Moscow Kremlin, past and present. Moscow Kremlin - all the Kremlin towers, history of construction When the Kremlin wall was built

Kremlin wall - brick wall, surrounding the Moscow Kremlin.

The total length of the walls is 2235 m, height from 5 to 19 m, thickness - from 3.5 to 6.5 m. In plan, the walls form an irregular triangle.

The top of the wall, according to the Lombard tradition, is decorated with battlements in the shape of a swallowtail; the total number of battlements along the top of the wall is 1045. Most of the battlements have slit-like loopholes. The walls have wide embrasures covered with arches.

On the outside the walls are smooth, on the inside they are decorated with arched niches - a traditional technique designed to lighten and strengthen the structure of the structure.

Construction

Under Ivan III and his successor Vasily III, the construction of the Kremlin walls was led by the architects Anton Fryazin, Marco Fryazin, Pietro Antonio Solari and Aleviz Fryazin the Old.

Brick walls were placed along the line of white stone ones, with a small retreat out. Starting from the Spasskaya Tower, the territory of the Kremlin was increased by east direction.

Approximately 20 years after construction Kremlin wall The Kitai-Gorod wall was attached to it, hugging the entire Kitai-Gorod.

Bricks

For the construction of walls and towers, large (30x14x17 cm or 31x15x9 cm) bricks weighing up to 8 kg each were used.

The front walls were made of brick and filled with white stone. The highest walls were erected along Red Square, where there was no natural water barrier.

Passages and hiding places

Initially, there was a through passage inside the wall through all the towers, covered with cylindrical vaults.

Most of the passage was eventually covered with construction debris; the area between the Konstantino-Eleninskaya and Nabatnaya towers was preserved.

There were also hiding places and passages under the walls, in some cases extending far beyond the line of fortifications.

Wall in the 18th–20th centuries.

In 1702–36 To build the arsenal building, part of the wall was dismantled and later restored.

In 1771–73 for construction Kremlin Palace According to the project of V.I. Bazhenov, part of the southern wall between the and Annunciation Towers was also dismantled, which was later restored. The bombing of the Kremlin by the French (1812) caused heavy damage to the walls, especially the walls along Neglinnaya. Repairs and restoration of the fortifications were carried out from 1817 to 1822.

In 1866–70 The walls and towers of the Kremlin were restored by architects N.A. Shokhin, P.A. Gerasimov, F.F. Richter, who sought to give the buildings their original appearance. However, many authentic details were then lost and replaced by inaccurate copies.

A survey and partial restoration of the walls was carried out in 1931–36. The next restoration of the Kremlin walls and towers took place in 1946–53. During its course, the walls were cleaned and repaired, loopholes and parapets were restored. The restoration commission included prominent scientists and restorers: I. E. Grabar, V. N. Lazarev, M. V. Alpatov, P. D. Korin, D. P. Sukhov and others.

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Moscow, Kremlin

Towers of the Kremlin wall

There are 20 located along the walls. 3 towers standing in the corners of the triangle have a circular cross-section, the rest are square.

The most high tower- Troitskaya, it has a height of 79.3 m. Most of the towers are from the second half of the 17th century. designed in the same architectural style.

Necropolis

The northeastern section of the wall, facing the northern part of Red Square, serves as a columbarium for urns with the ashes of figures of the communist movement and the Soviet state. Many of them are also buried in the ground along this section of the wall.

In the post-Soviet period, the question of the need to move the necropolis to another location was repeatedly raised for political, religious and other reasons.

• The Kremlin wall between the Annunciation and Tainitskaya towers has a vertical ledge and a reduced pitch of two teeth, as if during construction from different sides there was a mistake in joining. This “error” divides the wall between the towers in an approximate ratio of 1 to 2, counting from Blagoveshchenskaya.

