Moscow Kremlin: interesting facts. Interesting facts about the Moscow Kremlin Several interesting facts about the Kremlin

Perhaps only the lazy have not written about the Kremlin. But there are still a lot of unsolved mysteries and little-known facts. Here are just a few of them.

1. Despite its venerable age, the Moscow Kremlin is far from the oldest surviving one. He has as many as 4 older “brothers” - in Pskov and Tula. Novgorod and Kazan.

2. The first Kremlin in Moscow was wooden and very tiny. It completely fit between the current Borovitskaya, Trinity and Tainitskaya towers, and the length of the walls was only 1,200 meters. In the 14th century, under Ivan Kalita, new walls of the Moscow Kremlin were built: wooden and plastered with clay on the outside, and stone on the inside. That is, while Rus' was under the Tatar-Mongol yoke, the Moscow princes managed to build and rebuild fortresses in the very center of the captured country! The next Kremlin was built from white stone under Dmitry Donskoy. At that time the walls were almost 2,000 meters long.

Well, what we see today is already the fourth fortress! The outside walls of the fortress are made of brick, and inside they are built from the white stone of the old walls of the Kremlin of Dmitry Donskoy. And they call the Kremlin and Moscow white stone, in general, from old memory.

3. At first the Kremlin was simply called the City (and everything around it - posads). After the appearance of Kitai-Gorod, the fortress was renamed the Old City, and only with the construction of the White City (in 1331) the Old City was finally called the Kremlin, which meant “fortress in the center of the city.”

4. The number of towers and their placement are deeply symbolic. It is known that the legendary Constantinople was laid out in three corners on all sides for seven miles. Therefore, Italian craftsmen erected 7 red-brick towers on each side of the Moscow Kremlin (counting the corner ones), trying to maintain the same distance from the center - the Assumption Cathedral. And the shape of the triangle itself is an ancient sacred symbol.

5. Once upon a time the Kremlin was an island! Two water lines and the slopes of Borovitsky Hill already gave the fortress a strategic advantage, but, nevertheless, in the 16th century a canal was dug along the northeastern wall, connecting the Neglinnaya and Moscow rivers.

6. M-shaped merlon battlements of the Kremlin walls are a typical feature of Italian fortification architecture (it is known that supporters of imperial power in Italy marked their fortresses with them). In everyday life they are called “swallowtail”. But supporters of papal power made rectangular teeth. Whether the architects themselves determined the commitment of the Russian princes, or they were prompted, history is silent about this.

7. The walls of the Moscow Kremlin were surrounded by rumors where underground wars were fought. This system protected the fortress from undermining. But that’s not all: under the walls there is a complex system of secret underground passages and labyrinths. Archaeologist N.S. Shcherbatov discovered them under almost every tower in 1894, but the photographs he took disappeared without a trace in the 1920s.

8. There were 2 monasteries in the Kremlin. Both were destroyed during Soviet times, and in their place the 14th building of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee was built (now dismantled to restore the monasteries). But this is not the only loss: in total, 28 buildings on the Kremlin territory were destroyed in the 20th century.

9. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Moscow Kremlin disappeared... It was disguised as an urban area. The red brick walls were painted in different colors, and windows and doors were painted on them to imitate individual buildings. The battlements on top of the walls and the stars of the Kremlin towers were covered with plywood roofs, and the green roofs were painted to look rusty.

It is generally accepted that not a single bomb fell on the Kremlin. In fact, fifteen high-explosive and one and a half hundred small incendiary bombs fell. For example, a bomb weighing a ton hit the Arsenal, and part of the building collapsed. The spectacle was so impressive that British Prime Minister Churchill, who later arrived in the Kremlin, stopped and took off his hat as he passed by the gap.

10. The Kremlin also has its own ghosts. The spirit of Stalin did not appear there, but the ghost of Lenin is a frequent visitor. Moreover, the spirit of the leader made his first visit during his lifetime - on October 18, 1923. According to eyewitnesses, the terminally ill Lenin unexpectedly arrived from Gorki to the Kremlin. Alone, without security, he went to his office, and then walked around the Kremlin, where he was greeted by a detachment of cadets from the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. The head of security was at first taken aback, and then rushed to call Gorki to find out why Vladimir Ilyich was unaccompanied. It was then that he learned that Lenin had not gone anywhere. After this incident, real devilry began in the leader’s Kremlin apartment: the creaking of floorboards, the sounds of moving furniture, the crackling of a telephone and even voices were heard. This continued until Ilyich’s apartment with all his belongings was transported to Gorki. But to this day, security guards and Kremlin employees sometimes see the ghost of Lenin warming his frozen hands over a fire on Cathedral Square on frosty January evenings.

Interesting facts about the Moscow Kremlin will tell the secrets and history of this building. The Kremlin is the oldest part of Moscow and the main building of history, culture, and politics. At the moment, the Moscow Kremlin is the official residence of the Russian president. What is interesting and remarkable about this building?

