Museum of the history of the Konstantinovskaya battery opening hours. Bastion of courage: how the Konstantinovskaya battery became a symbol of the defense of Sevastopol

SEVASTOPOL, 24 October - RIA Novosti Crimea... It took the builders about three years to restore the legendary, which twice in its history showed an example of unbending will, Russian spirit and courage worthy of the heroes of Ancient Greece. On November 4, the official opening of the citadel for residents and guests of Sevastopol will take place. On the eve of this event, the correspondent visited the territory of the battery to see with his own eyes how it was transformed.

Rebirth of the battery

The decision to reconstruct the battery and create on its basis was made at the end of 2014 at the initiative of the President of the Russian Geographical Society. The main work unfolded in 2015 and has continued to this day.

Konstantinovskaya battery in 2014

During this time, experts cleared the inner halls of the fortress from sand, stones and other debris, laid new masonry in place of the collapsed towers and walls, and painted the walls in a light sand color. In addition, the inner parade ground, which over the years has been overgrown with grass, shrubs and trees, was tiled, and small green flower beds were formed on it.

The upper part of the battery was lined with wooden flooring, and the observation towers were removed. You can climb here by two stairs. A beautiful view of the Sevastopol Bay and the city opens from here.

As the special representative of the Russian Geographical Society in Sevastopol, Vladimir Vorobyov, told RIA Novosti Crimea, the battery was restored according to historical drawings that were obtained from the central archive of the Russian Navy in St. Petersburg.

According to him, the first start-up stage of the exhibition complex will open on November 4. In the future, the entire territory adjacent to the battery will be put in order, including the monuments of military history located on it.

Now two expositions are ready - the history of the Konstantinovskaya battery and the history of the Russian Geographical Society. Among the exhibits are old maps, letters, weapons, artifacts found on the site. However, representatives of the Russian Geographical Society asked not to fully disclose the secret about the expositions, so that the guests could see everything with their own eyes.

It will be possible to visit the fortress free of charge only within the framework of the celebration of National Unity Day - November 4 and 5. After that, the entrance will be paid. Representatives of the Russian Geographical Society have not yet disclosed the cost of tickets. However, it can be assumed that it will not be higher than the price of a ticket to the Mikhailovskaya Battery (300 rubles). The Konstantinovskaya battery will work for the time being three days a week (Friday, Saturday, Sunday).

A copy of the sculpture "Russia" by Nikolai Laveretsky, installed on a hill at the entrance to the Konstantinovskaya battery

Suvorov's ideas

On the eve of the opening of the museum on the territory of the Konstantinovskaya battery, RIA Novosti Crimea decided to recall its history, which began in the 18th century.

After the signing of the Kucuk-Kaynardzhi peace treaty in 1774, which ended the first Russian-Turkish war, the Ottoman Empire abandoned its claims to the Crimea. The peninsula gained independence, but Turkish ships continued to feel at ease off the coast of the peninsula. Realizing the strategic importance of Crimea, Empress Catherine II decided to include it in the Russian Empire. This had to be done delicately - without unleashing a new war with the Turks. The task was entrusted to the Russian commander Alexander Suvorov. At that time, about 10 Turkish warships were located in Akhtiarskaya Bay (now Sevastopol). By order of Suvorov, on the night of June 15, 1778, Russian soldiers erected earthen fortifications at the entrance to the bay. When the Turks saw them, they hastened to leave the bay, not wanting to become an easy target for Russian guns.

After the annexation of Crimea to Russia, it was decided to strengthen all the strongholds of the peninsula in order to protect it from encroachments. Suvorov proposed to build powerful casemated batteries on the site of the temporary earth fortifications of Sevastopol. Later, the commander's idea found support at the top: Emperor Nicholas I was so carried away by this project that he personally made changes to the drawings of the batteries. The construction of the facility, designed by Colonel Burno, began in 1834, and the main work was completed in 1840. The key building material of the fortress was a particularly strong stone, which is still mined in Sevastopol in Kilen-balka.

The Konstantinovskaya battery was made in a horseshoe-shaped form, which is rare for sea fortresses, which allowed the fort to fight, both from the open sea and on the inner roadstead - in the event of a breakthrough of enemy ships into the bay. The citadel was armed with 94 guns and 470 soldiers.