• Today's buildings were built mainly in 1485-1495 years is not the place of dilapidated white stone walls erected in 1366.
• Fortress with twenty towers connected by walls, has a triangular shape.
• Three corner towers They have a round shape for conducting circular fire, the rest are square, very different from one another.
• The length of the Kremlin wall is 2335 m, height is 8-19 m, and its thickness is 3.5-6.5 m.
• The towers have details characteristic of Italian architecture of that time, which is not surprising, since they were built by Italian architects.
• IN tower names reflects their history and the history of the place.

The towers of the Moscow Kremlin with peaked tents and walls with battlements in the form of “swallow tails” are irreplaceable elements of the capital’s panorama. On the site where the Kremlin stands, a settlement has been located since ancient times. This location is very advantageous: on the high Borovitsky Hill, at the confluence of two rivers - the Moskva River and the Neglinnaya. The first fortifications that appeared here were wooden. And in 1366-1368, Prince Dmitry Donskoy built the first white stone Moscow Kremlin. The walls and towers that appear before us now are basically fortifications built in 1485 - 1495. by Italian architects on the site of the former, dilapidated white stone walls.

Kremlin construction techniques and fortress plan

Twenty Kremlin towers, connected by walls, form an irregular triangle with an area of ​​27.5 hectares. The fortifications were built taking into account the most modern military technologies of the 15th century. The towers protrude beyond the line of the walls so that soldiers can not only fire, but also control the situation in close proximity to the walls. Round towers were erected at the corners (Vodovzvodnaya, Moskvoretskaya and Arsenalnaya) - this shape was chosen both because of their greater strength and for conducting all-round fire. They also had the opportunity to arrange hidden wells with water. Most towers are square at the base, but differ quite greatly from each other, depending on their purpose. The travel towers (Spasskaya, Borovitskaya, Troitskaya and others), erected on the axes of the roads leading to the Kremlin, were the most powerful and well fortified. The towers were also endowed with a symbolic meaning of protection, protecting the Kremlin from the penetration of evil and evil spirits. Therefore, icons can still be seen above the gates of some towers.

Most of the towers had diversion arrows attached - fortifications that were carried outside the fortress walls or beyond the ditch for additional defense. This type of fortification fully met the requirements of the late 15th century. Of the archery towers, one has survived - Kutafya, which covers Trinity and in our time serves as the main entrance for tourists to the Kremlin. When constructing fortifications, various measures were taken against enemy attacks. This, for example, is the construction of secret underground passages leading outside the walls to protect the city from undermining. A through tunnel was built inside the walls to quickly move defenders.

The length of the walls of the Moscow Kremlin is 2235 meters, the thickness of the walls ranges from 3.5 to 6.5 meters, and the height - from 8 to 19 meters. The highest walls are located on the side of Red Square, where there was no natural oh water hazard. The walls were not built all at once, their construction began from the south-eastern part (from the side of the Moscow River), continued to the east and west and was completed in 1516. The oldest tower of the Kremlin, Tainitskaya, was also erected on the south side.

The construction technique itself is also interesting. The walls were built on the foundations of the previous ones, white stone, the material was large red brick, which was used to lay out the front walls, and the gaps were filled with the remains of the collapsed walls of the time of Dmitry Donskoy. So, since 1485, the walls of the Moscow Kremlin acquired a recognizable color. The towers were erected by visiting Italian architects (Friazis, as they were called then): Pietro Antonio Solari, Marco Ruffo, Aleviz di Carcano. This explains their unusual, strange appearance for that time. The fact is that the design of loopholes in the form of the famous “swallow tails” was a typical detail of Northern Italian architecture, characteristic of buildings in cities where the ruling “party” were the Ghibellines - supporters of rapprochement with the emperor (unlike the Guelphs, supporters of the Pope, who decorated the walls of their cities are battlements with a straight ending). These battlements were not only decoration: they protected the upper battle platforms.

