Description of the attraction
The remains of the ramparts of the Fanagoria fortress, located at the entrance to Taman, are one of the historical sights of this region. Until today, the stone buildings of the fortress have not survived, they were all destroyed during the Crimean War and have been abandoned since then. Now you can see only the high earthen ramparts of the Phanagoria fortification.
The fortress was built in 1794 by order of the Russian commander A. V. Suvorov. It was located near the new Cossack village, east of the Turkish fortress Khunkal. The fortification got its name by mistake. At that time it was believed that Taman was located on the site of the old city of Phanagoria.
At one time, the Phanagoria fortress was one of the best in the empire. The author of this project was Franz de Volan. The English traveler Clarke called it "the tomb of ancient Greek stones and bas-reliefs with inscriptions." During the construction of the fortress, lime was burned from pieces of marble that were mined in mounds and embankments. In 1793, the Tmutarakan stone was discovered here, that is, a marble slab with an inscription in Russian, with the help of which the question of the location of the ancient principality of Tmutarakan was resolved.
Already in our time, next to the Phanagoria fortress, a small chapel was erected in honor of Admiral Ushakov, who at one time was the commander-in-chief of the Black Sea Fleet. Under the leadership of Ushakov in 1790, Russian troops won a victory in the Battle of Kerch, which took place just opposite Taman. As a result of this battle, Turkish troops were unable to capture the Sea of Azov and the Kuban lands, including Taman.
Currently, cattle graze on the territory of the former fortress, bounded by swollen and overgrown earthen ramparts. After the fortress was destroyed, no one rebuilt it. The remains of the shafts were also left unattended.
