page_title: Khotyn Fortress
section_title: Reconstruction and fortification
hierarchical_section_title: Khotyn Fortress / History / Reconstruction and fortification
caption_attribution_description: English: Stronghold in Khotyn (Khotyn), Ukraine Deutsch: Festung von Chotyn, Ukraine Esperanto: Fortikaĵo de Ĥotino, Ukrainio Русский: Крепость Хотин, Украина
context_page_description: The Khotyn Fortress is a fortification complex located on the right bank of the Dniester River in Khotyn, Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine. It is situated on a territory of the historical northern Bessarabia region which was split in 1940 between Ukraine and Moldova. The fortress is also located in a close proximity to another famous defensive structure, the Old Kam'yanets Castle of Kamianets-Podilskyi. Construction on the current Khotyn fortress was started in 1325, while major improvements were made in the 1380s and in the 1460s.
context_section_description: In 1250–64, Prince Danylo of Halych and his son Lev, rebuilt the fortress. They added a half-meter (20 in) stone wall and a 6-meter (20 ft) wide moat around the fortress. In the northern part of the fortress, were added new military buildings as well. In the second half of the 13th century, it was rebuilt by the Genoese.
  During the 1340s the Fortress was taken by Moldavian prince Dragos, a vassal of the Kingdom of Hungary. After 1375 it was a part of the Principality of Moldavia. Under the rule of Stephen the Great of Moldavia the fortress was greatly expanded. Under his leadership, new 5–6-meter (16–20 ft) wide and 40 meters (130 ft) high walls were built. He also added three towers and raised the courtyard by 10 meters (33 ft). The courtyard was divided into princes' and soldiers' halves. He also dug deep basements which served as barracks to soldiers. This reconstruction brought the fortress to the structure it has today. During 14th-16th centuries the Fortress served as a residence to Moldavian Princes.
  In 1476, the garrison successfully held the Fortress against the Turkish army of Sultan Mehmed II. By the end of the 16th century Moldavia became a tributary principality of the Ottoman Empire. Thereafter, a janissary unit was stationed inside the fortress, alongside the Moldavian troops. During this time the Turks expanded and fortified the Fortress.
  The Fortress was captured by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth forces under the leadership of Great Crown Hetman Jan Tarnowski in 1538. Commonwealth forces undermined the walls of the Fortress, destroyed three towers and part of the western wall. After it was captured, the Khotyn Citadel was renovated between 1540–1544. In 1563 Dmytro Vyshnevetsky with five hundred Zaporozhian Cossacks captured the Fortress and held it for a time.
caption: Panoramic view of the fortress's walls.
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