The fortress walls of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra are one of the most significant defensive complexes in Ukraine, built and rebuilt over several centuries. The first stone walls appeared in the 12th century after the Polovtsian raids, but the Mongol-Tatar invasion of 1240 destroyed them. Since then, the monastery was protected by a wooden fence with earthen ramparts – until the end of the 17th century, when the Cossacks of Hetman Samoilovych erected new earthen fortifications. The real stone wall around the Upper Lavra was built in 1698–1702 at the expense of Hetman Ivan Mazepa, who spent a million gold on it. The walls are over a kilometer long, up to three meters thick and about seven meters high – with loopholes, galleries for shooters and four towers.
The fortification ensemble includes four watchtowers, each of which has its own history. The Clock Tower got its name from the clock that stood on it until 1816. The Ioann Kushchnyk Tower was built as Mazepa’s personal chapel, but the church was never opened. Onufriivska was originally designed as a temple, and Malyarna housed a painting school in the 18th century. In the middle of the 19th century, the territory of the Near and Far Caves was also surrounded by walls – more than a kilometer of walls according to the design of Otto von Freimann. This complex is part of the general system of the Kyiv Fortress and is an architectural monument of national importance.