Publications in the Architecture section

Stone guards of the Kremlin

From wood to stone. Dmitry Donskoy also replaced the wooden walls of the Kremlin with white limestone. By decree of Ivan III, the fortress was built from more durable red brick. The work was supervised by masters from Italy. That is why Italian motifs can be traced in the architecture of the capital’s fortress. Twenty towers of the Kremlin wall. Like sisters: originally a single architectural style, and each has its own story. We invite you to find out the most interesting ones together with Natalya Letnikova.

1. Taynitskaya Tower. It was built first on the site of the Chushkov Gate, which existed during the time of Dmitry Donskoy. The work was supervised by an Italian - Antonio Gilardi, or Anton Fryazin. The tower got its name because of the secret underground passage leading to the Moscow River - in case of a siege. Until the 18th century, the king marched from the Tainitsky Gate to the Epiphany Jordan. And right up to the revolution, at exactly noon, a cannon fired from the archer of the Tainitskaya Tower - just like in the Peter and Paul Fortress.

2. Alarm tower served to notify Muscovites about more dramatic events than the routine approach of noon. In 1771, the Spassky bell, which was ordered to notify about a fire, called for a plague riot. By order of Catherine II, the bell was deprived of its tongue. For thirty years he hung on the tower, voiceless, and was exiled to the Arsenal, and then to the Armory, where he remains to this day. The Alarm Tower itself matches the Leaning Tower of Pisa: it tilted one meter. In the 70s of the last century, the foundation cracked, but metal hoops at the base of the tower stopped the tilt.

3. Nikolskaya Tower remembers Minin and Pozharsky. In 1612, through the Nikolsky Gate, the people's militia solemnly entered the Kremlin after the surrender of the Poles. Two centuries later, the tower along with the Arsenal was blown up by the French, but the gate icon of St. Nicholas of Mozhaisky remained untouched. Half a century later, the story about the event for the memorial plaque was written personally by Alexander I. In October 1917, the tower was damaged by a shell, the icon was riddled with bullets, but the face itself was not damaged. So a new image appeared in icon painting - St. Nicholas the Wounded, depicting the shelled icon of the St. Nicholas Tower.

4. Spasskaya Tower. Named in honor of the gate icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands. Legend has it that in the 16th century, during the invasion of Khan Mengli-Girey, a blind nun of the Ascension Monastery had a vision of Moscow saints emerging from the gates. On the same day, the Tatars retreated from Moscow... Over the centuries, the tower was supplemented with 8 upper tiers. Over the years, the chimes at 12 and 6 o'clock have played various patriotic compositions: the guards march of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, “How Glorious is Our Lord in Zion,” the Internationale, “You have fallen as a victim,” and, finally, the Russian anthem.

5. Tsar's Tower. Below the others, but this does not affect the status. The stone tower was built at the end of the 17th century. At this place, according to legend, there was a wooden predecessor, with which Ivan the Terrible surveyed the Kremlin surroundings. The tower was built for completely peaceful purposes, which is why it is similar to the boyar mansions and is rich in architectural delights and white stone decorations. Instead of loopholes and powerful walls there are round columns. The Kremlin's most popular popular tower is crowned with a gilded weather vane, which gives it a resemblance to a fairy-tale tower.

6. Kutafya Tower. Bridgehead. It is assumed that she received her name for her not entirely elegant appearance (“kutafya” - that is, “ridiculously dressed”). Built at the beginning of the 16th century; This is the only surviving archery tower. Initially, it had a purely practical and impregnable appearance: it was surrounded by Neglinnaya and a high moat. With its gates, which in moments of danger were tightly closed with a drawbridge, the tower reminded that the Kremlin was a real fortress. Its only decoration, an openwork crown, appeared towards the end of the 17th century.

7. Trinity Tower. The highest is 80 meters. The main entrance for visitors to the Kremlin and the residence of the Russian Presidential Orchestra. It was called Epiphany, Rizopolozhenskaya, Znamenskaya, Karetnaya. Troitskaya became named after the Trinity courtyard of the Kremlin. The appearance of the tower changed from century to century. At the beginning of the 18th century - for strategic reasons: due to the threat of invasion by the Swedes, the loopholes were expanded for heavy guns. The change in power led to a change in the symbol at the top. For the next anniversary of the revolution, the double-headed eagle from 1870 was dismantled. The symbol of autocracy, held together with bolts, had to be dismantled right at the top and lowered down in parts.

