Saturday, July 14, 2012

Mir Castle Architecture



Castle in the town of Grodno world built on the right bank of the rivulet laywomen. The plan, he recalled a few wry quadrilateral. At each corner, speaking for the perimeter wall, towers strong tower. Fifth - entry - Gate is located in the center of the western wall, facing the city. In the courtyard stands a three-story palace, attached to the northern and eastern walls of the castle.

Mir Castle was built in 1506-1510 years. previously stood on the site is dependent on the Lord's Court feudal Mirschiny population, as well as other possessions Brest mayor, Court Marshal of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Prince George Ilyinich. For the construction of the castle were built brick factories ("tsagelni") in the villages and Propashi Birbashi. Lime is delivered from the overthrow, that about Columns. In one place were brought hundreds of cubic meters of field stone, hewing it, sorted by size and color are the same peasant hands.

Rod Ilyinich Mir Castle belonged to him from 1568 went on to Radzivills Nesvizh line. Since the end of the XVIII century. was at the graphs and the princes of Hohenlohe, Berlenburgov, Wittgenstein, and the second half of XIX century. and up to 1939 - the princes Svyatopolk-Mirski.

The castle was badly damaged in 1655 during the Russian-Polish war. During the Northern War (1705), it was stormed and burned by Swedes. In 1794 during the uprising T. Kosciuszko Castle stormed the royal troops. Under its walls, 9-14 July 1812 there were fierce battles between the rear guard of the 2nd Russian army of Bagration - General Platov cavalry and the French cavalry of Marshal Davout. During the fighting were destroyed and burned down the palace, a tower, damaged outer bastion fortifications. Re-new battle under the walls of the castle was 11.10 in November 1812 between the army and the French Admiral Chichagov.


Only in 1870 on the four towers (except for the blasted North-East) built a hipped roof. Later the palace was restored. At the end of the XIX century. Mir Castle Architecture, south of the castle had dug a large pond, the failure of this bastion fortifications.

Mir Castle Complex today and surprises with its architectural harmony and unity with nature, rationality and reasonableness of the defense structures, simplicity and conciseness of forms.

All the towers of the castle made the same: four-sided base and eight-sided tapering top. The architectural treatment of facades based on the alternation of different shapes and sizes of decorative niches, rods, and ornamental belts. This technique has been widely distributed both in civil and in the cult of Belarusian architecture of XVI century.

Around the perimeter wall at a height of about 8 m from the ground is an ornamental belt width of about 70 cm of the six rows of brick. The upper and lower ranks - bricks laid at an angle in the form of traditional curb. Between them is a strip of recessed masonry. Whitewashed with lime, this belt impressively read by a red brick wall background, as well as other ornamental belt, which was from its very top.

All the towers of the castle of Mir structurally and stylistically close to each other at the same time each of them has its individual architectural appearance. The artistic excellence of the facade of the castle, and especially emphasizes the reasonableness of the fusion zone of ornamental towers. They, in turn, continue to organically identical in design and engineering performance belt on the fence wall and semicircular niches. Thanks to all the elements of the castle are linked into a coherent architectural composition, and their elegance and grandeur as it might push the walls in the background, creating a complete image of a unique structure that has no analogues in the neighboring lands of the Baltic states, Poland and Russia.

Towers placed in such a way that was convenient to flanking fire along the walls and pryasel hit the target on the approaches to them. Most of the loopholes intended to be fired from guns. All towers designed as independent units of defense: the case of an enemy breakthrough into the yard and the assault from the outside of them could carry a circular firing. Each tower had 5 tiers fights with a lot of loopholes and complex system of internal transitions. Culminated in the tower battlements - machicolations, allows you to protect the immediate approaches to the walls. Through them, the enemy could throw stones, grenades, pouring boiling water or resin.

Of all the corner towers of XVI century. almost completely preserved southwest, which allows to study the system of planning and organization of the fight on all floors. At the bottom it is somewhat skewed square 10x10 m 23 m height of the tower rests on a powerful facility for at least a powerful foundation with a depth of 4 m laying Difficult it is of huge boulders up to 1.5 meters, well adjusted to each other, associated with lime solution.

Inside the tower was divided into five tiers, and placed in the basement cellar for the storage of military ammunition. The first floor housed the seven cannon embrasures, which flanked the fire castle gates, western and southern walls and were front the fire. On the second floor was a narrow and steep stone staircase. It housed six guns. In the XX century. some loopholes rastesali did the large windows. The overlap of the second floor vaulted, and the other three - on the beams. On the upper floors were loopholes, designed to fire both of cannon, and from handguns.