Konstantinovskaya battery (in the background, behind the bay)

Morally outdated

The battery received its baptism of fire in 1854 during the first bombing of Sevastopol by the British: on October 5, about 90 enemy ships unleashed a firestorm on the fortifications and batteries of Sevastopol. According to some estimates, in three hours the enemy fired 50 thousand shots at the city. The Konstantinovskaya battery fired from 43 guns located in the shelling sector of the ships. There were ten times the number of British cannons firing at the fort. As a result of the battle, the fortress received significant damage, lost more than two dozen guns, five of its defenders were killed and about 50 were wounded. But the British also suffered losses - the battleships "London", "Kim" and "Agamemnon" caught fire from accurate hits, which were forced to retreat further into the sea. After an unsuccessful attempt to break Sevastopol, the Franco-British troops no longer attempted a massive shelling of the city from the sea. Instead, the enemy chose as his tactics the siege of Sevastopol, which lasted 349 days.

The Konstantinovskaya Battery is the first and most famous fortification built in Sevastopol after the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Empire.

Geographic coordinates of the Konstantinovskaya battery on the Crimea map GPS N 44.626704 E 33.512354

Since the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Empire, the question of creating the Black Sea Fleet and the place of its basing has arisen. At first, the Black Sea Fleet was stationed in the city of Nikolaev (now the territory of Ukraine). But a few years after the annexation, Potemkin decided to move the fleet to Sevastopol, to one of the most convenient and deep-water bays of Crimea - Sevastopol. In 1785, the Black Sea Admiralty was created, which laid the foundation for the Black Sea Fleet and breathed new life into Sevastopol.
In 1786, the history of the Konstantinovskaya battery began which went down in history as a defensive structure number 1. The battery was located in the Sevastopol Bay and blocked the entrance to almost all enemy ships, even on the approaches to the roadstead.
The first fortification of the Konstantinovskaya battery was earthen, with wooden redoubts. At that time, it really could have caused many problems for the Turkish fleet.

By 1830, the earthen fortification was morally outdated and could not provide a decent defense and defense of Sevastopol, therefore, a plan was adopted to create a new defensive fortress. In 1834, Colonel Bürneau developed a new engineering project to strengthen defensive structure No. 1. The project was made in two floors, in the form of a regular horseshoe. The walls were 12 meters high and up to 25 meters thick. The total length is 235 meters. The garrison was designed for 500 men and 94 guns. In the cellars of the battery there were powder stores, food and water supplies. In the event of an attack, The Konstantinovskaya battery could autonomously defend itself for 1 year.

The Crimean-Turkish war began, and Turkey was clearly losing it. England and France, fearing the seizure of the straits connecting the Black and Mediterranean seas by Russia, decided to join the war on the side of Turkey. Italy also joined them, but did not participate in significant battles, mainly engaged in looting and plundering of the Crimean coast. English and French ships approached the Crimean coast, near the city of Sevastopol, and tried to occupy the city. The operation to seize the Crimean peninsula was planned for 14 days and another month for the establishment of the Turkish-French protectorate.

In Sevastopol, the first enemy attack was repulsed by crossfire, with No. 1 No. 2 and No. 10 batteries, but the main blow still fell on No. 1 - Konstantinovskaya battery. The battle lasted about 3-4 hours, the battery was covered with powerful fire, but nevertheless it held out and put out of action three enemy ships. The quick assault operation failed. The commanders of the defense of Sevastopol, Vice-Admiral V.A.Kornilov and Vice-Admiral PS Nakhimov, decided to flood the oldest ships and thereby block the passage to the bay. Further attempts to break through the defenses of Sevastopol from the sea all failed. So a positional war began with the landing of enemy forces in Yevpatoria - a land operation.

The next big test for the Constantine fortress were the years of World War II, the seizure of Sevastopol by the Nazis and the liberation of the city by the Red Army. The Konstantinovskaya fortress, throughout all hostilities, was in the very epicenter of the battle: constant air raids, direct tank attacks and shelling by enemy mines.

In the post-war years, the Konstantinovskaya battery has lost its relevance. It was passed from hand to hand in various military departments and practically never recovered. Small repairs ,. conducted by military engineers, kept it in a deplorable state until 2015. In 2015, the Konstantinovskaya battery was transferred to the Russian Geographical Society. In the middle of 2015, the renovation and creation of the first exhibition halls began in the fortress. Presumably, in a few years, the Konstantinovskaya fortress will be restored to its dignified form and opened for tourists. To date, several rooms have been reconstructed in the fortress. About a hundred exhibits have already been transferred to the museum's collection, and the collection of the exposition is regularly replenished.

