The Moscow Kremlin is the crown of power of Russia. Walls and towers of the Kremlin in the 16th century What decorated the Kremlin in the 16th century
Publications in the Architecture section
“The earth, as we know, begins 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 pearls tourist routes and the main decoration of Russian cities. Those that are poorly preserved are being actively restored, because “the earth begins, as the Kremlin knows”...
Moscow Kremlin
With the transformation of Moscow into the capital of Russia in the middle of the 15th century, the need arose to show the whole world the power of the new state. The old, dilapidated Kremlin did not contribute in any way to solving this problem. In addition, Byzantium fell in 1453, and the Moscow clergy announced: “Moscow is the third Rome, but there will never be a fourth...” The territory of the Moscow Kremlin is turning into one large construction site. Not only Pskov, Novgorod and Moscow craftsmen worked here, but also Fryazh 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 the architects Krivtsov and Myshkin.
But haste led to the fact that in 1474 the almost completed building collapsed. Pskov craftsmen refused to build it anew, but the Bolognese architect Aristotle Fioravanti agreed, who, together with Russian craftsmen, erected 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, new brick walls began to be laid around the Kremlin. Two years later, the reconstruction of the Kremlin Palace began, and in 1487–1491, Italian architects Marco Ruffo (Mark Fryazin) and Antonio Solari erected the Chamber of Facets. In 1505, the reconstruction of two small and dilapidated churches began - the Archangel Cathedral and the Church of St. John the Climacus. Italian Bon Fryazin (the real name of this Italian architect has not survived; Fryazin in Rus' was the name given to people from Southern Europe, usually of Romanesque origin, hence Fryazin - a distorted franc. - Note ed.) turns the church-bell tower into the pillar of Ivan the Great. And Aleviz the New completed the construction of the Archangel Cathedral by 1509.
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 created over the course of ten years from 1485 to 1495 with the participation of Italian craftsmen. This is how the ensemble of the Moscow Kremlin, the heart of Russia, was formed. In the 16th century, fortresses began to be built in his image and likeness in other Russian cities.
Tula Kremlin
Tula is the southern outpost of Moscow, which for centuries defended the capital from foreign invaders. That’s why the best gunsmiths are from Tula. And the Tula Kremlin is an outstanding monument of Russian defensive 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.
Throughout its existence, the Tula fortress 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 government troops of Vasily Shuisky.
The Tula Kremlin is located in a low, swampy area in the floodplain of the Upa River. Its walls rest on a powerful stone foundation about 5.5 meters deep. Initial height the walls are about 10 meters, and the thickness, according to the 1685 inventory, is about 4 meters. They were built from two types building material: the lower part is made of white limestone, the top is made of large red brick. Wall spinning (a section of the fortress wall between two towers. – Note ed.) are divided by wide semi-circular arches, in the lower part of which loopholes of the lower tier of defense are cut, the so-called. plantar combat. The walls end with two-horned Merlon teeth in the shape of a swallowtail. The firepower of the fortress was concentrated in nine towers, far beyond the line of the walls, which ensured the conduct of flank and frontal combat.
Holy Assumption Cathedral
In addition to the walls and towers in architectural ensemble The Tula Kremlin includes the Holy Dormition and Epiphany Cathedrals, shopping arcades and the building of the city's first power plant. The Holy Assumption Cathedral (1762–1764) is one of the most beautiful churches in Tula: simple and strict architectural forms are combined with the regal monumentality of the interior. Unique paintings by Yaroslavl masters (1765–1766) and a seven-tiered carved gilded iconostasis (II p. of the 18th century) have been preserved in the temple to this day. The Epiphany Cathedral is 100 years younger than its brother (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 shopping arcade (1837–1841) once contained 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 city's first power plant. The arcade-gallery of the shopping arcade, which has survived to this day, gives the monument a unique charm of antiquity.
Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin
The 16th century fortress has the shape of an irregular polygon in plan, with towers at the corners. The first stone Kremlin was erected back in the 14th century on the site of a wooden fortress by order 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 became 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
Over its long history, the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, like the Tula fortress, has never been taken by enemies. Located on the high right bank, at the confluence of the Volga and Oka rivers, it resembles “a stone necklace thrown onto the slopes of the Dyatlov Mountains.” The Kremlin ensemble includes a unique architectural monument of the 17th century, the Cathedral of St. 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 Kremlin ensemble includes the white-stone Resurrection Cathedral of the 15th century, the bell tower of the 18th century, St. Nicholas Cathedral of the 19th century, and an architectural fence with turrets of the 19th – early 20th centuries.
At one time, it even became the center of the independent appanage Volotsk principality, which was owned by Ivan III's brother Boris, and then by his son Fedor. At the same time, in the Kremlin, the ramparts of which have been preserved to this day, a beautiful white stone Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ was built. The single-domed temple, decorated with a terracotta frieze, is distinguished by exquisite proportions. In its interior, on one of the pillars, a fragment of painting from the late 15th century has been preserved. St. Nicholas Cathedral (1853–1862) is dedicated to the memory of those killed in the Crimean War. Its decor uses a favorite technique of the pseudo-Russian style - a combination of red brick with white decorations. At the end of the 19th century, the cathedral complex was surrounded by a brick fence with corner and gate turrets, closing the entire historical space into a single composition.
Astrakhan Kremlin
The first wooden fortress in the lower reaches of the Volga on a high hill surrounded by marshes and swamps was founded back 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 clerk 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 model of its counterpart in Moscow.
The impregnable stronghold on the southeastern border of the state remembers a lot. Crimean-Turkish campaigns in the Lower Volga in the 16th century, the Troubles in Rus' and the peasant uprising led by Stepan Razin in the 17th century, the Streltsy uprising 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 entering the composition of Russia's territories of the Caucasus and Central Asia.
The Astrakhan Kremlin was distinguished by the latest system of organizing “fire combat” for that time. In the walls, in addition to the traditional lower foot battle, for the first time additional loopholes were installed on the middle line. The loopholes of the middle and plantar battles were located 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 strongly protruding combat towers 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. The fortress had eight towers, of which seven have survived to this day - three travel towers and four blind ones.
The Kremlin ensemble 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 the largest Tobolsk province in Russia.
Moscow encouraged stone construction here in every possible way, 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 plans of Semyon Remezov, a cartographer and historian of Siberia. The Prikaznaya 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 – new administrative center 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 Matvey Petrovich Gagarin, appointed in 1708 as the first governor of the Siberian province, conceived impressive buildings of a military-administrative and trade complex in the Kremlin, which, together with the Sophia Court, were to form a monumental center. In 1712, a stone tower of the Dmitrievsky Gate was built on the Sofia Vzvoz, and next to it, on the very edge of the mountain, the Ascension Church, which, unfortunately, was lost.
Holy Gate
In 1743–1746 the Church of the Intercession was erected. In 1748 - in the northern wall of the fortress - the Holy Gate. In 1782, a governorship was established in Tobolsk with the cities of Western Siberia subordinate 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 Kremlin ensemble - the Castle of the Convict Transit Prison.
Kazan Kremlin
The history of Kazan begins with the 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 12th century, the Kazan Kremlin became a stone outpost on the northern border of 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 of Ivan the Terrible in 1552 by the troops, the former capital of the Kazan Khanate became 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 Ivan the Terrible, the fortress lay in ruins. The Tsar entrusted the construction of the new Kremlin to the Pskov architects Postnik Yakovlev and Ivan Shirai (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 could be replaced with stone, and most of the wall was again built of oak. Only at the beginning of the 17th century the Kremlin completely became stone.
Blagoveshchensky cathedral
Simultaneously with the construction of the walls, Pskov craftsmen also built the first Orthodox churches of the Kazan Kremlin: the Annunciation Cathedral (XVI century), the Church of Cyprian and Justina, the Church of Dmitry of Solunsky at the Dmitrievskaya Tower, the Spasskaya Church, as well as two monasteries - Trinity-Sergius and
Spaso-Preobrazhensky(XVI century). For more than a century and a half, five stone buildings from the khan’s time were preserved in the Kazan Kremlin: the khan’s mosque, the khan’s palace and mausoleums, used as warehouses for storing weapons and ammunition, but over time they were dismantled due to disrepair.
The multi-minaret Kul-Sharif mosque (named in honor of the last imam Seid Kul-Sharif, one of the leaders of the defense of Kazan), a center of religious education and the development of sciences in the Middle Volga region in the 16th century. It was destroyed in October 1552 during the assault on Kazan by the troops of Ivan the Terrible. Recreated in its 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 have been expressed that the Moscow prince could have sent his craftsmen to build it, which explains the external similarity between Syuyumbike and 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 shores of Lake Nero. The name “Kremlin” was assigned to the metropolitan court, although it is controversial.
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 defensive architecture and is a monument to Russian military architecture of the pre-Petrine era.
According to the design of the customer, Metropolitan Jonah Sysoevich, the local Kremlin was to resemble heaven on earth in full accordance with the biblical description: the Garden of Eden surrounded by walls and towers with a mirror of a pond in the center.