1. Previously, the place where the Kremlin is now built was called Borovitsky Hill. Archaeologists have found settlements of people living at that time. The finds date back to the 2nd century BC. All this indicates that the location of the Moscow Kremlin was previously the center of people’s lives. During paganism, Borovitsky Hill was the Witch Mountain. Gods were worshiped there and various rituals were performed.
2. This building contains more secrets than many people think. In addition to the main building, which everyone can see, there is also a dungeon. Experienced archaeologists are conducting research into the secret passages of the Kremlin. Interestingly, the underground labyrinths of the Kremlin and the Garden Ring are interconnected. Archaeologists have discovered an entire underground capital. From the Kremlin underground, you can get to the Sparrow Hills.
3. In the 17th century, hanging gardens were located on the territory of the Kremlin. There were two large gardens and several smaller ones. They grew fruits, nuts, and there was a real pond. Water was supplied to the gardens from a water tower.
4. Now everyone sees the Kremlin in red. Initially, when it was first built, it was also red. However, in the 17th century it was made white. One playwright described the Kremlin in these words: “The white paint, hiding the cracks, gives the Kremlin an appearance of youth that erases its past.” During the World War, a proposal was made to repaint the Kremlin to disguise it. Walls of houses and window holes were painted on it. Well, they returned it to red after the end of the war.
5. Today the Moscow Kremlin occupies a leading position among the fortresses of Russia. It is considered the largest, not only in Russia, but also in Europe.
6. The Kremlin chimes always show the exact time. The answer to this question lies underground. The cable from the chimes is connected to the control clock at the Moscow Institute of Astronomy.
7. Initially, the Kremlin was decorated with two-headed eagles. But in 1935 they were changed to ruby ​​stars.
8. One star weighs a ton. They are able to withstand strong winds and hurricanes. When there are windy days in Moscow, the stars rotate, changing their position, turning sideways to the wind.
9. The Alhill group assessed the Kremlin, its price was 50 billion dollars.
10. In the days of the tsars, anyone could visit the Kremlin territory. Tickets were also issued to visit the Kremlin palaces.
11. Now the Kremlin is the center of Moscow, a sensitive facility. Interestingly, until the middle of the last century, Muscovites lived in it. In 1955, a law was passed banning residence in the Kremlin. The last inhabitants of the Kremlin left it in 1962.
12. The Museum of Applied Arts was opened in 1955, everyone could visit it. Another grandiose building on the territory of the Kremlin is the Palace of Congresses. But they don’t take it seriously; they say that compared to other buildings, it’s like “little glass.”
13. Like all ancient buildings, the Kremlin is full of secrets. Basically, all the secrets and riddles are related to the dungeon. There is no exact map of the dungeon, it is lost. Until now, archaeologists have not been able to study many corridors. In the dungeon, there was a library of Ivan the Terrible. However, many books and documents were never found. There is an opinion that it simply burned down, or is hidden in one of the unexplored corridors.
14. When Napoleon Bonaparte attacked Russia, the Kremlin suffered enormous damage. The French invaders were looking for valuables, they plundered churches and burial sites. And when Napoleon retreated, he partially blew up the walls and towers. The Kremlin was restored only in the 18th century. The October Revolution also brought destruction. The Kremlin was bombed.
15. The Kremlin has 20 completely different towers. Each of them has its own story and name. They are built in the same style, the Nikolskaya Tower stands out from them. It is made in the Gothic style.

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The history of the Kremlin is closely connected with the history of Moscow, and not only Moscow, but also the Russian state as a whole. According to the oldest chronicle of Rus', the Ipatiev Chronicle (XV century), in 1147, the Suzdal prince Yuri Dolgoruky invited Novgorod-Seversky prince Svyatoslav Olgovich to a council in the small town of Moscow. “Come to me, brother, in Moscow,” Yuri addressed Svyatoslav. This was the first chronicle mention of Moscow. However, this does not mean that 1147 should be considered the year of the founding of Moscow. The works of scientists prove that the place where Moscow is located was inhabited approximately 5 thousand years ago.

How the meeting of the two princes went, the chronicles were not brought to us. Although it can be assumed that a military alliance was concluded, as a result of which Yuri Dolgoruky, in order to protect the western borders of the Suzdal principality, built fortified cities: Yuryev-Polsky (1152), Dmitrov (1154) and Moscow (1156). In this case, we are not talking about the founding of Moscow, but about the construction of fortifications - wooden walls that marked the beginning of the construction of the Kremlin.

True, the citadel built by Dolgoruky was not the first fortification structure on the territory of the modern Kremlin. Archaeologists have proven that at the beginning of the 12th century. there was a small fortress here, possibly the castle of a local feudal lord.

In 1156, a fortress was built on Borovitsky Hill with an eight-meter rampart and a powerful wooden wall at that time, reaching 3 m in height and 1200 m in length. The fortification existed in approximately this form until the winter of 1237/38, when the hordes of Batu Khan plundered and burned Moscow, and with it the Kremlin.

Over the next two and a half centuries, many trials befell Moscow and its citadel. Princely civil strife, foreign invasions, countless fires seemed destined to destroy the city. But Moscow survived, moreover, it became the center that united the Russian people in the struggle for independence.

The Kremlin is growing and strengthening along with the city. In 1339-1340 under Ivan Kalita, powerful defensive fortifications were erected, and behind them were the mansions of the Grand Duke, metropolitan chambers, and white-stone cathedrals. Moscow becomes the political and spiritual center of Rus', and the Kremlin becomes the residence of the grand dukes and metropolitans.

