I’ve been to Starocherkassk a hundred times and didn’t even know about the existence of this fortress. While buying vegetables from a local resident, I inquired about the existence of the fortress. Grandfather said that the fortress was still standing and told how to get to it.
I didn’t take a camera with me and therefore I’m content with what I found on the Internet.
The St. Anna Fortress was built on the site of Peter the Great's fortification (which existed since 1721) by decree of Empress Anna Ioannovna of March 16, 1730. Land from the nearby Vasilyevsky Kurgans was used for construction. As a result, the mounds were completely razed. The earthen fortress was reinforced with brick redoubts. It contained a brick commandant's house, a powder magazine and a soldier's settlement, and a wooden church of the Intercession of the Virgin. Customs was moved to the fortress from Cherkassk. In June 1737, the fortress became the base of the campaign against Azov, which finally annexed it to Russia. But the capture of Azov reduced the military significance of the fortress to zero. In 1761, the garrison was transferred to the fortress of Dmitry Rostov, which today became Rostov-on-Don.
Anninskaya fortress- the only earthen fortress preserved on the territory of Russia.
Three kilometers northeast of Starocherkasskaya there is an earthen fortress of St. Anna, the construction of which began in May 1730 by order of Empress Anna Ioannovna.
The places where the Anninskaya fortress was built were called Vasilyevsky hillocks. The Don flows from the south of it, the Vasilievka River from the east, hills from the north, and a shallow river from the west, at the mouth of which there was a fortified redoubt on the banks of the Don.
According to the plan, the fortress was surrounded by an earthen rampart and consisted of six forts, forming an almost regular hexagon, the sides of which were three hundred and eighteen meters long. The smallest height of the shafts is 5.5 m; the depth of the fortress moat is 3.5 m. The length of the fortress ramparts around the circumference is almost 2 km. The northern, southeastern and southwestern gates were further reinforced with redoubts. Inside the fortress there was a brick commandant's house, a soldier's settlement, a powder magazine and the Intercession wooden church.
Construction was completed by the end of 1737 and the fortress was included in the Ukrainian defensive line. The fortress played the role of a support base in the Russian-Turkish war of 1735-1739.
Another important function of the fortress was control over the “behavior of the Cossacks.” The commandant of the fortress was the superior officer for the atamans of the Don army, with whom they had to coordinate their actions. An example of such control is history, when in 1743 military ataman Danila Efremov, after consulting with the Cossack foreman, began building stone walls around the city of Cherkassk. He did not ask permission for this from the Russian authorities, and therefore the commandant of the fortress of St. Anna immediately reported this to St. Petersburg. The Military Collegium started the case. The wall was allowed to be completed, “but only on the Turkish side,” and “on the Russian side” it was forbidden to erect stone structures “firmly.”
However, the fortress was quite far from the mouth of the Don and the Sea of Azov, which neutralized its military significance. In addition, constant spring floods and illnesses of the garrison soldiers caused by living in swampy areas brought additional difficulties to its activities. And therefore, after receiving the right to build a new fortification lower along the Don under the Belgrade peace treaty with Turkey, the government abolished the Anninsky fortress in 1760 and transferred its garrison to the fortress of Dmitry of Rostov.
After the abolition of the fortress, some merchant people continued to live here; there was also a timber exchange here for some time; The first Cherkasy fair was opened near the fortress under Ataman Platov. In the 30s of the 19th century, two small leper colony houses were built here, where Cossacks with leprosy were treated.
In the second half of the 19th century, these buildings were liquidated, and the vegetable gardens of the residents of the village of Starocherkasskaya were located on the former territory of the fortress.
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Over the weekend we went in search of the treasures of the ancient fortress. And they even found two treasures. But first, I’ll tell you a little about what this place is...
The St. Anna Fortress (also called Anninskaya) was built in 1730 near the Don. The earthen ramparts are perfectly preserved and are clearly visible on satellite images. Do they really resemble the mysterious giant drawings left on Earth by ancient civilizations?
St. Anne's Fortress on the Yandex satellite map
Fortress of St. Anne. Ancient plan
Currently, the Anninskaya Fortress is the best-preserved large earthen fortress of the 18th century in the south of Russia, a monument of military engineering architecture. That's where we went in search of treasures...