After the metropolis was transferred from Rostov to Yaroslavl in 1787, the lord's court lost its importance 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 Gate, the Gate Church of the Resurrection (1670), the Judgment Order (1650–1660), the Church of St. John the Evangelist (1683), the Church of Hodegetria (1693), the Church of the Savior on Senya ( 1675), Church of St. Gregory the Theologian (1680), Red Chamber (1670–1680), “House on the Cellars” (XVII century), Samuel's Building, White (Dining) Chamber.
Novgorod Kremlin
Novgorod Detinets - a fortress of Veliky Novgorod - is located on the left bank of the Volkhov River. The first mention of it in the chronicle dates back to 1044.
In 1302, stone buildings - 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 political and cultural center feudal Novgorod Republic. On the square in front of the St. Sophia Cathedral, noisy meetings gathered more than once. From here the Novgorodians left to fight for their city and all of Rus'. Alexander Nevsky walked on this land. Chronicles were written here, ancient books and works of art were kept. Here in 1478 the unification of Novgorod with Moscow was proclaimed.
Novgorod Kremlin, one of the oldest monuments of Russian military-defensive architecture of the 15th–17th centuries, has the shape of an irregular oval, elongated from south to north and somewhat concave on the coastal side. The total area of the fortress inside the walls is 12.1 hectares. A deep ditch surrounds it from the north, west and south. The fortress walls, standing on the rampart, stretch for 1487 m, their height is from 8 to 15, their thickness is from 3.6 to 6.5 meters. Of the twelve towers that existed in the 15th-century Detinets, nine have survived: Dvortsovaya, 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), the Likhud building (1670), the Palace Tower. In the center of the Kremlin there is a monument to the Millennium of Russia (1862).
The ensemble of the Novgorod Kremlin is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site.
Pskov Kremlin
The local edge is located on a high rocky cape, where the small Pskova River flows into the Velikaya River at an acute angle. The height of the chrome walls is from 6 to 8 meters, 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. At the veche, decisions important for the Pskov Republic were made - about war, peace, the calling of the prince, taxes... The last time the veche bell rang was on January 13, 1510, when the period of the Pskov veche republic ended and the history of Pskov began as part of the Russian state of Muscovite Rus'.
Pskovites perceived their city as an earthly resemblance to the Heavenly City “Like the Jerusalem above” and called it the House of the Holy Trinity. The first Holy Trinity Cathedral, built 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 vital role in the development of the local architectural tradition. Some scientists believe that its author was Master Kirill, who embodied in Pskov urban planning the idea of a cathedral church as an image and likeness of the Jerusalem above, the heavenly home of the Holy Trinity.
The current Trinity Cathedral, the fourth in a row, was built in all-Russian Moscow traditions. The architectural solution is quite strict: a clear volume of the temple, whitewashed walls, some decor in the “Naryshkin Baroque” style and bright spots of Pskov glazed tiles in the first tier. Despite reconstructions in the 18th century (porch, buttresses, filling of galleries) and renovations 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 “at Radchin Vskhod”. Square in plan, multi-storey, completed with tiered bell spans, a decorative tier of tower clocks and a spire with a cross. The upper tiers were built on in the 18th–19th centuries.
Pskov remained the most important defensive line in northwestern Russia until the mid-18th century. During the war years, the walls of the Kremlin were strengthened and expanded, but then they began to deteriorate and were little looked after, although partial restoration was carried out in the 19th century. 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.
In 2/half 15th century Moscow State significantly strengthens and gradually annexes the Yaroslavl, Rostov, Ryazan, Tver principalities, Novgorod and Pskov. In 1480, Muscovite Rus' was finally freed from the Monogol-Tatar yoke and in the 1550s. annexes the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates with lands along the entire Volga. The borders of Russia reach the Urals.
The socio-political system of the country is also changing - it is acquiring the features of a single centralized state, headed by a sovereign hereditary monarch. The central government influences all spheres of the country's life - military, judicial, cultural, etc.
The idea of “Moscow is the third Rome” arose, which asserted the continuity of power of the Moscow princes from the Byzantine emperors and was intended to strengthen the autocracy. The unification of all northeastern Russian lands within a single state led to widespread construction activity. Particular attention was paid to Moscow, which attracted numerous craftsmen from other cities.
Under Ivan 3 in 1485-1516. new ones are being built brick walls of the Moscow Kremlin. The work was supervised by Italian masters Marco Fryazin, Pietro Antonio Solari, Aleviz. Ivan 3 sought to use the latest European fortification achievements, but the entire ensemble of walls and towers was based on original Russian traditions. The builders almost completely preserved the location of the walls erected under D. Donskoy, and also preserved the center of the Kremlin with a group of cathedrals and the princely palace. The Kremlin, built from brick, became more majestic and solemn. The walls and towers became taller and more representative (the tower tents were erected in the 17th century). In the 15th century The Kremlin occupied an area of 27 hectares and had the shape of a triangle. The height of the walls ranged from 6 to 17 m, thickness - from 3 to 5 m. The corners and walls were fortified with 18 towers, somewhat protruding from the thickness of the walls. The distance between the towers was determined by the range of flanking fire from 2 adjacent towers.
The main high-rise emphasis of the Kremlin has become pillar of Ivan the Great- a bell tower, 81 m high, from the height of which you can see the surroundings at 24-30 km. The first floors were built in 1505-1508. architect Bon Fryazin. In 1600, presumably under the leadership of Fyodor Kon, the remaining floors were completed. The internal staircase of the tower has 329 steps, and the pyramidal foundation of the bell tower is almost 10 m deep. The bell tower is considered a masterpiece of Muscovite Rus' architecture of the 16th century. Next to the Ivan the Great Bell Tower there is the Assumption Belfry and Filaret's Annex.
Assumption Cathedral - the central building of the Kremlin. Its construction began back in 1472 by Moscow architects Myshkin and Krivtsov, but the almost finished building collapsed. Pskov craftsmen refused to build the cathedral, then Ivan III invited the architect and engineer Aristotle Fiorovanti from Bologna.
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| Assumption Cathedral |
The Annunciation Cathedral harmonizes well with Chamber of Facets, which was built by Pietro Antonio Solari and Mark Fryazin in 1487-1491. The two-story building consisted of two rooms: a vestibule and a main hall on the 2nd floor. The main hall had an area of approx. 500 m2 and was the largest hall in Moscow Rus' at that time. It was covered with a system of 4 cross vaults resting on a powerful square pillar in the center. The walls and vaults of the Chamber of Facets were painted with frescoes, and the white stone floor was covered with flat carvings. There were benches along the walls, and in the right corner of the entrance was the throne of the Grand Duke. The Faceted Chamber received its name from the faceted rustication with which its eastern part is lined.
The third cathedral, defining the Kremlin ensemble - Arkhangelsk(Archangel Michael), was erected by Aleviz the New in 1505-1508. It is based on a traditional composition typical of an ancient Russian temple having a cubic shape, topped with five domes. Aleviz, in the design of the facades, used Renaissance details that organically combine with native Russian forms. The cathedral has a pronounced floor-to-floor division of the facades with cornices; Corinthian pilasters are used instead of blades. The zakomars were decorated with shells, a favorite motif in Venetian architecture, and received a decorative function.
Nizhny Novgorod State
Pedagogical University
on the subject of world artistic culture
on the topic “Architecture of the Moscow Kremlin XIV-XVI centuries.”
Completed by student R.A. Garayev.
Accepted by: O.N. Obolenskaya
Nizhny Novgorod 1998
INTRODUCTION
CATHEDRAL SQUARE
ASSUMPTION CATHEDRAL
BLAGOVESHCHENSKY CATHEDRAL
CATHEDRAL OF THE ARCHANGEL
CHURCH OF THE ROBE
TSAR CANNON
FACETED CHAMBER
RED SQUARE
ST BASIL'S CHURCH
SPASSKAYA TOWER (FROLOVSKAYA)
TAINITSKAYA TOWER
KUTAFYA TOWER (BRIDGEWAY)
TRINITY TOWER
WATER TOWER (SVIBLOVA)
ANNUNATION TOWER
I AM THE NAMELESS TOWER
I AM THE NAMELESS TOWER
CONSTANTINE-ELENINSKAYA TOWER (TIMOFEEVSKAYA)
WEAPONS TOWER (STABLE)
ROYAL TOWER
SENATE TOWER
ALARM TOWER
NIKOLSKAYA TOWER
PETROVSKAYA TOWER (UGRESHSKAYA)
CONCLUSION
LIST OF REFERENCES USED
INTRODUCTION
At the beginning of the 14th century, the new center unification of Russian lands - the Moscow Principality. The location of Moscow at the intersection of trade and river routes connecting Russian lands plays a big role in this. The energetic activity of Ivan Kalita (1325-1341) in the first half of the 14th century quickly turned Moscow into a strong military and economic center of ancient Rus'. This gave Kalita the opportunity to begin rebuilding the Moscow Kremlin. From 1326 to 1340, stone churches, the Archangel and Assumption Cathedrals, new princely mansions were built in the Kremlin, and in 1339-1340. - strong oak walls. Moscow becomes the center of secular and spiritual life, and the Kremlin becomes the residence of the Grand Dukes and Moscow Metropolitans.
