Southern wall of the Kremlin. The Moscow Kremlin is the sovereign crown of Russia. Moscow Kremlin

Address: Russia Moscow
Start of construction: 1482
Completion of construction: 1495
Number of towers: 20
Wall length: 2500 m
Main attractions: Spasskaya Tower, Assumption Cathedral, Ivan the Great Bell Tower, Annunciation Cathedral, Archangel Cathedral, Chamber of Facets, Terem Palace, Arsenal, Armory, Tsar Cannon, Tsar Bell
Coordinates: 55°45"03.0"N 37°36"59.3"E
An object cultural heritage Russian Federation

Content:

A Brief History of the Moscow Kremlin

In the very heart of Moscow, on Borovitsky Hill, the majestic ensemble of the Kremlin rises. It has long become not only a symbol of the capital, but of the whole of Russia. History itself ordered that the ordinary village of Krivichi, spread out in the middle of the wilderness, eventually turned into the capital of a mighty Russian state.

Kremlin from a bird's eye view

Kremlin or child in ancient Rus' called the central, fortified part of the city with a fortress wall, loopholes and towers. The first Moscow Kremlin, built in 1156 by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky, was a wooden fortress surrounded by a moat and a rampart.

During the reign of Ivan I, nicknamed Kalita (money bag), oak walls and towers were erected in Moscow and the first stone building was laid - the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Mother of God.

View of the Kremlin walls from the Kremlin embankment

In 1367, Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy surrounded the Kremlin with a powerful fortress wall made of white limestone. Since then, the capital has been nicknamed "White-Stone Moscow". Large-scale construction unfolded under Ivan III, who united a significant part of the Russian lands around Moscow and built a residence worthy of the "sovereign of all Rus'" in the Kremlin.

For the construction of fortifications, Ivan III invited architects from Milan. It was in 1485 - 1495 that the walls and towers of the Kremlin that still exist today were built. The top of the walls is crowned with 1045 battlements in the form of a "dovetail" - they have the same appearance as the battlements of Italian castles. At the turn of the 15th - 16th centuries, the Moscow Kremlin turned into an impregnable massive fortress lined with red brick.

View of the Kremlin from the Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge

In 1516, a moat was dug along the fortifications overlooking Red Square. After the Time of Troubles, the towers were decorated with tents, giving the Kremlin a modern look.

The miraculous return of the shrine of the Moscow Kremlin

Spasskaya, created by the Italian architect Pietro Antonio Solari, is rightfully considered the main of the 20 towers of the Moscow Kremlin. The Spassky Gate has long been the main entrance to the Kremlin, and the chimes placed in the tent of the tower are known as the main clock of the country. The top of the tower is crowned with a luminous ruby star, but after the collapse of the USSR, there are more and more calls to remove the star and hoist a double-headed eagle in its place. The tower got its name from the over-gate icon of the Savior of Smolensk.

View of the Kremlin from the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge

The icon was revered as a saint, so the men, passing through the gate, in front of the image of the Savior had to take off their headdress. The legend says that when Napoleon was passing through the Spassky Gates, a gust of wind tore off his cocked hat from his head. But the bad omens did not end there: the French tried to steal the gilded riza that adorned the image of the Savior of Smolensk, but the ladder attached to the gate overturned, and the shrine remained unharmed.

During the years of Soviet power, the icon was removed from the tower. For more than 70 years, the shrine was considered lost, until in 2010, restorers discovered a metal mesh hiding the image of Christ under a layer of plaster. On August 28, 2010, on the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God, Patriarch Kirill solemnly consecrated the newly found icon over the gates of the Spasskaya Tower.

Beklemishevskaya tower

Legends and myths of the Kremlin

From time immemorial, the Moscow Kremlin was not only a symbol of the sovereign's unlimited power, but also a place about which legends were composed. For a long history about the Kremlin temples and towers, so many legends have been created that would be enough for a whole book.

The most famous legends tell about secret dungeons and underground passages. It is believed that they were invented by Italian architects who designed and built the Kremlin walls and towers. Many underground rooms have been preserved under the former Chudov Monastery, which until the 1930s was located in the eastern part of the Kremlin Hill. These are passages, the interior of temples and long galleries. To date, some of them are flooded with groundwater.

Eternal flame near the walls of the Kremlin

There are rumors among Muscovites that branched underground passages used to lead out from each of the Kremlin towers. The same secret passages connected everything royal palaces. When in the 1960s the builders undertook to dig a large foundation pit for the State Kremlin Palace, they discovered three underground passages built in the 16th century. The dungeons were so wide that a cart could be driven through them.

Underground passages were found during every major reconstruction. Most often, voids, dips and labyrinths were walled up or simply filled with concrete for safety reasons.

