The Devil`s hillfort is the most interesting historical landmark of Yelabuga. It is located on a high bank at the confluence of the Toima River with the Kama. It is also called the Yelabuga Hillfort. The modern city of Yelabuga is located at the foot of the Devil`s Hillfort. The fortress of the Volga Bulgarians was located here, which allowed to control the trade route along the Kama River.
The exact date of construction of the fortress on top of the Devil`s Hillfort is not known, but historians believe that it was built in the 11th century. A century earlier, the construction of the city of Bolgar began, which became the center of Volga Bulgaria. The founding of the city of Kazan, which later became the capital of the Tatar Khanate, also dates back to this time. However, the excavations prove that the settlement of the local Finno-Ugric tribe in such a convenient and strategically important place appeared back in the I millennium BC.
The founder of the Elabuga settlement is considered to be the Emir of the Volga Bulgarians, Ibrahim I bin Muhammad. The monument to the founder of Yelabuga can be seen at the entrance to the territory of the Devil`s Hillfort from the Jamig Mosque. A 17-meter equestrian monument to the emir is mounted on a huge boulder. Yelabuga Millennium Park is located there. You can also climb the Devil`s Hillfort from the old town. A long and rather steep staircase was built from the side of Shishkin Street. You need to estimate your strength to overcome more than 360 steps.
The name Devil`s Hillfort is now used more often than Elabuga hillfort. This is due to legends that in ancient times there an oracle dragon (or "devil") who could predict the future, but for this he demanded human sacrifices. According to another legend, a devil living on a high cape could control the weather and merchants passing by on the Kama brought sacrifices to him.
Emir Ibrahim I bin Muhammad ruled Volga Bulgaria from 1006 to 1026. It was the heyday of independent Volga Bulgaria. One of the northern routes of the Great Silk Road passed through this place. The fortress in Yelabuga became an outpost of the emirs in these lands. It was a quadrangular fort-mosque. The length of its walls reached 21 meters. The corner towers were built of stone and the walls of wooden logs.
In 1236, Volga Bulgaria was conquered by the Golden Horde and became one of its uluses. During the conquest, the Mongol Khans destroyed most of the fortresses of the Volga Bulgarians, including this one. The fortress on the Devil`s Hillfort has fallen into disrepair. When the Kazan Khanate was conquered by Ivan the Terrible in 1552, the defensive significance of the fortress on the Devil`s hillfort disappeared.
In 1614, monk Ion Zeleny founded an Orthodox monastery here, but it was closed in the 18th century. Local residents dismantled three towers for building materials, but the ruins of the largest Southern Tower remained. In some places near the towers, the foundations of the walls have also been preserved.
In 1855, the South Tower on the Devil`s Hillfort of Yelabuga collapsed. However, in 1867 it was restored by the Yelabuga merchant Ivan Shishkin, the father of the famous Russian artist Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin. The Ivan Shishkin House Museum is located on the Embankment Street.
Nowadays, the atmosphere of the old town of Volga Bulgaria has been recreated on the Devil`s hillfort. Wooden walls and small towers have been built in some places. The 10th century south tower has been restored. Observation decks have been set up in many places. They offer a beautiful view of the Kama River and the old town of Yelabuga. There is a sculpture of the "devil oracle" on the riverbank, which, according to legend, lived here several millennia ago.