Angular and travel towers after another fire, they were decorated in the 17th century with stone tents with weather vanes. They served as watchtowers, and signal bells were also located there. In the second half of the 18th century. famous Russian architect V.I. Bazhenov completed the design of the Kremlin Palace - a large-scale building in a classicist style, reminiscent of the architecture of French palaces. The project proposed to line the hill leading to the cathedrals with turf - this place would become one of the first “walks” in Europe. To build such a huge structure, it was necessary to demolish a third of the Kremlin walls. At one site, which is located near the Moscow River, work began on dismantling the fortifications, but soon due to the growing colossal costs, this project was curtailed. In the 19th century During Napoleon's invasion of Moscow, serious damage was caused not only to the palaces and temples of the Kremlin, but also to the Kremlin walls. The architect who was involved in the restoration of the damaged Kremlin towers was O.I. Beauvais (ironically, also Italian).

Spasskaya Tower and Kremlin chimes

The most famous of all the Kremlin towers, Spasskaya, built in 1491 by Pietro Antonio Solari, deserves special mention. Tsars entered the Kremlin through it and religious processions took place. Since the 15th century Only dedicatory white stone slabs have reached us, which tell in Cyrillic (from the Kremlin side) and in Latin (from Red Square) about the order and construction of this tower. Its general appearance and decoration then were much more modest: it was almost half the size, and it was originally called Frolovskaya, after the Church of Flora and Lavra on. The Spasskaya Tower began to be called after the icon of the Savior, known throughout Russia, which was placed above the entrance in the middle of the 17th century. It was considered lost, but in 2010 it turned out that Soviet era it was simply covered with plaster. In the 17th century The tower was one of the first to be built with a multi-tiered elegant top. And the history of the clock on the Spasskaya Tower deserves a separate story.

The first clocks on the Kremlin, still white-stone towers, were installed in 1404 by Lazar Serbin. In the 17th century, the Spasskaya Tower acquired a very unusual clock thanks to a native of Scotland, Christopher Galovey. They were a sun-shaped hand with a rotating dial, on which 17 o'clock was marked. The famous Kremlin chimes, which can still be seen today, date back to the mid-19th century. They were made by watchmakers, brothers named Butenop - the founders of the company of the same name. The chimes sounded different melodies at different times. Since 1770 it has been the song “Oh, my dear Augustine”, since the middle of the 19th century. ‒ “How glorious is our Lord in Zion”, after the revolution the clock began to play “The Internationale”, and since 2000 you can hear the famous excerpt from Glinka’s opera “A Life for the Tsar”. Currently, the clock mechanism occupies three whole floors, and until 1937 this clock was wound manually with a cast iron key.

Famous Kremlin towers and the history of their names

Let's take a closer look at the history of some of the towers. As already mentioned, the most important for defense and for the composition in general are the corner towers. The Vodovzvodnaya Tower was built by Anton Fryazin in 1488. In the 17th century the tower was equipped with a water-lifting machine, which is why it got its name. Its other name - Sviblova Tower - comes from the boyar family of the Sviblovs, who had a courtyard on the territory of the Kremlin. In 1812 it was blown up by the French, after which it was restored by O.I. Beauvais. Thanks to him, its appearance is emphatically classic: rustication (horizontal lines) in the lower part, columns, decorative design of dormer windows. Decoration comes first, not functionality; the hand of the architect of the early 19th century is felt.

The Beklemishevskaya Tower, built by Marco Ruffo in 1487, was named so because of the boyar I. Beklemishev who lived during the reign of Tsar Vasily III, who fell out of favor and was executed. From the name, one of the functions of this tower becomes obvious - a place of imprisonment for rebels. Its other name is Moskvoretskaya, since it is located on the banks of the Moscow River and occupies a strategically important position. It was from this side that the city was most often subjected to Tatar raids. A secret well was built in this tower. In 1707, the loopholes in the tower were expanded for a new type of weapon, since Swedish intervention was feared at that time. This fact indicates that the tower did not lose its defensive significance until the 18th century.

The corner round tower, located on the north side of the Kremlin buildings, was erected by Pietro Antonio Solari c. 1492. Its other names come from the Sobakin boyars who lived nearby (Sobakina) and from its location next to the Arsenal (Arsenalnaya). Thanks to the edges that form its volume and the base that expands downward, it gives the impression of particular stability and strength. It also had a strategic secret: there was a well inside, as well as an underground passage to the Neglinnaya River.

