The Genoese fortress is one of the most interesting historical sights of the Crimea. It towers over the resort town of Sudak and is visible from almost all the central districts of the city. The Genoese fortress has been preserved to this day in very good condition. It is visited daily by thousands of tourists even from other resorts of the Crimean coast.
The fortress was built by Italians from Genoa in the period from 1371 to 1414. It was the main military base of the Genoese in the Crimea, and the capital of their colony was Kafa (modern Feodosia). The territory of the Genoese fortress reaches almost 30 hectares and has a double line of defense. The total length of the fortified walls of the Genoese fortress is 800 meters.
The Genoese fortress is located on the top of the Fortress Mountain. It is a fossilized coral reef of the ancient Tethys Ocean, whose waters covered these lands in the Mesozoic era, about 200 million years ago. The same reef mountains are located near the resort of Novy Svet, where they form a very beautiful coastline. Near the Fortress Mountain rises an even more powerful Falcon Mountain, which also has a reef origin.
Sights of the Genoese Fortress
A fortress wall with 14 towers has been erected in the lower line of defense. Visitors enter the Genoese Fortress through the Main Gate of Santa Croce. The two most powerful towers of the fortress are towering above gates: the Giacomo Torselli Tower and the Barnabo di Franchi di Pagano Tower. The Genoese called the towers after the consuls who ruled in Sudak at that time. Tablets with dates and names were installed on each tower, so the chronology of the construction of the fortress is easy to restore.
The upper level of defense is located on the edge of the reef mountain. The fortress wall is more powerful here. On the eastern side, the Consular Castle rises above the cliff, which looks like a small tower. In the middle of the wall is the tallest and most powerful Main Tower of the Consular Castle. Inside the tower there is a small museum of torture instruments of the Inquisition era. The tower offers a beautiful view of Sudak and its surroundings.
At the foot of the cliff is the St. George`s Tower, from which the fortress wall rises up to the Watchtower. Climbing it is prohibited, but many tourists climb to the Watchtower on the mountain slope from the opposite side. From the Watchtower opens even more beautiful view. From here you can see the coast of the Novy Svet resort.
In the former temple on the mountainside there is a Museum of the Genoese Fortress. The cube-shaped building looks like a mosque, but over the centuries it has changed several religious denominations. It was built by the Khans of the Golden Horde as a mosque, then under the Byzantines it became an Orthodox church, under the Genoese – a Catholic church, under the Turks – again a mosque. After the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Empire in 1783, it again became the Orthodox Church of St. Matthew. Now there is a museum here.
History of the Genoese Fortress
Looking at this beautiful medieval fortress, people wonder how the Italians from distant Genoa built their fortress in the Crimea in the 14th century. Genoa is a port city on the Mediterranean coast in northern Italy. It is located 3 thousand kilometers from the Crimea.
The reasons why the Genoese became «masters» of the Black Sea were the weakening of the Byzantine Empire. In the 1st century, Crimea became a colony of the Roman Empire, and after the fall of Rome in 472, it became part of Byzantium, which continued to exist until 1473.
By the 10th century, the Byzantine Empire had weakened so much that it had no navy. And the Byzantines decided to invite the Venetians to ensure their protection. In return for military aid in 1082, Emperor Alexey I granted the Venetians a chrysovul (charter of merit) for the right to duty-free trade in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. This gave significant advantages to the Venetian merchants over the Byzantine ones, and subsequently led to strong clashes between Byzantium and Venice, including the military. This confrontation ended with the 4th Crusade in 1204, which the Venetians sent to Constantinople. The Crusaders plundered the richest Christian city.
After the fall of Constantinople, Latin states existed on the site of Byzantium for more than a hundred years. In the 13th century, the struggle against the Latin states was led by Mikhail Poleologos. In 1261, he concluded the Nymphean Treaty with the Genoese. Genoa provided Mikhail Palaiologos with a military fleet, and he gave them the right to duty-free trade in the Black Sea.
Important trade routes passed through the Black Sea, and the Genoese founded several colonies in the Black Sea from Pantikapey (Kerch) to Chersonesos (Sevastopol). Kafa (Feodosia) became the capital of their possessions. Sudak was very convenient for protecting the coast, so they chose it for the construction of a Genoese fortress. It became their main military base in the Black Sea.
After the capture of Constantinople in 1453, the Turkish army conquered the Crimea in 1475. The last garrison of the Genoese fortress defended itself, but the forces were not equal and they all died. After that, a garrison of Turkish troops was stationed in the fortress, although the fortress had no military significance, so it began to fall into disrepair.