The strengthening of the power of Moscow in the second half of the 14th century, as well as the built military threat, mainly from the Tatar khans, prompted the grandson of Ivan Kalita, the Grand Russian Prince Dmitry Donskoy, to begin the construction of white stone walls and towers of the Kremlin in 1367. During this period, stone churches, the Miracle Monastery (1358) and new princely mansions were built in the Kremlin. Somewhat later, the Ascension Monastery was built (1390). The name “white stone” is becoming stronger in Moscow.
The construction of the Kremlin had not yet been completely completed when the threat of a new Tatar invasion loomed over Moscow. In 1380, the Battle of Kulikovo took place, in which the regiments of Dmitry Donskoy completely defeated the hordes of Khan Mamai. The Battle of Kulikovo was a turning point in the history of the Moscow Principality. She contributed to the liberation of Rus' from the Tatar yoke and the formation in the 15th century. centralized Russian state.
Under the Great Moscow Prince Ivan III, Moscow became the capital of the united Russian principalities and rose among other cities of ancient Rus'.
The ancient Kremlin could no longer meet the demands of the new state, much less the court of the Grand Duke of All Rus' located in it. Grandiose construction begins in the Moscow Kremlin, for which Italian architects are invited to Moscow: Aristotle Fioravanti, Peter Antonio Solario, Marco Ruffo, Aleviz Novy, Bon Fryazin and others. Working in collaboration with Russian craftsmen, they not only took into account local construction conditions, but were also constantly influenced by Russian building traditions. Therefore, their work was entirely imbued with the spirit of Russian national architecture.
In place of the crumbling white stone fortifications of the Kremlin from the time of Dmitry Donskoy, new mighty brick walls and towers are being erected. The majestic Assumption and Annunciation Cathedrals, the Granite Chamber are being built, the princely tomb - the Archangel Cathedral - is being laid, and the territory of the Kremlin is expanding.
Construction work to improve the fortress continued under the son of Ivan III, Grand Duke Vasily Ivanovich, until 1516. A ditch 12 m deep and 32 m wide was built near the Kremlin walls from Red Square, connecting the Neglinnaya River with the Moscow River. Now the Kremlin, surrounded on all sides by a water barrier, has turned into a powerful island fortress of its time.
In the center of the Kremlin, a watch signal tower was erected, known as the bell tower of Ivan the Great. It acquired its modern appearance under Boris Godunov in 1600.
The existing walls and towers of the Moscow Kremlin were built in 1485 - 1495. on the site of the dilapidated white stone walls of the time of Dmitry Donskoy. They represent not only the greatest architectural and historical monument of the Russian people, but also a powerful fortification structure of the late 15th century, built on the basis of the achievements military equipment that time.
The Kremlin towers are connected by high fortress walls, the plan having an irregular triangle with an area of 28 hectares. The towers were built in such a way that they could fire not only at the area ahead, but also along the walls. To do this, most of them protruded forward, beyond the line of the walls. Where the walls met at an angle, round towers were placed, which were the most durable and made it possible to fire all around. Such towers include Corner Arsenalnaya, Vodovozvodnaya, Beklemishevskaya. They contained hidden wells that served to supply water to the Kremlin defenders in the event of a long siege. One of them is still preserved in the Corner Arsenal Tower.
In those places where important strategic roads approached the Kremlin, the most powerful and tall towers were built. They were used as gates with access to the Kremlin. The gates were closed with metal or strong oak doors, bound with iron. On the outside of the towers, branch towers were attached - archers, the passages in which were closed with special lowering gratings - the so-called gers.
Of the Kremlin passage towers, the most important were Spasskaya, Nikolskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya; the smaller ones are Konstantino-Eleninskaya and Taynitskaya.
The Kremlin was surrounded on all sides by a water barrier: on the southern side by the Moscow River, on the northwestern side by the Neglinnaya River, and on the eastern side by a deep ditch.
The moat, surrounded by stone battlements, was dug near the Kremlin walls in 1508-1516. It walked from the Corner Arsenal Tower, across the entire Red Square, to the Beklemishevskaya Tower, connecting the Neglina River with the Moskva River. Thus, the Kremlin was an island fortress. To fill the ditch with water, special dams were built on the Neglinnaya River near the Trinity Bridge and Borovitsky Gate.
From the gates of the diversion arches, chain drawbridges were thrown across the moat, and the passages in the gates were closed with gers bars. If the enemy broke through the bridge into the archery, then the gers were quickly lowered, and the enemy found himself locked in a kind of stone bag. Here he was fired upon from the upper gallery of the archery.
The remaining towers were placed between the main quadrangular and round corner towers. They were deaf, i.e. not travel cards, and had only defensive value. The distance between the towers was determined by the range of the weapons used at that time, and was also determined by the terrain.
On top of the tower there were battlements and an internal battle platform. Below the battlements there were mosshikuli - special hinged loopholes for firing at the enemy, who broke through directly at the foot of the towers. Laid in from the inside, these hinged loopholes have been preserved on almost all Kremlin towers. Inside, the towers had several tiers (floors) and through passages from one fortress wall to another. Thanks to this, the defenders could move quickly and secretly from the enemy from one area of defense to another. Through passages through the towers have been preserved to this day.
In ancient times, the towers were topped with wooden tents with watchtowers. On some of them, for example on Nabatnaya and Tsarskaya, bells were placed, called alarms, or flashes. They were called when the Kremlin was in danger.
Clocks were installed on the towers of the main towers, in particular on Spasskaya and Troitskaya.
On the outside, the Kremlin walls end with two-horned battlements (merlons) from 2 to 2.5 m high and 65 to 70 m thick. On top they are covered with white stone slabs with gutters. During the fighting, the archers closed the gaps between the battlements with special wooden shields - fences, and fired through narrow slit-like loopholes arranged in the battlements. These loopholes have survived to this day.
In total, there are 1045 battlements on the Kremlin walls.
On the inside of the walls, behind the battlements, there is a battle area, fenced on the Kremlin side by a parapet wall, below which are built large arched niches with chambers.
They contained so-called plantar battlements with embrasures outward. Foot fighting was introduced in the 19th century, but now it is not visible.
In ancient times, the walls were covered with a gable wooden roof, which sheltered the archers from bad weather and protected the brick inlay from destruction by precipitation. In the 18th century the roof burned down and was never restored.
In Soviet times, the bypass area along the top of the walls was covered with a special waterproofing carpet. The height of the walls to the battlements is from 5 to 13 m, depending on the terrain; thickness - from 3.5 to 6.5 m.
The Kremlin has 20 towers, 5 of them are travel towers.
The total length of the walls with towers is 2235 m. The area of the Kremlin is 28 hectares.
kremlin architecture belfry renaissance
CATHEDRAL SQUARE
Cathedral Square The Kremlin is one of the oldest in Moscow. Its appearance dates back to the beginning of the 14th century. The Assumption, Annunciation and Archangel Cathedrals, the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great, the Faceted Chamber and other monuments of Russian architecture rise on the square. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the area was covered several times with slabs of strong sandstone. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was freed from the accumulated cultural layer, and in the 30s of our century it was paved with asphalt. In 1955, the asphalt was removed and the original stone surface was restored.
Cathedral Square was main square Kremlin. In ancient times, ceremonial processions took place on it on the occasion of the crowning 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. Funeral processions also took place here to the Archangel Cathedral - the tomb of the Moscow great princes 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 more than 500 years ago, this magnificent ensemble still 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. It, in turn, was preceded by the oldest Moscow churches - a wooden one from the 12th century and a stone one from the 13th century. The Assumption Cathedral was built by the Italian architect Aristotle Fioravanti, invited by Ivan III. The cathedral was erected in 1475-1479 on the model of the Assumption Cathedral of the 12th 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', where heirs to the throne were crowned, state acts were announced, metropolitans and patriarchs were elected at church councils, and other solemn ceremonies were performed. The cathedral served as the tomb of Moscow patriarchs and metropolitans. Their tombs line the walls. The main entrance to the temple is located from the cathedral square. The wide staircase ends with a portal of three semicircular arches. The entrance to the building is guarded, as it were, by the Archangel Michael and the Guardian Angel; figures of saints are inscribed in the arches above. Above them is an image of the Virgin and Child. These multicolor 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 17th-century iconostasis, about 16 meters high, covered at the end of the 19th century with chased gilded silver. The iconostasis was made in 1652-1653 by painters of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. In 1682, the icons were damaged by fire and were updated by the royal isographers Kirill Ulanov, Georgy Zinoviev and Tikhon Filatyev. Over the centuries, icons created by Russian painters 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 Napoleonic troops. A chandelier that hangs in the center of the cathedral was forged from some of the silver that was then beaten off by the Russian Cossacks. The oldest monument of applied art in the cathedral is its southern doors (brought to Moscow from the Suzdal Cathedral, dating back to the beginning of the 15th century), on which 20 images on biblical themes are painted in gold over black varnish.