At the level of the fourth floor of the tower walls move in the "octagon". At the top of the tower walls in some places preserved poluzalozhennye brick "Vary the window." The remaining towers are different from the south-west dimensions of reason, the volume of space and some details. Same internal layout, three-dimensional solution, the appointment of the premises and saturation firing means they are all very similar.

Of all the towers of the Mir Castle home - entry - in form, soft sculpture and ornamentation of the facades of the most interesting, bright and perfect. Shestiyarusnoe structure powerfully ascended to the 25-meter height, resting on a solid foundation (12x12 m). A powerful tower is decorated with a giant ornamental bands and decorative niches of various sizes and shapes, accumulating a traditional ornamentation techniques and tools of local stone architecture. Here and drevneslavyan-sky curb and arkaturnye friezes (valances), and an inquisitive mind born of the local "doylidov 'round, three-part with hanging weights, semicircular, arched, rectangular and other niches. The thickness of the first floor of the tower cuts a single passage in a castle with two oak gates (one at the entrance and the other at the exit). Gating the cloth flaps locked thick oak beams, which were made in the side walls of the special socket (30x30 cm). In addition, shots on target further defended the special lattice (Gers) from forged and sharpened iron bars from the bottom. She fell from the second floor through a special aperture size of 2.8 X0, 4 m in case of danger, before the guard had time to close the gate, with lightning speed Hers' fell from the top, cutting off the entrance to the castle.

At the bottom of the portal of the tower housed a prison - the basement, are also protected by guards. To the left of the gate on the west wall, there were loopholes mounted combat (machicolations).

According to the inventory of the castle in 1688, in the portal tower were three iron cannon. In the XVIII and XIX centuries. on the second floor housed a chapel, and on the wall facing the courtyard of the castle, was a clock. Started from the bottom and was in the thick walls of stone stairs. She reached the fourth floor, opening and access to each tier of the battle. The second and third floors with vaulted ceilings were, respectively, 6 and 7 of the loopholes for firing muskets and cannons. The remaining floors of his plan are similar: to have overlapping beams and 8 cannon embrasures. Tower was completed belt "Carlsbad windows" that existed prior to the restructuring and renovation of the tower in the second half of XIX century.

Attaching great importance to the defense of the only entrance to the castle and taking into account the increasing power of artillery, the owners of the castle after a while decided to further strengthen the protection of the gate. To this end, the central tower built a horseshoe-shaped wall "predbramya" (Barbican) with a thickness of 1.25 meters on her cut through the center of one of two doorways of the cloth, and lockable wooden beam ("obstruction"). The top of the wall ended in teeth and loopholes. Consequently, it also had a military gallery - a platform for shooters. Inside the Barbican dug a 2-meter deep pit, which closed a special drawbridge. Mir Castle Architecture had spadeform length of about 9.75 m and a width of 9.5 m falling, the bridge lay on the ledge a special reference to the foundation of the Barbican, playing the role of flooring for travel to the castle. From below the bridge was bound with iron bands and spikes. Being raised, it is entirely closed the main entrance gating. The dimensions of the bridge suggests that the height of the wall "predbramya" of at least 10 m existed Barbican until the end of the XIX century. Firepower Mir castle towers and walls are organically combined. Characteristically, the walls were three tiers of combat. The lower zone of the four walls cut through the gun slits in a battle plantar spacious chambers - PECHUROV. This tier of the fire was very powerful: in the north wall had nine loopholes in the east - 9, in the south - 8 and in the west - 5.

Middle tier in the middle of the battlefield was the walls, a height of approximately 8 m above the ground. He had the look of the corridor gallery height of just over 2 meters with a semicircular arch. Both walls of the gallery were numerous rifle loopholes that allowed the fire to not only outside, but inside the castle courtyard. Upper level - battle ground, placed at the top of the wall. She covered the parapets with loopholes.

At the beginning of the XVII century. important additional elements of defense became the Mir Castle bastion fortifications, pour out of clay, coarse sand and earth. This construction, which took the form of a powerful quad 170H150 size m, as it has become the first line of defense.

Construction of the castle was carried out in several stages. In the first decade of the XVI century. were built walls and towers, and the south-western section of the yard one-story brick dwelling occupied the building. The second phase accounted for 20 to 30 years of the XVI century., When the southern and eastern walls, built a one-story building with an extensive cellar. The new building has taken a significant area of ​​the courtyard.