The Borovitskaya Tower got its name from the pine forest that was located on Borovitsky Hill in ancient times. The tower was built according to the design of Pietro Antonio Solari in 1490. Its design feature is the location of the archer on the side. It is also angular, but in plan it is not round, but resembles a pyramid, which is formed from quadrangles stacked on top of each other (volumes quadrangular at the base) and crowned with an octagon (volume octagonal at the base). Although this tower was located outside the main roads and was used for household needs, it has retained its significance to this day: it is the only permanently operating passage gate to the Kremlin territory.

The Trinity and Kutafya towers were built by Aleviz Fryazin. Kutafya dates back to 1516, Trinity - 1495. These towers are connected by a bridge, both were travel, and the Kutafya tower had only one gate, which was closed with heavy forged bars. Today this is the main entrance to the Kremlin architectural and museum complex. The Trinity Tower is the largest, its height reaches 76.35 meters. Its structure is complex: it consists of six floors, two of which are underground, and in the 17th and 18th centuries. it was a place of detention for rebels. It received its name in 1658 from the Trinity Metochion, located nearby.

The Tainitskaya Tower is so called because not only a secret well was built inside it, but also secret passage to the Moscow River. This tower was built first, in 1485 - it was from this side that the Tatars usually attacked.

The Moscow Kremlin is the main attraction of the Russian capital, having great historical, architectural and socio-political value.

The Kremlin is located in the very center of the city on the high Borovitsky Hill near the Moscow River. On one side is Red Square, on the other - Alexander Garden.

About how to get to the Moscow Kremlin, which Kremlin attractions to see first, how to buy entrance tickets, about opening hours, excursions and much more, read in this article.

History of the Moscow Kremlin

First on the territory modern Kremlin Finno-Ugric tribes settled in the Bronze Age. In the 10th century, Borovitsky Hill, located at the intersection of important trade routes, was occupied by the Vyatichi, and in 1156, by the will of Prince Yuri Dolgoruky, a typical Russian fortress was built here with defensive fortifications - earthen ramparts with palisades, surrounded by a deep ditch.

Until the mid-14th century, the Moscow Kremlin was made of wood. Under Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy, its walls and towers were replaced with white stone ones, which served until the end of the 15th century.

Under the leadership of Italian craftsmen, in 1485-1516, new powerful fortifications were erected from baked bricks - towers and battlements with a thickness of three to six and a half meters, which we can admire today.

Architectural ensemble

The architectural ensemble of the Moscow Kremlin consists of the golden-domed Annunciation, Archangel and Assumption Cathedrals, the Patriarchal Chambers, the Church of the Deposition of the Robe, the Faceted Chamber, and the Ivan the Great Bell Tower. In the 17th century, the Terem Palace was built, around the same time the Kremlin towers acquired modern look. In the 18th century, the Arsenal, the Senate, the Grand Kremlin Palace and the Armory appeared.

Unfortunately, the most ancient Cathedral of the Savior on Bor, built in 1330 and destroyed in 1933, the Chudov Monastery, founded in 1365 and demolished in 1929, the Ascension Monastery, the Small Nicholas Palace and many other buildings have not survived. In total, during the years of Soviet power, out of 54 Kremlin buildings, only 26 remained “alive”.

However, in 1990 the Kremlin was included in the list world heritage UNESCO.

Photo - tour of the territory

The entrance to the territory is through the Kutafya tower, crowned with a beautiful openwork “crown”.

Before entering the Kremlin, you must buy tickets in the dark glass pavilion, which is located nearby in the Alexander Garden, go through a metal detector and have your personal belongings searched. Large bags, suitcases and backpacks will have to be checked into a storage room.

The Kutafya Tower, previously surrounded by a river and a ditch, protected the approaches to the Trinity Tower.

Having crossed the Trinity Bridge, we will look at the multi-tiered Trinity Tower from the other side. Its height is 80 meters, it is the tallest tower of the Kremlin.

