There are many different legends, mysterious stories and superstitions around the Gremyachaya Tower in Pskov. At the moment, the fortress is almost collapsed, but people are still interested in the history of the building, and now various excursions are held there. This article will tell you more about the tower, its origins.
General information
The Gremyachaya Tower in Pskov is part of the defense system of the Pskov fortress of the Roundabout city. The tower is located on Gremyachaya Gora, right on the banks of the Pskov River. It was built in 1525. The height of the building reaches 29 meters, the diameter of the tower is 15 meters.
There is a fortress wall next to it, and on the other side there is a stone extension with exits to the wall, tower and river. Now it is almost completely destroyed.
It is believed that the tower with the fortress wall adjacent to it is the most complex defensive structure of the city. It combined Russian and Italian construction and defense techniques.
Photo and description
Modern photos of the Gremjatower cannot convey itgreatness. But old drawings depicting an impregnable fortress have survived to our time. Below is an example of one of them.
Photos inside the Gremyachaya Tower were also taken quite recently, but you can learn about what it was like immediately after its construction from ancient lithographs.
Origin of the name
One of the interesting facts about the Gremyachy tower is that the real name of the fortress is Kosmodemyanskaya. It was named after the temple of Cosmas and Demyan, which is located nearby. The name "Gremyachaya" came from another tower, which was destroyed after the construction of the second one. The fortress still stands almost at the same place, so the name passed to it, and practically nothing is known about the destroyed structure. Initially, the name "gremyachaya", which applied both to the monastery and to the gate, came from the name of Mount Gremyachy, on which the entire defensive fortress was built. Why grief was given such a name is unknown.
At the moment, the tower is more popularly known as Gremyachaya, however, the name Kosmodemyanskaya is often used. It is believed that the fortress has a double name.
History
The Gremyachaya Tower in Pskov was built in 1525. The construction of the armoring system began in the middle of the fifteenth century, that is, almost a hundred years before the construction of the Gremyachaya Tower.
The system included a tower,Thunder gates, wooden wall, upper and lower bars. After the wooden wall was replaced with stone, a two-tiered quadrangular tower was placed over the gate.
When Pskov joined the Moscow principality, the fortress walls were even more fortified. Then the tower, now known as Gremyachaya, was built.
Architecture
The rattling tower in Pskov is round, slightly tapering towards the top, covered with a temporary wooden roof. There are holes on the walls - loopholes that overlook the city, fortress, river, road, Upper bars.
During the construction of the foundation, the location feature was used. There is a solid limestone rock on the mountain, on which the tower was built. It serves as the floor for the first tier. The base of the building is also protected from water by concrete and masonry, granite boulders were also placed there. There is an underground passage to the Gremyachaya Tower, which was created in order to provide water to the defenders of the fortress.
The inside of the tower
Photos of the Gremyachaya Tower in Pskov do not allow us to get an idea of how it looked at the time when the fortress was still in operation.
It is known that the tower was divided into six tiers. They were demarcated by what looked like a wooden deck. Of course, they have not survived to this day, but nests remained in the walls, which served to secure them. In the center of each tier, hatches with ladders were located in order to be able to move freely around the tower.
The first tier has nono holes, loopholes, it is the so-called "deaf" tier. The second "floor" of the building already had three embrasures for close combat. The third and fourth tiers each had four openings that overlooked the river, the upper gratings, and the walls. The fifth tier also had four embrasures, but they were located differently. The sixth tier contained eight holes in all directions.
Legend of the Prince
As mentioned earlier, there are several legends about the Gremyachaya Tower in Pskov. One of them is about the prince of the city. It is assumed that this story tells about what happened back in the days of the first Gremyachy tower, which was destroyed, and Kosmodemyaskaya was erected in its place. However, this is not known for certain.
At that time the city prospered. It was engaged in crafts, trade, and therefore Pskov was a welcome prey for many enemy peoples. Indigenous people often had to defend themselves against invasions. The legend tells about what happened during one of the raids of the Teutonic Knights. The attack was so sudden that the inhabitants of Pskov could not immediately fight back, and therefore the enemy hordes managed to capture the prince.
The master of the Teutonic Order was sure that now the prince would bow before him and give up power over the city, but the ruler was a very proud man, and did not want to kneel before his enemies. They tortured the prince for a long time, but he did not give in, even his moans were not heard by the enemies.
Then the master ordered to shackle the prince in chains, and put him ina high tower so that the ruler can see how badly his people live. The prince sat in chains for a whole year, but could no longer endure the torment of the Pskovites. Then he looked out the window and began to encourage the people. He talked about how they defended their freedom. Then the inhabitants of Pskov rebelled and decided to attack the Teutons.
The enemies also heard the words of the prince, and the master ordered to secretly kill the prisoner. The people nevertheless learned about the death of their ruler, and this only kindled his rage. The townspeople took all the weapons they had and attacked the enemy camp.