In 1367-1368. Prince Dmitry Ivanovich (later named Dmitry Donskoy), fearing another Mongol-Tatar invasion, surrounded the fortress with white stone walls and towers, located approximately 60 m from the previous oak fortifications. The Kremlin area reaches almost modern sizes.

In the second half of the 11th century. The Grand Duke of All Rus' Ivan III Vasilyevich is launching a grandiose construction project in the capital of the young and rapidly growing power. First of all, of course, the Kremlin is being rebuilt. The largest Western European architects, invited to Moscow, are developing projects for the reconstruction of the princely and metropolitan residence. In 1485-1495 the existing and to this day jagged brick walls with a length of more than 2 km and a height of 5 to 19 m are being erected, 18 large and small towers are being built at the same time, the Assumption Cathedral (1475-1479), the Annunciation Cathedral (1484-1489), the Stone Sovereign Palace with the Faceted Chamber ( 1487-1491), the foundation of the princely tomb is laid - the Archangel Cathedral (1505).

By the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th centuries. The Moscow Kremlin becomes the most significant fortification in Europe. Moreover, its towers, cathedrals, and civil buildings are perfect not only in their architecture, but also in their interiors and decoration.

The walls and towers of the Kremlin, which still stand today, were built under the Grand Duke of All Rus' Ivan III Vasilyevich in 1485-1495. They were erected by Italian architects Anton Fryazin (Antonio Gilardi), Marco Fryazin (Marco Ruffo), Pyotr Fryazin (Pietro Antonio Solari), Aleviz Fryazin the Old (Aloisio da Carcano). All these architects, oddly enough, are not brothers or even namesakes. It’s just that in Rus' at that time Italians were called “Fryags” or “Fryazins”.

According to their configuration, Kremlin towers are divided into round and quadrangular. This is not a whim of the architect, but a kind of fortification technique. Located on Borovitsky Hill, the Kremlin has an irregular triangle with an area of ​​27.5 hectares, washed from the south by the Moscow River, bounded by the Alexander Garden from the northwest, and Red Square from the east. At the corners of the triangle were the round towers Uglovaya Arsenalnaya, Vodovzvodnaya and Beklemishevskaya, which were the most durable and allowed all-round shelling. In the place where important strategic roads approached the Kremlin, powerful quadrangular towers with passage gates were erected - Spasskaya, Nikolskaya, Troitskaya, Borovitskaya, Tainitskaya, Konstantino-Eleninskaya. From the outside they were protected by archers. The remaining towers were located between the corner and passage towers and were of a purely defensive nature. Until the 17th century (when tents appeared) the towers ended with battlements, under which there were machicolations - hinged loopholes for close combat. They have survived to this day on almost all the towers.

The total length of the Kremlin walls is 2235 m, thickness from 3.5 to 6.5 and height from 5 to 19 m. From tower to tower you can walk along a military passage 2-4 m wide, laid along the walls. From the outside it is covered with 1045 two-horned teeth 2-2.5 m high and 65-70 cm thick, and from the inside there is a parapet wall. Once upon a time there was a gable wooden roof over the wall, which sheltered the archers in bad weather and protected the wall from rain, snow and wind. In the 18th century it burned down and was no longer restored as unnecessary.

In 1973, large repair and restoration work began in the Moscow Kremlin. Damaged sections of masonry on some towers were replaced. On the Senate, Borovitskaya, Vodovzvodnaya and Beklkmishevskaya towers, the tiled roofing of the tents was replaced with copper sheets made in the form of tiles.

The Moscow Kremlin has 20 towers. The “eldest” of them is Tainitskaya (1485), the youngest is Tsarskaya (1680).

Kremlin Towers: Round

Arsenal Tower.

In 1492, Solari completed the line of defense of the Kremlin from Red Square with this tower. According to the architect's plan, it was to become the most powerful corner tower. Not far from the tower were the mansions of the Sobakin boyars, so the tower was originally called Sobakina. Only at the beginning of the 13th century, after the construction of the Arsenal, the tower received its modern name. The tower is distinguished by a wide base and powerful four-meter walls that go deep into the ground. However, the tower performed not only defensive functions. To this day, there is a secret well in the tower, which in the event of a siege the garrison of the fortress could use. In addition, there was a secret exit from the tower to the Neglinnaya River, which was subsequently blocked.

Vodovzvodnaya tower.

In the southwestern corner of the Kremlin is guarded by the Vodovzvodnaya Tower. This is one of the most beautiful buildings in the entire ensemble. The tower was built in 1488 by the architect Antonio Gilardi. At first it was called Sviblova, named after the boyars Sviblova, whose courtyard adjoined the tower from the Kremlin. The tower received its modern name in 1633 after the installation of a water-lifting machine and the construction of the first pressure water pipeline in Russia to supply water from the Moskva River to the Kremlin. As contemporaries testified, this machine, manufactured under the leadership of the Englishman Christopher Golovey, cost several barrels of gold. At the end of the 17th century, a tent was erected over the tower. In 1812, French troops retreating from Moscow blew up the tower. He restored it in 1816-1819. O. I. Bove.

Beklemishevskaya tower.

