Tarakaniv Fort - History today

Tarakaniv fort was built in 70-80 years of XIX century. It wasn't a place of great battles, but is a good sample of Ukraine military engeneering.
Fort is a rhombus with a side length up to 240m, surrounded by ramparts of about 14m height, which are strengthened with brick walls of 3m width. The entire complex is surrounded by another wall.

The main entrance is on the wet tunnel to the secondary structures. Along the perimeter of buildings there are casemates, which were intended mainly for fighting. Also there was a hospital, operating, morgue, toilets, three wells, ammunition depots (aka - triangular room). Casemates were equipped with ventilation, sanitation, water supply, laundry, heated furnaces. Inside the underground space electric lights were carried out, there was a special oven for burning sewage.

Doors and floors are made of cast iron. In the center there is a two-storey administrative building, barracks for 650 people, electrical and telegraph station (in 1899 Fort was telephonized), a shop, a bakery, headquarters, a dining room and two floors underground. Casemates and barracks shared polygonal street width 8-10m. There was even a small church in the Russian-Byzantine style.

Today all the underground entrances are concreted, noone knows how much they are long and what there is. Construction is abandoned and isn't needed to anyone exept enthusiasts and tourists. Officially Tarakaniv fort belongs to the Ministry of Defence and is on the balance of the local military unit.

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