Spasskaya Tower

One of the secrets of the Moscow Kremlin is also associated with its dungeons. For several centuries, historians and archaeologists have been struggling with the mystery of the disappearance of the library of Ivan IV the Terrible, which is also called Liberia. The Russian sovereign inherited a unique collection of ancient books and manuscripts from his grandmother Sophia Paleolog, who received these books as a dowry.

In historical documents, there is an inventory of the library, consisting of 800 volumes, but the collection itself disappeared without a trace. Some researchers are convinced that it burned down in a fire or disappeared during the Time of Troubles. But many are sure that the library is intact and hidden in one of the Kremlin dungeons.

View of the Assumption, Annunciation Cathedrals and Cathedral Square

Finding books in vaults located underground was not an accident. When Sophia Paleolog arrived in the city in 1472, she saw the terrible consequences of the fire that raged in Moscow two years earlier. Realizing that the library she brought could easily die in a fire, Sophia ordered to equip a spacious basement for storage, which was located under the Kremlin Church of the Nativity of the Virgin. After that, valuable Liberia was always kept in the dungeons.

View of Cathedral Square and Ivan the Great Bell Tower

Cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin - "altars of Russia"

Today the Moscow Kremlin is both the place of work of the President of the Russian Federation and a historical and cultural museum. Historical Center The Kremlin is represented by Cathedral Square with three cathedrals - Assumption, Arkhangelsk and Annunciation. An old proverb says: "The Kremlin rises above Moscow, and above the Kremlin - only the sky." That is why all the people honored the decrees of the king, which he proclaimed in the Assumption Cathedral.

This temple can rightfully be called the "altar of Russia." In the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin, the tsars were crowned kings, the next head of the Russian church was elected, and the relics of Moscow saints found eternal rest in the tombs of the temple. The Archangel Cathedral, starting from 1340 and up to the 18th century, served as the burial place of Moscow princes and tsars.

Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin

Under its vaults, tombstones are installed in a strict order on white stone slabs. The Annunciation Cathedral was the personal prayer house of the Moscow princes: here they were baptized, confessed, married. According to legend, the grand ducal treasury was kept in the basement of this temple. Cathedral Square is surrounded by the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, Faceted and Patriarch's Chambers. Meetings of the Boyar Duma and Zemsky Sobors were held in the Palace of Facets, and the office of the Holy Synod was located in the Patriarchal Palace.

Sights of the Moscow Kremlin

The younger buildings of the Kremlin include the Grand Kremlin Palace, built in the middle of the 19th century by order of Emperor Nicholas I. Today, the main residence of the President of Russia is located within its walls.

Tsar Cannon

In the palace halls, ceremonies of inauguration of the President are held, state awards and credentials are presented. One of the buildings of the palace houses the Diamond Fund of the Russian Federation and the Armory - a treasury of palace household items. In the Kremlin, on the pedestals are the Tsar Cannon weighing 40 tons and the Tsar Bell weighing 200 tons - masterpieces of Russian foundry craftsmanship. Due to their gigantic dimensions, they are not suitable for their intended use, but they have become symbols of great Russia. The Kremlin is always crowded. Guests admire the enduring beauty of architectural creations that personify Russian history. As M.Yu. Lermontov in the "Panorama of Moscow", nothing can compare with this Kremlin which, "surrounded by battlements and golden domes of cathedrals, reclines on high mountain, How royal crown on the forehead of a formidable lord.

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

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

The technique of building the Kremlin and the plan of the fortress

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

Most of the towers were attached to the diversion archers - fortifications that were carried out beyond the fortress walls or beyond the moat for additional defense. This type of fortification fully met the requirements of the end of the 15th century. Of the archer towers, one has survived - Kutafya, covering Troitskaya and in our time serving as the main entrance for tourists to the Kremlin. During the construction of the fortifications, various measures were provided against the attack of the enemy. This, for example, is the device of secret underground passages leading outside the walls in order to protect the city from undermining. A through tunnel was built inside the walls for the rapid movement of the defenders.

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

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

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

Spasskaya tower and Kremlin chimes

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

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

Famous towers of the Kremlin and the history of their names

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

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

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

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

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

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

His Majesty - the Moscow Kremlin. Part 13. Walls and towers

Kremlin wall - Brick wall surrounding the Moscow Kremlin. It was erected on the site of the white stone wall of Dmitry Donskoy in 1485-1516 by Italian (“Fryazhsky”) architects. Total length walls - 2235 m, height from 5 to 19 m, thickness - from 3.5 to 6.5 m. In plan, the walls form an irregular triangle.

The top of the wall, according to the Lombard tradition, is decorated with battlements in the form of a dovetail, there are 1045 teeth in total along the top of the wall. Most of the battlements have slit-like loopholes. There are wide embrasures covered with arches in the walls. From the outside, the walls are smooth, from the inside they are decorated with arched niches - a traditional technique designed to facilitate and strengthen the structure of the structure.