Despite the anger and pressure of the Pskovites, they could not win for a long time. Their forces were already exhausted, the night had come, the Teutons were about to take over the Russians. Suddenly, lightning lit up the sky, and they saw the shadow of the prince on the tower. The vision gave strength and courage to the people, and the knights, on the contrary, were very afraid. That night, the Pskovites won the victory, and the enemies were expelled from the city.
When people came to the tower the next day to bury the prince properly, the body was no longer there. But they say that at night you can still hear the sighs and groans of the ruler of Pskov, who walks around the tower and rattles with chains.
Legend of the beauty
Another legend about the Gremyachy Tower in Pskov is a story about a beauty - the daughter of a prince. They say that for many centuries in the crypt of the tower underground in a coffin lies a young girl, beautiful in face and figure. Beautiful, with a blush, clear eyes. She is alive, but she can neither move nor say a word. The crypt where the prince's daughter lies is filled with barrels of pure gold and jewels.
They say that onthe girl was put under a terrible spell by her own mother. Why there was hostility in the family, no one knows, but only now for many centuries a beautiful maiden has been sleeping soundly. And the entrance to it is guarded by an evil spirit.
Despite everything, there is hope for the salvation of the beauty. A girl can wake up if some brave man sits at the head of her coffin for twelve nights, reading the Ps alter to her. Only then will the evil force dissipate, and the good fellow will receive not only a beautiful wife, but also all the we alth that is in the crypt.
Many people wanted to fall into the dungeon, but only with the advent of night, everyone takes such fear that he runs away from the tower, never reaching the princess.
Legend of the craftsman
The most eerie legend of the Thunder Tower tells the story of a craftsman. On the outskirts of the city, on Myshina Gora, stands the Church of St. John the Theologian. The temple is so old that no one remembers when it was built and by whom, but the custom of celebrating the day of the Apostle once a year has remained.
At that time there was a craftsman living in Pskov. Every year on a holiday he goes to his relatives, who lived on Mouse Hill, just next to the temple. He never changed his tradition, and nothing bad ever happened to him, and this year he did not expect that at least something bad could happen.
The artisan liked to drink at a party, eat, talk heart to heart. He didn't even notice when night fell. Relatives offered to stay for the night, but he decided to return home. The road was not close, and all through the forest and deserted places.
He walks along the path and meetstwo old acquaintances. We got talking. He told the workman where he was, what he was doing, and found out that his friends were going to have another drink, and they were calling with them. The craftsman decided that it was better to be in a company than to walk alone at night, and agreed, only wondering where this drink could be found in the forest. Two acquaintances took him by the arms and led him to a tavern, which was very close to the place where they met. Didn't know the artisan that there was one there.
A lot of booze, snacks were put on the table. Countrymen drink and treat the artisan. According to the Orthodox habit, the artisan always crossed himself before drinking, and this time it was the same. As soon as he crossed himself, everything around him immediately disappeared. There were no countrymen, no tavern, he alone sat on the roof of the tower with a bone in his hand instead of a glass of booze. From this, the hair stood on end at the master. It was removed from the roof only in the morning, when people were passing by to work.
The artisan never went to the Mouse Hill again, fearing that evil spirits would again take the form of his acquaintances. Indeed, at that time only the sign of the cross saved him from certain death.
Rattle Tower now
The address of the Gremyachaya Tower in Pskov is known even now. As it was already written earlier, excursions are still held in the fortress. Tourists are told about the history of construction, local legends, superstitions. The tower is considered a significant monument of the history of the Russian state.
Now the gate is destroyed and bricked up. The entrance is located on the other side, there is still preserved a small gate in the form of an arch. Many walls are now dismantled,only some fragments remain on all sides.
Temple of Cosmas and Damian
Since the name of the Kosmodemyanskaya or Gremyachaya tower in Pskov comes from the temple of Cosmas and Damian, it is worth mentioning this building.
In 1383, the whole Kosmodemyansky monastery was built. In 1540 there was a strong fire, so the building was radically rebuilt. In 1764 the monastery was closed. The church turned into a parish church and was under the auspices of the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Over time, the temple has changed a lot, as for some period it was practically in disrepair. Despite this, the church continues to function to this day.
The siblings Cosmas and Damian, after whom the church is named, lived in the third century. They were very kind to people, they always helped the poor, healed the sick, preached about Jesus Christ and never took a reward for their labors, because they called all actions not their works, but God's.
Of course, even such people have their enemies, envious people. One day the brothers were seized and brought to trial. They were threatened, forced to renounce their faith and sacrifice to the pagan gods. However, God saved Cosmas and Damian from a painful death. The judge suddenly fell ill with a terrible disease. When the brothers prayed to God for him, he was healed. Witnesses of the miracle believed in the power of Jesus Christ, and the ruler had no choice but to set the brothers free.
Cosmas and Damian are considered martyrs, as they were later stoned to death. The execution was staged by the brothers' former mentor, who tricked them into a trap.
How to get there
The address of the Gremyachy Tower is pretty easy to find out. The building is located on Gremyachey Street, 8, right on the banks of the Pskov River. The fortress is located near the city center, you can even get there on foot. In addition, buses run to the Gremyachaya Tower. It can also be freely reached by car.