In the coming years, the Konstantinovskaya battery, will be among those open to the public, along with such objects as, a monument and. If you decide to visit the city of Sevastopol, then by all means take a sea excursion to the Artbukhta. During the excursion you will learn a lot about Sevastopol and will certainly sail to the Konstantinovskaya battery. The view that opens up to it from the sea is simply incomparable, and the photos taken against its background will remain as a good memory for many years. Konstantinovskaya battery on the map of Crimea

The Konstantinovskaya Battery is a horseshoe-shaped defensive structure located on the Konstantinovskiy Cape in the northern part of the Sevastopol Bay, and today it is one of the main accents of the sea facade.

First, an earthen battery was built on this site, which was later reinforced with stonework.

The Konstantinovskaya battery (sometimes called the ravelin) acquired its current appearance by the middle of the 19th century.

The Konstantinovsky Cape by nature itself was intended to protect the shores of the city. Therefore, one should not be surprised that during the foundation of the Black Sea Fleet base, the first earthen battery was built here.

And after some time, due to the high strategic importance of this object, by order of A.V. Suvorov's fortification was modernized.

After that, the path of improving the first battery of Sevastopol did not end - due to the continuous Turkish threat, the battery, already under the name of Konstantinovskaya (named after Tsarevich Konstantin Pavlovich), was one of the first completely dressed in stone vestments, while armed with 94 guns (50 pieces 24 -ft cannons, 38 "unicorns" and 6 mortars).

Konstantinovskaya battery - main purpose

The main function of the Konstantinovskaya battery was to protect the entrance to the raid. She received her baptism of fire during the first defense of Sevastopol, engaging in battle with superior enemy forces. During the Great Patriotic War, a strong point was created at the Konstantinovskaya battery.

When the enemy forces approached very close, the 74 sailors defending the fleet were tasked with holding out for at least a day and ensuring a safe exit from the bay for the last ships. The defenders of "little Sevastopol" - this is the name the battery received from the Germans - fought off attack after attack and did not let the enemy through for three days.

The Nazis fired at the fortification with artillery and hit with direct fire from tanks, but the sailors, protected by granite walls, held back the onslaught. After three days spent under a hail of shells and shrapnel, the surviving soldiers left the fort, blowing up the ammunition cellars.

A cannon shot at exactly noon in Sevastopol

Every day at exactly noon, a cannon shot is fired from the Konstantinovsky Fort, which originally served as a signal to check the ship, church and administrative clocks.

The first such volley was fired in 1819 in Sevastopol and Nikolaev by order of the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Greig. Later, the tradition of the midday shot spread to St. Petersburg, Kronstadt and Vladivostok.

The Konstantinovskaya Battery is an impressive fortification at the very exit from the Sevastopol Bay. Even those who have never been to Sevastopol. Along with the Monument to the Scuttled Ships and the Grafskaya Wharf, the Bayonet and Sail or Soldier and Sailor monuments, the Konstantinovskaya battery became one of the symbols of Sevastopol, replicated in many photographs, posters, postcards.

But until recent years, only a few had the opportunity to visit the battery. It was a military unit, and a very secret one, although many knew about it by hearsay. So for me this remained a corner of Sevastopol, probably the last one where I had not yet been. Moreover, the possibilities seemed to develop, but every time it did not work out. And now, finally, quite by accident I managed to get out to the battery. Visit, feel the special atmosphere and tell you about it.

Moreover, the Konstantinovskaya battery, which went through all the feats and tragedies, all the hardships with Sevastopol, has now become a symbol of the revival of the City.

The history of the battery began even before the birth of Sevastopol and even before the annexation of Crimea to Russia. In 1774, the Crimean Khanate became independent following the results of the next Russian-Turkish war and the Kuchuk-Kainardzhiyskiy peace treaty. Russian troops were stationed on the peninsula, and the Kerch fortress already belonged to Russia. But the Turks were in no hurry to leave the Crimea, pushing the pro-Turkish forces among the Tatar nobility to revolt against the pro-Russian khan.

