Chief architect of the Kremlin. The architectural ensemble of the Kremlin. Walls, towers and temples of the Kremlin

The Moscow Kremlin is the center of Russia and the citadel of power. For more than 5 centuries, these walls have been reliably hiding state secrets and protecting their main carriers. The Kremlin is shown on Russian and world channels several times a day. This is a medieval, unlike anything fortress, has long been a symbol of Russia.

Only now the frames are provided to us mostly the same. The Kremlin is a strictly guarded acting residence of the president of our country. There are no trifles in security, which is why all Kremlin shootings are so strictly regulated. By the way, do not forget to visit the excursion to the Kremlin.

To see another Kremlin, try to imagine its towers without tents, limit the height to only a wide, non-tapering part, and you will immediately see a completely different Moscow Kremlin - a powerful, squat, medieval, European fortress.

This was built at the end of the 15th century on the site of the old white-stone Kremlin by the Italians - Pietro Fryazin, Anton Fryazin and Alois Fryazin. All of them received the same surname, although they were not relatives. "Fryazin" means a foreigner in Old Slavonic.

They built the fortress in accordance with all the latest achievements of fortification and military science of that time. Along the battlements of the walls there is a combat platform with a width of 2 to 4.5 meters.

Each prong has a loophole that can only be reached by standing on something else. The view from here is limited. The height of each prong is 2-2.5 meters, the distance between them during the battle was covered with wooden shields. In total, there are 1145 teeth on the walls of the Moscow Kremlin.

The Moscow Kremlin is a great fortress located near the Moskva River, in the heart of Russia - in Moscow. The citadel is equipped with 20 towers, each with its own unique look and 5 travel gates. The Kremlin is like a ray of light, carried through the rich history of the formation of Russia.

These ancient walls are witnesses of all those numerous events that happened to the state, starting from the moment of its construction. The fortress begins its journey in 1331, although the word "Kremlin" was mentioned earlier.

Moscow Kremlin, infographic. Source: www.culture.rf. For a closer view, open the image in a new browser tab.

Moscow Kremlin under different rulers

Moscow Kremlin under Ivan Kalita

In 1339-1340. The Moscow prince Ivan Danilovich, nicknamed Kalita (“money bag”), built an impressive oak citadel on Borovitsky Hill, with walls from 2 to 6 m thick and not less than 7 m high. Ivan Kalita made a powerful fortress with a menacing look, but it stood less three decades and burned down during a terrible fire in the summer of 1365.

Moscow Kremlin under Dmitry Donskoy

The tasks of defending Moscow urgently required the creation of a more reliable fortress: the Moscow principality was in danger from the Golden Horde, Lithuania and the rival Russian principalities - Tver and Ryazan. The then reigning 16-year-old grandson of Ivan Kalita Dmitry (aka Dmitry Donskoy) decided to build a stone fortress - the Kremlin.

The construction of the stone fortress began in 1367, and the stone was mined nearby, in the village of Myachkovo. The construction was completed in a short time - in just one year. Dmitry Donskoy made the Kremlin a white-stone fortress, which the enemies tried to storm more than once, but they could not.

What does the word "Kremlin" mean?

One of the first mentions of the word “kremlin” is in the Resurrection Chronicle in a message about a fire in 1331. According to historians, it could have arisen from the Old Russian word “kremnik”, which meant a fortress built of oak. According to another point of view, it is based on the word "Krom" or "Krom", which means a frontier, a border.

The first victory of the Moscow Kremlin

Almost immediately after the construction of the Moscow Kremlin, Moscow was besieged by the Lithuanian prince Olgerd in 1368, and then in 1370. The Lithuanians stood at the white stone walls for three days and three nights, but the fortifications turned out to be impregnable. This instilled confidence in the young Moscow ruler and allowed him to later challenge the powerful Golden Horde Khan Mamai.

In 1380, feeling reliable rear lines behind them, the Russian army, under the leadership of Prince Dmitry, ventured into a decisive operation. Having left their native city far to the south, to the upper reaches of the Don, they met with the army of Mamai and defeated him on the Kulikovo field.

So for the first time, chrome became a stronghold not only of the Moscow principality, but of all of Rus'. And Dmitry received the nickname Donskoy. For 100 years after the Battle of Kulikovo, the white-stone citadel united the Russian lands, becoming the main center of Rus'.

Moscow Kremlin under Ivan 3

The current dark red appearance of the Moscow Kremlin owes its birth to Prince Ivan III Vasilyevich. Started by him in 1485-1495. grandiose construction was not a simple reconstruction of the dilapidated defensive fortifications of Dmitry Donskoy. The red brick fortress comes to replace the white stone fortress.

Outside the towers were put forward in order to fire along the walls. To quickly move the defenders, a system of secret underground passages was created. Completing the system of impregnable defense, the Kremlin was generally made an island. On both sides, it already had natural barriers - the Moscow and Neglinnaya rivers.

They also dug a moat from the third side, where Red Square is now, about 30-35 meters wide and 12 meters deep. Contemporaries called the Moscow Kremlin an outstanding military engineering structure. Moreover, the Kremlin is the only European fortress that has never been taken by storm.

The special role of the Moscow Kremlin as a new grand-ducal residence and the main fortress of the state determined the nature of its engineering and technical appearance. Built of red brick, it retained the features of the layout of the old Russian citadel, and in its outlines - the already established shape of an irregular triangle.

At the same time, the Italians made it extremely functional and very similar to many fortresses in Europe. What Muscovites came up with in the 17th century turned the Kremlin into a unique architectural monument. The Russians only built on stone tents, which turned the fortress into a light, skyward-looking structure, which has no equal in the world, and the corner towers took on the appearance that our ancestors knew that it was Russia that would send the first man into space.

Architects of the Moscow Kremlin

The curators of the construction were Italian architects. Memorial plaques installed on the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin testify that it was built in the "30th summer" of the reign of Ivan Vasilyevich. With the construction of the most powerful entrance front tower, the Grand Duke celebrated the anniversary of his state activity. In particular, Spasskaya and Borovitskaya were designed by Pietro Solari.

In 1485, under the leadership of Antonio Gilardi, a powerful Tainitskaya tower was built. In 1487, another Italian architect, Marco Ruffo, began to build Beklemishevskaya, and later Sviblova (Vodovzvodnaya) appeared on the opposite side. These three structures set the direction and rhythm for all subsequent construction.

The Italian origin of the main architects of the Moscow Kremlin is not accidental. At that time, it was Italy that came to the fore in the theory and practice of fortification construction. Design features testify to the acquaintance of its creators with the engineering ideas of such prominent representatives of the Italian Renaissance as Leonardo da Vinci, Leon Battista Alberti, Filippo Brunelleschi. In addition, it was the Italian architectural school that "gave" the Stalin skyscrapers in Moscow.

By the beginning of the 1490s, four more blind towers appeared (Annunciation, 1st and 2nd Unnamed and Petrovskaya). All of them, as a rule, repeated the line of the old fortifications. The work was carried out gradually, in such a way that there were no open areas in the fortress through which the enemy could suddenly attack.

In the 1490s, the construction was supervised by the Italian Pietro Solari (aka Pyotr Fryazin), with whom his compatriots Antonio Gilardi (aka Anton Fryazin) and Aloisio da Carcano (Aleviz Fryazin) worked. 1490-1495 The Moscow Kremlin was replenished with the following towers: Konstantin-Eleninskaya, Spasskaya, Nikolskaya, Senatskaya, Corner Arsenalnaya and Nabatnaya.

Secret passages in the Moscow Kremlin

In case of danger, the defenders of the Kremlin had the opportunity to quickly move through secret underground passages. In addition, internal passages were arranged in the walls, connecting all the towers. The defenders of the Kremlin could, therefore, concentrate, if necessary, on a dangerous sector of the front or retreat in the event of a preponderance of enemy forces.

Long underground tunnels were also dug, thanks to which it was possible to observe the enemy in the event of a siege, as well as to make unexpected attacks on the enemy. Several underground tunnels went beyond the Kremlin.

Some towers had not only a protective function. For example, Tainitskaya hid a secret passage from the fortress to the Moscow River. Wells were made in Beklemishevskaya, Vodovzvodnaya and Arsenalnaya, with the help of which it was possible to deliver water if the city was under siege. The well in Arsenalnaya has survived to this day.

Within two years, the Kolymazhnaya (Komendantskaya) and Granenaya (Middle Arsenalnaya) fortresses rose in a slender line, and in 1495 the construction of Troitskaya began. The construction was led by Aleviz Fryazin.

Chronology of events

All towers of the Moscow Kremlin

The Kremlin is the oldest part of Moscow, the main socio-political, historical and artistic complex of the center of the capital, the seat of the country's highest state authorities.

The walls and towers were built in 1485-1495. of red brick with internal backing of cobblestone and white stone with lime mortar. Since his masters did not have sufficient knowledge to produce buildings, the Grand Duke of All Rus' Ivan III Vasilyevich, on the advice of his wife Sophia, hired Italian architects: Anton Fryazin (Antonio Gilardi), Marco Fryazin (Marco Ruffo), Peter Fryazin (Pietro Antonio Solari ), Aleviz Fryazin the Old (Aloisio da Carcano) led by Aristotle Fioravanti. They are not brothers or even namesakes. In Rus' at that time, Italians were called "friags" or "friazins".

It should be assumed that some of the towers of the Kremlin were built by Russian craftsmen, since their forms bear the character of wooden structures. One must think that our craftsmen could not abandon the forms of wooden towers that they mastered to perfection, which, as you know, were built in multitudes along the walls that surrounded the then city of Moscow, and were distinguished by their enormity, complexity of construction and mastery of execution. Carpentry skill reached its possible perfection in ancient wooden Rus', since its wonderful material and constant, thanks to fires, abundant work contributed greatly to this. And so it seems that this is precisely the circumstance that should be attributed to the shape of the current small towers of the Kremlin.

