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Kaminsky Estate 'Saburov Fortress'

Фото 1
Saburov Fortress, which represents the remnants of the garden fence of the Kaminsky estate in Saburovo, Oryol District, is one of the main attractions of the Oryol region. This architectural and urban ensemble includes a fortress wall, four towers, a theater building, and the Church of Archangel Michael.

The Church of Archangel Michael was built in 1755 by Fyodor Mikhailovich Kamensky. His son, Mikhail Fyodorovich, constructed Saburov Fortress in the late 18th century as a 'monument in honor of Russian arms.'

The fortress walls, reaching a height of four meters, have a perimeter of about 1.5 km. The enclosed area covers 15 hectares. The northern wall runs almost parallel to the Oryol-Bryansk railway line, located 10 km from the village of Saburovo. The eastern side with two corner towers faces the village of Znamenka and the city of Oryol. The southern wall, passing through a three-story tower, runs along the Znamenka-Saburovo road and borders Saburov Cemetery. On the western side of the fortress, only two pyramids remain, which served as powder magazines and ice houses.

Inside the fortress was a luxurious count's garden with greenhouses. Only fragments of the foundation of the count's house, several steps leading to the garden, and large pits resembling cellars remain.

In 1809, Field Marshal Count Mikhail Fyodorovich Kamensky was buried in the Church of Archangel Michael, and in 1811, his son, General of Infantry Nikolai. Simple white gravestones without inscriptions were placed over their graves. The church was closed in 1930, and soon its destruction began. The Kamensky burials were opened and looted. In the mid-1990s, descendants of Count Kamensky from Moscow organized the reburial of the remains of M. F. and N. M. Kamensky, installing two memorial plaques on the church wall.

The last owner of Saburov Fortress from the Kamensky family was Count Sergey Mikhailovich. Although he participated in many military campaigns, he did not possess the military talents of his younger brother. He became known as an avid theatergoer. In 1815, he opened a fortress theater in Oryol, which was later immortalized in literature and the memories of contemporaries. The theater required significant expenses, and in 1827, the count was forced to sell Saburovo, where his father, brother, and grandfather were buried.

In the late 1940s, the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR placed the tent towers and other surviving structures of the fortress under state protection. In the early 1950s, Oryol architect and local historian Mikhail Vasilyevich Kaplinsky organized an exhibition on the history of the estate in one of the towers, but it soon turned into a warehouse. In the 1970s, the regional culture department began partial restoration. The tallest three-story tower was converted into a branch of the regional local history museum 'Tupoy Artist.' However, funding ceased, the fortress was abandoned, and several houses were built next to the wall.

Geo point

Усадьба Каминских “Сабуровская крепость”

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