Back in 1147, Yuri Dolgoruky, Prince of Kiev and Rostov-Suzdal, founded Moscow. The city was surrounded by wooden walls - this is how the construction of the Kremlin, the future main attraction of Moscow, began. Also, a shaft 8 meters high was built around the wall.
Unfortunately, the Moscow Kremlin, together with the city itself, did not last long - in the winter of 1237, Batu Khan plundered and burned all the wooden buildings.
But Moscow is being rebuilt, and along with it, its fortress. Ivan Kalita in 1339-1340 erected powerful defensive fortifications, and in the Kremlin itself he built white-stone cathedrals, the chambers of princes and his own mansions. Moscow becomes the main city among other Russian cities.
After 20 years, Prince Dmitry Donskoy encloses the fortress with white stone walls. From here came the famous expression - "Moscow white stone."
By the beginning of the 16th century, the Kremlin was not directly recognizable - Prince Ivan III laid the foundations of the new Kremlin - built the famous towers, erected the Assumption, Annunciation and Archangel Cathedrals. Finally, he built himself new magnificent chambers. Thanks to the efforts of Russian and Italian workers, the most formidable and powerful fortress appeared in Europe - the Moscow Kremlin. In addition, it was not made of white stone - Ivan IV the Terrible built brick walls making the Kremlin the famous red color.
During the Time of Troubles, the history of Moscow, and with it the history of the Kremlin, could have ended. The Poles captured the city and barricaded themselves in the Kremlin. The royal treasury was devastated, buildings were burned, and churches were defiled.
But the enemy was driven out, and the Kremlin again began to be built anew. By the 17th century, it became the place where kings and future emperors sat, and by the 18th century, European ideas. In the Kremlin were erected Winter Palace, the Armory Chamber, the building of the Apartments, which formed the new Palace Square. And although the capital of Russia was moved to St. Petersburg, the Moscow Kremlin still remained almost the main attraction of the country.
In 1917 thunder struck - the Great October Revolution captured Russia. The first Soviet government met in the Kremlin, and it was closed to the public. The monasteries were demolished and a new building, the Military School, was built in their place.
With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Kremlin disappeared from all enemy maps and radars - the main fortress of the country was hidden with the help of huge shields, the stars were turned off, and the entire structure was covered with dark paint. Only after 4 years will it shine again with its lights.
In 10 years, in 1955, the Kremlin will be opened again for the visit. In another 6 years, the State Kremlin Palace will be built there. And in 1991 - the museum-reserve "Moscow Kremlin".
Today, the Kremlin, along with Red Square, are the main places for tourists to visit. In addition, the President of the Russian Federation works and lives in it.
The Kremlin is not a unique building, almost every city has its own Kremlin, because this word means “fortress, city”. Novgorod, Pskov, Kazan and many others. But it was the Moscow Kremlin that became the symbol of Russia and one of the most picturesque and colorful buildings in its history.
The Moscow Kremlin is the main attraction of the city. Getting to it is easy enough. There are several metro stations, leaving which you can walk to the Kremlin. The Alexandrovsky Garden station will take you, as you can easily guess, straight to the Alexander Garden. There you will already see the Kutafya Tower, where they sell tickets to the Kremlin and the Armory. You can also go to the metro station. Library them. IN AND. Lenin. In this case, the Kutafya tower will be visible across the road. The stations Ploshchad Revolyutsii and Kitay-gorod will take you to Red Square, only from different sides. The first is from the side of the State Historical Museum, the second is from the side. You can also get off at Okhotny Ryad - if you want to take a walk along the shopping row of the same name. Just be prepared for unusual prices)).
About prices in the Kremlin museums. Visiting the Kremlin is not a cheap pleasure. An hour and a half visit to - will cost 700 rubles, - 500 rubles, a walk around with an inspection - 500 rubles. For more information about museums and some of the nuances about visiting them, which you should know, see the links.