8. Vodovzvodnaya tower. Once upon a time it was named after the boyar Sviblov, who lived across the wall. The facility was strategic and supplied water to the entire Kremlin. A special water-raising machine, installed by the English engineer Christopher Galovey, lifted water from the well from the bottom up into a giant tank. Prototype of a pressure water pipeline with a well and tanks. Lead pipes distributed the flows “to the sovereign’s Nourishing and Feeding Palaces,” and then to the gardens. Subsequently, the car was dismantled and taken to St. Petersburg for arrangement

10. Corner Arsenal Tower. It got its name because of the Arsenal located nearby. Considered the most powerful. The walls are four meters thick, the base is widened at the bottom for additional stability, and the foundation goes deep under the wall. In the dungeon there is a well that is about 500 years old. It was created as a backup source of water in the event of a siege by the enemy. In the first half of the 18th century, sexton Konon Osipov walked far and wide underground passage under the tower - in search of the mysterious library of Ivan the Terrible. “Liberea” haunts us to this day, and the underground passage is filled up.

The Annunciation Tower is named after the miraculous icon that was kept in it. Later a church was built for the icon, but the name remained.

The Vodovzvodnaya Tower is a corner tower and is so named because there was once a machine here that pumped water from the river and delivered it through lead pipes to royal palace Kremlin.

In the 17th century, the car was dismantled and transported to St. Petersburg to install fountains. The height of the tower is 61.45 m.

Armory and Commandant towers

Once upon a time, the Armory Tower stood on the banks of the Neglinka, but then the river was “chained” into a pipe underground. The building owes its name to the Armory Chamber built nearby, where weapons and jewelry workshops were once located. Now it houses a museum, which displays unique military and jewelry exhibits from antiquity. The height of the structure is 32.65 m.

The commandant's tower was erected in 1495, but modern name received only in the 19th century, when the commandant of the fortress moved to a nearby

Trinity, Kutafya and Petrovskaya towers

The Kremlin has so many towers, almost all of them were rebuilt by Italian craftsmen in the 15th century. So Trinity was built by Aloisio da Carezano in 1495-1499. This is the tallest building in the Kremlin. Its height is 80 m, including the spire and the star crowning it. The building received its name from the nearby Trinity Church.

It is interesting to know: at one time this building bore different names, for example Rizopolozhenskaya, Karetnaya or Znamenskaya, until in 1658 it received its current name. There was once a prison at its two-story base. Until 1935, its spire was crowned with a royal eagle, which was replaced with a ruby ​​star for the next anniversary of the revolution.

The Spasskaya Tower was built on the site of the former main gate of the Kremlin. An icon of the Savior was installed above the passage, and the entrance itself was considered holy by the people; one had to enter it on foot with his head uncovered. Nowadays, the famous chimes are installed on it.

Other Kremlin towers

The First and Second Nameless Towers had exclusively strategic importance, for example, in one of them there was a powder magazine.

Indeed it was equipped with a bell and observation deck, where the archers were on duty. In the 18th century, the ringing of a bell began a riot in the city, and when it was suppressed, they deprived the “culprit” of his language. The bell hung silently until it was sent to the museum.

The Tsar's Tower can hardly be called a tower, since it is simply a tent-roofed superstructure, where Ivan the Terrible liked to come to look at the city.

The Konstantino-Eleninskaya Tower was also named after the church of the same name. It was built in 1490 and is famous for the fact that it was through it that Russian soldiers went to war, for example Dmitry Donskoy with his army.

That's how many towers decorate the Moscow Kremlin today.

Towers and walls of the Kremlin

II half of the 15th century - the time of the formation of the Russian nation state. Ivan III united the Russian lands. By this time, the white stone Kremlin had partially collapsed and no longer corresponded to the international position and wealth of the Moscow state.
For the first time, the white stone was replaced with red. They baked it in ovens like bread. And he weighed eight kilograms. The half-pound stone was taken with both hands.

Ivan III commissioned construction in the Kremlin Vasily Dmitrievich Ermolin. Italian architects also built a lot in the Kremlin, but according to original Russian motives. Ivan III envisioned the Kremlin not only as a reliable fortress, but also as a ceremonial place for Muscovite Rus'. The architects were inspired by these ideas. And walls, churches, towers rose...
Everything in the Kremlin was then provided for protection from enemies. The plan is polygonal in order to see the enemy from different sides; the distance between the loopholes does not exceed the firing range of a throwing weapon. The towers interrupt the progress along the wall. And they themselves are either round or polygonal, so that they are more difficult to destroy with battering guns.
First the fortifications were built: thick brick walls and watchtowers, and it was in the spring of 1485. The length of the entire building is 2235 meters. The walls were very thick, in some places their thickness reached 3.5 meters. The height of the walls also varied, reaching up to 14 meters in some places. This was probably due to the fact that Moscow “stands on seven hills.” At the top, the walls were made in the form of a forked “swallowtail”, reminiscent of the letter “M”; loopholes were arranged in them. This gave the thick walls originality and decorativeness. On top of the battlements there was a plank gable roof, covering the Kremlin defenders from rain and snow.
There were 20 towers; in ancient times they did not look as elegant and tall as they do now. Tents appeared two centuries later. Under Ivan III, they were built as formidable impregnable bastions. They are all completely different from one another.
For four centuries, the Kremlin remained the only fortress in Moscow that protected Muscovites during the days of invasions. But in the 6th century, the expanded and rapidly growing Moscow could no longer get by with just these walls. The wall of Kitay-Gorod was attached to the walls of the Kremlin, and these walls merged into one fortification of unprecedented power and size. New walls and towers followed the architectural motif set by the Kremlin. Now the length of the walls has reached 15 km, and there are 50 towers!