The existing walls and towers were built in 1485-1516. The total length of the walls is 2235 m, the height is from 5 to 19 m, the thickness is from 3.5 to 6.5 m.

In plan, the walls form an irregular triangle. The top of the wall is decorated with battlements in the form of a dovetail, there are 1045 teeth in total along the top of the wall. Most of the battlements have slit-like loopholes. There are wide embrasures covered with arches in the walls. From the outside, the walls are smooth, from the inside they are decorated with arched niches - a traditional technique designed to facilitate and strengthen the structure of the structure.

Kivshenko Alexey D. (1851-96). Ivan the Great

Under Ivan III and his successor Vasily III, the construction of the Kremlin walls was headed by architects Anton Fryazin, Marko Fryazin, Pietro Antonio Solari and Aleviz Fryazin Stary.

Moscow Kremlin at the beginning of the 17th century.

Brick walls were placed along the line of white stone ones, with a slight retreat to the outside. Starting from the Spasskaya Tower, the territory of the Kremlin was enlarged eastbound. Approximately 20 years after the construction Kremlin wall the Kitay-gorod wall was attached to it, embracing the whole Kitay-gorod.

For the construction of walls and towers, large (30x14x17 cm or 31x15x9 cm) bricks weighing up to 8 kg each were used. The front walls were laid out of brick, which were filled with white stone. The highest walls were erected along Red Square, where there was no natural water barrier.

Fedor Alekseev. View of the Kremlin at the Spassky Gates. Around 1800
Initially, inside the wall through all the towers there was a through passage, covered with barrel vaults. Most of the passage was eventually covered with construction waste, the section between the Konstantin-Eleninskaya and Nabatnaya towers has been preserved. There were also caches and passages under the walls, in some cases going far beyond the line of fortifications.

View of Zamoskvorechie from behind the wall in 1848

At the beginning of the 18th century, the Neglinnaya River was diverted further from the western wall, along which it originally flowed.

At the same time, the originally existing plank roofs of the walls burned down. In 1702-1736, for the construction of the arsenal building, part of the wall was dismantled, later restored.

Modern chimes were made by the brothers Nikolai and Ivan Budenop in 1851-1852 and installed on 8-10 tiers of the Spasskaya Tower. From that time on, the chimes performed at 12 and 6 o’clock the “March of the Preobrazhensky Regiment”, and at 3 and 9 o’clock the anthem “How glorious is our Lord in Zion” by Dmitry Bortnyansky, which sounded over Red Square until 1917. Initially, they wanted to dial the Russian anthem “God Save the Tsar” on the playing shaft of the chimes, but Nicholas I did not allow this, saying that “the chimes can play any song except the anthem.”

In 1771-1773, for the construction of the Kremlin Palace according to the project of V.I. Bazhenov, a part of the southern wall between the Beklemishevskaya and Annunciation towers was also dismantled, which was later restored. Undermining the Kremlin by the French (1812) caused heavy damage to the walls, especially the walls along the Neglinnaya. Repair and restoration of the fortifications were carried out from 1817 to 1822.

In 1866-1870, the walls and towers of the Kremlin were restored by architects N. A. Shokhin, P. A. Gerasimov, F. F. Richter, who sought to give the buildings their original appearance. However, many authentic details were then lost and replaced by inaccurate copies.

Examination and partial restoration of the walls were carried out in 1931-1936. The next restoration of the walls and towers of the Kremlin took place in 1946-1953. In its course, the walls were cleaned and repaired, loopholes and parapets were restored. The restoration commission included prominent scientists and restorers: I. E. Grabar, V. N. Lazarev, M. V. Alpatov, P. D. Korin, D. P. Sukhov and others

"Inconsistency" of the Kremlin wall. 2012

"Inconsistency" of the Kremlin wall between the Annunciation (far) and Taynitskaya (near) towers. 2012

The Kremlin wall between the Annunciation and Taynitskaya towers has a vertical ledge and a reduced pitch of two teeth, as if during construction from different sides they made a mistake in joining. This "mistake" divides the wall between the towers in an approximate ratio of 1 to 2, counting from Blagoveshchenskaya.

The northeast section of the wall facing northern part Red Square, serves as a columbarium for urns with the ashes of leaders of the communist movement and the Soviet state. Many of them are also buried in the ground along this section of the wall. In the post-Soviet period, the question of the need to transfer the necropolis to another place for political, religious and other reasons was repeatedly raised.

