Azov, Port town in Rostov Oblast, Russia
Azov is a port town on the Don River in Rostov Oblast, located a few kilometers before it flows into the Sea of Azov. The settlement stretches along both banks and forms a center with harbors for cargo traffic and fishing.
A Kipchak outpost appeared here in 1067 and later developed into a Venetian trading colony named Tana during the Golden Horde. After conquests by the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Tsardom, the town was expanded into a fortress in the 18th century.
The old fortifications run along the riverbanks and give the center its military appearance. The remaining bastions and ramparts show how this place served for many years as a frontier post.
Bus connections to Rostov-on-Don depart regularly from the center and take about an hour for the journey. Visitors who want to see the fortress remains will find them best on foot from the harbor along the riverbank.
The Powder Cellar from the time of Catherine the Great is the only remaining fortress building from that era in the entire south of Russia. This structure survived as the last witness to 18th-century military architecture in the region.
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