Kremlin walls

At present, the Kremlin walls are stretched over 2235 m. As if following the outline of the Kremlin hill, they either descend into the depths, or rise to the very hill, forming an irregular triangle with a length of the southern part of 300 sazhens, the eastern - 350 sazhens and the western - 390 sazhens at thickness 3.5 - 6.5 m and height from 5 to 19 m. On the top of the wall there is a fighting passage 2 - 4 m wide, laid with square slabs with a slope and stairs at a break, and in the very thickness of them you can often find corridors. In the old days, so-called dungeons, chambers, pits for criminals were placed in them. Sheds and cellars for shells and gunpowder were located at their inner soles. The combat one rests on rhythmically alternating arches ("pechura"). From the outside, it is covered by 1045 two-horned teeth (the so-called merlons, or "dovetails", 2 - 2.5 m high, 65 - 70 cm thick), from the inside - a parapet. On top of the passage there was a wooden gable roof for protection from the weather (it burned down in 1737).

The walls are lined with 20 towers of various heights, shapes and styles.

Three round corners (Vodovzvodnaya, Beklemishevskaya and Angular arsenal) protruded far beyond the plane of the walls and were designed for all-round defense.

Six travel towers: Spasskaya, Nikolskaya, Troitskaya, Borovitskaya, Tainitskaya, Konstantin-Eleninskaya - the most powerful defensive structures, the system of which included diversion archers, bridge towers (the Kutafya tower was preserved), stone bastions, drawbridges. Drop grates (gers) were installed in the gate openings. Located at intervals of 9 deaf (without gates) rectangular in terms of towers, they had 3-5 combat tiers with loopholes for frontal and flanking fire, upper platforms with loopholes for mounted combat (mashikul) for shelling the enemy at the foot of the tower, caches-wells and underground rumor moves to prevent undermining.

From the south and northwest, the approaches to the walls were covered by the Moscow and Neglinnaya rivers, and from the east (from the side of modern Red Square) - a moat (width 30 m, depth 10 m). Bank of the Moskva River and both edges of the moat in 1508-1516 were fortified with an additional wall with battlements.

In the 17th century, all the towers, except Nikolskaya, were crowned with tents; drawbridges were replaced by stone arched bridges, and a decorative Tsar's tower was erected on the eastern wall. In the 15th - 18th centuries, clocks were installed on a number of towers (the Kremlin chimes on the Spasskaya Tower have been preserved). In 1707-1708, in connection with the threat of an attack by the Swedes, the Kremlin walls and towers were reinforced with bastions, traces of which have been preserved at the Middle Arsenal and Armory towers.

CATHEDRAL SQUARE

Cathedral Square of the Kremlin is one of the oldest in Moscow. Its origin is attributed to the beginning of the XIV century. The Assumption, Annunciation and Archangel Cathedrals, the bell tower of Ivan the Great, the Palace of Facets and other monuments of Russian architecture rise on the square. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the square was covered several times with hard sandstone slabs. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was freed from the overgrown cultural layer, and in the 30s of our century it was asphalted. In 1955, the asphalt was removed and the former stone pavement was restored.

Cathedral Square was the main square of the Kremlin. In the old days, ceremonial solemn processions took place on it on the occasion of the wedding of kings and the coronation of emperors. They were usually accompanied by magnificent military escorts. Foreign ambassadors were met in front of the Red Porch of the Faceted Chamber. There were also funeral processions to the Archangel Cathedral - the tomb of the Moscow Grand Dukes and Tsars - and the Assumption Cathedral - the burial place of Moscow metropolitans and patriarchs. The uniquely beautiful architectural ensemble of Cathedral Square, picturesque and harmonious, was created by the labor and talent of Russian masters from Moscow, Vladimir, Pskov, and Italian architects.

Built over 500 years ago, this magnificent ensemble excites today with the grandeur of its design.

ASSUMPTION CATHEDRAL

The Assumption Cathedral stands on the site of the first stone cathedral in Moscow built by Ivan Kalita in 1326-1327. He, in turn, was preceded by the oldest Moscow churches - a wooden XII century and a stone XIII century. The Assumption Cathedral was built by the Italian architect Aristotle Fioravanti invited by Ivan III. The cathedral was built in 1475-1479 on the model of the Assumption Cathedral of the XII century in the ancient Russian city of Vladimir. This emphasized the continuity of Moscow in relation to one of the ancient centers of the Russian land. For four centuries, the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin remained the main temple of Rus', crowned heirs to the kingdom, announced state acts, elected metropolitans and patriarchs at church councils, and performed other solemn ceremonies. The cathedral served as the tomb of the Moscow patriarchs and metropolitans. Their tombs line the walls. The main entrance to the temple is located on the side of the cathedral square. The wide staircase ends with a portal of three semicircular arches. The entrance to the building is, as it were, guarded by Archangel Michael and a guardian angel; Above, the figures of saints are inscribed in the arches. Above them is an image of the Virgin and Child. These multicolored frescoes were painted by unknown Russian artists of the 17th century. Inside, the central part of the cathedral is separated from the altar by a five-tiered iconostasis of the 17th century, about 16 meters high, covered with chased gilded silver at the end of the 19th century. The iconostasis was made in 1652-1653 by the painters of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. In 1682, the icons were damaged by fire and were refurbished by the tsarist painters Kirill Ulanov, Georgy Zinoviev and Tikhon Filatiev. For centuries, icons created by Russian painters have accumulated in the Assumption Cathedral. The most ancient icon of the cathedral is "St. George" (in front of the iconostasis). During the Patriotic War of 1812, the cathedral was devastated by the Napoleonic troops. A chandelier was forged from a piece of silver, beaten off later by the Russian Cossacks, which hangs in the center of the cathedral. The oldest monument of applied art in the cathedral is its southern doors (brought to Moscow from the Suzdal cathedral, date back to the beginning of the 15th century), 20 images on biblical themes are written on them in gold on black lacquer.

BLAGOVESHCHENSKY CATHEDRAL

In the southwestern part of the Cathedral Square is an elegant nine-domed Annunciation Cathedral with golden domes. The cathedral was built in 1484-1489 by Pskov masters as a home fortress of the Grand Duke of Moscow. Initially, the temple was small and was crowned with three heads. In the 60s of the 16th century, four single-domed churches (chapels) were erected over the galleries of the cathedral and two false ones - thus, the cathedral turned into a nine-domed structure. In the 70s of the 16th century, a porch with a high white stone porch was added for Ivan the Terrible. The cathedral was connected with the palace by a special passage. During the solemn ceremonies that took place on the Cathedral Square, the temple served as a front exit from the palace of the prince (later the king) and his retinue. The cathedral was built in the traditions of early Moscow architecture. But since it was built by the Pskovians, then, naturally, there are features of Pskov architecture: an octahedron under the central drum, original headbands and many other decorative elements. Two entrances with high porches lead to the temple from the square. They enter the cathedral through the northern porch and enter the gallery, the walls of which are painted with frescoes on biblical themes (“The Miracle with the Prophet Jonah”, “Rejoices in You”, “Trinity”, “Jesus Tree”, “Feats of Monastic Hermits” and others). In the piers, on the slopes of the arches and on the pilasters, ancient philosophers and writers are depicted in full growth: Aristotle, Thucydides, Plutarch, Homer, Virgil and others - at that time in Rus', educated people were familiar with their works. From the gallery through the portal, decorated with white stone carvings, you can get to the central part of the temple. The greatest value of the cathedral is the iconostasis. The icons in the iconostasis are arranged in five rows. The third row is called "festive" - ​​its icons depict various Christian holidays. Seven icons on the left side of the row (except for the fourth, it was painted by an unknown Pskov master of the 16th century) - "Annunciation", "Nativity of Christ", "Meeting", "Baptism", "Transfiguration",

"The Resurrection of Lazarus" and "Entrance to Jerusalem" - belong to the brush of Andrei Rublev. The remaining icons in this row of the iconostasis - "The Last Vespers", "Crucifixion", "The Entombment", "Descent into Hell", "Ascension", "Descent of the Holy Spirit", "Assumption" - were made by the artist Prokhor from Gorodets. The main row of the iconostasis is deesis (from the Greek word "deesis" - prayer). It is located below the festive. The main theme of the series is the intercession of saints (they are depicted in full growth) for mere mortals before God. Most of the icons in this row (except for the Archangel Michael and the Apostle Peter) were painted by Theophanes the Greek. Of considerable interest is the murals of the cathedral, made in 1508 by an artel of artists, headed by Theodosius, the son of the famous Dionysius. There are both traditional motifs and new ones, characteristic of the 16th century. A large place in the painting is occupied by plots on the theme of the Apocalypse (to the right and left of the iconostasis on the vaults under the choir stalls and on the arches supporting the choir stalls). In addition to biblical scenes, one can see purely secular motifs in the wall paintings - the image of Byzantine emperors and Russian princes (pilasters and pilasters in the central part of the temple). At the western wall, according to custom, there are choirs for the queen and the royal children. The floor of the cathedral looks very unusual. During the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the floor was tiled with precious agate jasper. Above the exit from the cathedral, attention is drawn to the wall painting depicting the Savior Not Made by Hands, made by the famous Russian painter of the 17th century Simon Ushakov.