The Kremlin is called not only walls with towers, as some people think, but everything that is located inside it. Outside the walls, on the ground of the Moscow Kremlin, there are cathedrals and squares, palaces and museums. This summer, the Kremlin Regiment shows its skills on Cathedral Square every Saturday at 12:00. If I manage to escape to the Kremlin, I will write about it.
History of the Moscow Kremlin.
The word "Kremlin" is very ancient. The Kremlin or citadel in Rus' was called the fortified part in the center of the city, in other words, the fortress. Times were different in the old days. It happened that Russian cities were attacked by countless enemy forces. It was then that the inhabitants of the city gathered under the protection of their Kremlin. Old and young hid behind its powerful walls, and those who could hold weapons in their hands defended themselves from enemies from the walls of the Kremlin.
The first settlement on the site of the Kremlin appeared about 4,000 years ago. This has been established by archaeologists. Fragments of clay pots, stone axes and flint arrowheads were found here. These things were once used by ancient settlers.
The place where the Kremlin was built was not chosen by chance. The Kremlin was built on a high hill, surrounded on both sides by rivers: the Moskva River and the Neglinnaya. high location the Kremlin made it possible to notice enemies from a greater distance, and the rivers served as a natural barrier on their way.
Initially, the Kremlin was wooden. An earthen rampart was poured around its walls for greater reliability. The remains of these fortifications were discovered during construction work in our time.
It is known that the first wooden walls on the site of the Kremlin were built in 1156 by order of Prince Yuri Dolgoruky. These data are preserved in ancient chronicles. At the beginning of the 14th century, Ivan Kalita began to rule the city. Kalita in ancient Rus' called a money bag. The prince was so nicknamed because he accumulated great wealth and always carried a small bag of money with him. Prince Kalita decided to decorate and fortify his city. He ordered the Kremlin to build new walls. They were cut down from strong oak trunks, so thick that they could not be wrapped around with hands.
Under the next ruler of Moscow, Dmitry Donskoy, the Kremlin was built other walls - stone. From all over the district, stone craftsmen were gathered to Moscow. And in 1367. they set to work. People worked without interruption, and soon Borovitsky Hill was surrounded by a powerful stone wall, 2 or even 3 meters thick. It was built from limestone, which was mined in quarries near Moscow near the village of Myachkovo. The Kremlin so impressed contemporaries with the beauty of its white walls that since then Moscow has been called white stone.
Prince Dmitry was a very brave man. He always fought in the forefront and it was he who led the fight against the conquerors from the Golden Horde. In 1380, his army completely defeated the army of Khan Mamai on the Kulikovo field, which is not far from the Don River. This battle was nicknamed Kulikovo, and the prince has since received the nickname Donskoy.
The white-stone Kremlin stood for more than 100 years. During this time, a lot has changed. Russian lands united into one strong state. Moscow became its capital. It happened under the Moscow Prince Ivan III. Since then, he began to be called the Grand Duke of All Rus', and historians call him "the collector of the Russian land."
Ivan III gathered the best Russian masters and invited Aristotle Fearovanti, Antonio Solario and other famous architects from distant Italy. And now, under the guidance of Italian architects, new construction began on Borovitsky Hill. In order not to leave the city without a fortress, the builders erected a new Kremlin in parts: they dismantled a section of the old white stone wall and in its place quickly built a new one - of brick. There was quite a lot of clay suitable for its manufacture in the vicinity of Moscow. However, clay is a soft material. To make the brick hard, it was fired in special furnaces.
During the years of construction, Russian masters stopped treating Italian architects as strangers, and even their names were remade in the Russian way. So Antonio became Anton, and the nickname Fryazin replaced the complex Italian surname. Our ancestors called overseas lands Fryazhsky, and those who came from there - Fryazins.
built new Kremlin 10 years. The fortress was protected from two sides by rivers, and at the beginning of the 16th century. a wide ditch was dug on the third side of the Kremlin. He connected two rivers. Now the Kremlin was protected from all sides by water barriers. erected one after another, equipped with their diversion archers for greater defense. Along with the renewal of the fortress walls, the construction of such well-known ones as Uspensky, Arkhangelsk and Blagoveshchensky took place.