BLAGOVESHCHENSKY CATHEDRAL
In the southwestern part of Cathedral Square there is an elegant nine-domed Annunciation Cathedral with golden domes. The cathedral was built in 1484-1489 by Pskov craftsmen as the house fortress of the Grand Duke of Moscow. Initially, the temple was small and crowned with three domes. In the 60s of the 16th century, four single-domed churches (altars) were erected above 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 built for Ivan the Terrible. The cathedral was connected to the palace by a special passage. During ceremonies held on Cathedral Square, the temple served as the grand exit from the palace for the prince (later the tsar) and his retinue. The cathedral was built in the traditions of early Moscow architecture. But since it was built by Pskovites, then, naturally, there are features of Pskov architecture: an octagon under the central drum, original belts on the heads and many other decorative elements. There are two entrances with high porches leading to the temple from the square. They enter the cathedral through the northern porch and find themselves in a gallery, the walls of which are painted with frescoes on biblical themes (“The Miracle of the Prophet Jonah,” “He Rejoices in You,” “The Trinity,” “The Tree of Jesus,” “The Exploits of Monastic Hermits” and others).
In the piers, on the slopes of the vaults and on the pilasters, ancient philosophers and writers are depicted in full height: Aristotle, Thucydides, Plutarch, Homer, Virgil and others - at that time educated people in Rus' were familiar with their works. From the gallery, through a portal decorated with white stone carvings, you can enter 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”, “Candlemas”, “Baptism”, “Transfiguration”,
“The Raising of Lazarus” and “Entrance into Jerusalem” were painted by Andrei Rublev. The remaining icons in this row of the iconostasis - “Last Vespers”, “Crucifixion”, “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 one. 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 series (except for “Archangel Michael” and “Apostle Peter”) were painted by Theophan the Greek. Of considerable interest is the cathedral's murals, 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 scenes on the theme of the Apocalypse (to the right and left of the iconostasis on the vaults under the choir and on the arches supporting the choir). In addition to biblical scenes, in the wall paintings one can see purely secular motifs - images of Byzantine emperors and Russian princes (pillars of the central part of the temple and pilasters). At the western wall, according to custom, choirs were built for the queen and the royal children. The floor of the cathedral looks very unusual. During the time of Ivan the Terrible, the floor was paved with tiles made of precious agate-like jasper. Above the exit from the cathedral, a wall painting depicting the Savior Not Made by Hands, made by the famous 17th-century Russian painter Simon Ushakov, attracts attention.
CATHEDRAL OF THE ARCHANGEL
The Archangel Cathedral was built in 1505-1509 by the 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 this, there was the ancient Archangel Cathedral, built by Ivan Kalita in 1333 in memory of the deliverance of Moscow from severe famine. At the beginning of the 16th century, due to its cramped space, it was dismantled to make way for the construction of a more extensive temple. The walls of the cathedral end with zakomaras. The zakomars are decorated with white stone shells, and the facades are decorated with pilasters with capitals, cornices and a high white stone plinth. From the 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 domes were painted silver. On the eastern side of the cathedral, at the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th century, two single-domed churches were added - “St. Wan” and “John the Baptist”. In the north and west, the cathedral is decorated with carved white stone portals in the Italian Renaissance style. On the southern, western and northern sides there were covered galleries, broken in the 18th century (only the gallery on the southern side survived). At the end of the 18th century, a portal in the Gothic style was added to the northern side by the architect M.F. Kazakov, which was dismantled in 1920. Adjacent to the cathedral on the south-west side stone tent. It was erected in 1826 on the site of the former “court hut of the Arkhangelsk estates,” in which the trial of quitrent peasants who had not paid taxes was held. 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 used the altar as a kitchen. All the valuables of the cathedral were stolen. After the defeat of Napoleonic troops, the cathedral was restored to its original form. In addition to daylight, the cathedral is illuminated by nine gilded chandeliers made in the 17th century. Since the time of Ivan Kalita, the Archangel Cathedral has been the tomb of the great Moscow princes and tsars. 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. There are a total of 54 burials or 46 tombs in the cathedral (there are tombs with two and three burials). The tombs are white stone tombstones. They are carved with inscriptions in Slavic script about the time and name of the buried prince or king. 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 south-eastern pillar there is a shrine for 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 over 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 ROBE
The 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, erected in 1451 by Metropolitan Jonah in memory of the deliverance of Moscow from the invasion of the Tatar hordes of Mazowsza. On the night of July 2, 1451, the Tatars approached Moscow, but suddenly retreated, abandoning all the stolen goods. This event was caused by the political struggle in the enemy’s camp, but the church gave it a purely religious significance, since it coincided with church holiday“The Positions of the Robe” The church was named in memory of this. In 1473, it burned down along with the metropolitan's courtyard. In the vacant space, a new brick church was erected on a basement, surrounded on three sides by an open porch-promenade. It retained its old name. In the 17th century, the church was rebuilt and a hipped roof was installed. The porch on the western side was covered with vaults. Along the resulting covered gallery, which still exists, the female half of the royal family moved from Terem to the Assumption Cathedral. In a fire in 1737, the church burned down and was restored by the architect I.F. Michurin. A new chapter in the form of a vase was built and the altar areas were hewn out. In the 19th century, a covered staircase was added to the church on the south side. It led to the western facade, on which the icon “Pechersk Mother of God” was painted. Therefore, the church was sometimes called Pechersk.
Ivan the Great BELL TOWER AND BELLOW
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. It unites all the ancient churches of the Moscow Kremlin into a majestic architectural ensemble. The bell tower is considered a miracle of architectural art of the 16th century. The history of the bell tower goes back 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 Climacus. In 1505 this church was dismantled and in 1508 a new one was founded, 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 to the north side of the bell tower. The belfry housed a thousand-pound bell called the Blagovestnik. To enter the temple, which was located on the third tier of the belfry, Moscow craftsmen built a high stone staircase in 1552. The Ivan the Great Bell Tower is a three-tiered pillar made of elongated, tapering octahedrons, 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. The galleries of the tiers house bells, which are remarkable monuments of Russian foundry art of the 16th-19th centuries. There are 21 of them in total. All bells are decorated with ornaments, bas-reliefs and inscriptions that tell about the history of the bell, the date of casting, weight, and master. The largest bell, the Assumption Bell, weighs 70 tons. It was cast in the 19th century by masters Zavyalov and Rusinov. Another bell weighing 19 tons was cast by Andrei Chokhov in 1622. In the Filaret annex hangs a bell weighing 12.5 tons, cast in the 18th century by Ivan Motorin.
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 surroundings within a radius of up to 30 kilometers were clearly visible. In 1624, on the northern side of the belfry, master Bazhen Ogurtsov erected the so-called Filret extension, completed with white stone pyramids and a tiled storm. Its second and third floors were reserved for the patriarchal sacristy. In 1812, Napoleonic troops retreating from Moscow tried to blow up the bell tower. It survived, but the belfry and the Filaretov extension were destroyed. In 1819, they were restored by the architect D. Gilardi according to the type of the old ones, but with some elements of 19th century architecture.
TSAR CANNON
The Tsar Cannon, cast by Andrei Chokhov, is an ancient and largest cannon in the world. It was created in 1586 in Moscow, at the Cannon Yard, during the reign of Ivan the Terrible’s son Fyodor Ivanovich. The appearance of such a unique work was a natural result of the development of the oldest branch of Russian craft - foundry, which has been known in Rus' since the 10th century.
The length of this huge weapon is 5 meters 34 centimeters. The outer diameter of the barrel is 120 centimeters, the diameter of the patterned belt at the barrel is 134 centimeters, the caliber is 890 millimeters. The barrel of the Tsar Cannon, cast from high-quality bronze, has a conical shape. The entire surface of the barrel is decorated with cast figured friezes, ornamental belts, and inscriptions. The muzzle and breech edges of the barrel have high belts protruding above the surface with figured five-petal rosettes. The central part of the trunk is divided by convex ornamental and flat relief friezes. On the sides of the barrel there are eight cast brackets designed to strengthen the ropes when moving the gun. Above the front right bracket is the inscription “By the grace of God, Tsar and Grand Duke Fyodor Ivanovich, Sovereign and Autocrat of all great Russia" Here is a cast image of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, crowned, sitting on a horse with a scepter in his hand. Two inscriptions are cast on the upper part of the barrel: on the right - “By the command of the pious and Christ-loving Tsar and Grand Duke Fyodor Ivanovich, the sovereign autocrat of all great Russia under his pious and Christ-loving queen Grand Duchess Irina”, on the left side - “This cannon was drained in the most famous city of Moscow summer 7094, in the third year of his state. The cannon was made by a cannon littsian, Ondrei Chokhov.” On the breech of the gun, in front of the last, wide rear belt, there is a seed hole in the barrel. And then, on the trunk itself, it is cut down: “2400 poods.” This is the weight of the Tsar Cannon, which is 39,312 kilograms. During its four hundred-year existence, the Tsar Cannon changed its place more than once. In the 18th century, it was moved to the Moscow Kremlin and was first located in the courtyard of the Arsenal building, and then at its main gate. The Tsar Cannon, placed on a carriage, was installed opposite the Arsenal. Four cast-iron decorative cores, each weighing 1000 kilograms, were placed at its foot. In 1960, in connection with the construction of the Kremlin Palace of Congresses, the Tsar Cannon was solemnly moved to Ivanovskaya Square to the Church of the Twelve Apostles, where it remains to this day.