CATHEDRAL OF THE ARCHANGEL

The Archangel Cathedral was built in 1505-1509 by architect Aleviz Novy, invited from Italy, in the traditions of Russian architecture, but its rich decoration bears the features of the Italian Renaissance. Construction began under Ivan III and was completed under his son, Grand Duke Vasily Ivanovich. Before that, there was an ancient Archangel Cathedral, built by Ivan Kalita in 1333 in memory of the deliverance of Moscow from a severe famine. At the beginning of the 16th century, it was dismantled due to cramped conditions and made room for the construction of a larger temple. The walls of the cathedral end with zakomaras. Zakomary are decorated with white stone shells, and the facades - with pilasters with capitals, cornices and a high white stone plinth. Outside, the walls of the cathedral are divided into two tiers by a horizontal belt, which gives it the appearance of a two-story civil building. The cathedral is crowned with five domes. The central dome was gilded, the side ones were painted with silver paint. At the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th century, two single-domed churches were added to the cathedral from the east side - "St. One" and "John the Baptist". In the north and west, the cathedral is decorated with carved white stone portals in the style of the Italian Renaissance. On the southern, western and northern sides there were covered galleries, broken in the 18th century (only the gallery on the southern side has been preserved). At the end of the 18th century, on the north side, architect M.F. Kazakov added a portal in the Gothic style, dismantled in 1920. A stone tent adjoins the cathedral on the southwest side. It was erected in 1826 on the site of the former "judgment hut of the Arkhangelsk estates", in which a trial was held over quitrent peasants who had not paid taxes. The cellars of this hut have survived to this day. During Napoleon's invasion of Moscow, the French set up a wine warehouse in the Archangel Cathedral, and the altar was used as a kitchen. All the values ​​of the cathedral were plundered. After the defeat of the Napoleonic troops, the cathedral was restored in its original form. In addition to daylight, the cathedral is illuminated by nine gilded chandeliers made in the 17th century. The Archangel Cathedral has been the tomb of the great Moscow princes and tsars since the time of Ivan Kalita. The oldest tomb - Ivan Kalita, who died in 1342 - is located near the southern wall of the cathedral. Burials in the cathedral continued until Peter I. An exception is the burial of Emperor Peter II, who died in Moscow from smallpox in 1730. In total, there are 54 graves or 46 tombs in the cathedral (there are tombs with two and three burials). The tombs are tombstones made of white stone. They are carved with inscriptions in Slavic script about the time and name of the buried prince or tsar. Dmitry Donskoy and Ivan III (tombs near the southern wall), Ivan the Terrible and his sons (tombs in the southern altar) and other figures of Russian history are buried in the cathedral. At the right southeastern pillar is placed the shrine of the son of Ivan the Terrible - Tsarevich Dmitry, whose remains were transferred to the cathedral by Tsar Vasily Shuisky in 1606 from Uglich. A carved white-stone gilded canopy was made above the tomb. In 1955, it was restored as a monument of history and applied art of the early 17th century and returned to its original appearance.

CHURCH OF THE POSITION

A small one-domed church of the Deposition of the Robe was built by Moscow craftsmen in 1484-1486. This church is located on the site of the ancient Church of the Deposition of the Robe, built in 1451 by Metropolitan Jonah in memory of the deliverance of Moscow from the invasion of the Tatar hordes of Mazowska. On the night of July 2, 1451, the Tatars approached Moscow, but suddenly retreated, leaving behind all the loot. This event was caused by a political struggle in the camp of the enemy, but the church gave it a purely religious significance, since it coincided with the church holiday "Provisions of the Robe". In memory of this, the church was named. In 1473, it burned down along with the Metropolitan's court. On the vacant site, a new brick church was erected on the basement, surrounded on three sides by an open porch-gullbishche. It retained its old name. In the 17th century, the church was rebuilt and a hipped roof was made. The porch on the western side was covered with vaults. According to the formed covered gallery, which still exists, the female half of the royal family passed from Terems to the Assumption Cathedral. In a fire in 1737, the church burned down and was restored by the architect I.F. Michurin. A new dome was built in the form of a vase and the altar areas were laid out. In the 19th century, a covered staircase was added to the south side of the church. It led to the western facade, on which the icon of the Caves Mother of God was painted. Therefore, the church was sometimes called Pechersk.

IVAN THE GREAT BELL TOWER AND THE BELFILLER In the center of the Kremlin on Cathedral Square stands one of the most remarkable buildings of the 16th century - the Ivan the Great Bell Tower. She

combines all the ancient temples of the Moscow Kremlin into a majestic architectural ensemble. The bell tower is considered a marvel of architectural art of the 16th century. The history of the appearance of the bell tower goes back into the depths of centuries. Under Ivan Kalita in 1329, approximately on the site of the existing bell tower, a small stone church was built in honor of John of the Ladder. In 1505, this church was dismantled and in 1508 a new one was laid, the builder of which was the architect Bon Fryazin. In 1532-1543, the architect Petrok Maly added a rectangular belfry of the Novgorod-Pskov type with the Church of the Ascension on the north side of the bell tower. In the belfry was placed a thousand-pound bell called "Annunciation". To enter the temple, which was located on the third tier of the belfry, Moscow craftsmen built a high stone staircase in 1552. The bell tower of Ivan the Great is a three-tiered pillar of elongated octahedrons decreasing upwards, placed one on top of the other. Each of the octahedrons has a terrace and an open gallery, in the arched spans of which bells are placed. In the galleries of the tiers, bells are placed, which are wonderful monuments of Russian foundry art of the 16th-19th centuries. There are 21 of them in total. All the bells are decorated with ornaments, bas-reliefs and inscriptions that tell about the history of the bell, date of casting, weight, master. The largest bell - Assumption - weighs 70 tons. It was cast in the 19th century by masters Zavyalov and Rusinov. Another bell weighing 19 tons was cast by Andrey Chokhov in 1622. A 12.5-tonne bell, cast in the 18th century by Ivan Motorin, hangs in the Filaret Annex.

The height of the bell tower is 81 meters. It was the main watchtower of the Kremlin, from the height of which Moscow and its environs were well observed within a radius of up to 30 kilometers. In 1624, on the north side of the belfry, master Bazhen Ogurtsov erected the so-called Filret extension, which ended with white-stone pyramids and a tiled storm. Its second and third floors were reserved for the patriarchal sacristy. In 1812, the Napoleonic troops retreating from Moscow tried to blow up the bell tower. It survived, but the belfry and the Filaret extension were destroyed. In 1819 they were restored by the architect D. Gilardi in the same way as the old ones, but with some elements of the architecture of the 19th century.

STATE ARMORY CHAMBER

Almost five centuries have passed since the first surviving mention of the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin was recorded in ancient documents. This happened in the past since the time when the first surviving mention of the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin was entered in the ancient acts. This happened in 1508. But long before this date, in 1339, the spiritual charter of the Moscow prince Ivan Kalita spoke of the values ​​that laid the foundation for the creation of the grand ducal treasury. Jewelry, dishes made of precious metals, church vessels, clothes made of magnificent fabrics, and expensive weapons were mentioned. A century later, the grand ducal treasury already included numerous valuables stored in the cellars of the Kremlin palaces and cathedrals.

By the end of the 15th century, Moscow became a kind of center for artistic crafts. Many skillful Russian and foreign masters work at the Moscow court, who created many excellent monuments. Many of them became part of the Armory. The political successes of the Moscow princes allowed them to establish diplomatic relations with the major powers of the East and West. Numerous foreign embassies delivered luxurious gifts to Moscow: silver cups, precious fabrics, pearls, military equipment, ceremonial horse harness. During the reign of Ivan III, the grand ducal treasury grew so much that for its storage in 1485 in the Kremlin, between the Archangel and Annunciation Cathedrals, a two-story stone building with a high hipped roof and deep cellars was specially erected. It received the name "treasury yard". There are almost three hundred deep cellars here. It received the name "treasury yard". Treasures of Moscow rulers were kept here for almost three hundred years. A significant part of the values ​​of the Kremlin Treasury were products made on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin, in art workshops, or "chambers". The current museum owes its name to the leading Kremlin workshop, the Armory Chamber, which has long been manufacturing edged and firearms, as well as military armor of all kinds.

Many first-class samples have come down to our time, which do honor to Russian weapon craftsmanship. The Stable Treasury was also located on the territory of the Kremlin, the products of which - saddles, blankets - were given an important place in the design of all court ceremonies: royal trips, hunting, embassy meetings. In the Tsaritsyn and Sovereign Chambers, also located in the Moscow Kremlin, luxurious clothes were sewn from imported fabrics, laying wonderful beauty and richness patterns on their surface with pearls and gems. The masters of the Golden and Silver Chambers made precious dishes and a huge amount of gold jewelry in the Kremlin.

FACETED CHAMBER

The Faceted Chamber is one of the few surviving parts of the royal palace built at the end of the 15th century by Ivan III, its grand throne room. This is the oldest of the stone civil buildings in Moscow. It was built in 1487-1491 by Russian craftsmen under the guidance of Italian architects Marco Ruffo and Pietro Antonio Solari. The building of the chamber with a clear silhouette of a simple rectangular volume is distinguished by the unusual decoration of the main facade. It is lined with tetrahedral white limestone (hence the name), starting from the basement floor and ending below the cornice. The Chamber itself is a huge square hall with cross vaults resting on a central pillar. The majestic and spacious hall, 9 meters high, is illuminated by 18 windows located on three sides, and in the evening - by 4 round massive chandeliers. They were made in the 19th century from bronze on the model of the ancient Novgorod chandeliers. The floor area of ​​the Faceted Chamber is 495 square meters. In the second half of the 16th century, the Faceted Chamber was decorated with murals on church-biblical themes. Over the centuries, many major events in the life of the Russian state were celebrated in the Faceted Chamber, it was the main throne room. Foreign ambassadors were received there, heirs to the Russian throne were solemnly announced, Zemsky Sobors met, at one of which more than 300 years ago the issue of the reunification of Ukraine with Russia was resolved. The victories of the Russian troops were celebrated here. So, Ivan IV celebrated here the capture of Kazan in 1552, and Peter I celebrated the Poltava victory in 1709, and in 1721 - the conclusion of the Treaty of Nishbadt, which ended the Northern War.