After the crowning of the Romanovs, the construction of the Kremlin went at an accelerated pace. The Filaret belfry was built next to the bell tower of Ivan the Great, Teremnaya, Poteshny palaces, the Patriarch's chambers and the Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles. Under Peter I, the building of the Arsenal was erected. But after the transfer of the capital to St. Petersburg, they stopped building new buildings.
During the reign of Catherine II, a number of ancient buildings and part of south wall for the construction of a new palace. But the work was canceled soon after. official version due to lack of funding, unofficially - because of the negative opinion of the public. In 1776-87. Senate building was built
During the invasion of Napoleon, the Kremlin suffered enormous damage. Churches were desecrated, looted, and part of the walls, towers and buildings were blown up during the retreat. In 1816-19. restoration work was carried out in the Kremlin. By 1917 There were 31 temples in the Kremlin.
During the October Revolution, the Kremlin is bombed. In 1918, the government of the RSFSR moved to the Senate building. Under Soviet rule, the Kremlin Palace of Congresses was built on the territory of the Kremlin, stars were installed on the towers, placed on pedestals, and the walls and structures of the Kremlin were repeatedly restored.
04/21/2012 admin Tags: ,How to get to the Kremlin
Dear readers! This article was written in 2012. We constantly monitor the changing situation in the Kremlin and, if necessary, edit the text. Last update made in March 2019. The algorithm for purchasing tickets and entering the Kremlin has remained the same.
In order to be sure to buy tickets to the Armory, we advise you to purchase them online on the website of the Moscow Kremlin.
For those who want to save themselves from reading a tedious 1700-word article and quickly buy tickets and a tour of the Kremlin, I offer an alternative.
How to get to the Kremlin
Be careful! Many sites are misleading and misrepresenting prices for tickets to the Kremlin. Ticket prices have gone up since February 2019.
Summary of the article
- How to get to the Kremlin.
- Where to buy tickets to the Kremlin
- Where are the cash desks of the Kremlin
- Tickets to the Kremlin. How much are?
- Excursions to the Kremlin
All the aspirations of those wishing to get acquainted with cultural heritage capitals are directed to the Kremlin. What you need to know in order to view all three Kremlin components ( , ; ; ) with the least loss?
Part one. For Russian and Russian-speaking tourists.
How to get to the Kremlin. For visitors
Attention! With the onset of the warm season (since mid-April), the queues for tickets to the Kremlin have increased! On weekends, be prepared to spend 30 minutes or more at the box office! IN summer time on Saturdays, due to the queue at the cashier lined up long before its opening by 9 o'clock in the morning there may already be a solid tail.
- The day off is Thursday. On holidays, the Kremlin is usually open. But there are solemn events, meetings of heads of foreign states, inaugurations again. In such exceptional cases, it is closed.
- works on sessions. There are four of them - at 10, 12, 14.30 and at 16.30
– Opening hours of the Moscow Kremlin Museum-Reserve from 10 am to 5 pm winter time, from 9.30 to 18 in the summer (from mid-May to mid-September). closes at 18:00. open from 10:00 to 18:00, lunch break: from 13:00 to 14:00.
The Borovitsky gates of the Kremlin are designed for vehicles. Entrance to the Kremlin to the left of the gate through the arch.
To get to the Borovitsky Gates, you need to go from the ticket office along the road, it is shown in the picture. If you stand facing the cash registers, then to the right. The Borovitsky Gates of the Kremlin are NOT visible from the box office
In the top photo, the Borovitskaya Tower is barely visible in the distance to the left. On the way to the Borovitskaya Tower, you will pass by the recently erected monument to Emperor Alexander I.
The monument to Tsar Alexander I is installed in the Alexander Garden between the Commandant (pictured) and the Armory towers
At the entrance to the Borovitsky Gates, you need to present an entrance ticket to the Kremlin or the Armory and go through security.
