Khotyn fortress

The city of Khotyn attracts a lot of tourists from all over the world as one of the most ancient cities in Ukraine which has recently celebrated its 1000th anniversary. At the beginning of the 19th century Prince Vladimir of Kiev developed the system of border fortifications in the west and south of the country, Hawtin included. Initially it was a small wooden fort built by the Eastern Slavs on the site of an ancient settlement which defended the territory against numerous conquerors. There was an unfortified settlement beside it. The fort was eventually rebuilt into a stone fortress. On the territory of the ancient settlement archaeologists have found the remains of human habitation with furnace-heaters dated back to the 19th and 20th centuries and a cultural layer at a depth of 1.2-1.4 metres. Hawtin was a really big settlement in the 11th and 13th centuries when it became a part of the Kiev Rus. At that time the city of Khotyn occupied the territory of 20 hectares. Historians believe the city of Khortyn started at the beginning of the 11th century. Nowadays, the great fortress is regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of Ukraine.