This tower is located in the southeastern corner of the Kremlin triangle. It was erected in 1487 by the Italian architect Marco Ruffo. Its name is associated with the surname of the boyar I. Bersen-Beklemishev, whose courtyard adjoined it from the Kremlin. His fate was tragic. In 1525, for speaking out against the policies of Grand Duke Vasily III, he was executed, his courtyard was transferred to the treasury and was turned, like the tower itself, into a prison. In the defense of the Kremlin, the Beklemishevskaya Tower performed a very important function. She was the first to bear the brunt of the enemy hordes, as she was located at the junction of the Moscow River and the moat. In the basement of the tower, a secret hiding place was installed to prevent undermining. In the 17th century, the tower was decorated with a multifaceted high tent, which decorated and softened its severity. At the beginning of the 18th century, in anticipation of a possible attack by the Swedes, on the orders of Peter I, earthen ramparts were poured at the foot of the tower and its loopholes were cleared away to install more powerful guns. During the restoration of the tower in 1949, the loopholes were restored to their original form. The tower has another name - Moskvoretskaya. It appeared, apparently, from the Moskvoretsky Bridge, which is located nearby. The height of the tower is 46.2 m.

Quadrangular

Spasskaya Tower.

It is rightfully considered the most beautiful and slender tower of the Kremlin. The architect Pietro Antonio Solari, who built it in 1491, essentially laid the foundation for the construction of the eastern line of the Kremlin fortification with the Spasskaya Tower. From time immemorial, the gates of the Spasskaya Tower have been the main main entrance to the Kremlin. They were especially revered by the people and were considered “saints.” It was forbidden to ride through them on horseback or to walk through them with your head uncovered. Through them the regiments marching in and out entered and exited. Kings and ambassadors were met at these gates. In 1624-1625, the Russian architect Bazhen Ogurtsov and the English master Christopher Galovey erected a multi-tiered top over the tower, ending with a stone tent. This was the first tent decoration in the Kremlin towers. In the 50s of the 27th century, the coat of arms of the Russian Empire - a double-headed eagle - was erected on top of the tent of the main tower of the Kremlin. Later, similar coats of arms were installed on the highest towers - Nikolskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya. Initially, the tower was called Frolovskaya, due to the fact that the Church of Frol and Laurus was located nearby. By decree of April 16, 1658, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ordered to call it Spasskaya. The new name was associated with the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands, placed above the gate on the Red Square side. The icon itself has not survived, but the place where it hung is clearly visible. The Spasskaya Tower has 10 floors. Three floors are occupied by the mechanism of the Kremlin chimes - the main clock of the state. The height of the tower is 67.3 m (with a star 71 m).

Nikolskaya Tower.

This tower was built by the architect Pietro Antonio Solari in 1491. Its name is sometimes associated with the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, which was placed above the passage gate of the strelnitsa. Other sources associate this name with the Nikolsky Greek monastery, which was once located on Nikolskaya Street. Like all travel towers, there was a drawbridge over the moat, and there were protective bars on the gates. In the 17th century, the Nikolsky Gate served mainly as an entrance to the boyar and monastery farmsteads in the Kremlin. In 1612, during the fight against the Polish-gentry invaders, the people's militia led by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin fought through these gates and liberated the Kremlin.

In 1812, the French, retreating from Moscow, blew up the tower. It was restored by the architect O. Bove in 1816. In 1917, during the October battles, the tower was heavily damaged by artillery shelling. It was restored in 1918 by the architect N. Markovnikov.

Trinity Tower.

With this tower, the architect Aleviz Fryazin the Old completed the construction of fortifications on the side of the Neglinnaya River, later the Alexander Garden. The tower was built in 1495-1499. The significance of the tower for the western facade of the Kremlin is the same as Spasskaya for the eastern. The architect who built the tower in 1685 took this into account and gave its hipped roof almost the same decorative decoration as Spasskaya’s. The tower is six-story, with deep two-story basements that served for defense purposes, and later in the 15th-16th centuries were used as a prison. There is evidence that there was a clock on the tower in 1585, which existed until the beginning of the 19th century, until it burned down in 1812. Recently, the clock was installed again on the Trinity Tower. The tower received its modern name in 1658 from the Trinity Metochion in the Kremlin. Before that, it was called Epiphany, Znamenskaya, Karetnaya after the churches located in the Kremlin and Karetny Dvor. In 1516, the stone Trinity Bridge was built across the Neglinnaya River. The tower gate served as a passage to the mansions of the queen and princesses, to the court of the patriarch. The Trinity Tower is the tallest tower in the Kremlin, its height with the star from the side of the Alexander Garden is 80 m.