Officers at the entrance to the Kremlin through the Borovitsky Gates will ask you to open your bags and put all the contents of your pockets on the table. Be sure to inquire about the availability of tickets.
You will be asked to show your ticket either in the building (ticket to visit the Armory) or at the very end of the long building of the Armory. There you need to present a ticket to the territory of the Kremlin.
You can enter the Kremlin through the Trinity Gate
The Trinity Gate is located in the Alexander Garden, in the Trinity Tower, which is connected by a bridge to the Kutafya Tower. Ticket control and screening is carried out at the Kutafya Tower.
In the photo Kutafya tower (left), Trinity tower (right). They are connected by the Trinity Bridge. After being screened by officers of the commandant's office of the Kremlin (a procedure similar to that at an airport), visitors enter the Kremlin through the Trinity Gate. Metal detectors are very sensitive. Be prepared to put all the change out of your pockets.
Below, at the stairs, you need to present a ticket to the territory of the Kremlin or the Armory.
At the bottom of the stairs there is a lone ticket inspector who checks if those who suffer from visiting the Kremlin have them. (Shot on a weekday afternoon in the fall).
Here are diagrams to illustrate.
- You can’t enter the Kremlin with large bags and backpacks, suitcases. These things are left in the storage room near the Kutafya Tower of the Kremlin. (Water will not be taken to the storage room, take bottles with you to the Kremlin). Ladies' bags, which are sometimes quite large, can be carried. It is forbidden to bring ANY weapons into the Kremlin, including gas cartridges and penknives. Professional photo and video shooting is prohibited on the territory of the Kremlin.
Entrance to the Kremlin with luggage - bags and backpacks
ENTRY TO THE KREMLIN WITH BACKPACKS is either allowed or prohibited. It is better to take a voluminous backpack to the storage room under the Kutafya Tower. It works from 10:00 to 18:00. Lunch breaks are from 11:00 to 11:30 and from 15:30 to 16:00.
Luggage storage - to the left of the stairs. Above is the Kutafya tower.
You can learn more about the operation of the left-luggage office on the official website of the Kremlin. http://www.kreml.ru/visit-to-kremlin/ticket-prices/kamera-khraneniya1/
When is the best time to visit the Kremlin
If you want to see the Kremlin in the morning and buy tickets for a 10-hour show (the ticket office of the museum opens half an hour before the opening of the Kremlin), it is better to come early in the summer. On weekday mornings, at 9.30, the line is usually small. Sometimes it doesn't exist at all. On weekends, people gather early in the morning. In the summer, at 11 o'clock, a decent crowd is observed at the cash desks of the Kremlin. I remind you again that Saturdays in summer when the ceremony of divorce of the guard of honor is held, the queue at the cashier is very long even in the morning .
Not the longest queue at the cash desk of the Moscow Kremlin museums At the entrance to the museum, you will be subjected to a serious search, which is carried out by the Commandant's Office of the Kremlin, and passing through very sensitive metal detectors. The queue at the Borovitsky Gate takes place in the morning: from 10 to 11 and around 12 and 14 hours - people accumulate to get to the Armory at 12 or 14.30 and at
The best time to see the Kremlin on your own
General advice. In the warm season of the weekend and holiday it is better to come to the cash desks of the Kremlin early. But if possible, go to the Kremlin in WEEKDAY day. Most best time to visit the Kremlin - the second half of the day. Around 2 pm. In the morning, the Kremlin is visited by schoolchildren excursion groups. Plan to visit the Armory at 16.30. In the second half weekday there is a high probability that you will fall into the Diamond Fund.
It often happens that all tickets in already sold. Then the following sign hangs at the box office:
Tickets for evening sessions at the box office run out very quickly! The ideal option is to go to the Kremlin ticket office in the Alexander Garden by 14 o'clock. Buy a ticket to visit the territory of the Kremlin. Maybe they will even sell you a ticket to the Armory and the Diamond Fund. Although, until recently, tickets to the Armory were sold only 40 minutes before the start of the session.
We will tell about separately.
