Great Mill, Gdańsk, Poland - SpottingHistory.com

Built by the Teutonic Knights in 1350, the Great Mill with its rising tiled roof is the grandest civil construction in Gdańsk. Until 1356 when the Radunia Canal was built, the mill was powered by slaves turning 18 huge wheels. It was the largest industrial plant in Europe during the Middle Ages and functioned until the end of WWII. Unfortunately, this treasure has since been turned into a shopping centre. At least there's a small exhibition of old equipment from the mill. The surrounding grain and flour stores, dating to 1400, are home to a few small shops.

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Михаил Смирнов (21 months ago)
Цегляний млин на штучному острівці на каналі Радуні, побудований у 1350 році тевтонцями. Це одна з найбільших промислових споруд середньовіччя, працювала за первісним призначенням аж до другої світової війни. Млин мав спочатку 12, а потім 18 колес. В приміщенні знаходилися також склад та пекарня.

Bogumiła Trojanowska (2 years ago)
Nieczynne wewnątrz na zewnątrz warte obejrzenia

MrBashmat (2 years ago)
Великий млин, побудований ще в середині XIV століття лицарями Тевтонського ордену. В ці часи він був найбільшим сільськогосподарським будинком середньовічного міста.

Tomasz Puchalski (2 years ago)
Kiedyś jedna z pierwszych galerii handlowych w Gdańsku. Obecnie pusto. Ma być tam przeniesione Muzeum Bursztynu, które obecnie mieści się w Katowni.

SaMeh ARCOMINDLW (2 years ago)
Beautiful building, but nothing to do there other than taking photos from outside.

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Derbent Fortress

Derbent is the southernmost city in Russia, occupying the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains connecting the Eurasian steppes to the north and the Iranian Plateau to the south. Derbent claims to be the oldest city in Russia with historical documentation dating to the 8th century BCE. Due to its strategic location, over the course of history, the city changed ownership many times, particularly among the Persian, Arab, Mongol, Timurid, Shirvan and Iranian kingdoms.

Derbent has archaeological structures over 5,000 years old. As a result of this geographic peculiarity, the city developed between two walls, stretching from the mountains to the sea. These fortifications were continuously employed for a millennium and a half, longer than any other extant fortress in the world.

A traditionally and historically Iranian city, the first intensive settlement in the Derbent area dates from the 8th century BC. The site was intermittently controlled by the Persian monarchs, starting from the 6th century BC. Until the 4th century AD, it was part of Caucasian Albania which was a satrap of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. In the 5th century Derbent functioned as a border fortress and the seat of Sassanid Persians. Because of its strategic position on the northern branch of the Silk Route, the fortress was contested by the Khazars in the course of the Khazar-Arab Wars. In 654, Derbent was captured by the Arabs.

The Sassanid fortress does not exist any more, as the famous Derbent fortress as it stands today was built from the 12th century onward. Derbent became a strong military outpost and harbour of the Sassanid empire. During the 5th and 6th centuries, Derbent also became an important center for spreading the Christian faith in the Caucasus.

The site continued to be of great strategic importance until the 19th century. Today the fortifications consist of two parallel defence walls and Naryn-Kala Citadel. The walls are 3.6km long, stretching from the sea up to the mountains. They were built from stone and had 73 defence towers. 9 out of the 14 original gates remain.

In Naryn-Kala Citadel most of the old buildings, including a palace and a church, are now in ruins. It also holds baths and one of the oldest mosques in the former USSR.

In 2003, UNESCO included the old part of Derbent with traditional buildings in the World Heritage List.

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