RED SQUARE

According to chronicles, the square arose at the end of the 15th century, when Ivan III ordered the demolition of wooden buildings around the Kremlin, which constantly threatened him with fire, and take this place for trade. So the first name of the square appeared - Torg. True, the area was called that for a short time. In the 16th century, it began to be called Trinity - after the Church of the Holy Trinity, on the site of which St. Basil's Cathedral was subsequently erected. Documents of the 17th century testify that in those days the square was called Pozhar. I must say that in Rus' the same object could have several names. So, Krasnaya Square (from the dictionary of V.I.Dal it follows that the word “red” among our ancestors meant beautiful, beautiful, excellent, best) officially began to be called only in the 19th century, although it was mentioned under this name in documents of the 17th century. Different centuries have left their traces on the square. XV century - the Kremlin wall with the Spasskaya, Senate and Nikolskaya towers; XVI century - Place of execution and St. Basil's Cathedral; XIX century - a monument to Minin and Pozharsky, the building of the Historical Museum and the Upper Trading Rows (GUM); XX century - the Mausoleum of V.I. Lenin and the necropolis near the Kremlin wall.

ST BASIL'S CHURCH

The temple was built in 1555-1560 in memory of the capture of Kazan, this decisive stage in the difficult struggle of Rus' with its strong and dangerous enemy - the Kazan Khanate.

The temple is a grandiose composition of 9 pillars rising above the basement (basement) and interconnected galleries running around the central pillar of the building. The whole composition, uniting it, is dominated by the central octahedral pillar, passing in tiers of semicircular kokoshniks into a second, smaller octagon. The pillar is crowned with a tent with a decorative cupola at the top; eight cupolas, located at the corners of the star-shaped base of the tent, have not been preserved.

The central tent is surrounded by eight pillars, of which four axial ones are larger, and four diagonal ones are smaller. All these pillars are crowned with onion domes. The decorative decoration of the building strikes with an exceptional variety of forms and details.

Two porches from the side of the Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin led to the terrace and from there to the bypass gallery. The transition from the dark low gallery to the white pillar-shaped church premises that rapidly go up causes a sharp, exciting impression. The ancient coloring of the temple on the outside was a noble combination of natural colors, red brick and white stone, from which the details are made. Bright colors on the outside and painting inside - the temple received later, in the 17th century. The latest additions are the bell tower and the northeast aisle. Documents have preserved for us the names of brilliant architects - Barma and Posnik.

Historical and architectural ensemble of the Moscow Kremlin
The Moscow Kremlin is the oldest part of Moscow, the main socio-political, spiritual, religious, historical and artistic complex of the capital, the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation. It is located on the high, left bank of the Moskva River - Borovitsky Hill, at the confluence of the river. Neglinnaya. In plan, the Kremlin is an irregular triangle with an area of ​​27.5 hectares. The southern wall faces the Moscow River, the northwestern one faces the Alexander Garden, the eastern one faces Red Square. Geographically located in the Central Administrative District, separated as an independent administrative unit.

Moscow has been standing on Russian land for nine centuries and, it seems, does not feel its ancient age at all, it looks rather into the future than into the past. But there is a place in Moscow where every period of its centuries-old history, every turn of its complex fate has left its indelible mark. This place is the Moscow Kremlin.

It is located in the center of a huge city on a high hill above the Moscow River. From the opposite bank of the river, the walls and towers of the Kremlin create the impression of a majestic architectural ensemble. Nearby, one can feel the harsh power of this ancient citadel. The height of its walls, narrow loopholes and battlefields, the measured step of the towers - everything indicates that, first of all, this is a fortress.

Upon entering the Kremlin, the impression changes. On its territory there are spacious squares and cozy squares, grand palaces and golden-domed temples. Today, everything here truly breathes with History - ancient cannons and bells, ancient cathedrals that have preserved in memory so many events, so many names ... Here everything is nearby, all together - the royal towers and palaces of the New Age, the residence of the President of Russia and world-famous museums.

So what is the Moscow Kremlin - this amazing fortress city in the center of Moscow? A stronghold of power, an ancient spiritual center of Moscow and Russia, a treasury of its art and antiquity? It is hardly possible to find an exhaustive answer. Apparently, something unsaid will always remain behind him, some kind of hidden meaning and significance. Having absorbed the history of the country, having become a witness and participant in all its most important events, the Kremlin has turned into an all-Russian national shrine, has become a symbol of Moscow and all of Russia.

More than nine hundred years of the history of Moscow and the Kremlin is too long to even try to list all its main events and facts. We offer not a detailed chronicle of events, but rather a story about the historical fate of the Moscow Kremlin, each turn of which is a milestone in the life of our country.

2.


After the Soviet government moved in the spring of 1918 from Petrograd to Moscow, the Kremlin was closed to the public.

The Moscow Kremlin is the oldest and central part of Moscow on Borovitsky Hill, on the left bank of the Moskva River, one of the most beautiful architectural ensembles in the world. The area of ​​the Kremlin in plan is an irregular triangle and is equal to 27.5 hectares.

The Moscow Kremlin in 1156 was fortified with a rampart; in 1367 walls and towers were built of white stone, in 1485-95 - of brick. The towers were received in the 17th century. the currently existing longline and tent completions. The Moscow Kremlin has first-class monuments of Russian architecture of the 15th-17th centuries: cathedrals - the Assumption (1475-79), Annunciation (1484-89) and Arkhangelsk (1505-08), the Ivan the Great Bell Tower (1505-08, built on in 1600) , Palace of Facets (1487-91), Terem Palace (1635-36). In 1776-87 the building of the Senate was built, in 1839-1849 - the B. Kremlin Palace and in 1844-1851 - the Armory. In 1959-61 the State Kremlin Palace was built. Among the 20 towers of the Moscow Kremlin, the most significant are Spasskaya (with Kremlin chimes), Nikolskaya, Troitskaya, Borovitskaya. Remarkable monuments of Russian foundry art are preserved - the Tsar Cannon (16th century) and the Tsar Bell (18th century). In 1991, the State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve "Moscow Kremlin" was created. The Moscow Kremlin is the residence of the President of the Russian Federation.

Historical sketch of the Moscow Kremlin
The oldest archaeological finds on the Kremlin territory date back to the 2nd millennium BC. e. Slavic settlements on the site of the Kremlin existed no later than the 11th century. In 1145 the village on the Kremlin hill was surrounded by the first wooden walls and towers. It was first mentioned in the annals in 1147. Convenient location - at the confluence of the Moscow and Neglinka rivers, there was a river route from the western Russian regions (Chernigov, Kiev, Smolensk) to the Vladimir-Suzdal principality - contributed to the growth of the settlement, taken from the boyars of the Kuchkovs by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky. The wooden fortress (in ancient times it was called "grad"; the name "Kremlin" appeared no earlier than the 14th century), built by Yuri Dolgoruky in 1156, became the protective gates of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality. Land roads joined the river roads, converging to the Kremlin from other Russian cities. The original settlement "Kuchkovo" occupied about 1.5 hectares in the southwestern tip of the Kremlin Hill, Yury Dolgoruky's citadel occupied 5-6 times the territory. Under the protection of the fortress, a marketplace was formed, the future Red Square. In 1237, during the invasion of the Tatars, the Castle was destroyed.

Under Ivan Kalita, the Kremlin was expanded and surrounded by oak walls (logs in diameter reached one meter). At the same time, several stone churches were built inside the Kremlin (the remains of the foundations were found by archaeologists). The first white-stone walls of Moscow region stone were erected in 1367 under Dmitry Donskoy, and the territory of the Kremlin expanded almost to the size of the modern one. The invasion of Tokhtamysh in 1382 again inflicted terrible damage on the Kremlin, although restoration work was undertaken. In the middle of the 14th century Chudovsky male and Resurrection female monasteries were founded in the Kremlin.

In the second half of the 15th c. the old white stone walls of the Kremlin dilapidated and partially collapsed. For its reconstruction, Ivan III, perhaps on the advice of his wife Sophia Paleolog, decided to invite Italian (“Fryazhsky”) architects, as the best in Europe at that time. The restructuring of the Kremlin began with the construction in 1475-79 of the new Assumption Cathedral, located in the center of the Kremlin triangle: the old stone Assumption Cathedral no longer met the requirements for the main metropolitan church, which was supposed to contain the burial places of Russian metropolitans and weddings to the kingdom. The Assumption Cathedral, built by the Italian architect Aristotle Fioravanti in the tradition of Vladimir craftsmen from white limestone and brick near Moscow, laid the foundation for the Cathedral Square ensemble.

In 1484-88 the Pskov masters erected the Church of the Deposition of the Robe and the Cathedral of the Annunciation. The second most important Kremlin cathedral is the Archangel Cathedral. It was built by the Italian architect Aleviz Novy in 1505-1508, thirty years after the construction of the Assumption Cathedral. During this time, the Russian state finally threw off the Tatar-Mongolian yoke and strengthened economic and cultural ties with European countries. The stone Sovereign's Palace with the Palace of Facets (1487-91) completed the formation of the western side of the Cathedral Square. The bell tower of Ivan the Great became the dominant feature of the square, the Kremlin and all of Moscow.

The Kremlin walls and towers, built (1485-95) in accordance with the fortification requirements of that time, have survived with alterations to the present. By 1516, work was completed on the construction of a moat from the side of Red Square. During the Time of Troubles, the Kremlin was occupied by the Poles and held by them for two years; released by the people's militia of K. M. Minin and D. M. Pozharsky on October 26, 1612.

With the accession of the Romanovs, intensive construction began. In the 1620s, the Filaret belfry was erected next to Ivan the Great, a stone tent (1624-25) was erected above the Spasskaya Tower, and a clock was arranged on the tower. A decade later, the Terem Palace and palace churches were built, in the 1650s the Poteshny Palace, the Patriarch's Chambers and the Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles were built. In the 1680s, all wall towers (except for Nikolskaya) received a tented completion. Peter I takes measures for the military strengthening of the Kremlin: the construction of the Arsenal begins (1702-36), the Kremlin walls and towers are reinforced with earthen bastions. The transfer of the capital to St. Petersburg stopped new buildings for a while.

