Zaporizhzhia

Alexander Fortress

Description

  • In 2019, during rescue archeological excavations on the territory of Zaporizhzhya gymnasium № 2, the ramparts and ditches of the fortress citadel of St. John were discovered.

The structure of the Alexander Fortress was distinguished by a number of military-engineering innovations: the main fence consisted of caponiers or polygonal fronts arranged in a regular quadrangle, with earthen structures in the middle separated from the main moat - thus forming separate bastions and citadels. Colonel Yakiv Bibikov supervised the engineering and construction works on the erected fortresses. As of 1780, there were barracks battalions, a guardhouse, a prison, workshops, Zeichhouses and grocery stores, a pharmacy, an infirmary (in St. Matthew's Bastion), a cannon depot, powder cellars, and quarters for medical personnel and merchants. Later, a battalion school and buildings for the command staff were built. The church was located in one of the stone buildings of the medical quarter.

The structure of the Alexander Fortress was distinguished by a number of military-engineering innovations: the main fence consisted of caponiers or polygonal fronts arranged in a regular quadrangle, with earthen structures in the middle separated from the main moat - thus forming separate bastions and citadels. Colonel Yakiv Bibikov supervised the engineering and construction works on the erected fortresses. As of 1780, there were barracks battalions, a guardhouse, a prison, workshops, Zeichhouses and grocery stores, a pharmacy, an infirmary (in St. Matthew's Bastion), a cannon depot, powder cellars, and quarters for medical personnel and merchants. Later, a battalion school and buildings for the command staff were built. The church was located in one of the stone buildings of the medical quarter.

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HISTORY

  • The beginning of the Alexander Fortress is from August 15, 1770

The beginning of the Alexander Fortress dates back to August 15, 1770, when on the day of the Assumption of the Virgin, military and workers' teams under the command of Colonel Willem von Fredesdorf arrived in Mokra Moskovka. In the spring of 1771, due to heavy flooding, a large part of the fortifications was flooded, which led to the transfer of the fortress to its present location - closer to the water and transport resources of the Dnieper. The fortress lost its military-administrative significance in 1800, when the garrison regiment formed under it was abolished.

The beginning of the Alexander Fortress dates back to August 15, 1770, when on the day of the Assumption of the Virgin, military and workers' teams under the command of Colonel Willem von Fredesdorf arrived in Mokra Moskovka. In the spring of 1771, due to heavy flooding, a large part of the fortifications was flooded, which led to the transfer of the fortress to its present location - closer to the water and transport resources of the Dnieper. The fortress lost its military-administrative significance in 1800, when the garrison regiment formed under it was abolished.

INTERESTING FACTS

  • As a result of intensive economic development of the fortress, the idea of the irreversible destruction of its fortifications became widespread. However, in 2018, archaeologist Oleh Tuboltsev approached the city authorities with data from preliminary geophysical exploration and analysis of historical cartography, proposing to conduct rescue excavations at the probable location of the lost shafts and ditches.
  • For the first time in the history of city archeology, the organized expedition discovered and recorded fragments of the fortifications of the Alexander Fortress (the citadel of St. John).
  • As a result of intensive economic development of the fortress, the idea of the irreversible destruction of its fortifications became widespread. However, in 2018, archaeologist Oleh Tuboltsev approached the city authorities with data from preliminary geophysical exploration and analysis of historical cartography, proposing to conduct rescue excavations at the probable location of the lost shafts and ditches.
  • For the first time in the history of city archeology, the organized expedition discovered and recorded fragments of the fortifications of the Alexander Fortress (the citadel of St. John).