An outstanding monument of defensive architecture of the 16th century is the Bender Fortress. Photos of this stronghold, as well as interesting information about the pages of its rich history, can be found in this article.
Bender: founding a city and building a fortress
The town of Bender appeared around the beginning of the 15th century. Initially, he was called Tigina (by the way, the Romanians, as well as some Moldovans still call him that). The origin of this toponym is most likely connected with the word “drag”, since the settlement itself arose near a major crossing across the Dniester.
The city was renamed the Bender Turks, who seized the land in 1538. They, two years later, began the construction of a powerful fortress here. Although it is known that even before this, Bender entered the defensive belt of the Moldavian king Stefan the Great.
The Bendery fortress was designed by the famous architect Sinan, who during his long (almost a century) life built more than three hundred buildings within the then Ottoman Empire. On the territory of the former USSR there is another architectural monument of his authorship - this is the Khan-Jami mosque in Yevpatoriya.
The impregnable fortress in Bender
Eulius Celebi, the famous Turkish traveler of the 16th century, gives us the very first historical description of the fortress in this Transnistrian city. Bendery fortress is a typical West European defensive structure of the bastion type. Its construction began almost immediately after the city entered the Port. The whole city was first surrounded by a deep moat and a high rampart. The fortress itself, which occupied a huge area of 67 hectares, is divided into two parts: upper and lower.
Due to its geographical location, the Bendery Fortress has become a key strategic point for many years. She played a major role during the Russian-Turkish wars.
The history of the Bendery Fortress remembers many attempts to storm it. However, most of them were unsuccessful. Until the 1770s, the fortress remained completely impregnable.
Fortress during the Russian-Turkish wars
During the Russian-Turkish wars, Russian troops, as you know, took this three times the most strategically important fortress on the banks of the Dniester. The first capture of the Bendery fortress took place in 1770. The operation, which lasted over 60 days, was led by Perth Panin. The attackers managed to destroy one of the towers of the castle, after which the Russians began the assault. During the capture of the Bendery Fortress, up to 30% of Panin’s entire army died - about six thousand soldiers. However, the goal was achieved: at the end of September 1770, the Russian military orchestra in the Bendery Fortress notified in its capture.
By the way, the Russian Empress Catherine II criticized this victory, calling it pyrrhic. Nevertheless, for the Ottoman Empire, the loss of this important object was a real tragedy.
The subsequent capture of the Bendery fortress by the Russians took place in 1789 and 1806. However, then everything went without blood. So, in 1789, Russian troops led by Grigory Potemkin took it without a fight, and in 1806 the fortress was captured as a result of the cunning and bribery of the Turkish garrison guarding it.
As you know, the Russian-Turkish wars ended very deplorably for the Ottoman Empire. After their graduation, Russia spread its influence over the lands of all Bessarabia.
Interesting facts about the Bender Fortress
With this architectural and fortification monument there are quite a few interesting facts that attract tourists to the fortress. Here is some of them:
- Bendery fortress performed its defensive functions until the end of the twentieth century! And today, a military unit of an unrecognized state — the Transdniestrian Moldavian Republic — is deployed near it .
- The fortress sheltered in 1709 the Ukrainian hetman Ivan Mazepu and the Swedish king Charles XII, who fled after the defeat near Poltava. Soon Mazepa died here, on the outskirts of Bender, in the village of Varnitsa.
- The adoption of the so-called first constitution of Europe, the constitution of Pilip Orlik, who was the successor to the deceased Mazepa, is connected with the Bender Fortress.
- The Museum of Torture is now located in the Bender Fortress - the only one in Transnistria.
Munchausen's core in the courtyard of the Bendery Fortress
Not everyone knows that the famous inventor and adventurer Baron Munchausen is not a fictional character at all. Such a person, under the same name, actually existed. Baron Munchausen from the German Bondenwerder in the middle of the XVIII century served in the Russian army and took part in the capture of Bakhchisaray, Perekop, Khotin and Yevpatoria by the Russians. But this time the Russians failed to take the Bendery fortress, and the baron witnessed this.
In general, the storyteller Munchausen could easily “fly” at the famous core over any European fortress. But Bendery was the first to be seduced that this story could be successfully used for himself. In the courtyard of the Bendery fortress, the same legendary cannonball was installed , on which the Saxon baron flew.
The current state and reconstruction of the Bendery fortress
In 2008, the previously planned large-scale reconstruction of the fortress began. In the same year, a theatrical action was held in Bender to capture the Bender stronghold. An alley of Russian glory was arranged on the territory of the fortress, a monument to the Constitution of Pylyp Orlik, as well as the famous Baron Munchausen, was erected.
Nowadays, two museums operate on the territory of the fortress: the first is a kind of museum of torture, and in the second you can learn about the history of the Bendery fortress. Since the fall of 2012, a souvenir shop has been operating for tourists, where, in particular, you can buy chic ceramic and wood products made by local craftsmen.
In the fall of 2013, the second major reconstruction of the Bendery fortress began. In particular, work began on the restoration of two towers of the architectural complex. In addition, the artists painted the interiors of the fortress church of Alexander Nevsky. By the way, this year the attendance growth dynamics was the largest: in 2013, over 14 thousand people visited the fortress.
In 2014, a wonderful shooting range appeared on the territory of the complex, where every tourist can practice shooting from a real bow or crossbow, and feel like a real medieval warrior. In the same year, work began on the restoration of the lower fortress. Today Bendery fortress is becoming more and more an attractive tourist attraction. The only thing that can confuse tourists here is a military unit located nearby. Although the soldiers themselves have long been accustomed to tourists.
Bendery fortress is imprinted on postage stamps and banknotes of both the Republic of Moldova and the unrecognized PMR. So, the stronghold can be seen on banknotes of 100 Moldovan lei and 25 Transnistrian rubles. In addition, the fortress is depicted on a souvenir 100-ruble coin, issued in Transnistria in 2006.
Bendery Fortress: tour, opening hours
Every year more and more tourists from countries near and far abroad are attracting the city of Bender. Of course, the famous Bendery fortress is the central attraction of the city. A tour of the fortress is the best way to find out about the most fascinating pages of its history.
The Bender Fortress is open to everyone today. She works every day, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The cost of admission to the fortress is 25 Transnistrian rubles. Two important nuances should be noted here: firstly, payment can be made exclusively in the currency of an unrecognized republic, and secondly, the price of an admission ticket for representatives of non-CIS countries will be twice as high.
In the fortress, you can order a tour, the price of which will vary from 50 to 150 Transnistrian rubles (depending on the size of the group and the duration of the tour). Recently, in the fortress, it became possible to order a guide who speaks English. However, foreign tourists will have to pay another 25 rubles for such a service.
Bendery Fortress: Museum of Torture
There is a unique museum in its territory on the territory of the Bendery Fortress - the Museum of Torture. It was opened recently, in the fall of 2012. This museum exhibits medieval weapons, tools and gloomy units for a variety of tortures. It is worth noting that you do not need to pay separately for admission to this museum.
The idea to create a similar museum among the workers of the fortress was born suddenly, after visiting one of the castle towers. In it, as you know, there was previously a prison for small robbers and looters. The tower still has ancient handcuffs and shackles for prisoners. Several exotic instruments of torture were soon added to them, and as a result a whole museum was built in the tower. Today, tourists can see an interrogation chair, a knee grinder, sticking goats and other terrible things here.
Finally...
Bendery Fortress is a unique fortification monument in southeastern Europe. Built in the distant 1540th year, it survived many turbulent events in its lifetime. Today, the fortress is the most popular tourist attraction in Transnistria.