Name: THE POTTER "GONCHARNA" TOWER
Location: Kamianets
Country: Ukraine
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THE POTTER "GONCHARNA" TOWER
The first defensive structures in Kamianets were built in the areas where
the island was most vulnerable: at the narrow isthmus in the west and on
thegentle slope of the canyon in the north-west. Built in the 11th-13th cc ,
these fortifications served as the basic foundation for the Old Castle and
the Polish gate complex. Taking the Kamianets-Podilsky fortress as an
example , one can trace the history of defensive architecture in Ukraine.
Apart from the main fortifications there was a system of structures made
of towers and walls constructed to defend particular sections of the city. They
include the Stephan Bathory Tower and the gate in the city's southern outskirts,
Turkish bastions and the defensive walls . In the east and south-east
there is a chain of towers- Potter, Slyusarska, Kushnirska united by a rampart
while in the south-west there are high defensive walls
skirting the Armenian quarters on a long terrace . To counter a threat , a
number of non-secular and civil structures could be transformed into
defenses.
The Potter Tower was the main fortification of the east part of the city. It was
built in 1583 by Kamianets potters( they lived in this part of the town) The
tower was reconstructed in 1669- at that time it had 5 stories and a high roof
with a watch (after the WW2 the tower was rebuilt in 1960-1961 in the forms of
the 17th c )It's interesting to know that the highest raw of the gun-slots are
cut from outside: it was made for lead bullets to ricoushette. It's the only
example of such gun-slots in Ukraine Sometimes the tower is also called Durer
tower because that type of gun-slots was invented by this famous German artist.
What one can see near the tower is the 19th c synagogue. What an irony of
Soviet life-after the WW2 there was a popular restaurant" The Old Castle
there , and now it's a night-club" The Fort-post".
The above information and pictures were provided by Sergey
Gnap
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