Spasskaya (Frolovskaya) tower

Main tower Kremlin - Frolovskaya, named after the neighboring Church of Flora and Lavra. During the renovation of the tower in 1464-1466, the architect V.D. Ermolin installed on it white stone relief images of the patrons of the Moscow princes - St. George the Victorious and Dmitry of Thessalonica. The tower was built in 1491 by the architect Pietro Antonio Solari. The Frolov Gate was the main entrance to the Kremlin: in the 16th - 17th centuries, tsars left through it, on holidays the patriarch came out with a procession of the cross, and foreign ambassadors who arrived in Moscow were greeted at the gate. In 1624 - 1625, the architects Bazhen Ogurtsov and the Englishman Christopher Galovey crowned the tower with a complex superstructure and a high stone tent. So this tower was the first to receive its characteristic pointed silhouette. A clock was built into the superstructure - the predecessors of the Kremlin chimes. In 1658, by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the Frolovskaya tower was renamed Spasskaya (in honor of the icons of the Savior of Smolensk and the Savior Not Made by Hands), which were placed on the outer and inner sides of the Kremlin. The Spassky Gate was especially revered by the people and was considered “holy”: men, entering the Kremlin through it, bared their heads, and the riders dismounted and led their horses.

Taynitskaya Tower

Based on the time of birth, this is tower No. 1. Over its long history, this guardian of the Kremlin has had many different names - Potaynitskaya, Water Gate, Cheshkovy, Sheshkovy, Chushkovy Gate. In the 15th century, the courtyard of Czech, boyar Danil Galitsky, stood nearby, hence the last three names, and Vodyany and Tainitsky - because there was an ancient well-cache here. It was also possible to enter the Kremlin through the Tainitskaya Tower. The Tainitskaya tower was large; it had not only a passage, but a clock and a bell. The watchmaker lived right on it, having built two wooden huts on top. As the inventory of 1647 tells: “And on the tower there is a wooden closet, and in the closet there is a clock. On the same tower there are two wooden huts. And the watchmaker said that he erected those huts with his own money and installed them without beating his forehead, without decree.” That is, he built huts without receiving official permission. Life was difficult for the watchmaker; the roofs of the huts had collapsed. Apparently, in the middle of the 17th century, the dilapidated tower was demolished and rebuilt. The tower stands rising in five tiers with a tent at 38.4 meters.

Nikolskaya Tower

The Nikolskaya Tower resembles a Gothic cathedral. From a rectangular, squat base, a slender red-and-white spire with pointed slit-like openings rises upward. From red brick and white stone, Russian craftsmen built something like a bell tower with narrow window slots. On its sides there are four small white turrets of the same type. This Gothic spire adorned the tower relatively recently, after 1812, when the Kremlin was being restored after a fire. It was then that the Nikolskaya Tower was built high. In the old days, disputes that often arose at the Nikolskaya Tower were resolved. retail space. Disputants came here and kissed the cross, calling as witnesses the image of St. Nicholas the Pleasant hanging on the gate - “the intercessor and comforter of all those who mourn,” who, they believed, punished perjurers. But this also happened. Once, during a procession of the cross, in front of hundreds of people, a fearless rebel, who was captured and tried, threw a stick at this image. "St. Petersburg Vedomosti" reported that "the blasphemer and iconoclast of the Shuisky district Vasily Zmiev, the peasant Ivashka Krasny, was burned on the square." And “watchmen” were on duty on the Nikolskaya Tower, and in the past there was a clock on it, last mentioned in 1612. Then, after the expulsion of the Polish interventionists, “the whole army and all the Orthodox peoples in the city of the Kremlin entered through these gates in great joy.”

Trinity Tower

The most massive tower of the Moscow Kremlin. Its enormity is best felt when you look at it from its base in the Alexander Garden. A brick colossus rises up from the ground like a mountain. The thickness of the walls is cut through by asymmetrical windows; there are six of them in the upper tier. And although the tower is decorated at the top with white stone columns, figurines, and arches like the Spasskaya Tower, it has not yet lost its medieval severity. The height from the base to the star is 80 meters. One meter lower than the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great, nine meters higher than the Spasskaya Tower. When you enter this giant tower, you find yourself in a multi-story building. It's inhabited. Musicians come here for services with trumpets, clarinets, and saxophones. The tower is full of sounds, like the orchestra pit of a theater. Famous musicians and composers still come to the Trinity Tower to listen to new works and give them a start in life. In the same tower there is a control panel for Moscow stars. A shield similar to those found in power plants. Five switches, like five ruby ​​stars. A constant voltage of 80 volts is maintained. They burn day and night, in any weather.