Borovitskaya Tower

At the foot of one of the seven hills on which Moscow stands, there is a tower that differs from the others in its stepped shape. This is the Borovitskaya Tower. Its name comes from an ancient forest that once covered the entire hill. The Borovitskaya Tower was built by the Italian architect Pietro Antonio Solari in 1490. The Borovitskaya Tower has a very unique shape. A similar step pyramid can be seen in Kazan - near the tower of Queen Syuyumbek. The powerful, square base continues with three tetrahedrons decreasing upward. The entire structure ends with an open octagon (a part of the building that has an octagonal shape in plan) with a high stone tent. The archer in this tower is not located in front, as in other Kremlin towers, but on the side, taking into account the rotation of the wall. Here you can see the hole through which the chains of the drawbridge, dismantled in 1821, passed, and in the gate passage there are vertical grooves for the protective grille. Unlike the front Spassky and Trinity gates, the Borovitsky gates had a purely utilitarian purpose: they drove through them to the outbuildings - Zhitny and Konyushenny courtyards. In 1812, during the explosion of the neighboring Vodovzvodnaya tower by retreating French troops, the Borovitskaya tower was also damaged - the top of its tent fell. In 1816-1819, the tower was repaired under the leadership of O. I. Bove.

Tainitskaya Tower.

The “oldest” tower of the Moscow Kremlin is Tainitskaya. The construction of the Kremlin fortifications began with it. A secret well was dug under the tower, to which the tower and its gates owe their name. In the event of a siege, the Kremlin could be supplied with water through this well and underground passage. The tower was built in 1485 by Peter Anthony Fryazin. At the end of the 17th century, a tent was erected over the tower.

Unfortunately, the tower, built in the 15th century, has not reached us. In 1770, it was demolished, as the Kremlin began construction of the Kremlin Palace according to the design of V. Bazhenov. However, already in 1771-1773 the tower was restored according to the measurement drawings of M. Kazakov with the subsequent addition of a hipped top. In the 60s of the last century, a diverting archery was added to the tower, where the guns of the self-propelled battery were located. In 1930, the archery was dismantled, and the gates and hiding places were sealed. Its height is 38.4 m.

Konstantino-Eleninskaya Tower

This tower was built by the architect Pietro Antonio Solari in 1490 on the site of the Timofeevsky Gate of the white-stone Kremlin, through which Dmitry Donskoy went to the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380. The tower got its name from the nearby Church of Constantine and Helena. At first the tower was a passage tower, had a diversion arch and a drawbridge. In the 17th century, the passage was closed, and a torture chamber was set up in the diversion arch. In 1680, a tent top was built on the tower, and at the end of the 18th century, the archery and bridge were broken, and then the gate was blocked. Now the arch of the gate is clearly visible, above it there is a recess for the gate icon and traces of vertical slots for the bridge lifting mechanism. The height of the tower is 36.8 m. The Annunciation Tower was built in 1487-1488. This is a low tetrahedral tower. At its base there are slabs of white limestone. They are preserved from the ancient white stone Kremlin of the 14th century. During the time of Ivan the Terrible, the tower was used as a prison. At the end of the 17th century, a stone tent with a decorative watchtower was built on the Annunciation Tower. The name of the tower comes from the miraculous icon of the Annunciation that was once placed here, and is also associated with the Church of the Annunciation, which was added to the tower at the beginning of the 18th century. At the same time, a bell tower was built in the watchtower, where seven bells were placed, and the weather vane was replaced with a cross. The tower served as a chapel for the church; ancient loopholes were hewn into large windows. In the 17th century, the Portomoyny Gate was built next to the tower for the passage of palace laundresses to the Portomoyny raft on the Moscow River to rinse their ports and linen. In 1813, the Portomoynye Gate was blocked, but traces of them are still preserved and are clearly visible from the inside of the Kremlin. In the depths of the tower there was a deep underground. The height of the tower is 30.7 m (with a weather vane - 32.45 m).

Defensive

Senate tower.

The tower is located immediately behind the Spasskaya Tower, behind the Mausoleum of V.I. Lenin. The tower was built in 1491 by the architect Pietro Antonio Solari. The Senate Tower performed purely defensive functions and protected the Kremlin from Red Square. For a long time she was nameless. The tower received its name after M. Kazakov built the Senate building on the territory of the Kremlin in 1787, the dome of which is clearly visible from Red Square. Inside the main volume of the tower there are three tiers of vaulted rooms. The blank, square tower in 1860 was built with a stone tent, crowned with a gilded weather vane. The height of the tower is 34.3 m.

Middle Arsenal Tower.

On the northwestern side of the Kremlin wall, stretching along the Alexander Garden, by 1495 the Middle Arsenal Tower had risen. It is located on the site of the corner tower of the Kremlin from the time of Dmitry Donskoy. 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 edge. In 1680 the tower was built on. It is crowned with a see-through watchtower with a tent. In 1821, when laying out the Alexander Garden, a pleasure grotto was built at the foot of the tower according to the design of O. I. Bove.

Alarm tower.

This tower was built in 1495. It got its name from the alarm bell, which notified Muscovites about impending events or danger. The tower was placed on a hill and overlooked the southern surroundings. Guards were on duty on the tower around the clock, monitoring the roads. Noticing fire or columns of smoke, which was a sign of the approach of an enemy army, the guards sounded the alarm, and residents of the surrounding villages hurried to take refuge in the fortress or behind the walls of monasteries. The Last Bell was severely “punished” by Catherine II for disclosing the “bad news.” In 1771, the Plague Riot broke out in Moscow. The rebellious townspeople sounded the alarm, calling the people to the Kremlin. After the suppression of the uprising, Catherine II, without knowing who exactly was ringing the alarm, ordered the tongue to be torn out from the bell. For more than 30 years, the numb bell hung on the tower. In 1803 it was removed and transferred first to the Arsenal, and then in 1821 to the Armory.