On the right in the photo is the Arsenal, built by order of Peter the Great. It was assumed that the building would be used as a military warehouse and trophy storage. Nowadays, the administrative services of the Kremlin Commandant's Office and the barracks of the Presidential Regiment are stationed here.

On the left is the State Kremlin Palace (formerly the Palace of Congresses), built in 1961. The country's main New Year's Eve party is held here, as well as concerts and ballet performances.

Historical guns are located near the walls of the Arsenal - collections of ancient Russian and foreign cannons, military trophies Patriotic War 1812.

Now let's go to Senate Square.

The Senate building, designed by architect M.F. Kazakova, has the shape of a triangle. During the Soviet years, V.I.’s office and apartment were located here. Lenin, work rooms of I.V. Stalin, L.I. Brezhnev, M.S. Gorbachev. Today the Senate is located official residence President of the Russian Federation.

View from approximately the same point in the other direction - towards Trinity Square and the Kremlin cathedrals.

The Tsar Cannon, which is a must-see, stands near Trinity Square and the Patriarchal Chambers with the Church of the Twelve Apostles.

The powerful weapon was made in 1586. This is the largest cannon in the world, an outstanding example of Russian weapons art. Its caliber is 890 mm, weight is 40 tons.

At the foot of the bell tower there is another giant - the Tsar Bell, cast in the 18th century. Its weight is 202 tons, diameter is 6.6 meters. The Tsar Bell was cast right there, on the territory of Ivanovskaya Square. A piece of the bell broke off during a big fire in the Kremlin.

On the southern side, Ivanovskaya Square is adjacent to the Big Kremlin Square and Tainitsky Garden.

Unfortunately, you cannot walk around the entire garden - this is a sensitive facility. But you can still see some interesting things: for example, an aviary for peregrine falcons, goshawks and an eagle owl, which are kept specifically to chase crows and pigeons. Or here - helipad for the President and Prime Minister, equipped not so long ago.

View from the park to the ensemble of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower. The most tall building Moscow's Kremlin bell tower came into being under Boris Godunov, who ordered it to be built in 1600 to a height of 81 m. You can climb up to summer time by purchasing a separate ticket.

From April to October on Saturdays at 12-00 on Cathedral Square The Presidential Regiment's horse and foot ceremony takes place. Viewing the ceremony is included in the price of a single ticket to visit the Kremlin and the cathedral-museums of Cathedral Square.

The Assumption Cathedral, built according to the design of the Italian architect Aristotle Fioravanti, was the main temple of Russia for four centuries - Ivan the Terrible and other tsars were crowned here, and emperors were crowned. Many patriarchs and metropolitans are buried in the Assumption Cathedral.

In the photo - the Archangel Cathedral, erected in 1505-1508 in honor of the Archangel Michael by the Venetian Aleviz Novy.

Entrance to the Archangel Cathedral. In the temple-royal tomb there are 54 burials of saints, princes, kings and their wives, including the holy Tsarevich Dmitry of Uglich, Moscow princes Vasily the Dark, Dmitry Donskoy, Ivan Kalita, Tsars Ivan the Terrible and Alexei Mikhailovich.

The Annunciation Cathedral is one of the oldest on the Kremlin territory, built by Pskov craftsmen in 1484-1489. The small-sized temple was used as a home church for Russian sovereigns.

In the basement of the Annunciation Cathedral there is an interesting exhibition “Treasures and Antiquities of the Moscow Kremlin”.

The Faceted Chamber, one of the oldest civil buildings in Moscow, in tsarist times served as the main ceremonial reception hall, a place for meetings of the Boyar Duma, and meetings of the Zemsky Sobor. Now this is the executive hall of the residence of the President of the Russian Federation.

The chamber is called faceted because it is lined with blocks having 4 sides.

In the corner of Cathedral Square there is the Verkhospassky Cathedral - part of the ancient Terem Palace, the eastern facade of the Golden Tsarina Chamber and the Church of the Deposition of the Robe - the home church of Moscow metropolitans and patriarchs.

