Concept

Tower of St. Olav

Résumé

The Tower of St. Olav is the one remaining tower of Vyborg Castle. It is a symbol and an architectural landmark of the city of Vyborg. Vyborg Castle The fortress was conceived by Torkel Knutsson, the Lord High Constable of Sweden, who led in the 1290s a crusade to Karelia, the Third Finnish Crusade, which was actually aimed against the Republic of Novgorod. He chose the location of the new fortress to command the Bay of Vyborg, which was a trading site already used by locals. From the bay, a river leads inland, ultimately connecting the place to several districts, lakes, and indirectly also to rivers going to Lake Ladoga. By request of Torkel Knutsson the main fortress tower was constructed in 1293. According to the Russian military historians the first fortifications consisted of a rectangular donjon type tower and the closed perimeter of a defensive wall, which surrounded the tower. Russian archaeological excavations confirm this fact. The builders constructed the tower from huge boulders, according to traditions of the Italian fortification style then dominant in Europe. The tower was named for a legendary king of Norway, Olaf Sacred, who confirmed Christianity in Scandinavia and was later canonised. The foundation of the tower is made of stone laid without mortar; the tower walls are composed of stones cemented with strong mortar and rivetted by boulders. The tower is rectangular (size is 15.5 х 15.6 meters), with walls 4.5 meters thick. The tower top has a crenelated wall on which a wooden gallery for defenders was erected. The castle cellar was used for storage of supplies and a prison, while the ground floor was used for living space. The new fortress was repeatedly besieged by the armies of the Novgorod Republic, the most serious siege occurring in 1322. In this siege the most advanced artillery of the age was used: stone fougasse, including possibly the heavy arbalest. As a result of excavation, it has been discovered that wooden structures were once attached to the walls of the stone structure.

Source officielle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_St._Olav

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