Kutafya tower.

This is the only surviving bridgehead tower of the Kremlin, which served to protect the bridges leading to the fortress. It was built in 1516 under the leadership of the Milanese architect Aleviz Fryazin. Low, surrounded by a moat and a river, with a single gate that was tightly closed in moments of danger, the tower was a formidable barrier for those besieging the fortress. The tower consisted of two combat tiers; on the upper platform there were hinged loopholes. Drawbridges across the moat that surrounded the tower led to the side tower gates. To this day, preserved slots for the lifting chains can be seen at the side gates. It is still not entirely known where the name of the tower came from. Most likely, the name of the tower comes from its shape: as Dahl’s dictionary testifies, in Russian folk dialects the word “kutafya” meant “a clumsily, ugly dressed woman.”

Command tower.

This is a small, blank, austere tower. Its construction was completed by 1495. Previously, it was called Kolymazhnaya - from the Kolymazhny yard in the Kremlin, where the royal carts and carriages were kept. It received its current name in the 19th century: the commandant of Moscow lived next to it in the Poteshny Palace. Like all the Kremlin towers, it was built with a tent with a tower in 1676-1686. The height of the tower from the Alexander Garden side is 41.25 m.

Petrovskaya Tower.

The tower received its name from the church of Metropolitan Peter, located in the courtyard of the Ugreshsky Monastery, located in the Kremlin, next to the tower. In its architecture, the Petrovskaya Tower differs sharply from its neighboring towers. A second one was placed on the lower two-tier quadrangle with false hinged loopholes. It is divided into two tiers by cornices and thin semi-columns at the corners. The tower ends at the top with an octagonal pyramidal tent. The Petrovskaya Tower was destroyed by cannon shots during the Polish intervention in 1612 and then restored. In 1771 it was broken in connection with the construction of the Kremlin Palace, but was soon restored in 1783. In 1812, the tower was blown up by retreating French troops. It was rebuilt by the architect O.I. Bove in 1818 and since then it has not been changed. The Petrovskaya Tower, erected “for a better appearance and strength,” served the household needs of the Kremlin gardeners. The height of the tower is 27.15 m.

The first unnamed tower.

In the 1480s, next to the Taynitskaya Tower, the First Nameless Tower was built, distinguished by its spare architectural forms. She always performed purely defensive functions. The tower ends with a tetrahedral pyramidal tent. The architectural proportions of the tower indicate that it was built later than the Second Nameless Tower. In the 15th-16th centuries, gunpowder was stored in this tower. The tower has a difficult fate. In 1547, the tower collapsed due to a gunpowder explosion, and in the 17th century it was rebuilt. At the same time it was built with a tent tier. In 1770-1771, the tower was dismantled to make way for the construction of the Kremlin Palace according to the design of V. I. Bazhenov. When construction of the palace was stopped, the tower was built again in 1783 somewhat closer to the Tainitskaya Tower. In this form it has survived to this day. The height of the tower is 34.15 m.

The second unnamed tower.

The tower was built in the middle of the 15th century. She always performed purely defensive functions. In 1680, this tower was built on, adding an upper quadrangle and a high pyramidal tent with an observation tower. The tower is crowned with a small octagonal tent with a weather vane. In ancient times, this tower had a gate, which was later blocked. In 1771, in connection with the construction of the Kremlin Palace, it was demolished, and after construction ceased, it was rebuilt. Inside the quadrangle there are two tiers of vaulted rooms.

Red Square

The square arose, according to chronicles, at the end of the 15th century, when Ivan III ordered the demolition of wooden buildings around the Kremlin, which constantly threatened it with fire, and allocate this place for trade. This is how the first name of the square appeared - Torg. True, the square was not called that way for long. In the 16th century, it began to be called Trinity - after the Church of the Holy Trinity, on the site of which St. Basil's Cathedral was subsequently erected.

Documents from the 17th century indicate that in those days the square was called Pozhar. It must be said that in Rus' one and the same object could have several names. So Krasnaya Square (from V.I. Dahl’s dictionary it follows that the word “red” among our ancestors meant beautiful, wonderful, excellent, best) officially began to be called only in the 19th century, although it was mentioned under this name in documents of the 17th century. Different centuries have left their traces on the square. XV century - the Kremlin wall with the Spasskaya, Senate and Nikolskaya towers; XVI century - Place of Execution and St. Basil's Cathedral.

Cathedral Square of the Kremlin

The Kremlin's Cathedral Square is one of the oldest in Moscow. Its appearance dates back to the beginning of the 14th century. The Assumption, Annunciation and Archangel Cathedrals, the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great, the Faceted Chamber and other monuments of Russian architecture rise on the square.

Cathedral Square was the main square of the Kremlin. In ancient times, ceremonial processions took place on it on the occasion of the crowning of kings and the coronation of emperors. They were usually accompanied by magnificent military escorts. Foreign ambassadors were greeted in front of the Red Porch of the Faceted Chamber. Funeral processions also took place here to the Archangel Cathedral - the tomb of the Moscow Grand Dukes and Tsars - and the Assumption Cathedral - the burial place of Moscow metropolitans and patriarchs. The uniquely beautiful architectural ensemble of Cathedral Square, picturesque and harmonious, was created by the labor and talent of Russian masters from Moscow, Vladimir, Pskov, and Italian architects. Built more than 500 years ago, this magnificent ensemble still excites today with the grandeur of its design.