In the third construction phase (second half of the XVI century. - The first half of XVII.) Over a one-story housing built two more floors. The external walls of the palace were castle walls - north and east. They walled part of the loopholes, but on the second and third floors have large windows. Inside the building has also undergone renovation. According to some data, in the late XVI - early XVII century., Apparently, also built a horseshoe-shaped wall "predbramya." Imagine Mir Castle at the time allow inventories. According to information from one of them in 1688, the Pidzamche surrounded by a rampart, placed a variety of outbuildings - "flocking to vozovney and notation, all roofed with shingles," and "a small kitchen garden." Near the gate stood a lodge ("kordygarda"), where there were furnace "of white kafli, bred up, three benches, a table and a glass window." In the castle were the prince's stables with hay harvested for future use, and oats, distillery, bathroom, utility vaults. High-porch "with railings and uskhodkami Malevannaya" paved the way to the numerous rooms and halls of the palace. Mir Castle Architecture.Everything was sparkling clean and the wealth on which the sun looked in amazement, looking here through the stained glass windows, reduction of tin and wooden frame work of astonishing: the parquet floor, high furnace, built of multicolored kafli, forged brass hanging candlesticks, the famous carpets karelitskie - "Tapestry", expensive weapons on the walls.

Mir Castle XVII-XVIII centuries. - It is a magnificent palace and castle complex, which features a surprisingly well combined military fortification,Architecture and softness, opulence and grandeur of the palace buildings. The history of the castle is closely linked with the history of the world populations. According to some reports, it is first mentioned in 1395, when the Crusaders led by the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order Konrad von Yungingemom without taking Novogrudok, Lida, and attacked the world and devastated them. In 1434 Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund gave Keystutovich World boyar Gedygoldovichu Senka, which he joined in 1490 to the genus Ilyinich princes, natives of Mogilev.

In the XVI century. Fortifications of the World has Radziwill were in the form of the earthworks with wooden "parkanom" and four wooden entrance Gate, later replaced by stone. One of the local masons - "Muliar Zaborovsky Martin" in 1594 "were set chrism" of peace. City of the gate, opening out of town travel to the four sides have had their own names: Wilensky, The exchange, a castle, and Slonim. The latter is sometimes in the documents of XVII century. also called the "Gate Ayutsevichskaya." Before the shaft was a dry moat. Each portal tower had a drawbridge. In late August - early September 1655 the city was taken by world army royal governor Alexander Trubetskoy and Ukrainian colonel Ivan Zolotarenko. Repeatedly hit the city in late 1655, when he was besieged by the Swedes. The town had militia townspeople, divided into hundreds.

Mir Castle in service in their 60-80s of XVII century. gakovnitsy were "in a simple siege", muskets, wick osazhennye samopaly, peaks, poleaxes, mace, "chipped in iron," and the gun. All works of repair and inspection of the city's fortifications led the local mayor. In the 80 years of the XVII century., After a devastating Russian-Polish war in the world are working two teams of builders, whose names are known. It's carpenters - "Master teslyarsky Garuta, Tesla Mikolaj, Yuri, Chursky, Lavryn Stepura, Dudarchik and masons - Muliar - Senior Master Martin, the master of Khabar, Stanislav, Petroc and assistants Dudka, Fedor, Gorbach, Sasha." As in the castle, the city tower wings different roofing materials: shingles, wooden shingles ("dahovkoy") muravlenoy "royal dahovkoy", imported from Karpov on Luke, "Khatna dahovkoy" and tin ("buckle") in the form of copper and zinc sheets. Fortifications in the world, apparently, in the XVIII century. looked like a bastion fortification. It lasted until the end of the XVIII century. And Wilensky Gate last mentioned in 1794, then strengthening sryli. Until now, only survived the Mir Castle Complex. Mir Castle was once a powerful military structure, which have been used almost all the known elements of the medieval fortifications of the castle and the local traditions of architecture. Mir Castle Architecture built his undoubtedly talented architect-builder. Most likely it was a folk artist, who had a rich artistic taste and a sense of proportion, was well acquainted with the architecture of the neighboring nations. Not having good tools, he could not make a precise breakdown of how plans and facades. But this did not prevent a first-rate architect for the time of military fortifications, to decorate his stern appearance beautiful harmony of colors and a variety of architectural details. Now the big castle restoration work underway.
Mir Castle Architecture

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