NOI CONTRIBUȚII PRIVIND CELE MAI VECHI PLANURI ALE IAȘILOR (1739)
New contributions to the oldest plans of Iasi (1739)

Summary/Abstract: In 2017, we published a study in the pages of this journal announcing the discovery of a copy of a plan of fortifications planned by the Russians in Iași on the occasion of the occupation of September 1739. The copy was in a military engineering treaty published in Russia in 1866 and we expressed our hope that, at some point, we will identify the original in the Russian archives. We discovered it earlier than we anticipated at the Military-Historical Archive in Moscow, in the fund no. 846. The original plan of the fortifications is much more precise and includes an extensive legend, with the place and date of issuence being noted („in the Prut camp, September 21, year 1739”), the document having at the end the original signature of Field Marshal Burkhard Christoph von Münnich, commander of the Russian Imperial Army. Moreover, in fund 349 there are other copies or versions of the plan to fortify the capital of Moldavia, including one with explanations in German, an indirect confirmation that among the topographers in the Russian army there were some of German origin.Of even greater importance is the discovery of a copy of the original plan of Iași from 1739, the oldest known plan of this city. The plan includes information on the stage of fortification works, the situation of the princely residence and the palace at Frumoasa, the presence of lakes around the city,bridges, etc. Precious are the data on the churches and monasteries in the city, including churches claimed to be newer than 1739. The legend is very rich, containing no less than 35 explanatory points. The author of the plans is the engineer Jakov Mordvinov, who at that time held the rank of lieutenant colonel (podpolcovnic) and who was commissioned by von Münnich with several works of military engineering during the war.

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