Brief history of the St. Anna fortress
A large outpost was built on the Vasilievsky hillocks near Erik Vasiliev (a shallow river flowing into the Don, where local fish now like to spend their weekends) for defense during the war with Turkey, which settled in the Don delta.
Vasilyev Erik
Fortress gate
For 30 years, the fortress of St. Anna was the southernmost Russian citadel and played an important role in the liberation of Azov from the Turks. However, due to the marshy terrain and distance from the Sea of Azov, over time the outpost lost its significance. In addition, a larger fortress of Demetrius of Rostov was built (which marked the beginning) and in 1761 the ancient fortress became one of the field fortifications of a more powerful citadel.
Fortress gate. View from the ramparts
Let's go to the fortress
Looking around the surroundings from the ramparts, you can see the scope of the polygonal fortress with 6 bastions. Its diameter (together with the ravelins) is about one and a half kilometers. The internal fortifications have not survived to this day, so one can only imagine what the ancient fortress might have looked like almost four centuries ago.
Ramparts
Ramparts. View from inside the fortress
No less than the ramparts, we liked the photogenic rolls of hay installed on the outpost’s interior. They give the building a real rural autumn flavor.
Bales of hay
Rolls of hay inside the fortress
These are not towers, these are also rolls of hay
And most importantly, you can sit on the roll, like a bird in a nest, and climb into the straw house.
Our children on a roll of hay
In a haystack
Treasure hunt: two treasures at once!
The gates of the ancient fortress were protected by ravelins. A geocaching cache is hidden near one of the ravelins.
We walk along the perimeter of the St. Anna fortress
Geocaching is a game that uses precise coordinates and location descriptions to help you find treasures. Although the game is popularly called “treasure hunting,” the treasures are usually not precious trinkets, but historical, cultural and natural attractions.
Vegetation of the fortress
There are two types of geocaching caches: virtual (without a material cache) and real (when a container with a notepad, pencil and all sorts of things that usually do not represent any material value is hidden on the ground).
Our children prefer to look for real treasures. When there is a container with all sorts of gizmos. We rarely take anything from hiding places. But children understand: the essence of the game is not to get rich, but in the exciting process of searching.
We haven’t looked for a single hiding place since our winter trip, so when the children learned that we were going to an ancient fortress in search of treasures, they were delighted.
We know the road well, we go there often and with great pleasure. We like these places.
Road to Starocherkassk
The weather at the beginning of September is wonderful, warm like summer, but not hot anymore. And most importantly - dry. This is the best time to look for treasures, because geocachers usually hide them away from prying eyes, in places where it is not easy to get to after the rain.
Before looking for the treasure, we walked along the ramparts, passed through the fortress, exited through another gate and, walking around the outpost, approached the desired ravelin.
The thickets are taller than a person, but the exact coordinates helped us find the hiding place quickly, with minimal damage to health. Of course, it was not without scratches and splinters. Having made our way through the bushes and dry grass, attaching thorns to our clothes, we came to the hiding place.
Difficult road through the bush
And here is the treasured place under the tree. The children's eyes lit up. A real treasure!
Young treasure hunters
Cache
Geocaching notebook of the St. Anna fortress cache
Our young geocachers
Our entry in the geocaching notebook of the St. Anna fortress
We rummaged through the treasures, noted it in the notebook, and at the same time found out that this bookmark was a duplicate (recreated instead of the lost one) and nearby there was another, the first bookmark, which someone did not find and recreated by duplicating it. As a result, they found an old treasure.
And the second cache has been taken!
Our recording is in another cache
In the first (which is a double) they put a bouncy ball. We always try to leave something that will bring joy to children: many geocachers participate in treasure hunts with the whole family, with children. Therefore, we leave what will not rust, will not get wet, and will not deteriorate. After all, geocaching caches lie all year round, in snow and rain, waiting for treasure seekers.
This bouncy ball jumped into the container
By the way, the original cache before us (not a duplicate) was visited by other geocachers on July 23, 2016, a month and a half ago. I didn’t remember the date in the other notebook. But it seems even earlier. So the visits of geocachers here are not so frequent.
Previous entry in notepad
Results: in search of the treasures of the ancient fortress, we found two treasures instead of one, touched history (my daughter will have something to report on at her “Donology” lesson at school), walked along the ramparts, rolled rolls of straw, climbed into a haystack, saw pheasants, grasshoppers, field mice and found a beautiful pheasant feather. Agree, all this is much more interesting than spending a weekend at home in front of the TV.