Blagoveshchensky cathedral.

In the southwestern part of Cathedral Square there is an elegant nine-domed Annunciation Cathedral with golden domes. The cathedral was built in 1484-1489 by Pskov craftsmen as the house fortress of the Grand Duke of Moscow. Initially, the temple was small and was crowned with three heads. In the 60s of the 16th century, four single-domed churches (altars) were erected above the galleries of the cathedral and two false ones - thus, the cathedral turned into a nine-domed structure. In the 70s of the 16th century, a porch with a high white stone porch was built for Ivan the Terrible. The cathedral was connected with the palace by a special passage. During ceremonies held on Cathedral Square, the temple served as the grand exit from the palace for the prince (later the tsar) and his retinue. The cathedral was built in the traditions of early Moscow architecture. But since it was built by Pskovites, then, naturally, there are features of Pskov architecture: an octagon under the central drum, original belts on the heads and many other decorative elements. There are two entrances with high porches leading to the temple from the square. They enter the cathedral through the northern porch and find themselves in a gallery, the walls of which are painted with frescoes on biblical themes (“Miracle with the Prophet Jonah”, “He rejoices in you”, “Trinity”, “The Tree of Jesus”, “The exploits of monastic hermits” and others). In the piers, on the slopes of the vaults and on the pilasters, ancient philosophers and writers are depicted in full height: Aristotle, Thucydides, Plutarch, Homer, Virgil and others - at that time educated people in Rus' were familiar with their works. From the gallery, through a portal decorated with white stone carvings, you can enter the central part of the temple. The greatest value of the cathedral is the iconostasis. The icons in the iconostasis are arranged in five rows. The third row is called “festive” - its icons depict various Christian holidays. Seven icons on the left side of the row (except for the fourth, it was painted by an unknown Pskov master of the 16th century) - “Annunciation”, “Nativity of Christ”, “Candlemas”, “Baptism”, “Transfiguration”, “Resurrection of Lazarus” and “Entrance into Jerusalem” - belong to the brushes of Andrei Rublev. The remaining icons in this row of the iconostasis - “Last Vespers”, “Crucifixion”, “Entombment”, “Descent into Hell”, “Ascension”, “Descent of the Holy Spirit”, “Assumption” - were made by the artist Prokhor from Gorodets. The main row of the iconostasis is deesis (from the Greek word “deesis” - prayer). It is located below the festive. The main theme of the series is the intercession of saints (they are depicted in full growth) for mere mortals before God. Most of the icons in this series (except for “Archangel Michael” and “Apostle Peter”) were painted by Theophan the Greek. Of considerable interest is the cathedral's murals, made in 1508 by an artel of artists headed by Theodosius, the son of the famous Dionysius. There are both traditional motifs and new ones, characteristic of the 16th century. A large place in the painting is occupied by scenes on the theme of the Apocalypse (to the right and left of the iconostasis on the vaults under the choir and on the arches supporting the choir). In addition to biblical subjects, purely secular motifs can be seen in the wall paintings - images of Byzantine emperors and Russian princes (pillars of the central part of the temple and pilasters). At the western wall, according to custom, there are choirs for the queen and the royal children. The floor of the cathedral looks very unusual. During the time of Ivan the Terrible, the floor was paved with tiles made of precious agate-like jasper.

Cathedral of the Archangel.

The Archangel Cathedral was built in 1505-1509 by the architect Aleviz Novy, invited from Italy, in the traditions of Russian architecture, but its rich decoration bears the features of the Italian Renaissance. Construction began under Ivan III and was completed under his son, Grand Duke Vasily Ivanovich. Before this, there was the ancient Archangel Cathedral, built by Ivan Kalita in 1333 in memory of the deliverance of Moscow from severe famine. At the beginning of the 16th century, due to its cramped space, it was dismantled to make way for the construction of a more extensive temple. The walls of the cathedral end with zakomaras. The zakomars are decorated with white stone shells, and the facades are decorated with pilasters with capitals, cornices and a high white stone plinth. From the outside, the walls of the cathedral are divided into two tiers by a horizontal belt, which gives it the appearance of a two-story civil building. The cathedral is crowned with five domes. The central dome was gilded, the side domes were painted silver. On the eastern side of the cathedral, at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries, two single-domed churches were added - “St. Wan” and “John the Baptist”. In the north and west, the cathedral is decorated with carved white stone portals in the Italian Renaissance style. Since the time of Ivan Kalita, the Archangel Cathedral has been the tomb of the great Moscow princes and tsars. The oldest tomb - Ivan Kalita, who died in 1342 - is located near the southern wall of the cathedral. Burials in the cathedral continued until Peter I.

Assumption Cathedral.