Corner Arsenalnaya (Dog) tower

Before the Arsenal appeared here, this tower was called Sobakina, because the courtyard of the boyar Danila Soba was located here. When an explosion occurred in the Kremlin in 1812, half of the Arsenal flew into the air, and this tower only became covered with cracks. This is the strongest tower of the Kremlin. A feature of the tower’s architecture is its edges, there are eighteen of them, they merge into one powerful round pillar. It protected not only the walls of the Kremlin (located exactly at the corner of the two walls), but also the source of water, so the tower was built doubly impregnable. At the end of the last century, researchers tried to find out what kind of water it was. They pumped it out for days and did not drain it - which means the underground spring is inexhaustible. Water from the spring flows through a stone gutter into Neglinka, which flows in a pipe underground. This spring is called “one of the wonders of the ancient Kremlin,” and to see it, we open the iron door to the tower. We take a step forward - and the summer heat gives way to darkness, eternal coolness and the breath of living water. It makes itself felt as soon as we cross the threshold. However, there is no moisture on the walls. And this made it possible in the last century to place a large archive inside the tower. The papers did not suffer from such proximity. Before going deeper, we stop at the window - a loophole. Standing next to it, you see the incredible thickness of the masonry - about four meters. The staircase that Peter Antonio Solario laid out in the thickness of the stone leads to the source. It goes down steeply. Its width is such that it allows you to pass one at a time without bending. Having counted about forty steps, we carefully descend. The beam of a flashlight reveals from the darkness underfoot a brick pipe growing out of the ground. Large bricks, excellent masonry, it is about five meters in diameter. There is a vault overhead, as if we were in an underground temple. There is a round opening in the center of the vault. And on the side there is a narrow slit intended for overhead light. At the bottom of the pipe there is bluish water, quiet and calm, sleeping in this underground vault guarded by the tower. How old is this spring? It is unknown, perhaps he is the same age as Moscow itself. The water is tasty, cool and clear, purified by nature itself. There is another secret in the Corner Arsenal Tower. If we walk along the same stairs that lead to the key, then turn to the side, we will find ourselves in a narrow side passage. Another turn - again a corridor thick with brick. In the beam of a lantern, a vaulted hall emerges from the darkness. No windows, not even a narrow crack, reminiscent of the existence of light. Even a strong sound does not reach here. This is a dungeon so you can hide something in it. When they dug up this dungeon, they hoped to find the library of Ivan the Terrible here. But it was not there, although there are still many possible secrets in the thickness of the walls and towers of the Kremlin.

Beklemishevskaya (Moskvoretskaya) tower

This tower stands near the Moscow River. S.P. Bartenev writes about her this way: “The most graceful in proportions. With its beauty in general impression The Kremlin, in the symphony of its architectural forms, the Beklemisheva Tower gives a charming consonance." It was not so harmonious right away, at first its height was 10 meters lower. Then it was built on. Maschikuli - openings for shelling the enemy from top to bottom - appeared much higher than the previous ones, filled with bricks . Admiring the beauty of the tower, Bartenev was also amazed that for hundreds of years it had not undergone major repairs! The tower received its name from the formerly located near it, the courtyard of the boyar Vasily Beklemishev. The tower stands under a cliff in a strong wind, so it even leaned a little. The second name, naturally, it came from the tower’s proximity to the Moscow River.

Annunciation Tower

This is a large tower, there was a passage here, a “port-washing gate”. Through them we went out to the river to wash clothes. The name of the tower comes from the nearby Church of the Annunciation, and the tower itself at one time was its chapel and bell tower. Seven bells hung on it. All this appeared at a later time, when the Kremlin lost its role as a city fortress. In the 16th century, under Ivan the Terrible, there was a prison in the tower, where, according to legend, a miracle happened: the Mother of God appeared to one of the prisoners with good news, advising him to submit a petition to the king. After this, pilgrims began to come here, and the Church of the Annunciation appeared.

Borovitskaya Tower

Another star tower. By royal decree it was given the name Predtechenskaya, but this name did not stick; they could not erase the old name from the consciousness of Muscovites based on its location near Borovitsky Hill. It is not known why, but the builder of the Borovitskaya tower built it unlike all other corner and walk-through towers. This Kremlin archery is laid out according to the plan of a stepped pyramid. Above its lower rectangular main mass rise, one smaller than the other, three more volumes of the same shape. S.P. Bartenev called it the most unique tower of the Kremlin. You enter the Borovitskaya Tower and find yourself in a spacious house: eight floors with deep, spacious basements. On the lower floors there are whitewashed chambers filled with light. We go into one, then go up to another. Even on a gloomy day it is light in it, because it is double-lighted, the rays fall through two tiers of windows. Borovitsky Gate is an ancient door of the Kremlin; it served as a convenient exit to the river, where people went to fetch water. These gates were also used when it was necessary to secretly enter the Kremlin.