In the grass Grasshopper sat
Let's go!
If you want, you can also go geocaching. You don't need much for this. Only desire. And also register on the website www.geocaching.su. Registration is free. As is participation in the game. Many people ask: what does this game give? It depends on the players. Everyone has an individual answer to this question.
However, not only geocachers can visit the St. Anna fortress. If you want to see this miraculously preserved structure in the Don steppe, come whenever you want.
How to get to St. Anne's Fortress
The ancient fortress is part of the Starocherkassk Historical and Architectural Museum. It is located 35 kilometers from the center of Rostov-on-Don (regional administration district), 5 kilometers from the center of Starocherkassk (Sovetskaya Street, where the Ataman Palace is located), 3 kilometers from the Starocherkasskaya - Krasnodvorsk fork. This text was stolen from the Roads of the World website (site)!
How to get to the St. Anna fortress. According to Yandex maps
From Rostov-on-Don by public transport take minibus No. 151, departing from Leo Tolstoy Square near the Armenian temple. To get to the ancient fortress you will have to walk about 3 kilometers.
It is more convenient to get there by car. From Rostov-on-Don go to Starocherkassk, when you drive to the edge of the village along a straight road, there will be a fork in front of the field: to the right - Starocherkassk, to the left - Krasnodvorsk. Turn onto Krasnodvorsk. There will be abandoned farms on the left. After them, turn right along the yellow dirt road along the power line. After driving 2.5 kilometers along a dirt road, you will come to the earthen ramparts of an ancient fortress. They will be to the left of the yellow dirt road, but don’t miss the turn; the earthen ramparts are visible from afar. Coordinates of the St. Anna fortress: N47.252823, E40.088525.
Yellow primer road to St. Anne's fortress
A visit to the Anninskaya Fortress is free, available at any hour, at any time of the year. Only after rains can the primer become slightly loose.
Did you like our treasure hunting adventures? ancient fortress?
Have you ever looked for treasures, treasures and hiding places?
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© Galina Shefer, “Roads of the World” website, 2016. Copying text and photos is prohibited. All rights reserved.
An object of cultural heritage of federal significance “Anninskaya Fortress” - a sign with such an inscription will be seen by everyone who at least once plans to visit the amazing fortress near Rostov-on-Don, which was created back in 1730. What's surprising about it? - you ask. First, look at the photographs of the earthen fortress taken from above, including satellite ones, or a video shot with a quadcopter. You will be impressed. Firstly, it is well preserved. Secondly, you will be amazed by exactly how it looks: an incredibly clear polygon with six protrusions, more like some kind of hieroglyph or sign of ancient civilizations than a defensive structure. But the fortress was created almost 300 years ago.
Where is it?
Near the village of Starocherkasskaya. This is in the Rostov region on the right bank of the Don River. In the 1700s, these places were called Vasilyevsky Hills, because the Vasilyevka River flows from the east of the hills.
What makes it unique?
Anninskaya Fortress is the only earthen fortress in Russia that has survived to this day! In addition, this is the only monument of military architecture of the 18th century of this size in the south of the country.
St. Anne's Fortress
Why is the fortress called Anninskaya?
Construction of the fortress began on the orders of the Russian Empress from the Romanov dynasty, Anna Ioannovna. Then the current Senate obliged General Count von Minich, who was the president of the Military Collegium, to find a skilled engineer. Count Minich sent two people to Cherkassk to conduct survey work at once: General Engineer Peter de Brigny and Colonel de Coulong, who built fortifications for Kronstadt.
Portrait of Empress Anna Ioannovna (1693-1740) It was in honor of the empress and her patron Saint Anna that the new outpost received this name. Anna Ioannovna was the niece of Peter I. She was married to the Duke of Courland (a duchy that was once located in the western part of modern Latvia). After four months of marriage, she was widowed. Later, after the death of Peter II, in the same 1730, she was invited by the Supreme Privy Council to head the Russian throne, but only as a monarch with limited powers. However, the queen reduced the council and subordinated the power to herself.
Why was there a need to create a fortress?
