The history of the Tula Kremlin is the history of people who built, then defended it, lived in it, and then developed the city outside its walls. Every day of the citadel in the early days of its existence was full of danger and heroism. With the retreat of the borders from Tula far to the south, not the military, but the peaceful activities of the townspeople became more important.
The order of construction of the Tula Kremlin and the city around it is unusual for Russia in the 16th century. Other stone fortresses of that time, for example, the Moscow, Novgorod Kremlin, were erected on the territory of already existing cities. As for Tula, here the Kremlin was built on the uninhabited and deserted left bank of the Upa River.
Citadel
As in other Russian cities of the XVI-XVII centuries, the Kremlin in Tula was the administrative, military and cultural center of the district. Here were the main temples of the city, administrative buildings, siege courts. Reliable Kremlin walls served as a good protection for the surrounding population. Very soon, around the main fortress, a settlement, where merchants and artisans lived, grew in a half-ring. Posad had its own lines of fortifications.
In the scribal book from 1587, which recorded only the male population of the city, 882 people are listed. Blacksmiths, potters, carpenters. Of these, 202 are military men. The city continued to be a warrior, but gradually became a hard worker.
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By the end of the 16th century, it became necessary to create defensive structures to protect these areas. Then, tree-earthen fortifications were built, about three and a half kilometers long and enclosing an area of almost sixty hectares. The town's posad was originally protected by a wooden wall, which consisted of tall, pointed at the top of the logs. This fortress wall, which surrounded the settlement in a half-ring, approached from one side to the Naugolnaya, and from the other - to the Ivanovskaya tower of the Kremlin, ran along the modern Sovetskaya Street. Over time, it became possible to replace the prison with other defensive structures. In the middle of the 17th century, part of this line of fortifications was built in the form of an earthen embankment with five bastions. Then,in the 70s of the 17th century, in another section, the palisade was replaced by double log walls with nineteen wooden towers. But back to the Kremlin.
Towers
The walls of the fortress are fortified with nine towers. Four of them: Odoevsky, Ivanovsky, Pyatnitsky and Water gates, had travel cards, five others: Spasskaya, Nikitskaya, Ivanovskaya (Taynitskaya), Na Cellar, Naugolnaya were deaf. The gates that covered the entrances were made thoroughly: heavy, oak. They were also protected by wooden lattices, covered with iron, which were raised and lowered with the help of special devices.
The architecture of the gate towers is similar. They were divided by oak flooring into 3-4 combat tiers, on which there were combat weapons - heavy squeaks, ammunition - cast-iron cannonballs, gunpowder - were stacked on the lower floors. For communication between the tiers, narrow passages were arranged, through which only one person could pass. The third tier had an exit to the fortress wall. Modern architects note the peculiarity of the battlements in the battlements. In addition to the usual ones, there is also for conducting mounted or oblique combat. Of these, the defenders could not only shoot down at the enemy, but also pour tar and pitch on him. Deaf towers are mostly round, only one, On Cellar, is square. There is a metal door in the wall next to it. It is almost invisible from the ground. This is an emergency exit to the river. All towers are connected into a single system by a battle course - a platform on which the defenders of the fortress stood. Today, along the battle course, you can walk along the walls and towers of the ancient fortress. This is a unique tourist offer of the Tula Kremlin Museum - walk a kilometer and see not only the architectural monuments inside the Kremlin, but also outside it!
Underground passage
Almost every ancient building is accompanied by a legend about an underground passage. The Tula Kremlin also has it. They say that the local underground passage led from Taynitskaya (from the word "cache") through Upa all the way to the village of Torkhovo. Most likely, this is another fiction. Secrets and riddles have permeated the history of the Tula Kremlin at all times. It is believed that the underground passage about 70 meters long, lined with oak planks from the inside, was intended to replenish fresh water from the river. The vaults that formed the passage had rotted back in the 18th century. Later they decided to fill it up, and then close it in order to avoid accidents.
There are many legends associated with the underground passage. According to rumors, the underground gallery was finally closed in the 30s of the 20th century by the KGB, whose department is located on the other side of the Kremlin. Although, according to historians, its conservation occurred much earlier.
Torture
Well, what a medieval city without a dungeon. Torture room. It was located in the Nikitskaya tower of the Tula Kremlin. It enjoyed a bad reputation among the townspeople until the end of the 18th century. The terror of the Tula was not caused by ghosts, but by human cries and groans. Shackles, whip, rack, slingshot collars are the main attributes of the torture tower. Clerk, executioner and victim are the main characters. In the Middle Ages, the fantasy of executioners was rather monotonous.
The confession in the Nikitskaya tower of the Tula Kremlin was literally snatched from the suspect. And the truth was different: "genuine" - if she was knocked out of the poor fellow with rawhide belts - molts, or "ins and outs" - when a torch was driven under the nails. They also looked for the truth on the rack, but this is rare. The favorite torture of the Russian executioners was flogging. They beat me both during inquiries, as punishment, and for edification.
The most severe punishments went to thieves. For the first time, the unfortunate man got off with flogging and the stigma “thief” or “thief”. But for a relapse they could deprive an ear. True, punitive measures were applied not only for a truly illegal act. It was possible to suffer for minor offenses. The landowners did not spare their slaves either; they could give them to be torn apart for what, in their opinion, work that was poorly performed.
The walls of the tower themselves were terrifying. Due to the acoustic effect. A tower with a hemispherical vault, built in such a way that in the center the sound increased due to the echo, and at the edges it became duller. Any scream, sigh, and even whisper was greatly intensified and frightened passers-by outside the walls. The torture room in the Nikitskaya Tower was equipped in the second half of the 17th century. The torture continued here until the middle of the 18th.
Author: Tatiana Guseva