A Turkish squadron of 10 ships entered the Akhtiarskaya bay at that time. Commander of the Crimea and Kuban troops, Alexander Suvorov, was instructed to expel the Turks, but without starting a new war. The commander immediately appreciated both the convenience of the bay and the possible threat to the Turkish ships - he launched the construction of earthen coastal batteries at the exit from the bay. Literally overnight, Russian soldiers erected the first fortifications. In the morning, the amazed Turks saw the barrels of guns pointed at them. The Russians did not attack the Turkish squadron, but did not even allow the launch of launches for water. Every day Suvorov's fortifications became more solid. The Turkish commander admitted that he would not be able to fight in the bay surrounded by Russian coastal batteries or break into the open sea and was forced to ask Suvorov to allow the Turkish squadron to leave the bay. And in 1872 the first Russian ships entered the bay.

By the way, from the Suvorov earthen fortification, the future battery received a sonorous, but incorrect from the point of view of fortification name "ravelin". At least this version is being voiced now in the Russian Geographical Society.

In 1834, the construction of five new stone batteries began on the shores of the Sevastopol Bay. The project of the battery, named Konstantinovskaya in honor of the beloved grandson of Empress Catherine the Great, was created by the military engineer Colonel Burno.

At that time it was a formidable fortification. The walls were made of Krymbalskiy stone - strong and at the same time soft, which the enemy cores should not split, but only leave dents. The horseshoe-shaped battery was built in two floors. The outer walls were over 2 meters thick. The battery rooms - casemates housed 94 guns, gunners' quarters, powder magazines, warehouses. In fact, the battery was a separate fortress, which could independently repel enemy attacks for several months.

Soon the battery had a chance to test itself in battle. In 1854, a huge fleet of three leading powers of that time, three empires - British, French and Ottoman - arrived on the shores of the Crimea. British politicians wanted to throw Russia away from all seas, destroy the Russian fleets and their bases in order to reign supreme on the seas and oceans. The worst blow fell on Sevastopol. Having besieged the city, the enemy launched a strike from the sea - on October 5, 1854, the enemy armada attacked the city's naval fortifications. British ships fired at the Konstantinovskaya battery. To fire more than 400 enemy guns, the battery could only respond with 40 guns aimed at the outer raid of the bay. Enemy fire killed five and wounded about 50 batteries, two dozen guns were out of order. However, battery volleys were sensitive to the enemy. The hardened cannonballs pierced the sides of the huge battleships "Agamemnon" "London" and "Kim" and the ships burst into flames. The enemy fleet retreated.

When, in 1855, after a 349-day defense, Russian troops left the southern side of Sevastopol, three batteries on it were blown up, but Konstantinovskaya and neighboring Mikhailovskaya became a new front line. The enemy did not dare to force the bay. The northern side of Sevastopol remained with the defenders of the city.

After the first revival of Sevastopol, the battery began to lose its significance - it could no longer fight the battleships and steel battleships. A more powerful battery of 11-inch guns was built next to it, and an aeronautical fleet was placed in the Konstantinovskaya battery itself - the prototype of the future naval aviation. Many unique photographs of Sevastopol were then taken from balloons and airships.

During the Great Patriotic War, the battery housed units for the protection of the water area. By June 21, 2941, German troops reached the Sevastopol Bay. They had to overcome the stubborn resistance of the defenders of the fortifications of the Northern side - the Northern fortification, batteries at Cape Tolsty, Konstantinovskaya and Mikhailovskaya batteries. A part of the personnel of the 95th rifle division headed by the commander of the 161st rifle regiment, Major I.P. Datsko, soldiers of coastal batteries and the 178th engineer battalion of the Black Sea Fleet. The Germans used heavy artillery and aviation against the ancient fortification. Unfortunately, even the strong Krymbalsky stone could not protect the Sevastopol residents who fought here from the enemy's super-heavy shells. The battery has been reduced to rubble. On June 24, the last sailors and soldiers left the dilapidated fortification by swimming. The unit commander, Captain 3rd Rank Mikhail Evseviev (in the literature he is mistakenly called Evseev) and battalion commissar Ivan Kulinich, leaving, blew up the ammunition remaining on the battery. Evseviev was lucky to survive and swim across the bay, survive the tragedy of the fall of the city and meet victory. The Germans who burst into the ruins of the battery hanged the dying or already dead Kulinich on the balcony of the battery, facing the rebellious city ...

