The Yenikale Fortress is located in the narrowest part of the Kerch Strait and allows you to fully control the passage of ships from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov. The fortress was of great strategic importance, which the garrison of the fortress never took advantage of. The fortress has never participated in combat operations.
Turkey conquered Crimea in 1475, but did not include it in its state. All the possessions of the Genoese and the principality of Feodoro were transferred to the Crimean Khanate. The Turks established a protectorate over it. The Genoese fortress in Sudak, as well as the Chembalo fortress in Balaklava, have been preserved from the Genoese in the Crimea. However, the fortifications of these fortresses corresponded to the medieval era, when there was no artillery.
From the 15th to the 17th century, the Turks did not build any fortresses in the Crimea, since the Black Sea and the Azov Sea were actually the internal seas of the Ottoman Empire. However, with the beginning of the reign of Tsar Peter I in Russia, the situation changed dramatically. He founded Admiralty shipyards in Voronezh. Warships began to be built on them, which could go to the Sea of Azov and further to the Black Sea along the Don River. In 1704, the Prut campaign of Peter I took place, which, however, ended extremely unsuccessfully for the tsar.
However, the Turks immediately realized the threat from Russia and in 1699 began the construction of the Yenikale fortress. Translated from Turkic, it means "New fortress". Old fortresses have been located in this place since ancient times. In 1705, the construction of the powerful fortifications of the Yenikale fortress was completed.
The Yenikale Fortress has an area of 2 hectares and is located on different levels. Given the difficult mountainous terrain of this area, the fortress is built in the form of an irregular pentagon. Artillery was placed on the edges of the bastions. On the shore of the Kerch Strait there is the Southern Gate, which has become a symbol of the Yenikale fortress.
Through the Southern Gate you can go to the Southern Bastion, but most of the fortress is located on a higher terrace behind the railway tracks. There you can see the powder magazine, the Western Bastion, the Azov Gate and other fortifications of the Yenikale fortress.
The fortress has been preserved to this day in very good condition, since it did not take part in hostilities and in the following centuries it was not dismantled for building materials. The construction of the fortress was completed by 1705, but after the unsuccessful Prut campaign in 1704, Peter I completely changed his plans. He abandoned the struggle with Turkey for access to the Black Sea, and focused on the war with Sweden for access to the Baltic Sea.
Military operations on the Black Sea ceased for several decades and resumed only during the war of 1768. The garrison of the Yenikale fortress surrendered to the Russian troops without a fight in 1771. In 1784, Crimea was annexed to the Russian Empire. The Sea of Azov became the inland sea of Russia, and the need for the Yenikale fortress disappeared.