STATE ARMORY CHAMBER
Almost five centuries have passed since the first mention of the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin that has survived to this day was recorded in ancient acts. This happened in the past since the first mention of the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin that has survived to this day was recorded in ancient acts. This happened in 1508. But long before this date, in 1339, the spiritual letter of the Moscow prince Ivan Kalita spoke about the values that laid the foundation for the creation of the grand ducal treasury. Mention was made of jewelry, dishes made of precious metals, church vessels, clothing made of magnificent fabrics, and expensive weapons. A century later, the grand ducal treasury already included numerous valuables stored in the basements of the Kremlin palaces and cathedrals.
By the end of the 15th century, Moscow became a kind of center of artistic crafts. There are many skilled Russian and foreign craftsmen working at the Moscow court who have created many excellent monuments. Many of them became part of the Armory Chamber. 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 in 1485, a two-story stone building with a high hipped roof and deep basements was specially erected to store it in the Kremlin, between the Archangel and Annunciation Cathedrals. It was called the “state yard”. There are almost three hundred deep cellars here. It was called the “state yard”. The treasures of Moscow rulers were kept here for almost three hundred years. A significant part of the assets of the Kremlin treasury consisted of 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, which has long produced bladed weapons and firearms, as well as military armor of all types.
Many first-class examples have survived to this day, doing credit to Russian weapons craftsmanship. The Konushennaya 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, ambassadorial meetings. In the Tsaritsyn and Sovereign Chambers, also located in the Moscow Kremlin, luxurious clothes were sewn from imported fabrics, laying out patterns of remarkable beauty and richness on their surfaces with pearls and gems. The craftsmen 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, his ceremonial 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 chamber building with a clear silhouette of a simple rectangular volume is distinguished by the unusual decoration of the main facade. It is faced 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 according to the model of ancient Novgorod chandeliers. The floor area of the Chamber of Facets is 495 square meters. In the second half of the 16th century, the Chamber of Facets was decorated with murals on church and biblical themes. Over the centuries, many major events in the life of the Russian state were celebrated in the Faceted Chamber; it was the ceremonial throne room. Foreign ambassadors were received there, the heirs to the Russian throne were solemnly announced, Zemsky Councils met, at one of which, more than 300 years ago, the issue of reunification of Ukraine with Russia was resolved. The victories of the Russian troops were celebrated here. Thus, Ivan IV celebrated the capture of Kazan here in 1552, and Peter I celebrated the Poltava victory in 1709, and in 1721 the conclusion of the Peace of Nishbadt, which ended the Northern War.
RED SQUARE
The square arose, according to chronicles, at the end of the 15th century, when Ivan III ordered the demolition of wooden buildings around the Kremlin, which constantly threatened it with fire, and allocate this place for trade. This is how the first name of the square appeared - Torg. True, the square was not called that way for long. 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 from the 17th century indicate that in those days the square was called Pozhar. It must be said that in Rus' one and the same object could have several names. So Krasnaya Square (from V.I. Dahl’s dictionary 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); 20th century - Mausoleum of V.I. Lenin and 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 ground floor (basement) and interconnected by galleries running around the central pillar of the building. The entire composition, unifying it, is dominated by a central octagonal pillar, which turns into tiers of semi-circular kokoshniks into a second, smaller octagon. The pillar is crowned with a tent with a decorative dome at the top; eight domes located at the corners of the star-shaped base of the tent have not survived.
The central tent is surrounded by eight pillars, of which four axial ones are of greater height, and four diagonal ones are of lesser height. All these pillars are topped with onion-shaped heads. The decorative decoration of the building amazes with its exceptional variety of shapes and details.
Two porches from the side of the Kremlin's Spasskaya Tower led to the terrace and from there to the bypass gallery. The transition from the dark low gallery to the rapidly rising white pillar-shaped church premises creates a sharp, exciting impression. The ancient colors of the temple on the outside represented a noble combination of natural colors, red brick and white stone from which the details were made. The temple received bright colors on the outside and paintings on the inside later, in the 17th century. The latest additions are the bell tower and the north-eastern aisle. The documents have preserved for us the names of the brilliant architects - Barma and Posnik.
SPASSKAYA TOWER (FROLOVSKAYA)
To strengthen the north-eastern part of the Kremlin, which was not protected by natural barriers, at the end of the 15th century two more towers with passage gates were erected - Frolovskaya and Nikolskaya. In 1491, on the spot where the main gate of the Kremlin was located in ancient times, the Frolov Tower was built.
Even in those days, the tower with the main gate of the Kremlin made an indelible impression with its slender proportions and the richness of the white stone decorations of the facades, consisting of turrets, carved pillars, columns, and figures of fantastic animals. At the corners of the quadrangle there were pyramids with gilded weather vanes.
Until the 17th century, the tower was decorated with white stone reliefs by V.D. Ermolina.
The tower had double walls made of large bricks (dimensions 31 x 14 x 18 cm); between the walls there was a staircase connecting all five tiers. The gate of this tower was protected by a diversion archer with two side bastions. The tower was connected to the archer by a wooden bridge.
The main gate of the Kremlin, i.e. the passage gate of the Frolov Tower, was especially revered by the people and was considered “holy”. It was forbidden to ride through them on horseback or to walk through them with your head covered. Through them the regiments marching in and out entered and exited. Kings and ambassadors were met at these gates.
Above the gates of the tower on the inside and outside of the white stone boards were carved inscriptions in Latin and Russian, telling the history of its construction: “John Vasilyevich, by the grace of God, Grand Duke of Vladimir, Moscow, Novgorod, Tver... and others and the sovereign of all Russia, in the 30th year of his reign, ordered the construction of these towers, and Peter Anthony Solarrius, a Mediolian, did it in the year of the Incarnation of the Lord 1491.” These were the first memorial plaques of our capital.
Since 1625, the Kremlin towers began to be built on. First of all, the main tower of the Kremlin, Frolovskaya, was built on.
The superstructure of the tower was in harmony with its ancient massif, with the entire appearance of the Kremlin, with St. Basil's Cathedral, which was erected in the middle of the 16th century in honor of the victory of Russian troops over the Kazan Khanate under Ivan the Terrible.
In the 50s of the 17th century, the coat of arms of the Russian Empire - a double-headed eagle - was erected on top of the tent of the main tower of the Kremlin. Later, similar coats of arms were installed on the highest towers - Nikolskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya.
In April 1658, a royal decree was issued to rename all Kremlin towers. The Frolovskaya Tower was renamed Spasskaya in honor of the icon of the Savior of Smolensk, placed above the passage gate of the tower from the side of Red Square, and in honor of the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands, located above the gate from the Kremlin.
In the 17th century, a Stone Bridge was built across the moat that ran along the Kremlin wall, on which books began to be sold. Along with books of spiritual content, “scriptures” of secular content were sold here; you could also buy tales of miracles, stories from the “Great Mirror” or handwritten “The Tale of Woe and Misfortune”, “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”, “Shemyakin’s Court”, etc. Here they also sold “printed sheets” - facial images of saints and royal persons. The book trade on the Kamenny or Spassky Bridge continued until 1812.
The main clock of the state was placed in the tented top of the tower, built by the Russian master Bazhen Ogurtsov. According to archival documents, the first clock on this tower was installed much earlier, back in 1491, immediately after its construction.
It must be said that the history of the Moscow Kremlin tower clock goes back centuries. The first tower clock was installed in 1404 in the courtyard of Grand Duke Vasily, son of Dmitry Donskoy. In the Trinity Chronicle it is written that “this watchmaker will be called the watchmaker, at every hour he strikes the bell with a hammer, measuring and calculating the hours of the night and day...”. The watch was made by master Lazar Serbin. This clock was the second in Europe in terms of the time of its construction, and only decades later tower clocks appeared in Veliky Novgorod, and then in Pskov.
The Spasskaya Tower has 10 floors. Its height to the shining ruby star is 67.3 meters, with the star - 71 meters.
TAINITSKAYA TOWER
In 1485, when Ivan III began construction in the Kremlin, the Italian architect Anton Fryazin laid the foundation for the first tower of the new Moscow Kremlin, which was named Tainitskaya. The chronicler describes this event as follows: “... a strelnitsa was laid on the river in Moscow at the Sheshkov Gate, and a cache was built under it, and it was made by Anton Fryazin.” These passage gates were built on the site of the old Cheshkov Gate of the Kremlin - from the time of Dmitry Donskoy.
As the chronicler correctly noted, during the construction of the tower, a well and a secret passage to the Moscow River were dug under it, supplying Muscovites with water in the event of a siege, hence its name. The Tainitskaya tower with a passage gate had a diversion archway connected to it by a stone bridge; inside the tower there was a huge room with powerful vaults. Judging by Godunov's plan of the Moscow Kremlin, drawn up in 1597, until the 17th century, at the top of the tower there was a hipped roof with a log superstructure, which housed a tent with a bell. The sentries on the tower watched Moskvorechye and in the event of a fire, they used special bell signals to let them know about it.
In 1670-1680, Russian craftsmen erected a stone top over the quadrangle of the tower - an open arched quadrangle, completed with a tetrahedral tent with an observation tower.
In 1770-1771, in connection with the construction of the Kremlin Palace according to the design of V.I. Bazhenov, the Taynitskaya tower was dismantled. In 1812, during the retreat of Napoleon's troops from the Kremlin, the tower was damaged by an explosion, but was soon rebuilt. In 1862, according to the design of one of the Campioni family of artists, the archery was also restored. In 1930-1933, the archer was dismantled again, at the same time the passage gates were blocked and the well was filled in.