The second reason was. The state was afraid of the Cossack army; they could start trouble. The Cossacks, being a willful people, acted as they wanted. For example, after the Anninskaya fortress was completed, they decided to build their own, not far from the city of Cherkessk, without warning or asking permission from the authorities. As a result, they were allowed to complete the part that overlooked the Turkish border. The rest was banned.
The commandant of the fortress was a person representing the royal power. He led the Cossacks, and at the same time looked after the people of the Don freemen.
Fortress structure
The fortress was built by soldiers of the Voronezh garrison. During construction, a number of problems arose that were resolved during the construction of the structure. It was built on sandy soil, periodically flooded in the spring. Because of this, it was delivered eight months later than planned.
The fortress was built from earth that was ripped from those very Vasilyevsky mounds. Then it was strengthened with brick redoubts. After it was finished, people began to settle there. Its area occupies 50.2 hectares. Today's earthworks, which stretch for almost five kilometers, are precisely its remains.
The fortress is a polygon (the hexagon sides are 360 meters long each) with six extended bastions, and in front of them is a deep ditch, about four meters long. After the pits there were redoubts - the so-called small fortifications, also made of earth. The length of the ramparts was almost two kilometers. The fortress had gates: on the north, southeast and southwest sides. They were also further strengthened. The total length of the ramparts exceeded 2 kilometers.
There were several regiments in the fortress at once. The garrison was located inside, in dugouts. The commandant lived in a brick house. On the territory there were office premises, barracks, a powder magazine and a wooden Church of the Intercession. After it burned down, the Cossacks placed a gunpowder warehouse there.
The Anninsk Fortress remained the southern Russian outpost in the south of the country for 30 years.
Why was it abolished?
Both strategically and from a geographical point of view, the fortress was not located in a very convenient place. Firstly, the already swampy area was constantly flooded by floods, and secondly, it was located quite far from the mouth of the Don and the Sea of Azov. This over time neutralized its military significance.
In 1739, Russia made peace with Turkey, and soon the empire began building a new fortification, closer to the Don.
Twenty years later, due to difficulties with its maintenance, it was decided to abolish it. However, trading people remained to live here and after some time they organized a timber exchange, and opened the first Cherkassy fair near the fortress. A few decades later, leper colonies were built here to treat Cossacks with leprosy. Later, in the second half of the 19th century, these buildings also disappeared.
Is it possible to get there?
The fortress is part of the historical and architectural museum, and it is located only 35 kilometers from Rostov-on-Don. From the city of Starocherkessk - five kilometers. For motorists, the Starovercheskaya – Krasnovodsk fork will be a landmark. You will need to turn left, towards Krasnovodsk. After driving past the farms along the yellow dirt road for about 2.5 kilometers, you can find yourself right next to the earthen ramparts. Getting there by car will be the fastest and easiest way.
A unique fortification structure in the Rostov region is the Anninsk Fortress. It is located near the station. Starocherkasskaya, and is an object of the Starocherkassk Museum-Reserve
Fortress of St. Anne.
Anninsky fortress or fortress of St. Anna began to be built in 1737 by decree of the Empress of All Rus' Anna Ioanovna. It was erected from the soil of numerous Vasilyevsky mounds. As we see, this is an almost ideally shaped fortification structure, representing a hexagon (6 forts in each corner), each side had a length of 360 m.
A fortress is nothing more than earthen ramparts 5-6 meters high and 3.5 meters wide, enclosing a certain area. On its territory were built:
- powder magazine,
- commandant's house
- settlement,
- Church of the Intercession (made of wood).
Defensive system.
The Anninskaya fortress belonged to the so-called Ukrainian defense system, and served as a stronghold and transit point in the Russian-Turkish war (1735-1739).
The second strategic objective of the fortress was complete control over the Cossack army. The commandant of the fortress represented the royal power and was the direct commander of the Cossacks. The tsarist government did not trust the Cossacks, they were afraid of unrest.
Decline of the fortress.
But, unfortunately, the fortress of St. Anna was very far from the Sea of Azov. In addition, it often suffered from spring floods, and the swampy area had a bad effect on the health of the garrison soldiers. In 1760, soldiers from the fortification of St. Anna was moved to the fortress of Dmitry of Rostov (Rostov-on-Don).
For some time on the territory of the fortress there was located:
- timber exchange,
- then 2 hospital buildings where people with leprosy were kept,
- and also near the fortress a fair was held at Platov.