Vodovzvodnaya Tower

This tower went down in history with the construction of the first water pipeline in Moscow. This is a corner tower, so it is much taller, more elegant, and larger than the other towers. Suffice it to say that its height to the star is 57.7 meters, that is, almost twice as high. “The Vodovzvodnaya Tower is an integral, completely finished work, its proportions are beautiful, the architectural treatment is rich and at the same time moderate,” this is how S.P. Bartenev characterizes this Kremlin peak. In appearance, it is very reminiscent of the architectural buildings of Italy. The tower stands almost right next to the river, in the place where the Neglinka, which goes around the Kremlin, flows into the Moscow River, now hidden in a pipe, underground. The tower got its name because in 1663 it served as a water station. A water-cocking machine appeared in it, the mechanisms of which pumped water from the well upward, where there was a reservoir lined with lead. From here, water flowed by gravity through lead pipes into the Kremlin Palace. This overseas car cost several barrels of gold. The first Kremlin water supply system served until the fire in 1737.

Commandant (Kolymazhnaya) tower

The tower got its name because the commandant lived in the building next to it. This tower is taller than the Armory. Its base is located at the level of the Neglinnaya River, so it suffered the most from water. We had to strengthen it, so that the wall here lost its straightness, it thickens towards the base.

Weapon Tower (Konyushennaya)

This low tower stands on a high coastal hill. It has four tiers. Previously, it was called Konyushennaya - after the stables that stood here. This tower was also a passage point. It began to be called the Armory because the Armory Chamber was located nearby.

Petrovskaya (Ugreshskaya) tower

Unlike others, it has an octagonal top, crowning this four-story building. This is a warrior tower, a watchtower. On its second tier there was the Church of Metropolitan Peter, which belonged to the nearby courtyard of the Ugreshsky Monastery. Therefore, the tower was also called Ugreshskaya, and even Nameless.

Senate Tower

Behind this tower is the building of the former Senate, hence the name. The somewhat elongated shape of the tent gives the Senate Tower the appearance of severe inaccessibility.

Kutafya Tower

The name Kutafya Tower comes from the word kutafya, which means clumsy, unsightly. But the word kut has another meaning - corner, hence - nook (V. Dal). The tower stood somewhat away from the Kremlin, which is why it was called Kutafya. But she didn’t seem clumsy or unsightly then. Once upon a time she looked like everyone else, and was very similar to Trinity. But it was the only one over which a tent was not built later; moreover, even the vault that appeared later was dismantled, so it stands uncovered by anything. This tower is a bridgehead - a bridge is thrown across it from the river. 0+

The most famous tower of the Kremlin, which all residents of our country will definitely recognize. After all, it is on it that the famous chimes are located, which strike twelve times and announce the arrival of the New Year. The tower clock rings the Russian anthem and Mikhail Glinka's "Hail" several times a day, and the main bell strikes every hour.

 pl. Krasnaya, 3

Corner Arsenalnaya (Dog) tower

The pot-bellied Corner Arsenal Tower is the most powerful in the whole Kremlin wall. It played a big role in the defense of the fortress, and under Peter I its loopholes were expanded and cannons were installed in them. The tower was an important strategic object also because in its depths there was a spring of spring water, which would have come in very handy if the fortress were under siege.

 pl. Krasnaya, 3

Middle Arsenalnaya (Faceted) Tower

The tower is called Granena for its sharp shapes and straight lines. At its foot is the famous grotto - the Italian Grotto or simply “Ruins”. It was built in the first half of the 19th century as a symbol of the revival of Moscow after the devastating fire of 1812.

 st. Zhitnitskaya

Trinity Tower

The central passage tower of the Moscow Kremlin, which in the Middle Ages was used as a royal and patriarchal exit. Together with the Kutafya Tower and the Trinity Gate, it forms a single link of defense. However, today it is used for tourists to enter.

 pl. Krasnaya, 3

Kutafya Tower

The appearance of the tower led researchers to believe that the word “kutafya” means “clumsy.” But most likely the word came from “kut” - “angle”. Today, the tower houses a storage room; the glass pavilion on the second floor houses the ticket office and the entrance to the Kremlin.

 st. Vozdvizhenka, 1/13

Commandant (Kolymazhnaya) tower

In ancient times, the Commandant's Tower was called Kolymazhnaya after the name of the Kolymazhny yard, located in the Kremlin. But already in the 19th century the name was changed due to the residence of the commandant of Moscow located in the Poteshny Palace.

 st. Palace

Armory (Konyushennaya) tower

Many towers and structures of the Moscow Kremlin were rebuilt and modified over time. But the Armory Tower continues to delight the eye with its slender architecture. Its appearance, with the exception of some additions that took place in 1676-1686, has remained virtually unchanged for more than five centuries.

 st. Borovitskaya

Borovitskaya (Predtechenskaya) tower

For several centuries the tower was called the Predtechenskaya - after the nearby Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist. But the royal decree was not a hindrance to the people - the name did not stick, and a year later the tower again became Borovitskaya. Either because of the dense forest that once made noise next to the Kremlin, or in honor of the city of Borovsk, whose inhabitants built the Kremlin.

