Moscow Kremlin - all the Kremlin towers, history of construction. Moscow Kremlin - history of origin and development Who built brick walls around the Kremlin

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

Only the footage we are provided with is basically the same. The Kremlin is the strictly guarded active residence of the president of our country. There are no trifles in security, which is why all Kremlin filming is so strictly regulated. By the way, don’t forget to take a tour of the Kremlin.

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

This is how it 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. They all received the same surname, although they were not relatives. “Fryazin” means foreigner in Old Church 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 battle platform with a width of 2 to 4.5 meters.

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

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

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

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

Moscow Kremlin under different rulers

Moscow Kremlin under Ivan Kalita

In 1339-1340 Moscow Prince Ivan Danilovich, nicknamed Kalita (“money bag”), built a Borovitsky Hill an impressive citadel made of oak, with walls ranging from 2 to 6 m thick and no lower than 7 m high. Ivan Kalita built a powerful fortress with a formidable appearance, but it stood for less than 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 of Tver and Ryazan. The then reigning 16-year-old grandson of Ivan Kalita, Dmitry (aka Dmitry Donskoy), decided to build a fortress of stone - the Kremlin.

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 enemies tried to storm more than once, but were never able to.

What does the word "Kremlin" mean?

One of the first mentions of the word “Kremlin” appears in the Resurrection Chronicle in a report about a fire in 1331. According to historians, it could have arisen from the ancient 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 boundary, 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 rears behind them, the Russian army under the leadership of Prince Dmitry ventured on a decisive operation. Leaving from hometown far to the south, in the upper reaches of the Don, they met with the army of Mamai and defeated it on the Kulikovo field.

Thus, for the first time, Krom 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. the grandiose construction was not a simple reconstruction of the dilapidated defensive fortifications of Dmitry Donskoy. The white stone fortress is being replaced by a red brick fortress.

The towers are pushed outward 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 made into an island. On both sides it already had natural barriers - the Moscow and Neglinnaya rivers.

They also dug a ditch on the third side, where Red Square is now, approximately 30-35 meters wide and 12 m 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 from red brick, it retained the layout features of the ancient Russian detinets, 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 just built on stone tents, which turned the fortress into a light structure, directed towards the sky, which has no equal in the world, and 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 construction was supervised by Italian architects. Memorial plaques, installed on the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin, indicate that it was built in the “30th summer” of the reign of Ivan Vasilyevich. The Grand Duke celebrated the anniversary of his state activities with the construction of the most powerful entrance front tower. In particular, Spasskaya and Borovitskaya were designed by Pietro Solari.

In 1485, under the leadership of Antonio Gilardi, the powerful Taynitskaya 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 indicate that its creators were familiar with the engineering ideas of such outstanding representatives of the Italian Renaissance as Leonardo da Vinci, Leon Battista Alberti, and Filippo Brunelleschi. In addition, it was the Italian architectural school that “gave” Stalin’s skyscrapers in Moscow.

By the beginning of the 1490s, four more blind towers appeared (Blagoveshchenskaya, 1st and 2nd Nameless 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 curated 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: Konstantino-Eleninskaya, Spasskaya, Nikolskaya, Senate, Corner Arsenalnaya and Nabatnaya.

Secret passages in the Moscow Kremlin

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

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

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

Within two years, Kolymazhnaya (Komendantskaya) and Granenaya (Srednyaya Arsenalnaya) fortresses rose in orderly ranks, and in 1495 the construction of Trinity began. The construction was led by Aleviz Fryazin.

Chronology of events

All towers of the Moscow Kremlin

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

The oldest center of Moscow - the Moscow Kremlin- was founded as a fortification of a small settlement located on Borovitsky Hill, when its history began.

The first mentions of Moscow were found in chronicles for 1147. They also report that the wooden walls of the Kremlin were erected by order of Yuri Dolgoruky. Initially, the size of the fortress was small, the length of the wall reached 1200 meters.

Versions of origin There are several words for “Kremlin”.

According to one of them, this name comes from the name of the central part of ancient cities, called “Krom”. Another version suggests that this word could also come from “kremlin”, a very durable tree used to build fortress walls. There is even an assumption that the roots of this word are Greek, i.e. “kremnos” is a steep mountain, steep above a ravine or shore. Judging by where the fortress was built, this version has every right to exist.

But all this does not change the essence, which is that the Moscow Kremlin is the largest surviving fortress in Europe.

And at first it was a small fortification on an area of ​​about nine hectares, where residents of the villages located outside the walls of the fortress could take refuge in the event of the threat of an enemy attack. Over time, the settlements grew, and the fortress grew along with them.