The height of the Taynitskaya tower is 38.4 meters.
KUTAFYA TOWER (BRIDGEWAY)
The approaches to the Trinity Tower were protected by the Kutafya Tower, the only surviving Kremlin bridgehead. It was built in 1516 opposite the Trinity Tower, at the end of the Trinity Bridge, under the leadership of the Milanese architect Aleviz Fryazin. Low, surrounded by a moat and a river, with a single gate, which in moments of danger was tightly closed by the lifting part of the bridge, the tower was a formidable barrier for those besieging the fortress. It had plantar loopholes and machicolations.
In the 16th-17th centuries, the water level in the Neglinnaya River was raised high by dams, so that water surrounded the tower on all sides. Its original height above ground level was 18 meters. The only way to enter the tower from the city was via an inclined bridge. According to historians, the name “Kutafya” comes from the word “kut” - shelter, corner. The Kutafya Tower has never had a covering. In 1685, she was crowned with an openwork crown with white stone details.
In 1668, a through passage from the city to the Trinity Bridge was built through the tower, and the ancient side gates were blocked. A guardhouse was built on the south side.
In 1976-1977, the tower was restored, the guardhouse was dismantled, the side arched openings and the two-color painting of the walls were restored.
The height of the tower on the city side is 13.5 meters.
TRINITY TOWER
The most high tower The Kremlin - Troitskaya - was considered second in importance after Spasskaya. It was built in 1495. The massive quadrangle of the tower has six tiers, at its base there is a two-tiered basement with thick walls. All tiers are connected to each other by stairs. Initially the tower was called Epiphany, then Znamenskaya, Kuretnaya. By decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in 1658, it began to be called Trinity after the nearby Trinity Monastery Metochion.
In 1516, a stone bridge was built from the strelnitsa across the Neglinnaya River, connecting the Trinity Tower with the guard bridge tower - Kutafya. The gates of the tower served as passage to the chambers of the queen and princesses, to the court of the patriarch, through which the clergy came out to meet the king returning from campaigns.
In 1685, the tower was built with a multi-tiered top, reminiscent in its outline of the top of the Spasskaya Tower. It is decorated with decorative turrets with weather vanes and pointed arches. In 1686, a clock - chimes - was installed on the tower. After the fire in Moscow in 1812, the damaged chimes were no longer restored. In the 19th century, the tower housed the archives of the Ministry of the Imperial Household.
In 1937, a ruby star was installed on the Trinity Tower. The height of the tower to the star from the Kremlin side is 65.65 meters, with the star - 69.3 meters. From the side of the Alexander Garden, the height of the tower to the star is 76.35 meters, with the star - 80 meters.
BEKLEMISHEVSKAYA TOWER (MOSKVORETSKAYA)
In 1487, the Italian architect Marco Fryazin built a high round tower, Beklemishevskaya, in the south-eastern corner of the Kremlin. It is located near the current Moskvoretsky Bridge and is clearly visible from Red Square. This tower, due to its location, was the first to take the blows of the approaching enemies. Inside it was a hiding place - a well. It received its name from the courtyard of boyar Beklemishev, which was located in the 15th century next to the tower on the side of the Kremlin.
In the 17th century, the tower was built with a beautiful high tent, thanks to which it acquired slender architectural forms, losing its fortress-like severity. At the beginning of the 18th century, in connection with the Russian-Swedish war, bastions were built around it, hewn out, and loopholes were expanded to install more powerful guns. During the restoration work carried out on the tower in 1949, the loopholes were restored to their original form.
In 1917, during the battles for the Kremlin, the top of the tower was hit by a shell, but it was soon restored. This is one of the few Kremlin towers that has not undergone major reconstruction.
The height of the Beklemishevskaya, or Moskvoretskaya, tower is 46.2 meters.
WATER TOWER (SVIBLOVA)
In 1488, not far from the confluence of the Neglinnaya River with the Moscow River, on a place that, in the words of Peter I, “nature strongly strengthened,” a second round tower was erected - Sviblova, which also received its name from the boyar Sviblova. The tower had a well and a secret exit to the river.
In 1633, a water-lifting machine was installed in the Sviblova Tower, which pumped water from a well located at the bottom of the tower into a lead-lined reservoir located at the top of the tower. From there, water flowed through lead pipes into the water supply tent, which stood in the Kremlin near the Old Money Court and the Upper Embankment Garden. Through pipes laid in the ground, water spread throughout the Kremlin. As contemporaries testified, this machine, manufactured under the leadership of the Englishman Christopher Golovey, cost several barrels of gold. Since then, this tower began to be called Vodovzvodnaya.
In 1672-1686, the tower was built with a tiered top with a hipped roof. Dampness from the well and nearby rivers gradually destroyed the masonry of the walls. Architect V.I. Bazhenov proposed to demolish it and build again, but did not receive permission to do so. In 1805-1806, according to the project of I.V. Egot's tower was dismantled to its foundation and rebuilt. In 1812, during the retreat of Napoleonic troops from the Kremlin, the tower was blown up by the enemy, and in 1817-1819 it was restored under the leadership of O.I. Beauvais. The design of the tower includes classical and pseudo-Gothic details: the massive lower cylinder is rusticated, finished with decorative machiculars and cut through by large windows.
The top of the tower is crowned with a ruby star. It was installed in 1937 in honor of the twentieth anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution.
The height of the Vodovzvodnaya Tower to the star is 57.7 meters, with the star - 61.45 meters.
ANNUNATION TOWER
Along the banks of the Moscow River there are seven Kremlin towers connected by high battlements. Towers have different functional meanings - corner, drive-through, blind.
One of them is the Blagoveshchenskaya, blind, located between the Tainitskaya and Vodovzvodnaya towers, built in 1487-1488. Its name is connected, as legend testifies, with the miraculous icon of the Annunciation that was once placed here. The name of the tower can also be associated with the fact that in 1731 the Church of the Annunciation was attached to it, which was dismantled during Soviet times.
In the 17th century, the Portomoyny Gate was built next to the tower for the passage of palace laundresses to the Portomoyny raft on the Moscow River to rinse the ports - laundry. In 1831, the Portomoynye Gate was laid.
In the depths of the tower there was a deep underground. The height of the Annunciation Tower is 30.7 meters, with a weather vane - 32.45 meters.
1st UNNAMED TOWER
In the 1480s, the blind 1st Nameless Tower was built next to Taynitskaya. In the 15th - 16th centuries gunpowder was stored in it. This tower has a difficult fate. In 1547, during a fire, it was destroyed, and in the 17th century it was rebuilt. At the same time it was built with a tent tier. In 1770-1771, in connection with the construction of the Kremlin Palace of V.I. Bazhenov, the tower was dismantled, and when this construction was stopped, it was rebuilt.
In 1812, during Napoleon's invasion, the tower was blown up. It was restored in 1816 - 1835 under the supervision of O.I. Bove.
The height of the 1st Nameless Tower is 34.15 meters.
2nd UNNAMED TOWER
To the east of the 1st Nameless Tower is the 2nd Nameless Tower. In 1680, it was built with a tetrahedral tent topped with an observation tower. The tower is crowned with an octagonal tent with a weather vane.
In ancient times this tower had a gate. In 1771, in connection with the construction of the Kremlin Palace, it was demolished, and after construction ceased, it was rebuilt. Inside the quadrangle there are two tiers of vaulted rooms.
The height of the 2nd Nameless Tower is 30.2 meters.
COMMANDANT TOWER (KOLYMAZNAYA)
In 1495, a blank, strict tower was erected to the south of the Trinity Tower, which was built on two centuries later, in 1676 - 1686.
Previously, it was called Kolymazhnaya - from the Kolymazhny yard, located in the Kremlin. In the 19th century, when the commandant of Moscow settled in the Kremlin, not far from the tower in the Poteshny Palace, it began to be called “Komendantskaya”.
The height of the Commandant's Tower from the side of the Alexander Garden is 41.25 meters.
CONSTANTINO - ELENINSKAYA TOWER (TIMOFEEVSKAYA)
The passage Timofeevskaya Tower was built in 1490 on the site where the tower of the white-stone Kremlin from the time of Dmitry Donskoy previously stood. The tower served for the passage of the townspeople to the Kremlin, and regiments passed through it. Through the ancient gates of this tower in 1380 Dmitry Donskoy left the Kremlin, heading to the Kulikovo field.
The need to build a new tower in the same place was determined by the fact that on this side of the Kremlin there were no natural barriers in case of an enemy attack; the place was open and vulnerable to defense. New tower protected Velikiy Posad, the entrances to the pier on the Moscow River from the nearby streets - Velikaya and Varvarskaya. It had a powerful diversion arch, a drawbridge and passage gates to the Kremlin.
The tower received its name in the 17th century from the Church of Constantine and Helena, which stood nearby in the Kremlin.
In 1680, a slender hipped roof was erected over the tower on an arched quadrangular base. At the same time, the tower gates were closed, and the outlet archway was turned into a dungeon. In 1707, by order of Peter I, loopholes were cleared out on the Konstantino-Eleninskaya Tower to install cannons. In the 18th - early 19th centuries, the bridge and diversion arrow were dismantled.