 st. Borovitskaya

Vodovzvodnaya (Sviblova) tower

The first water supply system in Moscow appeared in this tower: a special machine was installed in it, which supplied water under pressure from the Moscow River. Today she is crowned with the smallest of the Kremlin stars. And every citizen of Russia can see the Vodovzvodnaya Tower on the inside cover of their passport.

 emb. Kremlevskaya

Annunciation Tower

The tower is associated with a legend about the miraculous appearance of the icon of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary on one of its walls. They say that this is why the tower began to be called Blagoveshchenskaya. Other researchers say that the name is related to the name of the church.

 emb. Kremlevskaya

Taynitskaya Tower

It was from this tower that the entire Moscow fortress once began. But only the name remained from the previous structure: the tower was repeatedly rebuilt, destroyed and rebuilt.

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First Nameless Tower

Another tower, which was destroyed and rebuilt several times. For the first time, adjustments to its appearance were made by the construction of the Kremlin Palace, and the second time by the Patriotic War of 1812. Today the tower reaches a height of 34 meters, and is crowned by a pyramidal tent.

 emb. Kremlevskaya

Second Nameless Tower

Adjustments were also made to the design of this tower due to the construction of the Kremlin Palace. Before its construction began, the tower was completely dismantled, and when Catherine II ordered the construction to be stopped, it was put back together. Today it is one of the smallest towers in the Moscow Kremlin.

 emb. Kremlevskaya

Petrovskaya (Ugreshskaya) tower

Like many Kremlin towers, the Petrovskaya (or Ugreshskaya) Tower got its name from the church of Metropolitan Peter and the monastery courtyard of the same name. The tower was destroyed during the Polish intervention in the 17th century, restored after the Time of Troubles, then dismantled for the construction of the Kremlin Palace and rebuilt again. And only in the 19th century, under the leadership of the architect Beauvais, the building was restored to its historical appearance.

 emb. Kremlevskaya

Moskvoretskaya (Beklimishevskaya) tower

The Beklemishevskaya tower is named after the boyar Beklemishev, whose courtyard was located not far from the Kremlin. Its second name is Moskvoretskaya - after the name of the bridge located nearby. By the way, this is one of the few towers that have survived to this day practically unchanged and have not been rebuilt.

 emb. Kremlevskaya

As promised, with today’s entry I begin a series of stories on my blog about the sights of our capital. Without claiming absolute truth (after all, I am not a professional guide, not a historian or local historian) I will tell you about interesting places Moscow, about related historical events. I hope that this series will be as interesting and popular as the dental one. Well, when it’s a little warmer outside, I would like to invite you on excursions to these very places.

This and the next few posts will be dedicated to the Moscow Kremlin - a real pearl of the Russian capital. I understand that even a five-hundred-page book is not enough for even brief overview essays about the Kremlin, but I will try to embrace the immensity - albeit in small portions.

So, the first photo tour will tell you about the Towers of the Moscow Kremlin. Because even without entering its territory, you can inspect them most thoroughly.

Introduction

The Kremlin was not always the way we see it now. Over the centuries, it has changed several times, its outlines, meaning and purpose have changed. Previously, it was an impregnable fortress, stopping the enemy with just its appearance, and its entire purpose was dictated by one goal - to withstand a siege.

Today the Moscow Kremlin has already lost its defensive function and has turned, rather, into a symbol of power and decor of our capital. Its walls seem to have become the border between the government and the people, showing how far they are from each other.
Ivan III, enclosing the Kremlin hill with a wall, attached even greater importance to it - he ignored the order of the Golden Horde prohibiting the construction of stone walls around cities and, thereby, marked the beginning of the independence of the Russian state. And these walls, coupled with the towers, saved this very independence more than once.

Since the Kremlin towers were built solely for defensive purposes, they looked something like this:

High spiers and tents were built on them later, when the Kremlin walls and towers lost their military purpose and simply became a decoration of Moscow.

In addition, the towers, like all Kremlin buildings, were repeatedly reconstructed and rebuilt.

During the Patriotic War of 1812, Napoleon set out to blow up the Kremlin, covering it on all sides with explosives. He even sent a mocking letter to Emperor Alexander I: “Your Kremlin is no more!” But at that moment, when the French soldiers had already lit the fuse, suddenly, among have a clear day, there was a heavy downpour, which put out the fire. As a result, only a small part of the charges worked, several towers were destroyed and the fortress walls were damaged. But the Kremlin itself survived.
How can one not say after this that Russia is protected by God?

We will start our excursion from Red Square, from its main attraction. Then we will go down to the Moscow River, walk around the Alexander Garden and return to Red Square. This is a route that takes less than one hour at a brisk pace.

