A unique phenomenon in world culture is the ancient Chechen mountain architecture. These are residential and battle towers, places of worship and necropolises. It was in these places that the shortest routes of communication passed between the nomadic world of Eastern Europe and the agricultural ancient civilizations. Thanks to this, the Caucasus is a place of intersection of the influence of cultures of various great nations.
The article presents one of the varieties of architecture in Chechnya - Chechen towers: photos, descriptions, features.
General information
In mythology, in pagan cults and in the culture of Chechens, those traits that testify to their connection with the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean, Western Asia and Europe have been preserved. This is most clearly seen in a deeper study of Chechen mythology and medieval pagan cults, where parallels with the names of mythological heroes of the greatest civilizations of antiquity are found.
For scientists, the most interesting are the various magical signs and petroglyphs preserved on the necropolises and stone towers of mountain Chechnya. They are often older in age than the towers themselves.
History
Chechen towers in the mountains - a unique architecture. Tower medieval architecture was originally originated in antiquity on the territory of the settlement of Nakhs (Ingush and Chechens). These regions extend from the east from Argun to the Kuban in the west. They reached their peak between the Terek and Argun rivers (the area of later residence of the Nakhs).
The towers once existed not only in the mountains of Chechnya, they were built both in the foothills (Khankalskoe gorge) and on the plain (northern and eastern borders of Chechnya). However, since the XIV century, since the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars, Chechen towers began to be systematically destroyed. They suffered especially severely during the Caucasian War and during the deportation of Chechens (1944). As a result of the events, hundreds of towers were destroyed.
Architectural monuments of the Middle Ages suffered greatly during the last two wars. Many Chechen towers were destroyed, shelled and severely damaged, and during the bombing, the destruction of unique thousand-year-old buildings in mountain gorges accelerated.
Tower Features
In the construction of these structures, more ancient processed stones from buildings of the XV century BC were often used. On them, the masters tried to preserve the most ancient petroglyphs, and over time they were transferred almost unchanged to other new towers.
It was at the Nakhs in the Caucasus that tower architecture reached its highest development. This manifested itself in a special way in the construction of battle towers, which are the pinnacle of medieval architecture. These Chechen towers were built in compliance with the proportionality and mirror symmetry of all the details of the building, in unique harmony with the surrounding natural landscape.
Current state
Today, in the mountains of Chechnya, in the upper reaches of the rivers Argun, Fortanga, Sharo-Argun, Gekhi, near the lakes Galanchoz and Kezenoy, about 150 settlements with tower structures, more than 200 military and several hundred residential towers have survived in various forms. Dozens of religious buildings and more than 100 land crypts have also been preserved.
These historical monuments date back to the 11th-17th centuries.
Chechen tribal towers
The mastery of construction of such unique structures was inherited, therefore the majestic stone structures are a clear result of their ingenious and amazing creativity.
The construction of both the combat and residential towers was conducted quite solemnly. The first stone rows were stained with the blood of a sacrificial animal (ram), and the full construction was to last no more than one year. The customer had to feed the master building the tower, as according to Vainakh beliefs, famine brings misfortune to the house. If suddenly the master fell from the tower from dizziness, the owner was expelled from the village, accusing him of greed.
Chechen beauty
This Chechen tower is one of the oldest in the republic. The tower of der in the distant past (XII century) was a military structure. The wooden floors of the tower rotted, but the tower itself was able to survive to this day. This is a unique building - a monument of medieval architecture. The height of this structure is 23 meters. The upper tier once served as a watchpoint, from where a panoramic view of the mountain gorge opens. Sentinels from the top of the tower transmitted signals - warning and combat.
Not far from the Tower of Der is a small village. It is an interesting object for tourists who want to learn the legends and stories associated with this historical region.
