Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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(adult/child 20/10uah; 9am-8pm Tue-Sun, to 7pm Mon) Built of wood in the 10th to 13th
centuries, then redesigned and rebuilt in stone by Italian military engineers in the 16th
century, K-P's fortress is a complete mishmash of styles. But the overall impression is
breathtaking, and if Ukraine ever gets its act together as a tourist destination, the view
from the Turkish Bridge leading to the fortress will become one of the country's iconic,
front-page vistas. The name of the bridge is slightly misleading, as it's essentially a me-
dieval structure whose arches were filled in and fortified by Turks in the 17th century.
The fortress is in the shape of a polygon, with nine towers of all shapes and sizes
linked by a sturdy wall. In the middle of it all is a vast courtyard. The New East Tower
(1544) is directly to your right as you enter the fortress and contains a well and a huge
winch stretching 40m deep through the cliff to bring up water.
Just beyond the New East Tower, an unmarked white building houses a fantastic mu-
seum that romps through the history of K-P and Ukraine over the last century in a
jumble of nostalgia-inducing exhibits. Two revolutions bookend the collections, with the
blood-red silken flags of 1917 looking symbolically more potent than the limp orange
banners of 2004.
AND THERE'S MOREā€¦
Most visitors content themselves with a stroll from the New Bridge to the fortress
and back, stopping off at a restaurant or cafe along the way. But if your legs are up
to the job, there's so much more to explore in Kamyanets-Podilsky's run-down
backstreets and lanes where forgotten chunks of the town's defences lurk.
Looking south from the New Bridge you can spot the 1583 Potters' Tower
OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP , so named because it was looked after by the
town's potters. Twelve of these towers once lined the bank of the gorge along the
perimeter of the island; seven or eight remain today.
At the northern edge of the Old Town is the still-functioning 16th-century Vitry-
ani (Windy) Gate OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP , where Peter the Great's hat blew
off in 1711. Connected to the gate is the seven-storey stone Kushnir (Furriers')
Tower , a defensive structure funded by artisans who lived nearby. From the tower,
Staroposhtovy uzviz turns southwest and descends steeply into the ravine down to
the Polish Gate OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP . This gate was named after the his-
toric Polish section of the city, which was located on the other side of the river, built
around the hill dominated by the 19th-century Orthodox Church of St George
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GOOGLE MAP , with its five spires painted a brilliant azure.
 
 
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