From Cathedral Square we move to the Great Kremlin Palace, built in the 19th century. The ensemble of the palace includes about 700 rooms, including Georgievsky, Vladimir, Andreevsky, Alexander and Catherine Halls, the Golden Tsarina Chamber, the Malachite Foyer, the Study and Bedroom of the Emperors, nine churches and the Terem Palace.

Since the Grand Kremlin Palace is the ceremonial residence of the President of the Russian Federation, you can only get there as part of a group from an organization upon a preliminary application submitted a month in advance.

Next to the BKD there is the Armory Chamber, a museum with untold riches: ancient gold and silver jewelry and other items, weapons, armor, state regalia, and a collection of carriages. Here you can see Monomakh's hat, scepters, orbs, thrones, coronation dresses and ceremonial royal clothes.

The same building houses the Diamond Fund - the national treasury of Russia, a repository of precious stones and nuggets, ceremonial jewelry of Russian tsars and emperors. This is where the Great Imperial Crown, made on the occasion of the coronation of Catherine II, is located. The crown is decorated with 5,000 diamonds, 75 large pearls and a very large rare dark red gem spinel.

View from the Armory to the Vodovzvodnaya, Borovitskaya towers and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

The amusing palace - the chambers of boyar Miloslavsky is better visible from the Alexander Garden, it is located near the Kremlin wall between Troitskaya and Commandant's towers. In 1672, fun events were held here - performances for the amusement of the kings, which gave the name to the palace. Under Peter the Great, the Police Department was located in the Poteshny Palace, and today the services of the Commandant’s Office were located.

How to get to the Kremlin

On public transport: the nearest metro stations are the Lenin Library, Aleksandrovsky Garden, Borovitskaya and Arbatskaya of the blue Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line. The Kremlin is also easily accessible on foot from many central stations: Okhotny Ryad, Revolution Square, Teatralnaya and others.

Opening hours

The territory of the Kremlin and cathedral-museums of Cathedral Square:

• from May 16 to September 30 - daily, except Thursdays, from 9-30 to 18-00 (ticket offices are open from 9-00 to 16-30)
• from October 1 to May 15 - daily, except Thursdays, from 10-00 to 17-00 (ticket offices are open from 9-30 to 16-00)

The Armory is open for sessions from 10-00 to 18-00 every day except Thursday. Sessions start: 10-00, 12-00, 14-30, 16-30

Diamond fund - daily, except Thursdays, from 10-00 to 17-20 for sessions. Break - from 13-00 to 14-00. Session duration is 40 minutes. Ticket sales for morning sessions begin at 9:00 a.m., and for evening sessions at 1:00 p.m. Morning sessions: 10-00, 10-20, 10-40, 11-00, 11-20, 12-00, 12-20. Evening sessions: 14-00, 15-00, 15-20, 16-00, 16-20, 16-40, 17-00, 17-20.

The Diamond Fund does not work on holidays. More information about the operating hours can be found on the official website: gokhran.ru/ru/diamond-fund/contacts.phtml

It is rare, but it happens that access to the Kremlin is closed in connection with ceremonial events, meetings of heads of foreign states, receptions on the occasion public holidays and other events.

Ticket prices

Single ticket (territory, cathedrals, exhibitions)— visit to the territory of the Kremlin, cathedral-museums of Cathedral Square, exhibition halls of the Patriarchal Chambers, the exhibition “Treasures and Antiquities of the Moscow Kremlin” in the basement of the Annunciation Cathedral, an exhibition of wooden sculpture in the Church of the Deposition of the Robe, exhibitions in the annex of the Archangel Cathedral:

• adults - 500 rubles
• Russian students and pensioners - 250 rubles, without the possibility of visiting museums (only the territory) - free
• children under 16 years of age, members of large families, disabled people of groups 1 and 2 and other preferential categories of citizens - free
• for persons under 18 years of age, the second Tuesday of every month is free
• in Days cultural heritage single ticket free for everyone

Single tickets are sold online on the official website of the Moscow Kreml.ru (except for free and discounted ones) and at the box office in the Alexander Garden on the day of the visit.