Dear Sirs, if you still have questions on the topic “How to get to the Kremlin”, please re-read the article again and take a look at the comments. They have answers to many questions!
I remind you that some frequently asked questions have answers in a separate publication (comments to it are still open, if you have any questions - ask, we will try to answer). I hope that the article will help you get to the Kremlin.
Dear Muscovites and guests of the capital! Before you get to the Kremlin, we strongly recommend that you solve technical issues using, excuse me, the toilet in the Alexander Garden. On the territory of the Kremlin there is a nanotechnological toilet with an eternal queue. There is also a toilet in the building of the Armory, but from the street, without a ticket to it, you will not get there. Therefore, we repeat once again - the optimal solution technical problems located in the Alexander Garden opposite the Kremlin ticket office.
We talked about the rules for passing inspection at the entrance to the Kremlin in a publication.
We recommend you a service where in a couple of minutes you can book any excursion to the Kremlin. We offer two of them:
Our travel articles
There are additional publications to this article, where we talked in detail about
,
And
.
Author's excursions
In 2/pol. 15th c. 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. joins the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates with lands along the entire course of the Volga. The borders of Russia reach the Urals.
The socio-political system of the country is also changing - it acquires the features of a single centralized state, headed by an all-powerful hereditary monarch. The central government influences all spheres of the country's life - military, judicial, cultural, etc.
The idea “Moscow is the third Rome” arises, which asserted the succession of the power of the Moscow princes from the Byzantine emperors and was designed to strengthen the autocracy. The unification of all northeastern Russian lands within the framework of a single state led to extensive construction activity. Particular attention was paid to Moscow, which attracted numerous masters from other cities.
Under Ivan 3 in 1485-1516. new 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 whole ensemble of walls and towers is based on original Russian traditions. The builders almost intact 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. Built of brick, the Kremlin became more majestic and solemn. The walls and towers became taller and more representative (the tents of the towers were erected in the 17th century). In the end of the 15th century The Kremlin occupied an area of 27 hectares, had the shape of a triangle. The height of the walls was from 6 to 17 m, the thickness was from 3 to 5 m. The corners and walls were strengthened by 18 towers, protruding somewhat from the thickness of the walls. The distance between the towers was due to the range of flanking fire from 2 adjacent towers.
The main high-rise accent of the Kremlin was pillar of Ivan the Great- a bell tower, 81 m high, from the height of which you can see the surroundings for 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 has a depth of almost 10 m. The bell tower is considered a masterpiece of the architecture of Muscovite Rus' of the 16th century. Near the bell tower of Ivan the Great, there is the Assumption Belfry and the Filaret's extension.
Assumption Cathedral - the central building of the Kremlin. Its construction began back in 1472, the Moscow architects Myshkin and Krivtsov, but the almost finished building collapsed. The Pskov masters refused to build the cathedral, then Ivan III invited the architect and engineer Aristotle Fiorovanti from Bologna.
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| Assumption Cathedral |
Cathedral of the Annunciation harmonizes well with Faceted Chamber, 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 front hall on the 2nd floor. The main hall had an area of approx. 500 m2 and was the largest hall in Muscovite Rus' at that time. It was covered with a system of 4 cross vaults supported by a powerful square pillar in the center. The walls and vaults of the Faceted Chamber were painted with frescoes, the white stone floor was covered with flat carvings. There were benches along the walls, in the right corner from the entrance - the throne of the Grand Duke. The Faceted Chamber got its name from the faceted rust that lined its eastern part.
The third cathedral that defines the ensemble of the Kremlin - Arkhangelsk(Archangel Michael), was erected by Aleviz Novy in 1505-1508. It is based on a traditional composition characteristic of an ancient Russian temple having a cubic shape, crowned with five domes. Aleviz, in the design of the facades, used Renaissance details that are organically combined with native Russian forms. The cathedral has a pronounced floor division of the facades with cornices; instead of blades, Corinthian pilasters are used. Zakomaras were decorated with shells, a favorite motif in Venetian architecture, and received a decorative function.