The Moscow Kremlin has 20 towers. Three towers (Beklemishevskaya, Vodovzvodnaya and Angular Arsenalnaya), standing at the corners of the triangle, have a round section, the rest are square.
Most of the towers are made in a single architectural style, given to them in the second half of the 17th century. The Nikolskaya Tower stands out from the general ensemble, which in early XIX century was rebuilt in the Gothic style

The list is compiled, starting from the southeast corner of the Kremlin wall, counterclockwise.
3 towers, standing in the corners of the triangle, have a circular section, the rest are square. The highest tower is Troitskaya, it has a height of 79.3 m.
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Spasskaya, Nabatnaya, Konstantin-Eleninskaya, Troitskaya, Borovitskaya, Annunciation and Petrovskaya towers had shoots on the walls. Initially, inside the wall through all the towers there was a through passage, covered with barrel vaults. Most of the passage was eventually covered with construction waste, the section between the Konstantin-Eleninskaya and Nabatnaya towers has been preserved. There were also caches and passages under the walls, in some cases going far beyond the line of fortifications.

At the beginning of the 18th century, Neglinnaya was moved away from the walls. To install new guns on the towers, loopholes were cut. At the same time, the originally existing plank roofs of the walls burned down.

In 1702-1736, for the construction of the Arsenal, part of the wall was dismantled, later restored. In 1771-1773, for the construction of the Kremlin Palace according to the project of V.I. Bazhenov, a part of the southern wall between the Beklemishevskaya and Annunciation towers was also dismantled, which was later restored.

Hem of the Moscow Kremlin in the 17th century Painting by Sergei Glushkov

In 1802-1805, the towers were overhauled, during which almost all the outlet archers were dismantled. The war of 1812 inflicted heavy damage on the walls, especially the Nikolskaya Tower, towers and walls along the Neglinnaya. Repair and restoration of fortifications were carried out from 1817 to 1822. During the repair work, pseudo-Gothic decor details were added to the external appearance of the Borovitskaya and Vodovzvodnaya towers.

In 1866-1870, the walls and towers of the Kremlin were restored by the architects N. A. Shokhin, P. A. Gerasimov, F. F. Richter, who sought to give the buildings their original appearance. During the restoration process, pseudo-Gothic decorative details disappeared from the Borovitskaya Tower, however, many elements of the original details of the walls and towers of the Kremlin were lost and replaced with inaccurate copies. Damage to the towers and walls was caused during the alterations of the second half of XIX century in the course of adapting their premises for household needs

The Nikolskaya and Beklemishevskaya towers, which suffered during the revolution, were repaired in 1918. Examination and partial restoration of the walls were carried out in 1931-1936. In 1935-1937 ruby five-pointed stars were installed on five towers.

This is how the Kremlin found Napoleon

The next restoration of the walls and towers of the Kremlin was carried out in 1946-1953, during which the walls were cleaned and repaired, loopholes and parapets were restored, details on a number of towers were revealed, the tops of the Spasskaya, Troitskaya and Nikolskaya towers were upholstered with sheet copper. The restoration commission included prominent scientists and restorers: I. E. Grabar, V. N. Lazarev, M. V. Alpatov, P. D. Korin, D. P. Sukhov and others.

Beklimishevskaya

Also known as Moskvoretskaya, the tower of the Moscow Kremlin wall. It is located in the southeastern corner of the Kremlin triangle, near the Moskva River and the Moskvoretsky Bridge. The name comes from the court of the boyar I.N. Beklemishev, which was located inside the Kremlin near the tower. After the execution of Beklemishev by Vasily III, the courtyard, together with the tower, was used as a prison for disgraced boyars. Located near the junction of the Moskva River with the moat, the tower performed an important defensive function, covering, among other things, the ford and the crossing over the Moskva River.

The high round tower was built in 1487-1488 by the Italian architect Marco Ruffo. The main cylinder is located on a white stone plinth with a semicircular ridge at the junction.

The tower has four tiers with the possibility of all-round firing: three tiers of round vaulted rooms and the upper tier, where the machicules and the battlefield are located. A well and a hiding place were built in the tower to prevent undermining. In 1680, an octagon with a narrow tent and two rows of eaves was built over the main cylinder. The tent of the tower has no internal ceilings.

Under Peter I in 1707, the tower was converted for defense against the Swedes. In particular, the loopholes of the tower were hewn to install more powerful guns in them (restored in their original form during the restoration in 1949).

View of the Beklemishevskaya (Moskvoretskaya) Tower 1890-1900

The Beklemishevskaya Tower is one of the few towers in the Kremlin that have hardly been rebuilt. After the invasion of Napoleon, the Beklemishevskaya tower was repaired. Also, during the storming of the Kremlin by the Bolsheviks in 1917, the upper tent was shot down by a shell (in 1920 it was restored by the architect I.V. Rylsky).
Eastern wall The eastern wall of the Kremlin runs along Red Square

Konstantin-Eleninskaya Tower

Previously, Timofeevskaya is a tower of the wall of the Moscow Kremlin. It is located on the eastern side of the Kremlin, above the Beklemishevskaya tower.