In the nineteenth century, the buildings in the fortress were destroyed.
Afterword.
According to scientists, this is the only earthen fortification fortress of this shape that has been preserved in perfect condition.
It reminded me of traces left on Earth by aliens or ancient civilizations. But everything turned out to be not so exotic. This, as I later found out, is the Anninskaya fortress, built by the Russian army in the 18th century as a transit point for the campaign against the city of Azov, which was still occupied by the Turks at that time. Detailed information about this historical monument can be found, for example, here: www.voopiik-don.ru/main/2009-06-01-10-23-3 9/37-2009-06-01-06-57-03/ 666-2010-03-05-0 8-13-56. Let me just say that I was interested in several things about this fortress. Firstly, this is an earthen type fortress, i.e. from the very beginning it was an earthen embankment without brickwork. I have never seen anything like this before or even heard anything about it. Secondly, it is located very close to Novocherkassk, where I live, i.e. visiting the monument was very easy. Thirdly, I am generally a lover of history and all kinds of historical monuments. Well, fourthly, look at the photo again, don’t you yourself want to look at this “crystal” up close?
Read more about the location of the fortress. It is located in Russia in the Rostov region near the village of Starocherkasskaya, 700 meters from the Don River. Coordinates in Google Earth: 47"15"10.31""C 40"05"21.27""B.
In the photo the fortress is in the upper right corner.
Dimensions of the monument (approximate): The perimeter of the fortress excluding protruding bastions is 1 km 320 m; the perimeter of one large bastion (eastern) is 313 m.
The trip took place on November 21, 2010. Late autumn. Bare trees. Withered dried grass. So there was nothing to expect in terms of enjoying nature.
We reached the village of Starocherkasskaya easily and naturally along the recently repaired old Aksai road and the new road from Bolshoy Log to Starocherkasskaya. The village of Starocherkasskaya itself is an open-air museum, the first capital of the Don Cossacks. We have visited it before and we advise you to visit it too if you have the opportunity.
From Starocherkasskaya to the fortress we traveled along a dirt road along the Don. This path can be seen in the second photo. This road, of course, is very problematic - narrow, with deep ruts and holes. In short, you can’t get through the mud in a regular car (and we were driving a Kalina).
We stopped several times to explore the Don coastline for a future summer vacation. In general, the places are not bad, but you can see from everything that there are a lot of vacationers here in the summer. Heaps of garbage, fire pits, places suitable for toilets and tents, rickety plywood shacks of homeless appearance and even dugouts.
Shortly before the turn to the fortress, the dirt road turns into a tiled one, i.e. lined with concrete slabs. But this did not mean at all that she became better, rather the opposite. The slabs are old, broken, sticking out at blunt angles in all directions, with deep sharp cracks between them. In short, no one drives on it, the real road (dirt) is nearby, and they moved along it.
And finally, we have arrived, please, Anninskaya Fortress.
We saw this inside almost every bastion of the fortress - such a pit. What did he do for the soldiers? Maybe it was a dugout with gunpowder or other supplies or weapons.
And this is one of the corners of the fortress. Almost 300 years have passed since it was built, but its strict forms have been preserved.
One more angle. The wind gently combed the feather grass on the surface of the fortress. When you see this hairstyle, an analogy arises with the intricate designs of aliens in wheat and corn fields.
Summarizing my impressions, I will say this: if you are not a romantic and not a history buff, then the Anninskaya Fortress will seem dull to you. But I love places like this, thoughtful and melancholic.
Back we decided to go along another road, a shorter one, from the fortress directly to Novocherkassk, bypassing Starocherkasskaya. This is the same road made of concrete slabs. It goes further past the fortress to the north, crosses small rivers, then the Aksai River and comes out to Bolshoy Mishkin, and from there it’s a stone’s throw to Novocherkassk. But we hadn’t driven along it even two kilometers before we hurried back. Firstly, further on it became even more broken, and there were no bypass roads. Secondly, there is not a soul around, just thickets, you know the atmosphere of the swamps from “The Hound of the Baskervilles”.
But we still found an opportunity not to drive back again along the bad dirt road along the Don. There is a power line running straight from the fortress towards Starocherkasskaya, and along it there is a dirt road, but it is good and smooth.