Zaaltarnaya Bashnya

The center of the city

The trans-altar tower got its name from the place of construction - in the trans-altar part of the old wooden church of the Abrahamiev monastery, founded at the beginning of the 13th century, by Bishop Ignatius of Smolensk between 1210 and 1219. The first abbot was Abraham Smolensky. In the 16th century, the Altar Tower was called “Belukha”, because initially the walls of the Smolensk fortress were covered with white lime. The Trans-Altar Tower suffered as if in the siege of the city by the forces of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1609-1611 - during one of the assaults of the city by the Poles, its wooden structures completely burned out. In 1633, the Zaaltarnaya tower became one of the places where the main attacks of the Moscow army were directed under the leadership of the Smolensk voivode Mikhail Shein in attempts to recapture Smolensk from the enemy. In this place a real "underground war" unfolded. The remains of these trenches of Sheinov’s batteries can still be seen at the foot of the tower. During the Northern War, by order of Peter I, the tower was further protected by a high earthen embankment. During the years of the occupation of Smolensk, the tower was damaged during the bombing, partially burned out and lost a wooden roof, due to which it began to quickly decay. To date, the Zaaltarnaya tower has been restored, it again has a high hipped roof. Inside there are 3 tiers of metal bullock, no overlap. You can see it only from the external circuit and the fortress. In 2013, the Avraamievskaya and Zaaltarnaya towers passed into the indefinite use of the Smolensk diocese.

Nice place in the evening.

Looks good, classy look

It is always interesting to see the real fortress, but you must be prepared for a place unprepared for tourists.