The tower was built in 1490 by the Italian architect Pietro Antonio Solari (Peter Fryazin) on the site of the Timofeevsky Gates of the white-stone Kremlin of Dmitry Donskoy. The tower received its modern name after the construction of the Church of Constantine and Helena nearby in the Kremlin in the 17th century (the church was dismantled in 1928).

Moscow dungeon. The end of the 16th century (Konstantin-Eleninsky gates of the Moscow dungeon at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries)

The tower was designed to protect the entrances to the pier on the Moskva River and the nearby streets of Veliky Posad, going towards Zaryadye: Vsekhsvyatskaya (now Varvarka) and Velikaya (which later became Mokrinsky Lane, and now completely disappeared). Initially, the Konstantin-Eleninskaya tower was a travel tower, with a drawbridge across the moat and a diversion archer (an additional tower connected to the main bridge). After 1508, the second diversion archer was completed.

In the 1680s, an arched quadrangle with a slender hipped top was built over the main square quadrangle. After the loss of its significance by the Great Street at the end of the 17th century, the gates were closed, and the diversion archer and the lower tier of the tower were turned into a prison. In 1707, the loopholes of the Konstantin-Eleninskaya Tower were hewn for more powerful cannons. In the 18th century, the diversion archers and the bridge were demolished.

Constantino-Eleninskaya tower 1882-1996 photographer Barshchevsky I.F.

The arch of the gates, partially covered by late layers, is still clearly visible on the facade of the tower from the side of Vasilyevsky Spusk, as well as the recess for the gate icon and traces of vertical slots for the levers of the drawbridge.

On the upper platform of the main quadrangle there are machicolations, inside it is divided into two tiers, covered with brick vaults. The first tier was previously used for passage, and the second was used for service premises. The ascent to the upper platform of the tower is along a narrow staircase located in the thickness of the wall.

Konstantin-Eleninskaya tower from the Kremlin wall

The tower was restored in the 1950s and 1970s.
Through the Timofeevsky Gates, located in ancient times on the site of the Konstantin-Eleninskaya Tower, Dmitry Donskoy

alarm tower

The alarm tower is a tower of the wall of the Moscow Kremlin. It is located on the slope of the Kremlin hill opposite St. Basil's Cathedral. The name comes from the Spassky alarm bell hanging on it, which served as a fire alarm.

This tower, which has preserved its ancient forms, was built in 1495. The main quadruple ends with machicolations with a parapet. Its interior consists of two tiers: the lower one with a flat ceiling and numerous rooms, with stairs and openings providing access to the walls, and the upper one with a closed vault.

Nabatnaya tower of the Moscow Kremlin. 1882-1896

In 1680, an upper arched quarter and a tent with an observation tower were added to the tower. The chetverik is open into the cavity of the tent. The details and decoration of the upper quadrangle and the tent (brick semi-columns of the quadrangle and observation tower with white stone capitals and corbels) resemble the completion of the Arsenal tower.
In total, there were three alarm bells in the Kremlin: Spassky (on the Nabatnaya Tower), Trinity and Tainitsky.

By decree of Alexei Mikhailovich of 1668, alarm signals were regulated:
. in the event of a fire in the Kremlin, “sound all three alarms in both directions, as soon as possible”
. in case of a fire in Kitay-Gorod, "to sound one Spassky alarm in one region, soon"
. in case of a fire in the White City - “beat Spassky in both directions and on the alarm, which is quieter on the Trinity Bridge in both directions”
. in case of a fire in Earthen City, sound the alarm on the Tainitskaya tower with a “quiet custom”
In 1771, during the Plague Riot, the rebels struck the Spassky alarm and thus gathered the Muscovites to the Kremlin. At the end of the rebellion, Catherine II ordered to remove the tongue from the bell. For over 30 years, the bell hung on the tower without a tongue. In 1803, the bell was moved to the Arsenal, and in 1821 to the Armory, where it still hangs in the vestibule.
The inscriptions on the bell say: “On July 6, 1714, this alarm bell was poured out of the old alarm bell of which the Kremlin of the city was smashed to the Spassky Gates. It weighs 150 pounds”, “Lil this bell master Ivan Motorin”.
In the 1970s, the Nabatnaya Tower began to lean due to the loss of soil density and a cracked foundation. After screeding the base of the tower with metal hoops and strengthening the soil, the roll was stopped. However, the tower still deviates from the vertical by one meter.
Royal Tower

The Tsarskaya Tower is the youngest and smallest tower of the Moscow Kremlin, built in 1680.
Strictly speaking, this is not a tower, but a stone tower, a tent placed on the wall. Once upon a time there was a small wooden turret from which, according to legend, Tsar Ivan IV (the Terrible) liked to watch the events taking place on Red Square - hence the name of the tower.
White-stone belts on pillars, high pyramids at the corners with gilded flags, a tent ending with a graceful gilded weather vane - all this gives the tower the look of a fabulous tower

A small turret was placed right on the wall in the 80s of the 17th century (that is, almost two centuries later than the rest of the towers) between the Spasskaya and Nabatnaya towers of the Kremlin. Its octagonal tent on pitcher-shaped pillars resembles the lockers of the porches of stone residential choirs common at that time.