1. Spasskaya Tower.

The most recognizable and, perhaps, the most important of all the towers. It contains entrance gate, through which tsars and metropolitans entered the Kremlin during special events and holidays. The procession of the Cross passed through them. And now the whole of Russia checks the time using them.

Previously, they were called Frolovsky, after the church of St. Frol and Lavra, located behind them. The special status of the Frolov Gate is also evidenced by its location - opposite Lobnoye Mesto.

By decree of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich (grandfather of Peter I), a pyramidal clock tower was built in place of the gate. True, the clock was located one tier lower.

Later it was forbidden to pass through the Frolov Gate with a covered head, as well as to escort animals or ride on carts. It should be noted that the royal decree simply legitimized the tradition, because these gates were already revered by the people, so no one dared to pass through them wearing a hat.

In the 17th century, an image of the Savior Not Made by Hands, brought from Vyatka, was installed above the gate, and under it there was an inscription in Latin (now there is no icon, but you can see the place where it was - a white rectangle). And the gate, and with it the tower, began to be called Spassky.
The current clock on the Tower (chimes) was installed in the 19th century and occupies three whole floors. Before the clock was installed on the Moscow State University building, it was the largest dial clock in Russia.

2. Tsar's Tower.

The smallest and one of the youngest towers of the Kremlin. The Tsar appeared from it during ceremonial events on Red Square.

Some researchers believe that royal decrees and orders were also announced from the Tsar's Tower. However, I personally am skeptical about this, because shouting from there is far away and inconvenient, but for decrees and the royal will there was the Execution Place.

Later this tower housed the fire service bells. This is indirectly evidenced by the X-shaped beams in the vault, apparently intended for hanging bells.

3. Alarm tower.

As the name suggests, it was intended for the Alarm bell, a signal bell that announced a fire and some alarming and important events in the life of the city. Because the Alarm Bell summoned the people to a “plague riot” in the 18th century, it was removed and exiled to Siberia. Now this repressed bell is in the Armory Chamber.

4. Konstantino-Eleninskaya Tower.

Previously, the Konstantinovsky Gate was located on this site (named after the Church of the Blessed Tsar Constantine, located nearby). Through these gates, which were then the main gate in the Kremlin, Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy went to war with Mamai, and through them he returned with victory after the Battle of Kulikovo.

Under Mikhail Fedorovich, the gates were walled up (on the outer wall you can see the remains of the gate structures), and under Peter I, the Church of St. Constantine and Helen was built behind them, which gave the name to the tower - Konstantino-Eleninskaya.

5. Beklemishevskaya tower.

The tower received its name from the surname of boyar Beklemishev, whose courtyard was located in this part of the Kremlin. In the tower, as in all corner towers, there is a well, which provided the besieged with water.

In modern guidebooks this tower is sometimes called Moskvoretskaya.

6.Petrovskaya Tower.

Guess who she was named after?))

Little is known about this tower. In the 18th century, Catherine II decided to redraw the Kremlin and build a huge palace in it. To do this, it was necessary to demolish part of the wall and several towers, including this one. The palace was never built (a common occurrence), and the demolished towers were restored according to old drawings.

7. Second unnamed tower.

This tower was also demolished due to a construction project started by Catherine II, but was later restored. They never came up with a name for it.

8. The first unnamed tower.

And this tower inherited from Catherine... A true manifestation of the Russian mentality: first we demolish it, so we think, then we restore what we demolished.

9. Taynitskaya Tower.

This tower is famous primarily for the fact that through it there was a secret exit to the Moscow River, which was used both to replenish supplies of provisions and water, and for partisan attacks. Some historians are of the opinion that the underground passage led from the Tainitskaya Tower all the way to the other side of the river, but there is no documentary or any other evidence for this theory.

In the tower itself, in its upper tier, at one time there was a cathedral of the Chernigov miracle workers, and now their relics have been transferred to the Archangel Cathedral.

Previously, there was a gate of the same name here, sealed under Mikhail Fedorovich. However, you can see the remains of this same gate on the wall.

10. Annunciation Tower

It was named so because of the Annunciation Cathedral, which was once located nearby, and was later moved to Cathedral Square.

It should be noted that many Kremlin buildings “moved” across its territory, demolished, rebuilt and rebuilt, so the names of some towers may not be entirely clear.

11. Vodovzvodnaya tower.

In this tower, as well as in all the corner ones, there was a well that supplied water to the besieged Kremlin. Later, pumps (water-lifting machines) and reservoirs with water were installed here, which flowed into the Grand Kremlin Palace - this is how the first water supply system in Moscow appeared. Hence the name of the tower - Vodovzvodnaya.

In 1812, Napoleon blew up the tower, but it was soon restored with complete identity.

After the revolution, when the two-headed eagles were removed from the gate towers and replaced with five-pointed stars, a luminous star was also installed on Vodovzvodnaya.

12. Borovitskaya Tower.

Today, the Borovitskaya Tower is the only entrance to the Kremlin territory, and it is also carefully guarded. They didn't let me get close to her.

