Description and history of Kalamita fortress in Crimea

The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is replete with various historical places. Some are preserved and constantly restored, while others were destroyed, which left behind only the memory of the long past past. This number can be safely attributed to the Kalamita fortress, which is located on a peninsula near the village of Inkerman. Even today, this historic place attracts many tourists because of its past. We will briefly consider the history of the fortress, learn about its features, and also tell you how to get there.

According to historical data, the fortress in question began its existence in the VI century, playing the role of a protective structure from enemies. Initially, it had only 6 towers, they, in turn, were combined by means of certain structures, which were called curtains, which eventually made it possible to combine two bastions into one.

The main material during construction work was rubble stone and lime mortar. The thickness of the walls in different places varied, the difference could be from 1 meter up to 4. And the height everywhere was unchanged, 12 meters. Initially, as soon as it was erected, the fortress was quite impressive in size, for example, its area as a whole reached as much as 1,500 m2 and a length of 234 meters.

The location of the building of the historical structure was chosen for a reason. One of the sides was protected by a cliff, in this place the bay enters the land, whereby its width can reach about 1000 meters. The other side was protected by the erected fortress.This arrangement allowed us to take a strategically important position and see any movement, which, in turn, did not allow our enemies to attack unexpectedly.

Unfortunately, today the history regarding the underground cities of Crimea, in particular, the fortress of Kalamita is almost unknown. Despite the fact that it was erected in the VI century, which it was possible to find out after some studies, it began to be marked on sea charts only in the XIV-XV centuries.

Scientists believe that most likely, the Byzantines erected this fortress, however we will never know what it actually was. Basically, all information was collected about it from the 15th century, it is from this period that history has ceased to be so foggy. In this period, the principality of Theodoro existed.

It was constantly in conflict with the Genoese colonies. The princedom needed access to the sea, as a result of which they built a port, and to protect it, it was decided to rebuild the fortress in question on the monastery rock.

But already in 1475, the Turks ruled in Crimea, who captured Kalamita and began to refer to it as Inkerman. Due to the fact that the invaders already had firearms at their disposal, the fortress had to be redone for it. They erected another tower and redesigned the earlier built, in addition, made the walls somewhat thicker. After the lapse of time, the fortress ceased to be so necessary in terms of defense, so gradual destruction began to occur, however, it suffered the most during the battle for Sevastopol.

Today, tourists can see the destroyed towers, small remnants of the defensive walls, the cross, which is located on the spot where the church and cave monastery, erected directly under the fortress, were previously located.

As soon as a tourist approaches the fortress, the first thing that opens to his gaze is gate tower, about 12 meters from it there is a second one, where the moat begins, turning into a cave complex.

It was the fourth tower that was least destroyed due to the fact that it was taken out of the ditch and, in fact, was a separate fortress, in other words, played the role of an additional defensive structure.

In addition to the destroyed towers, tourists will be able to see the remains of a Christian monastery, which, according to the latest data, was erected by theodorites, when they, in turn, owned this area. A little later, the temple was destroyed, but by whom and for what reasons, to this day it was not possible to find out.

Near the moat, the tourist will be able to see the remains of a small cemetery of the XIX – XX centuries, where two monuments have been preserved:

• an obelisk depicting a propeller belonging to a buried flight engineer in 1938;
• concrete tombstone in honor of the machine gunner who died in the Great Patriotic War in 1942

The monastery rock abounds with a large number of caves. In one of them, around the 7th-9th centuries, the currently known Inkerman St. Clement Cave Monastery was built, which was dedicated to the saint who died in Chersonesos. The church was often taken away from the clergy, and after a short period of time was returned again. So, the last time the church was destroyed in 1907, during the war. It turned back to Christians only after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

As you can see from the diagram in the picture, the underground city and not only has many places where tourists can see the architectural structures, feel the spirit of past, bygone times.

Today, the fortress of Kalamita is part of the Kherson nature reserve, which is caused by the find of drawings on the walls of ships with detailed drawings. This discovery was made in 1968, when one of the destroyed towers was restored. According to scientists, the drawings belong to the XIV-XV centuries.

No one can tell the exact time when the fortress was built, but historians still believe that construction began no later than the VI century.

Inkerman can be reached by all convenient means. If you have your own car, then the navigator will help you. Or you can go there by train, bus or even boat. It is worth noting that the tourist will get more pleasure from a boat trip, since it will take place at the Sevastopol Bay.

If you go by bus, then You should start your trip from Sevastopol, drive to Vtormet, then navigate to a gas station and start climbing to the temple complex.

When you are driving your own transport, you should go on the highway E 105 or M 18. At the Black River you will see a turn to the right, there, a fortress will be opened to your gaze.

Many tourists who visited the fortress of Kalamita, not without reason, believe that this is an extremely interesting place with a rich history. Despite the fact that little is left of her, she should still be visited. It is at this place that you can touch the remnants of a bygone era and enjoy the bewitching views that open from the cliff.

Also, tourists can visit the monastery complex. You can visit such a place, visit the ruins of a medieval fortress yourself, or by resorting to the help of a guide.

If you find yourself in the Crimea, you simply must go on an excursion to the fortress, as well as the monastery itself. The cost of the tour in the latter is not more than 100 rubles.

You can look at the Kalamita fortress (Inkerman) in the video below.