The name of the tower is associated with a legend according to which it served as a kind of canopy over the royal throne, from where the sovereign of all Rus' could observe the events taking place on Red Square from the walls of the Kremlin (hence the name of the tower).

Senate Tower

The Senate Tower is one of the towers of the Moscow Kremlin wall. It is located on the eastern side of the Kremlin between the Spasskaya and Nikolskaya towers.

Built in 1491 by the architect Pietro Antonio Solari. The tower received its name after the completion of construction on the territory of the Kremlin in 1787 of the Senate Palace. Until that time, it had no special name. In 1680, a stone tent was built over the tower, ending with a golden weather vane. Inside the tower has three tiers of vaulted rooms. Tower height 34 meters

In 1918, a plaque made by the sculptor S.T. Konenkov “To those who fell for peace and the brotherhood of peoples” was installed on the tower. In the 1920s, the board was removed and transferred to the Russian Museum. In 1924, Lenin's Mausoleum was built in front of the tower on Red Square. In 1948, a passage was made from the tower to the Mausoleum, so that members of the Central Committee of the CPSU could enter the stands directly from the Kremlin, bypassing Red Square.
NIKOLSKY TOWER

Gate icon of St. Nicholas of Mozhaisk

Built in 1491 by the Italian architect Pietro Antonio Solari. It is most likely that the tower got its name from the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, located on the eastern facade. A number of researchers believe that the tower was named after the monastery of St. Nicholas the Old, located nearby on ancient Nikolskaya Street.

Nikolsky gates of the Kremlin and Alevizov ditch. Alekseev, students. 1800s.

In 1612, it was through the gates of the Nikolskaya and Spasskaya towers that the people's militia, led by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin, solemnly entered the Kremlin on November 1 (on October 27, an agreement was signed on the surrender of the Polish garrison). In ancient times, a clock was placed on the tower, the last mention of which dates back to 1614.

In a fire in 1737, the Nikolskaya Tower burned down and, after restoration under the leadership of I.F. Michurin, acquired a baroque decor, like the original design of the Arsenal. By 1780 the tower was built on. I. Blank round top with a low tent.

In 1805-1806 the tower was overhauled by the architect A. I. Ruska, together with A.N. Bakarev: the former superstructure over the quadruple was replaced by a gothic octagon with a high white stone tent and openwork decorations. The Gothic appearance is the main difference between the Nikolskaya Tower and other towers of the Kremlin.

In 1812, the Nikolskaya Tower was damaged during an explosion by the French leaving Moscow, the Arsenal: the tent collapsed, part of the gate was damaged, but part of the quadrangle with the gate icon of St. Nicholas of Mozhaisky was not touched

Nikolskaya Tower, 1883

The news of the miracle soon reached the emperor. Arriving in Moscow, Alexander I was personally convinced of the safety of the icon and ordered, first of all, to restore the tower, and hang a marble plaque under the icon, the words for which he wrote himself: but by the miraculous power of God, St. the image of the great saint of God, St. Nicholas, here inscribed on the stone itself, and not only the image itself, but also the very glass that covered it, the lantern with the candle remained unharmed. Who is a great God, like our God! You are God, work miracles: God is marvelous in his saints.

The tower was restored in 1816-1819 according to the project of the architect Osip Ivanovich Bove. During the restoration, some changes were made, both in the design and architecture of the tower.
At the suggestion of the architect F. K. Sokolov, the white-stone tent was replaced with an iron one on the frame, and four white-stone phiale towers were installed at the corners of the quadrangle to complement the Gothic look. The architect V.A. Bakarev participated in the restoration of the tower. The tower was painted white.

Near the Nikolsky Gates there were single-domed chapels. On the left was the chapel of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, on the right - the chapel of Alexander Nevsky. Initially wooden, then stone chapels were repeatedly rebuilt, the last time in 1883. The chapels belonged to the Kazan Cathedral.

The destruction of the Kremlin in 1812. Nikolskaya tower, the ruins of the Arsenal, Arsenal Tower

The duties of the abbots of the chapels included caring for the inextinguishable lamp near the gate icon of St. Nicholas of Mozhaisky. Above the entrances to the chapels was the image of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. Both chapels were demolished in 1925.

Watercolor.I.A.Weiss. 1852

At the end of October 1917, the tower and the gate were badly damaged as a result of artillery shelling, restored in 1918 by the architect N. V. Markovnikov. During the restoration of 1918, it was repainted from white to the general brick color of the Kremlin wall.

