Na Kresach Multańskich. Kamieniec Podolski i zamki pogranicza polsko-tureckiego w świetle nieznanych planów

Abstract

Podolia was on Poland's border with Turkey in the 17th century; it was the scene of unceasing battles against the Cossacks, Turk and Tartars. These wars escalated in the years 1672-1699 when Kamieniec Podolski (Kamyanets-Podilskyy), the main stronghold, found itself in the hands of the Muslims. The long years of war to recapture it were followed if attention by the whole of Europe and its popularity found its reflection in the many contemporaneous plans and views of the fortress. Not all such material has, to date, been fully utilized and studied. An interesting set of plans of the castles of Podolia from the Radziwiłł collections of Nieśwież (Neswiz), may now be found in Sankt Petersburg. They come from the circle of Radziwiłłs: Michał Kazimierz (died 1680) and Karol Stanisław (died 1716) who spent time in Podoliaover the years 1688-1692. The drawings are not the work of a single author, although they pertain to a single area and date from the period of the Polish-Turkish wars between the loss of the Kamieniec Podolski stronghold in 1672 and its recapture in 1699. The other sketches of the strongholds of Podolia are linked with preparations for the capture of Kamieniec Podolski. They are all dated and were executed by the same artists during a trip trough Podolia in February - March of 1690 through Jagielnica (Jahilnytsya), Czortków (Chortkiv), Żwaniec (Zhwanets), and Chocim (Khotyn). The remaining drawings, which include two plans of Kamieniec Podolski, were drawn by various persons, amateurs and professionals, linked with the Polish defenders of Podolia. The article goes into the histories of these castles as well as their roles during the Polish-Turkish struggle. There is also a critical analysis of this new material, confronting in with other iconographic sources, written records, the present state, and the topography of the area investigated on site. This study is a first critical effort at defining the specifics of castles and fortresses protecting the southern bordrs of the Commonwealth, the area commonly referred to as the "Bulwark of Christianity".