The height of the Konstantino-Eleninskaya Tower is 36.8 meters.
WEAPONS TOWER (STABLE)
Between the Borovitskaya and Commandant towers, from the side of the current Alexander Garden, there is the Armory Tower, formerly called the Konyushennaya Tower. It was built in 1493-1495 next to the royal stable yard. The name “Armory” tower received in 1851, when the building of the Armory Chamber was built on the territory of the Kremlin.
The tower was built in 1676-1686. Its height is 32.65 meters.
BOROVITSKAYA TOWER (PREDTECHENSKAYA)
In the 90s of the 15th century, work on the construction of the Kremlin fortress was headed by Pietro Antonino Solari. Written sources note that it was at this time that the Kremlin acquired a grand scale and majestic severity.
On the site of the oldest exit from the Kremlin, on its western side, the Borovitskaya Tower passage was founded in 1490. From its gates there were convenient exits to the Neglinnaya River. Basically, the Borovitskaya tower was used for the household needs of the Zhitny and Konyushenny courtyards, which were located nearby. Its passage gates were like the “back” gates of the Kremlin.
The name of the tower reminds us that once here, on the Kremlin hill, a dense forest rustled. Some researchers associate the name of the tower with the fact that during the time of Dmitry Donskoy, this section of the white-stone Kremlin was built by residents of Borovsk, a large shopping center of that time.
In the 15th century, the quadrangle of the tower was covered with a wooden tent; the tower was connected by a bridge to the other bank of the Neglinnaya River. In the 17th century, 1666-1680, the powerful quadrangle of the tower was built on with three tetrahedrons decreasing upward, which gave it a pyramidal shape. The top of the tower was crowned with an open octagon and a high stone tent.
Simultaneously with the superstructure of the stepped top of the Borovitskaya tower, a diversion arrow was attached to its side, which still exists today. On the sides of the passage gates you can see holes in the shape of keyholes, through which ancient times passed the chains of the drawbridge across the Neglinnaya River. The vertical grooves for the grating - gers, which protected the entrance to the gate - have also been preserved.
In 1658, by royal decree, the Borovitskaya Tower was renamed the Predtechenskaya Tower, after the name of the church that stood nearby, but the new name did not take root. In the 18th century, white stone pseudo-Gothic details were introduced into the decor of the tower.
In 1812, during the explosion of the neighboring Vodovzvodnaya tower by retreating French troops, the Borovitskaya tower was also damaged - the top of its tent fell. In 1816-1819, the tower was repaired under the leadership of O. I. Bove. In 1821, when the Neglinnaya River was enclosed in a pipe, the Borovitsky Bridge was broken. In 1048, the Borovitskaya tower was moved to the altar of the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist near Bor.
A ruby star, installed in 1937, burns on the tower.
The height of the Borovitskaya tower to the star is 50.7 meters, with the star - 54.05 meters.
ROYAL TOWER
Between the Spasskaya and Nabatnaya towers, right on the Kremlin wall, there is a small tower - the Tsarskaya. In ancient times, judging by the plans of Moscow, there was a tetrahedral wooden tower in this place. Tradition says that from this tower, Tsar Ivan the Terrible watched from the walls of the Kremlin the events taking place on Red Square.
In 1680, on the site of a tower on the Kremlin wall, this small, unusual stone beauty tower, reminiscent of a tower, was built. An elegant octagonal tent, topped with a gilded weather vane, rests on four jug-shaped pillars. It once housed the bells of the Kremlin fire service. The tower has survived to this day without any major changes. And its name, apparently, retained the echo of an ancient legend.
The height of the tower with a weather vane is 16.7 meters.
SENATE TOWER
It was built in 1491 on Red Square, between the Frolovskaya and Nikolskaya towers. Architect - Pietro Antonino Solari. Until the end of the 16th-2nd centuries, it was nameless, and only after the completion of the construction of the building for the Senate in the Kremlin (1790, architect M.F. Kazakov) it began to be called Senate.
Inside the main volume of the tower there are three tiers of vaulted rooms. In 1680, the blank, square tower was built with a stone tent, crowned with a gilded weather vane.
In 1918, with the participation of V.I. Lenin, a plaque by sculptor S.T. Konenkov “To those who fell in the struggle for peace and brotherhood of peoples” was installed on the Senate Tower, which is now in the Museum of the USSR Revolution.
The height of the tower is 34.3 meters.
CORNER ARSENAL TOWER (SOBAKINA)
This is the third corner tower of the Kremlin. It was built in 1492 by the architect Pietro Antonio Solari. It is the most monumental of the defensive structures. The walls of the lower massif are divided into 16 sides, the base is greatly expanded, the thickness of the walls is 4 meters. In the deep basement of the tower, accessed by an internal staircase, there is a spring - a well with clean, clear water, which has survived to this day. The spring, enclosed in a pine frame, was unusually clean and abundant, and when in 1894 they decided to pump out this water, it, as Kremlin historian S.P. Bartenyev wrote, arrived “every five minutes by 2 and a half inches.”
The influx of water, as engineers calculated, was about 10-15 liters per second. But the water did not cause any harm to either the tower itself or the archives stored inside it. In ancient times, there was a secret passage from the Corner Arsenal Tower to the Neglinnaya River. IN XV-XVI centuries the tower was strengthened with an additional wall that went around it in a semicircle.
The tower received its original name - Sobakina - from the nearby courtyard of the boyar Sobakin, and after the construction of the Arsenal in the 18th century it began to be called the Corner Arsenalnaya. In 1672-1686, an octagonal tent was erected over it, which ends in an openwork octagon with a tent and a weather vane. In 1894, the interior of the tower was redesigned for the Moscow provincial archive.
In 1812, when the French retreating from Moscow were blowing up Kremlin monuments, the blast wave tore off the top tent with a tower from the Corner Arsenal Tower, its mass cracked. The tower was restored during Soviet times, in 1946-1957.
Its height from the side of the Alexander Garden is 60.2 meters.
ALARM TOWER
The blank Alarm Tower was built in 1495 between two others - the Tsar's and Konstantino-Eleninskaya. Inside it is divided into two tiers. Its lower tier is a complex multi-chamber room connected to the running part of the walls by stairs. In 1676-1686, a hipped tetrahedral top was added.
This tower housed the bells of the Spassky Alarm, the Kremlin's fire service. The alarm bell was cast by master Ivan Motorin, as the inscription reads: “On the 6th day of July 1714, this alarm bell was cast from an old alarm bell, which crashed from the Kremlin of the city to the Spassky Gate. It weighs 150 pounds.”
The events of the Plague Riot of 1771 are associated with the alarm bell, when the rebel Muscovites sounded the alarm, calling the people.
The uprising was suppressed, and Catherine II ordered the tongue of the “troublemaker-bell” to be torn out. Without a tongue, the bell hung on the tower for more than 30 years. In 1803 it was removed and transferred to the Arsenal, and in 1851 it entered the Armory, where it is kept to this day.
The height of the Alarm Tower is 38 meters.
MEDIUM ARSENAL TOWER (FACETED)
Built in 1493-1495 on the site corner tower Kremlin from the time of Dmitry Donskoy. The ancient tower stood quite high on solid ground, which made it less susceptible to destruction than others. In the 15th-16th centuries, there were dams near the newly erected tower on the Neglinnaya River.
At the beginning of the 18th century, during the construction of the Arsenal building, the tower received its current name. The outer edge of the tower is divided by two flat vertical niches. The top of the quadrangular volume ends with machicolations and a parapet with flies. Inside, the tower has three tiers, covered with cylindrical vaults, which are connected by stairs.
In 1680 the tower was built on. It is crowned by a see-through observation tower with a tent.
In 1812, according to the design of O. I. Bove, a grotto was built at the foot of the tower - one of the attractions of the Alexander Garden.
The height of the tower is 38.9 meters.
NIKOLSKAYA TOWER
On the northern side of the Kremlin, simultaneously with the Spasskaya Tower, Pietro Antonino Solari built the Nikolskaya Tower in 1491. Its powerful quadrangle contained a passage gate and a diversion arch with a drawbridge.
The name of the tower is associated with the icon of St. Nicholas, which was installed above the passage gate of the diversion arch. According to the existing tradition, controversial issues were resolved with this icon. People who usually entered through the gates of the Nikolskaya Tower were heading to the boyar and monastery farmsteads located in the Kremlin.
In 1612, during the fight against the Polish-gentry invaders, the people's militia led by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin fought through these gates and liberated the Kremlin.
In ancient times, as documents show, there was also a clock on this tower. In 1780, the Nikolskaya Tower was built on and completed with a low tent. In 1806, the architect I. L. Ruska erected an octagon with lacy white stone details in the Gothic style and a tent over the quadrangle of the tower. In 1812, during the invasion of French troops, part of the quadrangle and the tower's tent were destroyed. In 1816-1819, at the suggestion of F.K. Sokolov, the tent was made of iron on a frame, and four white stone turrets were placed at the corners of the tower.
In the days of October 1917, the Nikolskaya Tower was heavily damaged by artillery shelling, but already in 1918, on the orders of V.I. Lenin, it was restored.