— the visit requires a separate ticket, the price includes an audio guide:

• adults - 700 rubles
• Russian students and pensioners - 350 rubles
• children under 16 years of age, members of large families, disabled people of groups 1 and 2 and other preferential categories of citizens - free

Entrance tickets to the Armory Chamber are sold on the day of the visit if tickets are available at the box office in the Alexander Garden and via the Internet on the official website of the Moscow Kremlin kreml.ru (except for free and discounted tickets).

Attention! Purchasing tickets online for a specific session does not guarantee that you will receive additional free or discounted tickets for the same session on the day of your museum visit. Free and discount tickets are issued only if they are available at the box office, on a first-come, first-served basis. Bandwidth The museum does not allow an unlimited number of tickets to be allocated for each session.

Diamond Fund— you can buy tickets at the box office No. 4 and No. 5 in the Alexander Garden on the day of your visit to a specific session. The ticket price includes a tour.

• adults - 500 rubles
• schoolchildren, students, pensioners, members of large families - 100 rubles
• disabled children, non-working disabled people of groups 1 and 2 and other preferential categories of citizens - free

The number of tickets for each session is limited.

If you want to visit only the Armory Chamber and/or the Diamond Fund, entry is possible through the Borovitskaya Tower.

The queue at the box office and at the entrance is least in the cold season on weekdays, most of all in the warm season on good weather on weekends, especially on Saturday in the morning - because of the opportunity to watch the changing of the guard ceremony on Cathedral Square.

Excursions

The Kremlin excursion center offers sightseeing and thematic excursions around the territory of the Kremlin, the Armory Chamber, cathedral-museums and museum exhibitions for organized groups and individual visitors as part of a team group.

Prices for excursions around the Moscow Kremlin, the procedure for registration and payment for excursions, see the official website: kreml.ru

Free mobile guide to the Kremlin territory - izi.travel/ru/7cce-moskva-kreml/ru

Photography

Amateur photography and video shooting in cathedral-museums, the Armory Chamber and the Diamond Fund is prohibited.

The Moscow Kremlin is located on Borovitsky Hill. His southern part faces Moscow, the eastern one borders Red Square, and Alexander Park is closely adjacent to the northwestern one. Currently, it is the residence of the president and an important political center of the entire country. It is generally accepted that the construction of the modern architectural and historical complex began in 1482 and was completed in 1495. The exact year of foundation of the very first fortress by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky is unknown, but already in 1156 wooden fortifications surrounded by a moat were built on the territory of the Kremlin. To find out who built the Moscow Kremlin, you need to turn to history.

On the territory of the Kremlin back in the 2nd millennium BC. e. people were already living. Not far from the Archangel Cathedral, a settlement of Finno-Ugric peoples was discovered, which dates back to the second half of the 1st millennium BC. e. Archaeologists have found flint arrowheads, stone axes and shards left over from pottery. The buildings were protected by two ravines, which significantly increased the defense at that distant time.

In the 10th century, the Slavs began to populate the lands located between the Moscow and Oka river basins. It is believed that the Vyatichi built two fortified centers on Borovitsky Hill. They were protected by a ring of palisades and fortified by a ditch and a high rampart dug around it. Two ravines were attached to these structures, the depth of which was increased to 9 m, and the width to 3.8 m. The rapid development of the settlement was facilitated by busy trade routes between East and West, running along the Moscow River, and two large land roads. One of them led to Novgorod, and the other connected Kyiv, Smolensk and the northeastern lands.

Moscow was first mentioned in chronicles in 1147. And in 1156, by order of Yuri Dolgoruky, military fortifications, residential and outbuildings. The area they occupied was supposedly 3 hectares. In 1264, the Kremlin became the residence of Moscow appanage princes.

