Fortification Line of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: A New Stage of Defense Architecture of the Eastern Europe Space

Abstract

The theme of the history of medieval defensive architecture in the Northern Black Sea region becomes extremely relevant in the realities of the modern history of Ukraine, when the Russian invaders try to capture the southern lands of Ukraine and defend the idea of belonging of these territories to Russia with pseudo-historical concepts of «Russian peace». The results of the historical and archaeological study of the South of Ukraine, especially in recent decades, demonstrate other circumstances of the development of the South. They make it possible to highlight the main trends of the evolution of the region in direct continuity with the previous history of Russia in new historical circumstances. This is the time when the Kyiv principality became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Russia and Zhemaitia, the borders of which reach the Black Sea coast in the late 14th — early 15th century. Here the turbulent activity of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas unfolds in the construction of fortresses, customs houses, the arrangement of crossings and port facilities. The defensive architecture of the Southern region of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Russia and Zhemaitia takes place during the formation of a new map of Eastern Europe, with the presence of Lithuania, the formation of early Ukraine on the heritage of Russia, the formation of the Crimean Tatar people and its statehood, the active activity of the Principality of Moldavia in connection with the presence and influences of Genoa, contacts with Poland, influence of Ottoman Empire and other states of that time. It was the time of construction of the castle fortification, which belonged to the first stage of adaptation of military affairs to the artillery of the contemporary world, which covers the time of the 14th— 16th centuries. The comparative castellology gave the possibilities to study some regularity in the typological model of fortresses. This method was used in the course of study of fortresses of Vitovt’s fortification line, such as Tiagin fortress. It allows establishing the common features of the planning structure of the fortification architecture of the Northern Black Sea region — a new stage of evolution, which was characterized by stone castle architecture. In turn, they met the needs of the stage of development of artillery at the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 16th centuries. Medieval Europe, in which the influences of various cultures of the East and the West intersect, new defense opportunities and prospects are developing.