The marble plaque with the words of Alexander I was dismantled. On October 26, 1935, a semi-precious star was installed over the tent of the Nikolskaya Tower instead of the double-headed eagle. In 1937, the semi-precious star was replaced by the modern ruby one. The star of the Nikolskaya Tower has the most a large number of faces per beam - 12.

Nikolsky Gate, November 1917

During the restoration of the tower in 1919, renovations were removed from the gate image to the most ancient drawing and traces of bullets and shrapnel were repaired. In 1920-1922, at the initiative of the Restoration Department, the later paintings of angels on the sides of the central image were eliminated; the fresco of Nikolai Mozhaisky, as indicated in 1925 in one of the documents, “is only partially preserved”

Until 2010, the icon above the gate was considered lost.
.
On May 11, 2010, Vladimir Yakunin, Chairman of the Foundation of St. Andrew the First-Called, reported the discovery of ancient icons on the Spasskaya and Nikolskaya towers of the Kremlin, hidden by plaster in their icon cases in Soviet times

On July 5, 2010, restoration work began on the Nikolskaya Tower. In the future, to protect the over-gate icon from rain, snow and other negative influences, it is planned to make glazing with a natural ventilation system or an icon case.
On October 28, 2010, the restoration work was finally completed.

Corner Arsenal Tower

The Corner Arsenal Tower (Sobakina) is the most powerful tower of the Moscow Kremlin. She completed the defense line from Red Square and controlled the crossing across the Neglinnaya River to Torg

It was erected in 1492 by the Italian architect Pietro Antonio Solari (circa 1450-1493). From the moment of construction, for a long time the tower was called Sobakina after the courtyard of the Sobakin boyars nearby; modern name received after the construction of the Arsenal building in the 18th century. Originally, the Dog Tower was the most high tower Kremlin

In the past, it performed not only defense functions. There was a dug-out well in the tower, which, in case of a siege, could be used by the garrison of the fortress. From the Corner Arsenal Tower there was a secret passage to the Neglinnaya River, and its sixteen-sided volume had seven rows of loopholes; the passage and loopholes were probably laid in the 1670s-1680s during the construction of a plinth expanding downwards, attached in a semicircle to the original wall

In 1672-1686, an octagonal tent was erected over the tower on a stepped base, which ended with an openwork octagon with a tent and a weather vane. In 1707, Peter I, in the course of preparing Moscow for defense against the Swedes, gave the order to spread the five tiers of tower loopholes remaining unlaid for the installation of artillery.

In 1812, during the explosion of the Arsenal by the French troops, cracks formed in the walls of the tower and the watchtower collapsed.

Soon the tower was restored in its former form by the architect O. I. Bove. In 1894, the tower was repaired, the interiors were altered and it was adapted to accommodate the Moscow Provincial Archive. In the 1948-1950s, during the restoration of the towers, embrasures located on six levels were restored to their original forms.

Middle Arsenal Tower

The Middle Arsenalnaya Tower is a tower of the Moscow Kremlin, located on the northwestern side of the Kremlin wall, stretching along the Alexander Garden.

The tower was built in 1493-1495 on the northwestern side of the Kremlin wall, on the site corner tower time of Dmitry Donskoy. In the 15th-16th centuries, there were dams near the tower on the Neglinnaya River. In the 1680s, it was completed - an open quadrangle with a tetrahedral tent, finished with a through lookout tower with a tent.

The tower received its current name during the construction of the Arsenal building at the beginning of the 18th century. Previously, it was called Granena - from the facade dissected on the verge. In 1821, during the laying out of the Alexander Garden at the foot of the tower, a pleasure grotto was built according to the project of O. I. Bove.

Kremlin in the morning
2007

Used photos by Ilya Varlamov "Walks along the Kremlin wall", Wikimedia
(To be continued)

The Moscow Kremlin is located. The history of our Motherland is reflected in each of its buildings. These are ancient cannons and bells, cathedrals and palaces, museums and the residence of the President of Russia. High walls and loopholes tell us that this powerful and majestic building is a fortress. At the same time, this building also reflects the spiritual life of Russia. The Kremlin in Moscow is an all-Russian national shrine, a symbol of Russia.

The ensemble of the Kremlin in Moscow includes the fortress itself with its powerful walls and towers, as well as temples and chambers, majestic palaces and grand administrative buildings. These are ensembles of squares - Cathedral and Ivanovskaya, Senate and Palace, Trinity, as well as streets - Spasskaya, Borovitskaya and Palace.

Moscow Kremlin towers

The walls of the Moscow Kremlin have 20 towers, among which there are no identical ones. The history of Moscow began at the Borovitsky Gates. Here is one of the southwestern towers of the Kremlin wall - Borovitskaya. It goes to the Alexander Garden and Borovitskaya Square. According to legend, her name comes from the forest that covered one of the seven hills on which Moscow stands.

Cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin

IN architectural ensemble The Moscow Kremlin includes eight cathedrals. One of the main temples of the Russian state - Uspensky. It hosted the coronation of emperors, the crowning of the kingdom, the election of the heads of the Russian Orthodox Church and the burial of metropolitans and patriarchs. Now here you can see the prayer place of Ivan the Terrible, especially valuable icons, a necropolis and a majestic iconostasis.

Blagoveshchensky cathedral served as the personal temple of the Grand Dukes and Tsars of Moscow. It is believed that some of the icons of the temple were created by Andrei Rublev, as well as Theophan the Greek.

Cathedral of the Archangel was the ancestral tomb of the great princes and kings. It has 47 tombstones and 2 shrines. Grand Dukes Ivan Kalita and Dmitry Donskoy, Ivan III and Ivan the Terrible, Tsarevich Dmitry and Tsars Mikhail and Alexei Romanovs are buried here. The image of "Archangel Michael with deeds" created during the Battle of Kulikovo can be seen in the iconostasis of the temple.

The house church of Russian metropolitans and patriarchs is a small Church of the Deposition of the Robe. In it, in a single ensemble, a four-tiered iconostasis in a silver frame and wall paintings are presented.

To the north of the Assumption Church and the bell tower of Ivan the Great are Patriarchal Chambers and small five-domed temple of the Twelve Apostles, built by Russian masters Antip Konstantinov and Bazhen Ogurtsov.

ten-headed St. Basil's Cathedral been in danger of demolition many times. Napoleon in 1812 dreamed of taking him to Paris, and later wanted to blow him up. In Soviet times, the cathedral interfered with the passage of demonstrations and they also wanted to destroy it.

To the east of the Terem Palace are four house churches: St. Catherine and Verkhospassky Cathedral, the Church of the Crucifixion of Christ and the Church of the Resurrection of the Word.

Moscow Kremlin - history and architecture

The first mention of Moscow is found in the annals and refers to 1147. In 1156, the first wooden walls were built on the banks of the Moskva River and the mouth of the Neglinnaya River. Rus' at that time was divided into separate principalities, therefore, in 1238, it could not resist the invasion of the Tatar-Mongol yoke. Moscow was devastated and the Kremlin burned.

During the reign of Ivan Kalita, the Moscow principality was strengthened and the Kremlin was rebuilt. Stone churches, cathedrals and strong oak walls were built. By decree of Prince Dmitry Donskoy, the grandson of Ivan Kalita, in 1367 white-stone walls and towers were erected. Moscow began to be called white-stone. Under Grand Duke Ivan III, the territory of the Kremlin expanded, a moat was dug around the walls. Together with foreign architects, the Assumption and Annunciation churches, the Faceted Chamber and the Ivan the Great Bell Tower (watch tower) are being built. The Archangel Temple was founded. With the flourishing of culture and architecture in the 17th century, the buildings of the Kremlin were also transformed. High brick tents with tile coverings and gilded weathercocks appeared on the Kremlin towers.

At the beginning of the 18th century, by decree of Peter I, the building of the Arsenal was laid. With the transfer of the capital to St. Petersburg, the Kremlin remained in an abandoned state. Almost all wooden buildings were destroyed by fires and not restored.

Its construction began only in the second half of the 18th century. According to the project of the architect M. F. Kazakov, the building of the Senate is being built. Under the leadership of the architect Ivan Egotov, the first building for the Armory was built. During the War of 1812, Napoleon decided to blow up the Kremlin during his retreat. Only thanks to the courage of the Muscovites, he was miraculously saved. Soon all the damaged buildings were restored.

In 1917, the capture of the Kremlin completed the revolution in Moscow. In March 1918, the Soviet government moved here from Petrograd. Today, the residence of the President of Russia is located here.

On the territory of the Kremlin of Moscow, the State Museum Complex was created, which includes the Armory and churches (Assumption, Arkhangelsk and Blagoveshchensk), the Church of the Deposition of the Robe and the Patriarchal Chambers with the Church of the Twelve Apostles, the ensemble of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, as well as collections of artillery pieces and bells. The complex of the Kremlin and Red Square in 1990 were included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List as one of the outstanding historical monuments planets.

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

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

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

Moscow was first mentioned in chronicles in 1147. And in 1156, by order of Yuri Dolgoruky, military fortifications, residential and outbuildings were already erected on the site of the modern Kremlin. The area occupied by them was supposedly equal to 3 hectares. In 1264 the Kremlin became the residence of the Moscow appanage princes.

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

Stthe construction of the white-stone Kremlin

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

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

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

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

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

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

In 1812 the Moscow Kremlin was occupied by the French army. During the retreat, he was mined and blown up by the personal order of Napoleon. Not all charges exploded, but the damage was very significant. Several towers, the Arsenal, extensions to the bell tower of Ivan the Great were destroyed, the building of the Senate was damaged. Restoration work was entrusted to the architect F.K. Sokolov.

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

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