It owes its name to the dense forest that once covered this part of the Kremlin hill.

Previously, it was called Predtechevskaya, named after the church of John the Baptist, which was later demolished and moved to the tent of the Borovitskaya Tower. Here there was a gate leading to the economic part of the royal court - in other words, everything that, for ideological reasons, could not be transported through the Spassky gate, was imported from here. Just like now...

Many historians believe that it was from this place that the Kremlin began, Moscow, and, in fact, all of Russia began. Here in ancient times there was a settlement of Kuchkov, which belonged to the noble man Stepan Kuchko, who was forced to cede Kremlin Hill to Yuri Dolgoruky. The first Church of the Transfiguration on Bor in Moscow was erected here, which became the beginning of Russian Orthodoxy.

So, Borovitsky Gate and the surrounding area is a source, a special place, a small piece of land, which subsequently grew to one-sixth of the land.

13. Weapon tower.

It got its name because of the Armory Chamber adjacent to it. And before the construction of the main treasury of the Kremlin, stables were located here, so the tower was called Konyushennaya.

14. Commandant's Tower.

It is also called so relatively recently - because of the Kremlin Commandant’s Office adjacent to it. And earlier there were workshops, forges and craftsmen’s houses here, so the tower was called Kolymazhnaya (from the word “kolymit” - to work) or Glukhoy. The origin of the last name is still unknown to me. Maybe someone can tell me?

15. Trinity Tower.

Naturally, it was also not always called Trinity.

Previously, in this part of the Kremlin there was a royal chicken coop, and the gate itself was called Chicken. Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich decided to ennoble this place and ordered the construction of a tower with chimes on the site of the Chicken Gate. There was not enough money for the chimes, but the tower, as you can see, was built. It received its name from the image of the Holy Trinity, which hung on its inner side. And outside there hung an image of the Sign (where the clock hangs now - the rectangle from the icon remains).

Here, too, is one of the six gates of the Kremlin, and they are operational (two gates are walled up, one is used as an entrance, two are almost always closed). Most of the visitors enter the Kremlin through them.

16. Middle Arsenal Tower.

It owes its name to the Arsenal building built behind it. Previously, when there was no Arsenal in this place, there was even a corner tower, and then, with the expansion of the Kremlin territory and the construction of the Coal Tower, it took its place in the wall.

17. Corner Arsenal Tower

Its former name was Ugolnaya (from the word “angle”) or Sobakina (apparently in honor of Marfa Sobakina). If you look closely, you will see that this is not an ordinary tower - unlike the quadrangular and round towers, it is sixteen-sided.

This is the most powerful tower of the Moscow Kremlin; its task was to control the crossing of the Neglinnaya. The tower also housed a well in case of a siege and had a secret exit to the river.

18. Nikolskaya Tower.

The tower owes its name to the image of St. Nicholas, installed on it immediately after its construction (the icon was located where the white rectangle is now. The street of the same name began from it - one of the most important in Moscow. It is also the gate to the Kremlin, now locked.

An interesting story happened with the Nikolskaya Tower.

In 1812, Napoleon managed to blow up the Nikolskaya Tower, and the destruction was colossal - less than one third of it remained. It is surprising that the image of St. Nicholas not only did not fall, but even the glass covering the icon did not crack.
Later the tower was restored in the image of Spasskaya and ancient drawings.

19. Senate Tower.

It owes its name to the Senate located behind it. There was nothing special about this tower. Except they almost called her Movzoleinaya...

20. Kutafya Tower.

Historians are still arguing about the origin of the name of this tower - either from the word “skufya” or from the word “tafya”. Considering that both of these words mean headdresses, the difference is not fundamental - the tower really looks like a hat.

Today, this is the only surviving defensive structure designed to protect the bridges leading to the Kremlin (well, there is only one bridge left - Troitsky). Previously, similar turrets stood at every bridge leading to the gate, except perhaps the Tainitsky ones.

There is also a story about this tower from the time of the Patriotic War of 1812.

When the French entered Moscow, their vanguard, led by Murat, hastened to occupy the Kremlin. On the approach to the Kutafya Tower they were met with fierce fire. Murat was very surprised, since there was a ceasefire agreement between the warring parties. It turned out that local residents, townspeople, had settled in the Kutafya Tower, ready to defend a place sacred to every Russian at the cost of their own lives. It was possible to drive them out of there only after the advance detachment received reinforcements.

Unfortunately, I cannot tell you everything I know about the towers and the Moscow Kremlin in general. This would require devoting an entire blog, or even an entire resource. However, I still hope that this little information will be useful to you, and next time, walking near the walls of the Moscow Kremlin, you will feel the spirit of history, the events that these walls witnessed.
After all, every building, every brick and every cobblestone on the pavement is our story. Our Russia is with you.
Thank you for your attention.
Best regards, Stanislav Vasiliev.
Ps. As always, I welcome questions if something was unclear.