By order of Catherine II, V.I. Bazhenov plans to build new structures on the site of the Kremlin. Freeing up the territory for the construction of a new palace, in 1773 they demolished a number of ancient Kremlin buildings and part of the southern wall, laid the foundation of the palace, but on the personal order of Catherine II, the work was canceled (officially - due to lack of funds, in fact - due to negative public opinion). opinions), and the walls restored. In 1776-87 the building of the Senate was built.

Napoleon's invasion of 1812 caused enormous damage to the Kremlin. The French, in search of valuables, desecrated the burial places and plundered the churches. Retreating, Napoleon ordered to blow up part of the walls, towers and structures. Restoration work was carried out in 1816-19 under the leadership of O. I. Bove. In the 1830s and 1840s, the Grand Kremlin Palace (1839-49) and the Armory (1844-51) were built. By 1917 there were 31 churches in the Kremlin, including two monasteries.

During the October Revolution, the Kremlin, occupied by a small detachment of junkers, was bombarded, which continued after the surrender of the junkers. In November 1917, revolutionary detachments entered the Kremlin. On March 10-11, 1918, the government of the RSFSR moved from Petrograd to Moscow and settled in the Kremlin in the building of the former Senate. During the years of Soviet power in the Kremlin, the building of the School of Red Commanders. All-Russian Central Executive Committee (1932-1934) and the Kremlin Palace of Congresses (1959-1961), stars were installed on five towers (1935-37), on special pedestals - monuments of Russian foundry art Tsar Cannon (1485) and Tsar Bell (1733-35) . The walls and buildings of the Kremlin were repeatedly restored.

On Easter 1918, the last service was held in the Assumption Cathedral, after which the Kremlin churches and monasteries were closed, their partial demolition began, and a strict access control was introduced in the Kremlin. Since the mid-1950s, access to some museums located on the territory of the Kremlin has been open. Since the 1990s, divine services and bell ringing have gradually resumed in some churches.

The Taynitskaya tower with a gate and a secret passage to the river was built first in 1435. Then, in 1435-38, two round corner towers were laid: Vodovzvodnaya and Beklemishevskaya. After that, the construction of the southern wall with towers along the Moscow River was completed.

The main entrance to the Kremlin led through the Frolovsky gates, later called Spassky. In the 16th century, a wooden superstructure was made with a clock and a chime. In the 17th century, the Spasskaya Tower, and then others (except Nikolskaya) received decorative tented completions. Today it is difficult to imagine how the Moscow Kremlin looked for one hundred and eighty years without picturesque superstructures above its towers.

The Nikolskaya tower with a gate overlooks Red Square (1491, architect Pietro Antonio Solari). In 1805, the tower was built on and rebuilt in the Gothic style by the architect K. I. Rossi. In 1812, it was blown up by the retreating troops of Napoleon, but was soon restored according to the project of O. I. Beauvais.

The Kremlin wall overlooking the Neglinka (Alexander Garden) was closed and had a single travel tower in the center - Troitskaya (1495-99, architect Aleviz Fryazin). It was built on by analogy with the Spasskaya Tower in 1685. A stone bridge on arches was built against the Trinity Gate through Neglinnaya and ponds, one of the first in Moscow. Access to the bridge was protected by a diversion archer - the Kutafya tower. The wall near the Moskva River ended with the Borovitsky Gate, through which they entered the royal palace. The Borovitskaya tower, built in 1490 by the architect Pietro Antonio Solari, was built on in tiered completion at the end of the 17th century.

Along the Moskva River, in addition to the main wall with towers, there was a lower wall parallel to it without towers. This is explained by the fact that the southern facade of the Kremlin was the most dangerous militarily. In 1495, all buildings across the Moskva River opposite the Kremlin were demolished, which increased fire safety, opened up space for firing from guns, and improved the view of the Kremlin from Zamoskvorechye (gardens were subsequently planted there). In 1680-1681, the Kremlin towers received picturesque superstructures that doubled their height. They enriched the architecture of the Kremlin, gave it a fabulous appearance, which is characterized by the Russian compositional principle of tiered.

Cathedral of the Archangel
In 1505, on the site of the white-stone Archangel Church of 1333, the construction of the Archangel Cathedral began, which then became the grand ducal, and later the royal tomb. The architect Aleviz Novy gave the appearance of the temple the features of classical architecture of the Italian Renaissance, expressed in perfect proportions and forms of order architecture. At the same time, he retained the traditional cubic architectural composition of the Russian cathedral church. The Archangel Cathedral, with its proportions and classical facades, made a strong impression on contemporaries and became an object of imitation. The surviving wall painting dates back to the 17th century. After Bazhenov's attempt to build a new palace, for which grandiose earthworks were carried out in the Kremlin, the Archangel Cathedral cracked.

Annunciation Cathedral, Red Porch and Church of the Deposition of the Robe
In 1484-89, southwest of the Assumption Cathedral, Pskov craftsmen erected the Annunciation Cathedral (Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos), which became the house church of the Moscow princes. Initially, the temple was three-domed and had an open bypass gallery. Then the gallery was built up, and the temple was enriched with six more domes. The Cathedral of the Annunciation attracts attention with fine white-stone carvings of architectural details and a high basement. The interior space is small. The iconostasis was made in the 15th century, it includes icons by Andrey Rublev, Theophan the Greek, Fedor from Gorodets. The walls were painted in 1508 by Theodosius, son of Dionysius. The floor is covered with type-setting jasper. Between the cathedral and the Faceted Chamber is the Red Porch, intended for solemn royal exits. In the 1930s, it was destroyed, and a canteen was built in its place for employees of the Kremlin institutions; in 1999 - restored.

Adjacent to the western wall of the Assumption Cathedral is a small single-domed church of the Deposition of the Robe (in honor of the position of the Robe of the Mother of God in Blachernae), built by Pskov craftsmen in 1450 in memory of the deliverance of Moscow from the raid of the Tatar prince Mazovsha, which coincided with the feast of the position of the Robe. Its architecture is a kind of fusion of Moscow and Pskov architecture. The compact and at the same time monumental volume of the church is completed with graceful keeled zakomaras. The Ivan the Great Bell Tower plays an extremely important compositional role in the ensemble of Cathedral Square and the entire Kremlin. Its lower part was built on the site of the Church of John of the Ladder (14th century) by the architect Bon-Fryazin (1505-08), and Petrok Maly added a belfry to it (1532-43). Under Boris Godunov (1600), the tower was built up to its present height, and then in the 17th century. on the north side, the so-called "Filaret's extension" was erected. An octahedral tower - "Ivan the Great" - dominates in the resulting picturesque group of buildings. There are 21 bells on the belfry and belfry. In 1812, during the retreat of Napoleon's troops from Moscow, the belfry and Filaret's extension were partially blown up, but soon restored (architects I. V. Egotov, L. Ruska, D. I. Gilardi). The picturesque group, consisting of buildings of different times, makes a surprisingly integral impression and separates the Cathedral Square of the Kremlin from Ivanovskaya, where the buildings of Orders and central state institutions used to be. "Ivan the Great" noted the Kremlin hill as the dominant point of the Muscovite state of the 16th-17th centuries, on which the main city highways converged radially. The pillar of "Ivan the Great" was the dominant feature of ancient Moscow.

Faceted Chamber
On the opposite side of the Cathedral Square was the Kremlin Palace, from which the Faceted Chamber, the main throne room of the palace, has been preserved. It got its name from the faceted rust that covers its main facade.

Built by the Italian architects Pietro Antonio Solari and Mark Fryazin (1687-1891?), the Faceted Chamber is a one-pillar structure with an area of ​​about 5,000 square meters. m, covered by four cross vaults. The modern painting was made in 1881 by Paleshani masters according to the inventory of Simon Ushakov.

Adjacent to the Faceted Chamber is a vestibule, above which there are rooms for the queen and her entourage (women), so that they can observe the solemn ceremonies that took place in the chamber.

The wooden Kremlin Palace, which stood behind the Faceted Chamber, burned down in 1636-1637, the living quarters of the palace, the so-called "Bed Chambers", were rebuilt (of brick) and became known as the "Terem". This palace has a stepped three-dimensional composition. The upper tower was intended for the royal children.

Terem Palace
The facades of the Terem Palace are richly decorated with decorative painting and glazed tiles. The interiors are covered with "grass" patterns and decorative carvings. The ovens are lined with polychrome tiles. A unique piece of blacksmith art is the Golden Grid that encloses the main entrance to the palace. All rooms were decorated with paintings that have not survived to this day.

Grand Kremlin Palace and the Armory
In 1838-1849, next to the Terem Palace, according to the project of Academician K. A. Ton, the Grand Kremlin Palace was built, which was supposed to unite palace buildings of different times. The length of its main facade is 117 m. The palace is characterized by an eclectic combination of different styles, typical of the architecture of the middle of the 19th century. In plan, it has the shape of a square with a courtyard. There are about seven hundred rooms in the palace. The facades and interiors are designed in the Russian style, whose propagandist was Ton. On the first floor of the palace there were residential and utility rooms, on the second - front rooms with double-height halls. The halls are dedicated to pre-revolutionary Russian orders. The largest of them, Georgievsky, is covered with a barrel vault, on its walls there are boards with the names of military units and the names of officers awarded the Order of St. George. In addition to Vladimir and Ekaterininsky, there are also Andreevsky and Alexander halls. They were rebuilt in 1934, restored again in 1999. Solemn receptions are held in the St. George Hall, the inauguration of the President of Russia takes place.

Near the Borovitsky Gates in 1851, Ton built the building of the Armory, in architecture close to the large Kremlin Palace. It is a rectangular two-story building, on the second floor of which there are two-height halls, the walls are decorated with 58 marble bas-relief portraits-medallions of Russian princes and tsars by the sculptor F.I. Shubin. Since 1806 it has been a museum, since 1813 it has been open to visitors.

