communications - the highest (120m) building in Soviet Ukraine (1975-86):
Here in the shot on the left is the Kiev TV Tower (1968-73, height 385 meters - this is not the tallest building, but the structure of Ukraine), in the center is the Red Building of Kiev University (1837-43), and on the right is the dome of Vladimir Cathedral (1862-82, one of the most beautiful churches in the city, now the main one in the unrecognized Kiev Patriarchate)
High number of storeys and endless slopes create the effect of "stone jungle":
Finally, facing south. Pay attention to the memorial plaques and to the caponier # 2, through which you can enter.
He's closer. The same as the abandoned caponier # 4, not shown in the last part, only in almost perfect condition. Interestingly, the garages in the background follow the outline of the bastion:
The gate of the Second Caponier is, again, the same exactly as the gate of the Fourth in the last part, where I was beaten by dogs:
Here, muddy mud is only at the entrance, but inside everything is quite civil. Reminiscent of a first-person computer game:
The first prisoners of the Oblique Caponier were participants in the Polish uprising of 1863, but " finest hour"Prison came in 1905 and later. In 1911, Dmitry Bogrov, Stolypin's murderer, was awaiting a court decision here. rioters were held here in 1907.
The Oblique Caponier itself is flat and sinister:
In general, in such a roundabout way, we entered the half-circular square in front of the gate:
The view is impressive!
The whole Kiev fortress would be in such a state ...
But already caponier # 3 (the number "8" on the map, the only one facing the city) is in this state. An ordinary residential courtyard, next to an elderly Kievite of a completely Bulgakov-like appearance was walking a hefty Newfoundland. It is unlikely that most of the inhabitants of these houses guess that this is not a Soviet utility room, but a century and a half fortification:
We went to Lesia Ukrainka Boulevard again. View to the north-west, in front of the second and third tallest buildings of Ukraine, respectively: on the left, further away, is the Continental business center (146m, aka Esplanada and Gulliver, 2003-2010), closer to the right is the business center Sail "(136 meters, 2004-2007).
Further our path lay to the Quartermaster Tower, which is only half a kilometer away, but the intricate Kiev relief affected - even a city connoisseur nin_gen found the descent not the first time. As a result, we walked a little more around Pechersk, past the Klovskaya metro station.
From here in all its glory you can see the House on Klovsky Spusk - in general, quite spectacular. "The tallest buildings in Ukraine" are replacing each other quite quickly ... because by world standards they are not that tall. In Russia, Kiev would be the third highest city after Moscow (over 300 meters) and Yekaterinburg (188m).
The theme of skyscrapers is completed by a monument to the Victims of Terrorism in the same square: it was laid during his visit to Kiev by the mayor of New York, and opened on September 11, 2005 by Yushchenko. Under the monument, it is believed, is buried a capsule with ashes collected in the ruins of the World Trade Center, and on the two halves - the inscription "Thou shalt not kill!" in 70 languages. My word "terrorism" with New York is far from the first association, but the "monument" to our victims of terrorism is Dudayev Street in Lviv.
We go up the streets of Pechersk. Pechersk retained the old layout, the old toponymy (all these Citadelnaya, Hospitalnaya, Arsenalnaya), but didn’t keep the old environment. Moreover, as far as I understand, the main destruction here was not even in the Great Patriotic War, but in the Civil War.
The Indendant Tower, or Tower No. 5, stands high. The largest in the fortress (about 180 meters along the facade), it was built for 13 years (1833-46) and has an unusual shape. "Wings" served as warehouses for ammunition and provisions:
Half of the tower is now occupied by the military (so you cannot approach it "from the inside"), the other half is a nightclub and this wonderful organization. The museum is private, and they say - very good.
The second wing of the tower is much longer than the first, and probably half was added to it later:
And the dead workshops of the Arsenal plant, stretching for almost a kilometer, are already looming ahead:
Two skyscrapers on the Klovsky descent. Old - 1953, most likely the house of specialists or the bosses of Arsenal:
The plant was founded in 1764 - initially as workshops at the Arsenal near the Lavra (see the previous part): weapons were not only stored there, but also repaired and produced. By the end of the 19th century, the volume of production increased so that the plant moved to a new site, absorbing two buildings of the New Pechersk Fortress - in the depths of the plant tower number 6, similar in plan to the Intendatskaya, and from the edge, facing one of the courtyards of Moscow street - curved the barracks of the gendarme regiment.
By the beginning of the twentieth century, about 4,000 workers worked at the "Arsenal", it was the largest enterprise in Kiev (which rose, actually, thanks to sugar factories) and, of course, a hotbed of revolutionary ideas. There had been strikes here before, but the strongest flared up in January 1918 - the workers of "Arsenal" rebelled against the Central Rada, captured the city for several days, troops began to go over to their side ... but Simon Petliura and the Whites under the command of Vsevolod Petrov, who suppressed the rebellion. A monument to those events is the cannon at Arsenalskaya, which I showed in the first part.
As already mentioned, in Soviet times, "Arsenal" became the center of military instrumentation - guidance and orientation systems, which were installed, among other things, on all Soviet spaceships... He made cameras and lamps from civilian products. The history of "Arsenal" has ended in our time - now the plant is disbanded, the site is awaiting development. But its gloomy workshops, built up most likely after the war, cannot be confused with anything.
The former factory recreation center - judging by its appearance, still pre-revolutionary:
Houses near Arsenal, ahead of Carakis's "plane-house":
The main building, in front of the Nikolsky Gate. The circle is almost complete:
On the facade there is a memorial plaque and traces of the assault of 1918:
In general, the fortress in Kiev is what you need. I will probably do part 5 more specifically with an overview of fortifications, without Pechersk and Lavra. As far as I know, there is something similar in the former USSR only in Königsberg and Vladivostok. But it is also impressive that this is not even the entire Kiev fortress - there is also the Zverinets fortification and the Lysogorskaya fortress of the Totleben project - almost the largest in Europe. Someday, I hope I'll get to her.