The slender tent of the tower is crowned with a ruby star. The height to the star is 67.1 meters, with the star - 70.4 meters.
PETROVSKAYA TOWER (UGRESHSKAYA)
From century to century, the military-defensive system of the Kremlin fortress was improved, its combat qualities increased, and in accordance with the development of artillery, the architecture of the fortress structures changed.
The advent of artillery was the greatest invention of the Middle Ages. Gunpowder, according to Engels, “made a revolution in the entire military affairs.” Cannons become the main means of destroying fortresses and almost completely replace throwing technology. At this time, natural barriers are not a big obstacle to the offensive. The fortresses are being stormed from all sides. As a result, their defenders strive for uniform placement of towers along the entire perimeter of the fortress walls.
The distance between the towers was determined by the range of the weapon. Where the wall was in greater danger, the towers became crowded. So, on the southern side of the Kremlin, between the Tainitskaya and Beklemishevskaya towers, three more towers are grouped in a relatively small area. Initially they were all nameless. Later, one of them, standing next to Beklemishevskaya, received the name Petrovskaya - from the church of Metropolitan Peter, which was located in the courtyard of the Ugreshsky Monastery, located in the Kremlin, next to the tower. In 1676-1686 the tower was built on.
In 1771, in connection with the construction of the Kremlin Palace under the leadership of V.I. Bazhenov, the tower, the Church of Metropolitan Peter and the courtyard of the Ugreshsky Monastery were dismantled.
In 1783 the tower was restored. In 1812, it was destroyed by the explosion of a gunpowder charge planted in it by the French. In 1818, the tower was restored again, for the third time, under the leadership of the architect O. I. Bove.
Petrovskaya Tower, erected “for best view and strength”, served the needs of the Kremlin gardeners.
The height of the tower is 27.15 meters.
CONCLUSION
All construction of the period XIII-XVI centuries. marked by the mastery by Russian architecture of the high crafts of the Renaissance. It must be said, however, that this influence did not absorb the national forms of Russian architecture, it only improved, enriched them, strengthened their constructive and architectural logic and contributed to the revival of high construction technology in Rus'. The best monument of this era can be considered the Moscow Kremlin, which, despite all subsequent changes, retained its historically established spatial composition. The triangle of walls with the cathedral and palace group of buildings in the center, crowned with a vertical pillar, has gone through all stages of gradual development from the time of Ivan Kalita to the present day. Therefore, the Moscow Kremlin is a deeply national Russian work, despite the widespread involvement of foreign architects in the role of performers of various parts of this wonderful ensemble.
LIST OF USED LITERATURES
- "Russian architecture". M.I. Ryazin. Publishing house of the Academy of Architecture of the USSR. Moscow 1947
- "Around the Kremlin." A short guide. Moscow worker 1964
- Perkhavko V.B. Moscow merchant-builders of the 15th century. Domestic history 1997. N4
- Encyclopedia "Cities of Russia". Moscow. Publishing house "Big Russian Encyclopedia" 1998
5. Computer network "Internet"
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In 1367, under Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy, the wooden walls of the Kremlin were replaced by walls and towers made of local white stone (according to archeology, the towers and the most important parts of the wall were stone, from where there was the greatest danger of an assault). From this period, the name “White Stone Moscow” is often found in chronicles.
Alas, the strength of the material turned out to be insufficient and the structures “floated”. During the restoration of the Kremlin walls and towers in 1946-1950 and in 1974-1978, white stone blocks used as backfilling were discovered inside their brickwork, in the lower parts and foundations. It is possible that these are the remains of the white stone walls of the Kremlin from the time of Dmitry Donskoy.
Moscow Kremlin under Dmitry Donskoy (defense of Moscow from Tokhtamysh in 1382).
Painting by A. M. Vasnetsov
In 1485-95, under Ivan III, the Kremlin fortifications were rebuilt. For example, the “Port Wash Gate” was laid on the side of the Moscow River.
In 1508-16, a ditch was dug on the site of modern Red Square, into which water came from the Neglinnaya River. The Kremlin becomes an impregnable fortress, surrounded by water on all sides.
In the second half of the 15th century, the Moscow Kremlin was rebuilt under the leadership of Italian architects, in particular Pietro Antonio Solari (Castello Sforzesco). The construction of the Kremlin, carried out on a huge scale, used the achievements of both Russian and Italian military engineering. Burnt brick was chosen as the main material for construction. Many buildings, including churches, were designed and erected by Italian craftsmen.
According to the architects' plans, the center of the Kremlin became Cathedral Square with the Assumption Cathedral (1475-79), the Annunciation Cathedral (1484-89), the Faceted Chamber (1487-91), and the Archangel Cathedral (1505-08) located on it - (the tomb of Russian princes and tsars ) and the Ivan the Great Bell Tower. Unlike the main buildings of the Kremlin, the Annunciation Cathedral and the Church of the Deposition of the Robe (1484-86), built by Russian craftsmen, are much more closely associated with old Russian traditions.
View of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower and the Archangel Cathedral
Giacomo Quarenghi.
View of the Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin. 1797.
Hermitage
Assumption Cathedral
Blagoveshchensky cathedral
Faceted Chamber
Cathedral of the Archangel
Terem Palace, view from Mokhovaya street
In the 17th-19th centuries, active construction of secular buildings was underway, and the Kremlin ensemble received its logical conclusion.
In 1635-36, the Terem Palace was built, adjacent to the Palace of Facets.
In the 17th century, the Kremlin towers received tiered and hipped roofs, acquiring a modern appearance.
State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve
MOSCOW KREMLIN
The Moscow Kremlin is dear to the heart of every Russian. Each building here is a page of history. Once its walls were the borders of Moscow, now it is the heart of the capital.
Kremlin embankment
The history of the Moscow Kremlin is inextricably linked with the life of the Russian state.
This majestic architectural complex rises on Borovitsky Hill above the Moscow River. The walls of the Kremlin, their height, narrow loopholes and the strict outline of the towers even today indicate that this is, first of all, a fortress. Their harsh power up close leaves an indelible impression.
The territory of the Kremlin today occupies 27.5 hectares. Its southern side faces the river, the eastern side faces Red Square, and the northwestern side faces the Alexander Garden.
Everything here breathes history, everything preserves the memory of ancient, long-standing and not so distant events, but no less memorable. Ancient cathedrals, squares, towers; cannons and bells; the Presidential residence, world-famous museums and cozy green squares - everything is concentrated in this relatively small area.
The Kremlin under Ivan Kalita
History of the Moscow Kremlin. Yury Dolgoruky.
The history of the Moscow Kremlin began in the 12th century. Moscow of those times was a small settlement that protected the road to the city of Vladimir. The first fortress-kremlin (“kremnos” in Greek means “rock”) was wooden and built by Yuri Dolgoruky in 1156. A fortress located on a beautiful forest covered high hill, protected the mouths of the navigable Vskhodnya and Yauza, which was its strategic importance. Initially, the territory of the Kremlin was very small, occupying 3-4 hectares and was surrounded not only by wooden walls, but by earthen ramparts and ditches.
History of the Kremlin in Moscow. Ivan Kalita.
Moscow received its further development under the leadership of Grand Duke Ivan Kalita in the first half of the 14th century. He built the first Moscow stone churches: the Assumption (1327), the Church of St. John the Ladder (1329) and the Archangel Cathedral (1333). The square formed by these cathedrals was called Cathedral Square. He also built the Church of the Savior on Bor.
History of the Kremlin in Moscow. Dmitry Donskoy.
The further history of the Moscow Kremlin was already written by Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy. Under him, the oak Kremlin walls were replaced with white stone ones (1366), and the area enclosed by them increased significantly, reaching the size of the modern Kremlin.
In 1365, Metropolitan Alexy founded the Chudov Monastery, and on the site where the Grand Kremlin Palace now stands, the Grand Duke's tower was built. At this palace in 1393, the widow of Dmitry Donskoy founded the stone Church of the Nativity of the Virgin. Today its fragments are the remains of the most ancient Kremlin stone temple.
The Kremlin during the time of Dmitry Donskoy
History of the Moscow Kremlin. Ivan III.
The 15th century brought liberation from the Golden Horde to the Moscow state. The country developed, rebuilt, and established economic ties with Europe. Stone or brick buildings were also built in the Kremlin, including residential chambers.
Ivan III undertook a radical reconstruction of his residence. To do this, he invited Italian architects. Under their leadership, new grandiose Kremlin walls and towers are being built that meet modern European fortification requirements.
The dilapidated Assumption Cathedral of Ivan Kalita was demolished and in its place Aristotle Fioravanti began construction of the five-domed Assumption Cathedral in 1474. In 1484, Pskov craftsmen laid the foundations of the grand ducal Annunciation Church and the Church of the Deposition of Robes. The ancient Cathedral Square takes on a look close to its modern one.
Cathedral Square. year 2013.
Instead of the wooden grand ducal mansion, a stone palace is being erected. In the 16th century, it was unfortunately destroyed, but the Chamber of Facets (1487), which has survived to this day, can give some idea of it. In 1505, construction began on the Archangel Cathedral - the tomb of the Moscow princes. The 16th century was the time of construction of the bell tower of Ivan the Great, and other churches, and administrative buildings - for example, Prikazov on Ivanovskaya Square.
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