Arsenal and Senate
The northern zone of the Kremlin is formed by the buildings of the Arsenal, the Senate and the Kremlin Palace of Congresses. The arsenal was built in 1702-36 (architects H. Konrad, D. Ivanov, M. Choglokov) between the Troitskaya and Nikolskaya towers and was intended to store weapons and various military equipment. The building was repeatedly burned, and acquired its final form in 1737, when the architect D. V. Ukhtomsky added a second floor; in 1816-28 restored according to the design of Beauvais. Captured French cannons are placed along the facade of the Arsenal in memory of the war of 1812.

Between the Nikolsky and Spassky gates next to the Arsenal in 1776-84, according to the project of the architect M.F. Kazakov, the building of the Senate was built. The compositional center of the building is a solemn round meeting room crowned with a 20-meter dome located along the axis of the Senate Tower. The beautiful Corinthian colonnade, the coffered sphere of the dome is one of the highest achievements of the architecture of Russian classicism of the 18th century. The building is triangular in plan and has three courtyards.

Opposite the Arsenal, in 1959-61, the building of the Kremlin Palace of Congresses was built (architect M. V. Posokhin). Its architecture has the character of official splendor and is dissonant with the surrounding monuments of the Kremlin. With a height of 29 m, the building is buried 15 m into the ground. The conference hall is designed for 6,000 seats. Today the building is used as the second stage of the Bolshoi Theatre.

Chudov Monastery
The Monastery of Miracles (Alekseevsky Archangelo-Mikhailovsky) was founded in 1365 by Metropolitan Alexei in memory of the miraculous healing of Khansha Taidula by him. It is named after the central church of the Miracle of the Archangel Michael in Khonekh. During the invasion of Tokhtamysh in 1382, it was burnt down, devastated by fires several more times, but always renewed. In the 16-17 centuries. became the Great Lavra; in 1744-1833 - the location of the Moscow spiritual consistory. It suffered greatly during the French invasion in 1812: the altar of the cathedral church was turned into the bedroom of Marshal Davout, the shrines were desecrated, the relics of the founder of the monastery, Metropolitan Alexei, were thrown out of the shrine (later found). There are many historical legends associated with the monastery. In 1918, together with the nearby Ascension Monastery (founded in the late 14th - early 15th centuries by Grand Duchess Evdokia, monastic Efrosinya, widow of Dmitry Donskoy), it was closed by the commandant of the Kremlin Malkov as a "nest of counter-revolutionaries." In the early 1930s both monasteries were blown up and dismantled. In their place, the building of the School of Red Commanders (later the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR; architect I. I. Rerberg) was built.

Interesting Facts

The Kremlin is the largest fortress in Europe, preserved and operating to this day.
The dovetail-shaped battlements of the Kremlin wall have the same appearance as the distinctive battlements of the Ghibelline castles.
In 1941, windows were painted on the walls of the Kremlin in order to disguise them as residential buildings.
see also

Moscow
Fact #738: Historians found the first mention of Moscow in the Ipatiev Chronicle, which says that on Saturday, April 4, 1147, Prince Yuri Dolgoruky…
Fact No. 2246: On November 21, 1368, the army of the Grand Duke of Lithuania unexpectedly approached Moscow from Volokolamsk ...
Fact #2248: On November 22, 1605, a betrothal by proxy took place in Krakow (a common practice in those days)
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“The earth begins, as you know, from the Kremlin”

D etinets, krom, fortress, kremlin - the names changed from century to century, but the essence remained the same: a city fortification surrounded by a powerful wall with towers and loopholes. Kremlins are the main medieval centers of Rus' and the main defenders in the event of an enemy attack. Today they are the pearls of tourist routes and the main decoration of Russian cities. Those that are poorly preserved are being actively restored, because "the earth begins, as is known from the Kremlin"...

Moscow Kremlin

With the transformation of Moscow in the middle of the 15th century into the capital of Russia, it became necessary to show the whole world the power of the new state. The old dilapidated Kremlin did nothing to solve this problem. In addition, Byzantium fell in 1453, and the Moscow clergy announced: "Moscow is the third Rome, and there will be no fourth..." The territory of the Moscow Kremlin is turning into one big construction site. Not only Pskov, Novgorod and Moscow masters worked here, but also Fryazhsky fortifiers and architects. In 1472, the main cathedral church, the Assumption Cathedral, was built on the site of the old one, built in the 14th century by architects Krivtsov and Myshkin.

But the haste leads to the fact that in 1474 the almost completed building collapsed. The Pskov craftsmen refused to rebuild it, but the Bolognese architect Aristotle Fioravanti agreed, who, together with Russian craftsmen, built the majestic Assumption Cathedral by 1479. In 1484, Pskov architects began to rebuild the Annunciation Cathedral, which closed the Cathedral Square of the Kremlin.

Faceted Chamber

In 1485, they begin to lay new brick walls around the Kremlin. Two years later, the Kremlin Palace was rebuilt, and in 1487-1491 the Italian architects Marco Ruffo (Mark Fryazin) and Antonio Solari erected the Palace of Facets. In 1505, the rebuilding of two small and dilapidated churches began - the Archangel Cathedral and the Church of St. John of the Ladder. Italian Bon Fryazin (the real name of this Italian architect has not been preserved; Fryazins in Rus' were called people from Southern Europe, as a rule, of Romanesque origin, hence the fryazin - a distorted franc. - Note. ed.) turns the church-bell tower into a pillar of Ivan the Great. And Aleviz Novy by 1509 completed the construction of the Archangel Cathedral.

The construction of the new Kremlin was completed by the beginning of the 16th century. For the first time it was built of brick, thanks to which it turned not only into an impregnable bastion, but also into the ideological and artistic center of Moscow. Mighty battlements with loopholes, harsh towers with watchtowers and impregnable gates - all this was worked out within ten years from 1485 to 1495 with the participation of Italian masters. This is how the ensemble of the Moscow Kremlin, the heart of Russia, was formed. In the 16th century, fortresses in other Russian cities began to be built in his image and likeness.

Tula Kremlin

Tula is the southern outpost of Moscow, which for centuries protected the capital from foreign invaders. That is why the best gunsmiths are Tula. And the Tula Kremlin is an outstanding monument of Russian defense architecture of the 16th century. Its construction began in 1507 by decree of Vasily III, who ordered the construction of a "stone city". It took 13 years to build it.

For all the time of its existence, the Tula fortress has never surrendered to the enemy. In 1552, the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey was defeated here, and in 1607, for four months, the rebels led by Ivan Bolotnikov held back the siege of the government troops of Vasily Shuisky.

The Tula Kremlin is located in a low swampy place in the floodplain of the Upa River. Its walls rest on a powerful stone foundation about 5.5 meters deep. The initial height of the walls is about 10 meters, and the thickness, according to the inventory of 1685, is about 4 meters. They were built from two types of building material: the lower part - from white limestone, the top - from large red bricks. Strand walls (a section of the fortress wall between two towers. - Note. ed.) are divided by wide semicircular arches, in the lower part of which loopholes of the lower tier of defense are cut, the so-called. plantar fight. The walls are completed with two-horned teeth-merlons in the form of a dovetail. The firepower of the fortress was concentrated in nine towers, which were far beyond the line of walls, which ensured flank and frontal combat.

Holy Dormition Cathedral

In addition to walls and towers, the architectural ensemble of the Tula Kremlin includes the Holy Assumption and Epiphany Cathedrals, shopping malls and the building of the first city power plant. The Holy Assumption Cathedral (1762–1764) is one of the most beautiful temples in Tula: simple and strict architectural forms are combined in it with the royal monumentality of the interior. Unique paintings by Yaroslavl craftsmen (1765–1766) and a seven-tiered carved gilded iconostasis (second half of the 18th century) have been preserved in the church to this day. The Cathedral of the Epiphany is 100 years younger than its counterpart (1855–1862) and was built by the architect M.A. Mikhailov in memory of the Tula soldiers who died in the Patriotic War of 1812. The trading rows (1837–1841) once had 48 stone shops, but 24 of them were demolished at the end of the 19th century. And the vacated space was adapted for the premises of the first city power plant. The arcade-gallery of shopping malls that has survived to this day gives the monument a unique charm of antiquity.

Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin

The fortress of the 16th century has the shape of an irregular polygon in plan, with towers at the corners. The first stone Kremlin was erected in the 14th century on the site of a wooden fortress by decree of Prince Dmitry Konstantinovich. And at the beginning of the 16th century, when military conflicts escalated between Russia and the Kazan Khanate, stone fortifications were erected. The work was carried out quickly - from 1508 to 1515, and the construction was led by the Italian engineer and architect Pyotr Fryazin. The fortress has become a unique military fortification structure: 13 towers, the total length of the walls is 2045 meters, the height of the walls is 12, the thickness is 5 meters.

Dmitrievskaya tower

During its long history, the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, like the Tula fortress, has never been taken by enemies. Located on the right high bank, at the confluence of the Volga and Oka rivers, it resembles "a stone necklace thrown over the slopes of the Dyatlovy Mountains." The ensemble of the Kremlin includes a unique monument of architecture of the 17th century, the Cathedral of Michael the Archangel, and the main - Dmitrievskaya - tower is crowned with the symbol of the city - a golden deer.

Volokolamsk Kremlin

Detinets was founded by Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky. Today, the ensemble of the Kremlin includes the white-stone Resurrection Cathedral of the 15th century, the bell tower of the 18th century, the Nikolsky Cathedral of the 19th century, and the architectural fence with turrets of the 19th - early 20th centuries.

