Prison castle in Tobolsk and other famous prison castles

Any prison lock, despite its original decent and beautiful appearance, seems gloomy. The sad pages of history, when he was a prison, impose an unpleasant shade on his whole appearance.

Gloomy handsome men

For example, the famous French castle Conciergerie in Paris. Erected as the residence of kings, it turned into a prison castle. And since 1793, in general, acquired the reputation of the most cruel prison in France. His prisoners were Maria-Antoinette, Maximilian Robespierre, Emil Zola, Mata Hari. And from what perspective you can not look at it, it is difficult to perceive it as a residence of kings, the word "prison" comes to mind. There are dozens of such examples: the famous castle If, Tower and Dover are legendary English castles-prisons, simultaneously erected by William the Conqueror. The Tower, standing on the banks of the Thames, is the historic center of London. In its history it was a fortress and a palace, an arsenal, a mint and an observatory. But in the understanding of most people - this is the darkest prison in London. The list can replenish the castle of Saint Angel in the center of Rome and the Austrian "Bastille", Mukachevo Castle "Palanok", as well as "the prisoner pearl of the East - the Tashkent central. These buildings are really beautiful, but their beauty is gloomy and rarely causes delight.

Aristocratic facade

In the phrase "prison lock" the main term is "prison", and then "lock". Most often these structures were initially assigned a different role, but the castle in Tobolsk was built from the very beginning as a prison. It was there until 1989, when it was transferred to the circumpolar Urals to the urban-type settlement of Harp. However, for some reason, it does not look sad. Maybe it's all about color? Tobolsky prison castle (photo attached), especially its central facade, if not for the wall, would generally look like a theater. Or the palace of a local nobleman. Yes, and it is located in the center of the city.

Sophisticated Dungeon

But, despite the external good, this is one of the darkest prisons in Russia, and in Siberia - the most brutal. Among the prisoners there was a deep conviction that it is better to go to penal servitude than to the Tobolsk "cover" (covered prison), which was also famous for a variety of special places of punishment. There were "cold", "dark" and "wet" cameras, which were available in all prisons of Russia. But they were supplemented by such sophisticated curricula as "hot", "glass", "hunchbacked" and "dark". One could only sit or lie because of the low ceiling, in the "glass" - only stand, the wall in the "hot" was a prison stove. This prison castle was famous for its inquisitorial tortures ("slingshot" and "chairs", "pads" and "chains"). Provided for such a penalty as chained prisoner to the wall for a period of 5 years. Shackles from some prisoners never removed, which changed the gait of a person and made her recognizable. The fugitive was determined immediately. Here, and sheared prisoners in a special way - shaved exactly half a head. This was done in order that at once it would be possible to find out who escaped from places of detention.

A major transfer point

Tobolsk central - a gloomy page of the history of the city, which was a staging post for many convicts. Tobolsk was in dire need of a new, more spacious prison. And in 1838 in St. Petersburg a decision was made to erect a large prison castle in this city. The project belonged to the provincial architect Weigel. It was decided to finish the erection for 4 years, beginning in 1841. Bidding for the construction and production of all works were conducted through the capital's newspapers, the choice of the place and its planning were entrusted to the architect Suvorov. Why was the city center chosen, namely the northwestern edge of the Troitsky Cape? Firstly, because the number of political forces has steadily increased, and Tobolsk, except for the place of exile, has become a major trans-shipment point - the stream has traveled straight through the city. Secondly, it was here, at the Tobolsk Kremlin, formed as a result of dismantling a dilapidated fortress wall in 1782 and the demolition of the ruining Trinity Church in 1791, a suitable site. Thus, the erected object immediately turned into a prison castle Tobolsk Kremlin. And now the main attraction of the city is the whole complex of buildings located on the Troitskiy cape.

Siberian unfinished construction

The terms of the object were delayed, Weigel was transferred to Perm, the architects changed, and the final stage went to titular councilor and architect Chernenko. The already completed side wings did not arrange the acceptance commission with high ceilings - they were altered. A lot of economic buildings were erected on the territory of the prison, including a hospital with a pharmacy and a shoe-making workshop. A little later, in the midst of construction, it was decided to build a church. All this delayed the commissioning of the facility. And on November 25, 1855, the prison castle (Tobolsk) and the church under it were consecrated in the name of Alexander Nevsky.

With the times

Treasured this object to the treasury of 130 thousand rubles in silver. The prison was huge - on its territory were located four very large rooms for convicts, who followed the stage. This jail was erected in accordance with the requirements of the time to similar places - and the hospital delighted the commission and the bakery. In time, the church was opened here. But VG Korolenko, who was a prisoner here twice, described the horrors of this prison in his story "Yashka". In addition to him, there were N. Chernyshevsky F. Dostoyevsky, M. Petrashevsky and A. Solzhenitsyn, Fani Kaplan.