In the 14th century, five monasteries were built on the territory of the Kremlin. The oldest of them is considered to be the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery on the forest, which was erected in 1330, in the year of the celebration of the millennium of Constantinople. However, it was destroyed in 1933. The Chudov Monastery was founded by Metropolitan Alexy in 1365. The name was given in honor of the Church of the Miracle of the Archangel Michael in Khoneh. In 1929, all the buildings that were part of the monastery complex were demolished.

Stconstruction of the white stone Kremlin

In the second half of the 14th century, during the reign of Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy, the Kremlin’s wooden walls began to be replaced with stone ones, the thickness of which exceeded two or even three meters. The most important sectors and areas where the main attacking forces of the enemy could be directed are built from local white stone. To more powerfully repel enemy attacks, the walls began to be reinforced with towers. The new walls were located at a distance of 60 m from the previous ones, built of oak, so the area of ​​the entire Kremlin becomes almost equal to the modern one. Over the years, stone buildings began to require repairs. Under the leadership of V.D. Ermolin, a Moscow merchant, the head of construction work of the Russian state, in 1462 the Kremlin walls were repaired from the Sviblova Strelnitsa to the Borovitsky Gate.

Under the Moscow Prince Ivan III, the long-awaited unification of all Russian lands and principalities into one state took place. By this time, a significant restructuring of the Moscow Kremlin was required. The construction of the new Assumption Cathedral in 1471 was entrusted to Russian architects Krivtsov and Myshkin. But the building collapsed during an earthquake.

Then Ivan III invited the architect from Italy Ridolfo Aristotle Fioravanti in 1475. In four years he built a building, the model for which was the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir. Fioravanti was also a good engineer and, remaining in Russia, participated in several military campaigns as chief of artillery. Later, craftsmen from Pskov built the Church of the Deposition of the Robe, and then the new Annunciation Cathedral.

The newly invited Italian architects did a lot of work and built several religious buildings in full accordance with the basic principles of Russian architecture. Since 1485, they built the Kremlin walls from baked bricks, which weighed 8 kg (half a pound). It was also called two-handed, since it was impossible to lift it with one hand.

The walls of the Kremlin are very high and sometimes reach the height of a six-story building. They have a passage, the width of which is about two meters. It is not interrupted anywhere, which allows you to walk around the entire Kremlin along the perimeter. The outside of the building is covered with 1,045 Merlon crenellations, typical of Italian fortresses. They are also called "dovetail". The height of the battlements reaches 2.5 m, and the thickness reaches 70 cm. The construction of one battlement required 600 bricks, and loopholes were built in almost every one of them. There are a total of 20 towers along the walls. Of these, the highest is Troitskaya, its height is 79.3 m.

During the reign of Peter I, the Moscow Kremlin ceased to be a royal residence, since the emperor, along with his court, moved to the newly built Saint Petersburg(until 1720 - St. Petersburg). In 1701, a severe fire occurred in the Kremlin, as a result of which many wooden buildings were destroyed. In 1704, Peter I issued a decree that prohibited the construction of any wooden structures inside the Kremlin. In 1702, construction began on the two-story Arsenal building, which continued until 1736. The building was built under Elizaveta Petrovna Winter Palace, designed by the Italian architect V.V. Rastrelli.

In 1812, the Moscow Kremlin was occupied by the French army. During the retreat, it was mined and blown up on Napoleon's personal orders. Not all the charges exploded, but the damage was very significant. Several towers, the Arsenal, and extensions to the Ivan the Great Bell Tower were destroyed, and the Senate building was damaged. Restoration work was entrusted to the architect F.K. Sokolov.

In 1917, during the October armed uprising in the Kremlin, walls, towers and a number of buildings were partially destroyed. Later, under the leadership of architect N.V. Markovnikov, restoration work and repairs of damaged objects were carried out.

Throughout its long history, the Moscow Kremlin has been rebuilt and restored more than once. Prominent architects and craftsmen from both Italy and Italy took an active part in the construction of churches and public buildings. It is almost impossible to say exactly who built the Moscow Kremlin. But we must always remember that this complex defended the capital of our state for many centuries and is now the center of the political life of the Russian Federation.