At one time, it even became the center of an independent specific Volotsk principality, which was owned by Ivan III's brother Boris, and then his son Fedor. At the same time, in the Kremlin, the ramparts of which have survived to this day, a beautiful white stone Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ is being built. The one-domed temple, decorated with a terracotta frieze, is distinguished by exquisite proportions. In its interior, on one of the pillars, a fragment of a painting from the end of the 15th century has been preserved. Nikolsky Cathedral (1853–1862) is dedicated to the memory of those killed in the Crimean War. In its decor, a favorite technique of the pseudo-Russian style is used - a combination of red brick with white decorations. The cathedral complex at the end of the 19th century was surrounded by a brick fence with corner and gate turrets, locking the entire historical space into a single composition.

Astrakhan Kremlin

The first wooden fortress in the lower reaches of the Volga on a high mound surrounded by swamps and swamps was founded in 1558. Under Ivan the Terrible in 1582, the Astrakhan Kremlin began to be rebuilt from stone. The architects are Moscow city masters Mikhail Ivanovich Velyaminov, Grigory Ovtsyn and deacon Dey Gubasty. For construction, they used an old, but very durable Tatar plinth, which was brought from the ruins of the Golden Horde cities. The Astrakhan Kremlin was built according to the type of its counterpart in Moscow.

The impregnable stronghold on the southeastern border of the state remembers a lot. Crimean-Turkish campaigns against the Lower Volga in the 16th century, the Troubles in Rus' and the peasant uprising led by Stepan Razin in the 17th century, the uprising of the archers of 1705–1706, the Persian campaign of Peter I and the formation of the Caspian flotilla in the 18th century, strengthening the borders of the state and joining the composition of the Russian territories of the Caucasus and Central Asia.

The Astrakhan Kremlin was notable for the latest for that time system of organizing a “fiery battle”. In the walls, in addition to the traditional lower plantar battle, for the first time additional loopholes were arranged in the middle line. The loopholes of the middle and bottom battles were arranged in a checkerboard pattern, which made it possible to significantly increase the density of fire during an enemy attack, and the rectilinear shape of the Kremlin walls and the battle towers protruding strongly forward made it possible to fire at the enemy from the flanks.

The thickness of the walls of the Astrakhan Kremlin reached 3–3.5 meters. There were eight towers in the fortress, of which seven have survived to this day - three travel and four deaf.

The ensemble of the Kremlin includes the Gate Church in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (1729–1738), the Prechistenskaya bell tower (early 20th century), the Assumption Cathedral (1698–1710), the Trinity Monastery, and the artillery yard.

Tobolsk Kremlin

The only stone Kremlin in Siberia. The city of Tobolsk was founded in 1587. In the 17th century it became the capital of Siberia, and in the 18th century it became the center of Tobolsk province, the largest in Russia.
Moscow strongly encouraged stone construction here, and in 1683-1686 masons Gerasim Sharypin and Gavrila Tyutin erected the Sophia-Assumption Cathedral here. By the beginning of the 18th century, stone walls and towers of the Kremlin appeared, as well as a number of temple buildings that have not survived to our time.

At the end of the 17th century, the Tobolsk Kremlin was rebuilt according to the plan of Semyon Remezov, a cartographer and historian of Siberia. The Order Chamber (1699–1704) appeared at the southern cliff of the mountain, and the Gostiny Dvor (1702–1706) was erected in the northwestern corner of the Kremlin. Remezov's Kremlin - the new administrative center of Siberia - repeated the broken configuration of the previous walls and corner towers. However, secular buildings corresponded to the style of Moscow architecture of the 17th century.

Peter I also patronized Tobolsk and sought to give the Siberian capital a representative appearance. Prince Matvei Petrovich Gagarin, who was appointed in 1708 the first governor of the Siberian province, conceived in the Kremlin the imposing buildings of the military-administrative and commercial complex, which, together with the Sophia Court, were to form a monumental center. In 1712, a stone tower of the Dmitrievsky Gates was built on the Sofia Vzvoz, and next to it, on the very edge of the mountain, the Ascension Church, unfortunately lost.

holy gate

In 1743-1746 the Church of the Intercession was erected. In 1748 - in the northern wall of the fortress - the Holy Gates. In 1782, a governorship was established in Tobolsk with the cities of Western Siberia subordinated to it. Two new buildings appear in the Tobolsk Kremlin - the governor's palace and the bishop's house. The 19th century also left its monument in the ensemble of the Kremlin - the Castle of the Convict-Transit Prison.

Kazan Kremlin

The history of Kazan begins with the most ancient fortifications of the Bulgar settlement, built at the turn of the 10th-11th centuries. In the pre-Mongol period, the city developed as a military and trading place. Already in the XII century, the Kazan Kremlin became a stone outpost on the northern border of the Volga Bulgaria. In the 13th-15th centuries, the fortress became the center of the Kazan Principality as part of the Golden Horde. From 1438 to 1552 the Kremlin was the military and administrative center of the Kazan Khanate. After the capture in 1552 by the troops of Ivan the Terrible, the former capital of the Kazan Khanate becomes the administrative and military center of the annexed Volga region (1552–1708). Since 1708, the Kazan Kremlin has been the center of the Kazan province.

After the capture of Kazan by Grozny, the fortress lay in ruins. The tsar entrusted the construction of the new Kremlin to the Pskov architects Postnik Yakovlev and Ivan Shiryai (the builders of St. Basil's Cathedral). The fortress was significantly expanded, six towers (out of 13) were built of stone, but only a third of the wooden wall with a total length of 1800 meters was replaced with stone, and most of the wall was rebuilt from oak. Only at the beginning of the 17th century did the Kremlin become completely stone.

Blagoveshchensky cathedral

Simultaneously with the construction of the walls, the Pskov masters built the first Orthodox churches of the Kazan Kremlin: the Annunciation Cathedral (XVI century), the Church of Cyprian and Justina, the Church of Dmitry Thessalonica at the Dmitrievskaya Tower, the Church of the Savior, as well as two monasteries - Trinity-Sergievsky and

(XVI century). For more than a century and a half, five stone buildings of the khan's time were preserved in the Kazan Kremlin: the khan's mosque, the khan's palace and mausoleums used as storage facilities for storing weapons and ammunition, but over time they were dismantled due to dilapidation.

The Kul-Sharif multi-minaret mosque (named after the last imam seid Kul-Sharif, one of the leaders of the defense of Kazan), the center of religious education and the development of sciences in the Middle Volga region of the 16th century. It was destroyed in October 1552 during the assault on Kazan by the troops of Ivan the Terrible. Recreated in original form in 1996. It is the main juma mosque of the Republic of Tatarstan and Kazan.

Tower Syuyumbike

Tower Syuyumbike. Scientists suggest that it was built during the reign of Shah Ali Khan, who established good relations with Moscow. Hypotheses are expressed that the Moscow prince could send his masters to build it, which explains the external resemblance of Syuyumbike to the Borovitskaya tower of the Moscow Kremlin. Until 1917, Syuyumbike was crowned with a double-headed eagle. After the revolution, a crescent moon rose above it, which was removed in the 1930s, and put back in place in the 1990s.

Since 2000, the Kazan Kremlin has been included in the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List.

Rostov Kremlin

The former residence of the Metropolitan of the Rostov diocese, located in the center of Rostov on the shore of Lake Nero. The name “Kremlin” was assigned to the metropolitan court, although it is debatable.

During the construction of the fortress (1670–1683), Rostov no longer had any defensive significance, nevertheless, the Kremlin was built in the traditions of Russian defense architecture and is a monument of Russian military architecture of the pre-Petrine era.

According to the idea of ​​the customer, Metropolitan Iona Sysoevich, the local Kremlin was supposed to resemble heaven on earth in full accordance with the biblical description: a garden of Eden surrounded by walls and towers with a pond mirror in the center.

After the Metropolis was transferred from Rostov to Yaroslavl in 1787, the Vladyka's court lost its significance and gradually fell into disrepair. However, thanks to the Rostov merchants and merchant money, the architectural complex was restored in the 1860s and 1880s.

The ensemble of the Rostov Kremlin includes: the Assumption Cathedral (1508–1512), the Holy Gates, the Gate Church of the Resurrection (1670), the Judgment Order (1650–1660), the Church of St. John the Theologian (1683), the Hodegetria Church (1693), the Church of the Savior on Senya 1675), the Church of St. Gregory the Theologian (1680), the Red Chamber (1670–1680), the "House in the Cellars" (XVII century), the Samuil Corps, the White (Dining) Chamber.

Novgorod Kremlin

Novgorod Detinets - the fortress of Veliky Novgorod - is located on the left bank of the Volkhov River. The first mention of it in the annals dates back to 1044.

In 1302, stone structures - towers - were erected. According to the number of administrative districts - the "ends" of Novgorod - five towers were built, the location of which was determined by the direction of the Kremlin streets.

The Novgorod Kremlin was the political and cultural center of the feudal Novgorod Republic. On the square in front of the St. Sophia Cathedral, a noisy veche gathered more than once. From here, the Novgorodians left to fight for their city and all of Rus'. Alexander Nevsky walked this land. Chronicles were written here, old books and works of art were kept. Here, in 1478, the unification of Novgorod with Moscow was proclaimed.

The Novgorod Kremlin, one of the oldest monuments of Russian military defense architecture of the 15th-17th centuries, has the shape of an irregular oval, elongated from south to north and somewhat concave from the coastal side. The total area of ​​the fortress inside the walls is 12.1 hectares. A deep moat surrounds it from the north, west and south. The fortress walls, standing on the shaft, stretched for 1487 m, their height is from 8 to 15, the thickness is from 3.6 to 6.5 meters. Of the twelve towers that were in the citadel of the 15th century, nine have survived: Palace, Spasskaya, Knyazhaya, Kokuy, Pokrovskaya, Zlatoustovskaya, Metropolitan, Fedorovskaya and Vladimirskaya.