After the liberation of Sevastopol, the sailors who were dismantling the rubble buried the remains of 26 of its defenders in a mass grave in the courtyard of the Konstantinovskaya battery, erecting the first monument a sign. In the 70s, a new monument was erected on the grave. Then someone came up with the idea of "ersatz-reconstruction" of the battery. Its ruins were surrounded by a wall of white stone with loopholes in which rubber models of guns were installed.

And a new secret unit settled in the ruins - the 102nd squadron to fight underwater sabotage forces. It was created on January 26, 1967 on the basis of a directive from the General Staff of the Navy. The Black Sea Fleet also remembered the tragedy of the battleship Novorossiysk, which exploded in the Sevastopol Bay on October 29, 1955. According to one version, it was destroyed by the Italian naval saboteurs of Prince Borghese, who had visited Sevastopol during the Great Patriotic War. The Soviet fleet needed its own combat swimmers to protect bases and fight enemy saboteurs. By the way, back in 1941, a special-purpose company - the first underwater anti-sabotage unit in the USSR opposed all the same Italian swimmers near Leningrad.

Well, in the 60s, such units were created in all fleets. Although the 102nd detachment was secret, the city knew that combat swimmers were based on the battery, that they were guarding the base, that they were using special underwater weapons and fighting dolphins. But it was unrealistic to get into the unit and, accordingly, the battery.

As a result, both of the remaining Sevastopol batteries - Konstantinovskaya and Mikhalovskaya (they made a warehouse of all kinds of junk out of it) were inaccessible to people and were slowly decaying.

After the collapse of the USSR, the Mikhailovskaya battery went to the Ukrainian Navy, which did not really use it. And Konstantinovskaya remained behind the Black Sea Fleet.

It so happened that the Mikhailovskaya Battery became a museum earlier. The Ukrainian military did not need it. They even wanted to sell the battery for a boarding house. But there was a philanthropist-enthusiast Alexei Sheremetyev, who obtained permission from the Kiev admirals to create a museum of the Ukrainian Navy, in which there was nothing about the Ukrainian fleet, but there was a good exposition on the history of Sevastopol, the Black Sea Fleet and the battery itself.

But the Konstantinovskaya battery began to be reconstructed only after the return of Sevastopol to Russia. It was transferred to the Russian Geographical Society, whose president is Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. In 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin - also a member of the society - visited the battery, approved its reconstruction and the placement of a regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society in it.

The combat swimmers were taken out of the battery to a new base located nearby, and within two years the battery was literally reassembled one piece at a time, carefully preserving the surviving fragments. In the St. Petersburg naval archives, they found drawings of a battery for the period of the Crimean War, and work was carried out on them.

At the end of 2017, the first stage of reconstruction was completed, and the grand opening of the complex took place. As it was announced, on the 1st floor of the battery there are two museum expositions - dedicated to the history of the battery and the history of the Russian Geographical Society, on the 2nd floor it is also planned to use part of the premises for exhibitions, and part - for the work of the Russian Geographical Society.

At the same time, work on the battery was not completed - on its territory there was a battery from the times of the 1st World War, the strengthening of the Great Patriotic War in a dilapidated state.

By the way, I got to the battery by accident - I was trying to find out if a boat was running from the Artillery Bay to Uchkuevka (it turned out that it was no longer there) and, having talked with private traders who ride tourists on boats, I learned that they could throw the battery itself onto the pier. Well, there the security guard who met me and two more visitors was escorted to the museum's ticket office.

The very condition of the battery is much better than that of the Mikhailovsky one. The exhibitions are interesting, although not so rich yet. At the same time, you can walk along the battery itself, along the observation deck on its roof after the tour, even before the museum closes.

And the views from the battery to the City, the Sevastopol Bay, the outer roadstead are unique. And the atmosphere itself is kind of special.

As a minus - getting to the battery by land is not easy - I did not find any pointers to it on the North side. As well as getting out of the battery for a person unfamiliar with the city - you can easily get lost on the Radio Hill. So it is still necessary to equip the path from the entrance to the City to the entrance to the battery with appropriate signs.
In general, it is very gratifying that with the return of Sevastopol home, both surviving coastal batteries became museums available to Sevastopol residents and guests of the city. By the way, soon they promise to make the museum the 30th coastal battery, restored after the Great Patriotic War and which, albeit a mothballed one, is a military object.