New Kremlin walls were erected during the reign of Ivan Kalita. They were made of stone inside, and outside were made of wood and coated with clay.

It is noteworthy that even during the difficult years of the yoke in Rus', the Moscow princes rebuilt existing fortresses and built new ones. Thus, under Dmitry Donskoy, the Kremlin, damaged in a fire in 1365, was rebuilt. White stone was used to build the walls, which became about two kilometers long, and the Kremlin towers. Since then, Moscow began to be called white-stone in chronicles.

At the very beginning of the 18th century, Peter I ordered government institutions to be moved outside the Kremlin. All dilapidated buildings are demolished, and the Arsenal building is built. It was built from 1702 to 1736. From 1776 to 1788, the Senate building with a spectacular round hall covered with a dome was built in the Kremlin.

In the mid-nineteenth century, the idea of ​​building the Grand Kremlin Palace appeared. There were many projects, but it was built according to the drawings of the architect K.A. Tones. Years of construction - 1839-1849.

Significant damage was caused to the buildings of the Moscow Kremlin in 1812.

Napoleon, during his retreat from Moscow, ordered the Kremlin to be blown up. Mines were laid under buildings, walls and towers. Some explosions were prevented, thanks to Russian patriots, but, nevertheless, significant destruction still occurred. After the French emperor was expelled from the country, they began to restore the destroyed palaces, towers and walls, then completed the construction of the Armory Chamber and the Grand Kremlin Palace. In those days, the Moscow Kremlin was accessible to visitors. Visitors entered the territory through the open Spassky Gate, having first bowed to the icon of the Savior.

The Kremlin in Moscow after the 1917 revolution

In 1917, there were cadets on the territory of the Kremlin. As a result of the shelling carried out by the revolutionary troops, the Moscow Kremlin was partially destroyed: the walls, the Small Nikolaevsky Palace, almost all the cathedrals, Beklemishevskaya, Nikolskaya and Spasskaya towers were damaged.

In 1918, V.I. moved to the Kremlin. Lenin and the entire government of Soviet Russia, as the capital is moved to Moscow. Because of this, the bells in the Kremlin fall silent, churches are closed, Muscovites are deprived of free access to the territory.

The dissatisfaction of believers with the closure of cathedrals was quickly stopped by Yakov Sverdlov, who was not slow to declare the primacy of the interests of the revolution over all prejudices. In 1922, more than thirty kilograms of gold, about five hundred kilograms of silver, the shrine of Patriarch Hermogenes and more than a thousand different precious stones were seized from the religious buildings of the Moscow Kremlin.

Kremlevsky architectural ensemble During Soviet rule, it suffered more than in the entire previous history of its existence.

Of the 54 structures marked on the Kremlin plan at the very beginning of the last century, less than half remain. Monuments to Alexander II and Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich were demolished. Congresses of the Soviets began to be held in the large Kremlin Palace, a public dining room was set up in the Faceted Chamber, and a kitchen was installed in the Golden Chamber. The Catherine Church of the Ascension Monastery was adapted into a sports hall, and the Kremlin hospital was located in the Chudov Monastery. In the thirties, the Small Nicholas Palace and all the monasteries and buildings were demolished. Almost everything turned into ruins East End Moscow Kremlin. The Soviet government destroyed 17 churches.

Many years passed before the Moscow Kremlin began to be restored.

To celebrate the eight hundredth anniversary of Moscow, a thorough restoration of the towers and walls was carried out. Palekh artists discovered a mural from 1508 in the Annunciation Cathedral. A large amount of restoration work was carried out in the Archangel Cathedral (wall paintings were restored). A major restoration has also been carried out in the Assumption Cathedral.

The ban on living in the Kremlin has been in place since 1955, and the ancient architectural ensemble becomes a museum, partially open to the public.

In modern, diverse Moscow, the Kremlin remains historical place, which millions of tourists strive to visit, in the hope of touching, feeling and understanding the history of the white-stone capital.

The Moscow Kremlin to this day is the main socio-political, artistic, historical, religious and spiritual center of Russia. In addition, the Moscow Kremlin - official residence President of the Russian Federation.

In 1990, UNESCO included the Moscow Kremlin, whose history continues, on the list of world cultural heritage.

The Moscow Kremlin is located on Borovitsky Hill. His South 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 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, on the spot modern Kremlin 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.

In contact with

The Kremlin Wall is a 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 Annunciation Tower and the Annunciation Tower 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.