The ensemble of the Novgorod Kremlin includes: the oldest temple in Russia - St. Sophia Cathedral (1045-1050) with a belfry, the Vladychnaya (Faceted) Chamber (1433), Likhudov Corps (1670), the Palace Tower. In the center of the Kremlin stands a monument to the Millennium of Russia (1862).

The ensemble of the Novgorod Kremlin is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Pskov Kremlin

The local Krom is located on a high rocky promontory, where the small Pskov River flows into the Velikaya River at an acute angle. The height of the chrome walls is from 6 to 8 meters, the thickness is from 2.5 to 6 meters. There was a veche square with a bell tower and a chamber where the Council of Boyars met. Important decisions for the Pskov Republic were made at the veche - about war, peace, calling the prince, taxes ... The last time the veche bell rang on January 13, 1510, when the period of the Pskov veche republic ended and the history of Pskov as part of the Russian state of Moscow Rus' began.

Pskovians perceived their city as an earthly likeness of the City of Heaven “like the Jerusalem on high” and called it the House of the Holy Trinity. The first Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in 1699 was erected at the behest of Princess Olga in the middle of the 10th century. The second one was erected in stone in the 12th century by Vsevolod-Gabriel, the first prince of Pskov. The third, Trinity Cathedral of 1367 played a major role in the development of the local architectural tradition. Some scholars believe that its author was master Kirill, who embodied in Pskov city planning the idea of ​​a cathedral church as an image and likeness of Jerusalem above, the heavenly home of the Holy Trinity.

The current Trinity Cathedral, the fourth in a row, was built in the all-Russian Moscow traditions. The architectural solution is quite strict: a clear volume of the temple, whitewashed walls, a little decor in the style of "Naryshkin baroque" and bright spots of Pskov glazed tiles - in the first tier. Despite rebuilding in the 18th century (porch, buttresses, laying of galleries) and repairs at the end of the 19th century, the cathedral retained its original design.

Trinity Cathedral

The bell tower of the Trinity Cathedral of the 17th-19th centuries was built on the site of the ancient tower "on Radchina rise". Square in plan, multi-storey, completed with tiered spans of bells, a decorative tier of clock towers and a spire with a cross. The upper tiers were built on in the 18th-19th centuries.

Pskov remained the most important defensive line of the north-west of Russia until the middle of the 18th century. During the war years, the walls of the Kremlin were strengthened and expanded, but then they began to deteriorate, little attention was paid to them, although in the 19th century a partial restoration was carried out. In the 20th century, after the revolution and then the German occupation of Pskov, the walls and towers of the Kremlin practically turned into ruins. Large-scale restoration began only in the 1960s.

The most recognizable architectural structure in Russia, the Moscow Kremlin, is located in the historical center of the capital. The main feature of the architectural ensemble is its fortifying complex, consisting of walls in the form of a triangle with twenty towers.

The complex was built between 1485 and 1499 and is well preserved to this day. It several times served as a model for similar fortresses that appeared in other cities of Russia - Kazan, Tula, Rostov, Nizhny Novgorod, etc. Within the walls of the Kremlin there are numerous religious and secular buildings - cathedrals, palaces and administrative buildings of different eras. The Kremlin was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1990. Together with the adjoining Red Square, which is on this list, the Kremlin is usually considered the main attraction of Moscow.

Cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin

The architectural ensemble is formed by three temples, in the center is located. The history of the cathedral began in 1475. It is the oldest fully preserved building among all the Kremlin buildings.

Initially, construction took place in 1326-1327 under the leadership of Ivan I. After the completion of construction, the cathedral served as the home church of the Metropolitan of Moscow, who settled in the predecessor of the current Patriarchal Palace.

By 1472, the now collapsed cathedral was destroyed, and then a new building was built in its place. However, it collapsed in May 1474, possibly due to an earthquake or due to construction errors. A new attempt at revival was made by Grand Duke Ivan III. It was in this cathedral that prayer services were served before important campaigns, kings were crowned and elevated to the rank of patriarchs.

Dedicated to the Archangel Michael, the patron saint of Russian rulers, it was built in 1505 on the site of the 1333 church of the same name. It was built by the Italian architect Aloisio Lamberti da Montignana. The architectural style combines traditional ancient Russian religious architecture and elements of the Italian Renaissance.

Located on the southwest corner of the square. In 1291, a wooden church was built here, but burned down a century later and was replaced by a stone church. The white stone cathedral on the facades has nine onion domes and is intended for family ceremonies.

Working hours of the cathedrals: 10:00 to 17:00 (day off - Thursday). A single ticket for visits will cost 500 rubles for adults and 250 rubles for children.

Palaces and squares of the Moscow Kremlin

• - these are several representative secular buildings created in different centuries and served as a home for Russian grand dukes and tsars, and in our time for presidents.
  

  

  

  

• - a five-story building, decorated with rich carved decorative frames, as well as a tiled roof.
  

  

  

• - a building of the 17th century, preserved rare architectural features of civil architecture of that time. The museum presents jewelry, exquisite dishes, paintings, items of royal hunting. The magnificent iconostasis of the Ascension Monastery destroyed in 1929 has been preserved.
  
  
• - a three-story building, made in the early neoclassical style. Initially, the palace was supposed to serve as the residence of the Senate, but in our time it exists as the central working representation of the President of Russia.
  

  

  

  

Among the popular places in the Moscow Kremlin, the following squares should be noted:

Moscow Kremlin towers

The length of the walls is 2235 meters, their maximum height is 19 meters, and the thickness reaches 6.5 meters.

There are 20 defensive towers similar in architectural style. Three corner towers have a cylindrical base, the remaining 17 are quadrangular.

Trinity Tower is the highest, rising up to 80 meters.

Lowest - Kutafya tower(13.5 meters), located outside the wall.

Four towers have travel gates:

The tops of these 4 towers, which are considered especially beautiful, are decorated with symbolic red ruby ​​stars of the Soviet era.

The clock on the Spasskaya Tower first appeared in the 15th century, but burned down in 1656. On December 9, 1706, the capital heard for the first time the chimes, which announced a new hour. Since then, many events have taken place: wars have been fought, cities have been renamed, capitals have changed, but the famous chimes of the Moscow Kremlin remain the main chronometer of Russia.

The bell tower (81 meters high) is the tallest building in the Kremlin ensemble. It was built between 1505 and 1508 and still performs its function for three cathedrals that do not have their own bell towers - Arkhangelsk, Assumption and Annunciation.

Nearby is a small church of St. John, from which the name of the bell tower and the square appeared. It existed until the beginning of the 16th century, then collapsed and has since deteriorated significantly.

The Faceted Chamber is the main banquet hall of the Moscow princes, it is the oldest surviving secular building in the city. Currently, this is the official ceremonial hall for the President of Russia, so it is closed for tours.

Armory and Diamond Fund

The chamber was built according to the decree of Peter I, so that weapons obtained in wars were stored in it. Construction was delayed, starting in 1702 and ending only in 1736 due to financial difficulties. In 1812, the chamber was blown up in the war against Napoleon, but was reconstructed only in 1828. Now the Armory is a museum, which can be visited on any day of the week from 10:00 to 18:00, except for Thursday. Ticket price for adults - 700 rubles, for children - free of charge.

There are not only exhibits of the weapons trade, but also the Diamond Fund. The permanent exhibition of the State Diamond Fund first opened in the Moscow Kremlin in 1967. Unique jewelry and precious stones are especially valuable here, most of them were confiscated after the October Revolution. Opening hours - from 10:00 to 17:20 on any day except Thursday. For an adult ticket, you will have to pay 500 rubles, a child ticket costs 100 rubles.

Two exhibited diamonds deserve special attention, as they belong to the most famous examples of this gem in the world:

1. It is not only the largest medieval fortress in Russia, but also the largest active fortress in all of Europe. Of course, there were more such structures, but the Moscow Kremlin is the only one that is still in use.
2. The Kremlin walls were white. The walls "acquired" their red brick at the end of the 19th century. To see the White Kremlin, look for works by 18th or 19th century artists such as Pyotr Vereshchagin or Alexei Savrasov.
3. Red Square has nothing to do with red. The name comes from the old Russian word "krasny", which means beautiful, and is in no way related to the color of the buildings, which, as we now know, were white until the end of the 19th century.
4. The stars of the Moscow Kremlin were eagles. During Tsarist Russia, four Kremlin towers were crowned with double-headed eagles, which have been the Russian coat of arms since the 15th century. In 1935 the Soviet government replaced the eagles, which were melted down and replaced with the five pointed stars we see today. The fifth star on the Vodovzvodnaya Tower was added later.
5. Kremlin towers have names. Of the 20 Kremlin towers, only two do not have their own names.
6. The Kremlin is densely built up. Behind the 2235-meter Kremlin walls there are 5 squares and 18 buildings, among which the most popular are the Spasskaya Tower, the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, the Assumption Cathedral, the Trinity Tower and the Terem Palace.
7. The Moscow Kremlin was practically not damaged in World War II. During the war, the Kremlin was carefully disguised to look like a residential building block. The domes of the church and the famous green towers were painted gray and brown respectively, fake doors and windows were attached to the walls of the Kremlin, and Red Square was burdened with wooden structures.
8. The Kremlin is in the Guinness Book of Records. In the Moscow Kremlin you can see the world's largest bell and the world's largest cannon. In 1735, a 6.14 meter high bell was made from metal casting, the tsar cannon weighing 39.312 tons was lost in 1586 and was never used in the war.
9. The stars of the Kremlin always shine. In its 80 years of existence, the illumination of the Kremlin's stars has only been switched off twice. The first time was during World War II when the Kremlin was camouflaged to hide it from bombers. The second time they were turned off for the film. Oscar-winning director Nikita Mikhalkov filmed a scene for The Barber of Siberia.
10. The Kremlin clock has a deep secret. The secret of the accuracy of the Kremlin clock literally lies under our feet. The clock is connected to the control clock at the Sternberg Astronomical Institute via a cable.