Deceptive goodness

The entire prison complex consisted of five buildings, which, as noted above, did not in any way resemble a prison. And architecture (the building is made in the style of late classicism), to which in some articles the adjective "elegant" is applied, and the color of the buildings should not weigh the locals' awareness of what really constitutes a prison castle (Tobolsk). The photo attached from the bottom is provided in support of what has been said.

Conditions of detention of prisoners, as already noted, were the most violent in Siberia. In the prison, rebellions repeatedly broke out, the largest of which were in 1907 and 1918.

The place of ruin

Of course, there was a site for execution of prisoners, during the Stalinist repressions it became a place of mass shootings and burials. The Tobolsk complex, as the psychics say, has accumulated a huge amount of negative energy, after all, this prison castle was also called the "grave" of Russia prisoners. Tobolsk is also famous for being the administrative center of the province where Geo-Rasputin was born and lived - a person whose interest does not disappear with the years. The Kremlin of this city, whose ensemble includes the prison castle, is considered the pearl of Siberia - this is the only stone Kremlin beyond the Urals. He was also the winner of the stage of the contest "7 Wonders of Russia".

"Places not so remote" in South Palmira

Of institutions of this kind, unconditional attention deserves the current and now Odessa prison castle. The reason for its construction is the same - at the end of the XIX century the number of prisoners doubled. The building, built along the Lustdorf road, is certainly beautiful with that gloomy beauty that is not inherent in the buildings of the prison, namely the castles. The site, allotted by the city authorities, headed by the then governor Georgy Marazli, was located near the Christian cemetery. Construction was carried out on the project of AO Tomishko, who built the famous St. Petersburg prison "Crosses". At the base of his castle was a cross, with a central tower inside. All divergent four-story wings had basements. On the edges of these buildings were single cells.

The prison was modern, with a hospital building for a hundred beds, all the necessary services, a smithy and so on. All this was built of high-quality brick. In 1895 in Paris, this prison castle and Moscow were recognized as the best in Russia. Here sat Leon Trotsky, George Kotovsky and Mishka Yaponchik.

First a church, then a prison

Irkutsk prison castle is noteworthy that first together with the stone fence (1800 year) began to build a church. It was erected over the central gate and was consecrated by Bishop Benjamin in 1803 in honor of Boris and Gleb. They raised it to folk donations. The church had slender outlines and the right proportions, the watchtower was given to the bell tower. The construction of the castle itself began only in 1857. It should be noted that in the already approved project the mayor of the city II Shatz introduced amendments. It was suggested to add the necessary services - baths, kitchens in the required quantity and a house for the caretaker. More amendments provided for a more compact building of all buildings, it was decided to erect a second floor above the main building, which allowed not to build a separate house for the caretaker. And already in 1958 the construction of the main stone building was started. And as the old prison was immediately destroyed, the prisoners were temporarily placed in the old building of the cloth factory and began to use them as a work force in the construction of the castle, even with a small payment of labor.

Business approach

They built a prison castle around the world, which made it possible to identify and gather together the best workers. From the prisoners, professional detachments of builders and firemen were later composed. And although all the works were completed by the summer of 1960, the facility was not put into operation in November 1961. The convicts moved there only in December 1861. Built according to AI Losev 's project , this castle has long been considered the most beautiful administrative building in Irkutsk. Construction work was carried out in it almost all the time - they built a workshop for sewing outerwear, then rebuilt the hospital building, completed two 4 and 3-storey buildings for servicing apartments and cantor. Since 2006, a museum has been opened in the isolation room. The most famous prisoners were F. E. Dzerzhinsky and A. V. Kolchak. There is a functioning prison on Barrikad Street, in house No. 63. You can get there by tram number 4 and by bus No. 4k and 64 (stopping the Kazan market).

Forgotten by people and God

Danilovsky prison castle is now abandoned and destroyed. Built in the 60s of the XIX century as a local prison, it was used for its intended purpose right up until the 1960s. Then, in the buildings of the castle, the leadership of the Yaroslavl region organized civil defense depots, liquidated in 2000. Now these ruins are a landmark of the city of Danilov. The prison castle in Cherni of the Tula province was built by the architect AA Meingard in 1849-1855. The prison was small, two-story, with it was a small church. But in the years of the Great Patriotic War, it was completely destroyed, even the photographs remained small.

Part of the city's history

Also has its prison castle in Chembara (since 1948 - Belinsky). He is in the Penza region. This building has undergone amazing metamorphosis. Built in 1854-1856 in the Piazza Square, it is still preserved. Since 1985 and until recently, it housed the House of Children's Creativity, and before - the secondary school. After the revolution, a powerful stone wall was demolished, and a two-story building was given to school No. 1. But there were casemates and torture cells in the prison. Recently, the house is systematically put up for auction, but the public intercedes with the authorities to include the building in the list of objects of the city's cultural heritage. But in fact, the building is about 160 years old, the story of the construction of a church with an iconostasis by the merchant of the 2nd guild KA Shugaev is interesting to him. He raised it with his own money in memory of his parents.