| Fortress of St. Elizabeth | |
|---|---|
| Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine | |
 Modern aerial view | |
| Site information | |
| Type | earthwork fort |
| Owner | public domain |
| Condition | ruins |
| Location | |
  Fortress of St. Elizabeth | |
| Coordinates | 48°29′53″N32°15′14″E / 48.49806°N 32.25389°E /48.49806; 32.25389 |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1754 |
| Built by | Ivan Glebov , L. Mentselius |
| In use | 1754–1775 |
 | |
TheFortress of St. Elizabeth (Ukrainian:Фортеця Святої Єлисавети, also known locally as "earthworks"[1]) is former earthen fortress in the form of a six-pointed star in the city ofKropyvnytskyi in central Ukraine, which became the main symbol of the city.[2]
It is unique in that there are no more than ten fortresses of this type in Europe.[3]
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After the formation ofNew Serbia on the lands ofUkrainian Cossacks, the fortress was created to protect the territories of Serbian settlers from Tatar raids. The fortress of St. Elizabeth was built according to the decree of the Senate, which also created New Serbia. The decree was signed by EmpressElizabeth Petrovna on January 4, 1752. On the basis of the decree, Colonel Ivan Horvat was given a certificate of thanks, and Ivan Glebov received an instruction.[4][5]
TheHadiach-Myrhorod regiment of Ukrainian Cossacks (1390 males) arrived to build the fortress, which completed the main works in four months: from June 12 to October 1754. During the work, 72 Zaporozhians died, 233 fell ill, and 855 ran away.[6]
The artillery armament of the fortress then consisted of 120 guns, 12 mortars, 6 falconets, 12 howitzers and 6 mortars. In the following years, construction work in the fortress continued, but very slowly and was not finished even until the end of the reign of Empress Elizabeth (1761). A whole city was built on the territory of the fortress, in the center of which stood the wooden Holy Trinity Church, which from 1755 until 1801 it had the status of a cathedral. The soldiers' barracks were designed for 2,200 soldiers. The garrison consisted of three battalions and two teams, artillery and engineering. Here were commandant's, general's, protopope's houses, powder cellars[7]
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In 1763, a school for officers' children was opened in the fortress, in 1764, the first civilian printing press in Ukraine was founded. Since 1775, the fortress of St. Elizabeth finally lost its defensive significance, after the liquidation ofZaporozhian Sich in 1775 its archive consisting of 30000 documents of Ukrainian Cossacks of 16-18 century was kept for a long time here until they were transported to Kyiv in 1918 during theWar of Independence. Also it was from this fortress at the end of May 1775 that a 100,000 soldiers under the command of GeneralPeter Tekeli set out for Sich, which was defended by a garrison of 3,000 Ukrainian Cossacks. On June 15, Sich was completely destroyed.[8][9]
In 1787–1788Grigory Potemkin founded one of the first medical educational institutions in Ukraine, the medical and surgical school, which was graduated byYefrem Mukhin (1766–1850), who became an outstanding surgeon and was one of the teachers ofNikolay Pirogov (1810–1871).[10] Pirogov himself worked in the fortress hospital during theCrimean War of 1853–1856.
In 1784, the fortress was liquidated, and all the artillery was transported toKherson. Gradually, over several years, the fortress was disarmed. In 1788 Austrian Field MarshalCharles-Joseph of Ligne visited here and left his memoirs upon his arrival to Europe. In 1794, 162 guns were still kept here, which were serviced by 277 gunners. Cannons and artillery supplies were exported to border towns, mainly to Kherson. In April 1795, 5 cannons were sent toNovomyrhorod. Only two cannons have survived in the former fortress - they are installed on stone pedestals at the entrance from the former main gate.[11]
The complete cancellation of the status of the fortress took place on March 15, 1805. The fortress garrison was disbanded, but the barracks housed a battalion (three companies) for many years. The outline of the fortress became the coat of arms of the city.[12]
On January 26, 1837,Georgi Emmanuel, a participant in theWar of 1812, a famous commander of Serbian origin, was buried 3 kilometers from the fortress (today Sanatorny Lane). On September 17, 1842, Russian EmperorNicholas I arrived at the fortress for a military parade, in 1874 Alexander II, and in 1888Alexander III. On January 24, 1917,Princess Helen of Serbia visited the fortress. Her Royal Highness was elected the head of the Yelisavetgrad Committee for the Care of Serbian Refugees, more than 1,000 of them lived in the city at that time.
During theUkrainian–Soviet War, theBolsheviks created a prison here for political opponents, primarily for the otamans of theUkrainian People's Republic andKholodny Yar Republic (Yuriy Gorlis-Gorsky was imprisoned here in 1922). On September 24, 1922, after a speech at a meeting of local communists in which he called for theRed Terror,Mikhail Frunze visited the fortress.
During theHolodomor of 1932-1933 andGreat Purge, employees ofOGPU andNKVD secretly buried here those killed and tortured, burying their corpses in mass graves. During the years ofstagnation, dissidents from all over the Kirovograd oblastwere tortured here in the local hospital.
On the territory of the former fortress there are 2 hospitals since 1800, memorial complex dedicated to the Soviet militaries «Pantheon of Eternal Glory» since 1950 (in particular here are the graves of theHeroes of the Soviet Union: Hryhoriy Kuropyatnykov, Hryhoriy Balitskyi, Dmytro Osatyuk, Ivan Usenko, Vasyl Galushkin, Ivan Koval, Mykola Lytvynov, Dmytro Semenov, Bari Gabdrakhmanov, Kuzma Antonenko, Orest Borovkov, Mykola Barbolin , Mykhailo Rodionov, Valery Verkholantsev, Yuri Hlibko, Mykola Zhosan, Olexiy Yegorov, Hryhoriy Tkachev, Mykola Klimov, Olexandr Volkov and Mykola Zinchenko), an Alley of the memory dedicated to the warriors of theRusso-Ukrainian War since 2014 and cinema «Portal».[13] Also in 2016, a memorial to the victims of theHolodomor was installed (the city in 1932–1933 lost 2238 residents).[14]
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Today, 85% of the fortress buildings have been preserved, including all the bastions, most of the ravelins, escarpments, curtains, and glacis, but they are very neglected and need serious restoration. To prevent their disappearance over time and turn it into a popular tourist attraction, there were regular proposals to concrete them. They were not considered by local government.[15]