The Assumption Cathedral stands on the site of the first stone cathedral in Moscow built by Ivan Kalita in 1326-1327. It, in turn, was preceded by the oldest Moscow churches, a wooden one from the 12th century and a stone one from the 13th century. The Assumption Cathedral was built by the Italian architect Aristotle Fioravanti, invited by Ivan III. The cathedral was erected in 1475-1479 on the model of the Assumption Cathedral of the 12th century in the ancient Russian city of Vladimir. This emphasized the continuity of Moscow in relation to one of the ancient centers of the Russian land. For four centuries, the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin remained the main temple of Rus', where heirs to the throne were crowned, state acts were announced, metropolitans and patriarchs were elected at church councils, and other solemn ceremonies were performed. The cathedral served as the tomb of Moscow patriarchs and metropolitans. Their tombs line the walls. The main entrance to the temple is located from the cathedral square. The wide staircase ends with a portal of three semicircular arches. The entrance to the building is guarded, as it were, by the Archangel Michael and the Guardian Angel; figures of saints are inscribed in the arches above. Above them is an image of the Virgin and Child. Over the centuries, icons created by Russian painters accumulated in the Assumption Cathedral. The most ancient icon of the cathedral is “St. George” (in front of the iconostasis). During the Patriotic War of 1812, the cathedral was devastated by Napoleonic troops. A chandelier that hangs in the center of the cathedral was forged from some of the silver that was then beaten off by the Russian Cossacks. The oldest monument of applied art in the cathedral is its southern doors (brought to Moscow from the Suzdal Cathedral, dating back to the beginning of the 15th century), on which 20 images on biblical themes are painted in gold over black varnish.

Armouries.

Almost five centuries have passed since the first mention of the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin that has survived to this day was recorded in ancient acts. This happened in 1508. But long before this date, in 1339, the spiritual letter of the Moscow prince Ivan Kalita spoke about the values ​​that laid the foundation for the creation of the grand ducal treasury. Mention was made of jewelry, dishes made of precious metals, church vessels, clothing made of magnificent fabrics, and expensive weapons. A century later, the grand ducal treasury already included numerous valuables stored in the basements of the Kremlin palaces and cathedrals.

By the end of the 15th century, Moscow became a kind of center of artistic crafts. There are many skilled Russian and foreign craftsmen working at the Moscow court who have created many excellent monuments. Many of them became part of the Armory Chamber. The political successes of the Moscow princes allowed them to establish diplomatic relations with the major powers of the East and West. Numerous foreign embassies delivered luxurious gifts to Moscow: silver cups, precious fabrics, pearls, military equipment, ceremonial horse harness. During the reign of Ivan III, the grand ducal treasury grew so much that in 1485, a two-story stone building with a high hipped roof and deep basements was specially erected to store it in the Kremlin, between the Archangel and Annunciation Cathedrals. It was called the “state yard”. There are almost three hundred deep cellars here. It was called the “state yard”. The treasures of Moscow rulers were kept here for almost three hundred years. A significant part of the treasures of the State House consisted of products made on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin, in art workshops, or “chambers”. The current museum owes its name to the leading Kremlin workshop, the Armory, which has long produced bladed weapons and firearms, as well as military armor of all types. Many first-class examples have survived to this day, doing credit to Russian weapons craftsmanship. The Konushennaya Treasury was also located on the territory of the Kremlin, the products of which - saddles, blankets - were given an important place in the design of all court ceremonies: royal trips, hunting, ambassadorial meetings. In the Tsaritsyn and Sovereign Chambers, also located in the Moscow Kremlin, they sewed luxurious clothes from imported fabrics, laying out patterns of remarkable beauty and richness on their surfaces with pearls and gems. The craftsmen of the Golden and Silver Chambers made precious dishes and a huge amount of gold jewelry in the Kremlin.

In 1844, St. Petersburg architect K. A. Ton began construction of a new building at the Borovitsky Gate of the Kremlin, completing it by 1851. The spacious halls of the second floor of this building house the relics of the Armory Chamber. The exhibition presents weapons, military armor and attributes of the 13th-18th centuries: bows, quivers, arrows, armor, chain mail, sabers, swords, maces, spears, battle axes. Two halls contain wonderful works by Russian gold and silversmiths of the 12th-19th centuries. The only collection of fabrics and clothing from the 14th to 19th centuries in the world in terms of its completeness and uniqueness of exhibits contains the best examples of artistic weaving, embroidery with gold, silver and pearls of Byzantine, Iranian, Turkish, Italian, Spanish, French and Russian production. Among the gifts to the Russian tsars from foreign countries of the West and East, exhibited in the museum, are works of Polish, German, English, Dutch, French jewelers of the 15th-19th centuries, oriental products made of crystal, jasper, and ivory. On display are court vestments from various eras, secular clothing of the 16th-17th centuries, ceremonial military armor, Russian pre-revolutionary orders and orders of foreign states, tapestries, and tapestries. The so-called stable treasury is on display - ceremonial horse equipment made by Russian and foreign masters, a unique collection of carriages, where each is a work of art. The Armory Chamber, one of the world's richest treasuries, continues to grow in our time: the collection is constantly replenished with rare items donated to the museum by various government agencies, as well as private individuals.

Faceted Chamber.

The Faceted Chamber is one of the few surviving parts of the royal palace, built at the end of the 15th century by Ivan III, his ceremonial throne room. This is the oldest of the stone civil buildings in Moscow. It was built in 1487-1491 by Russian craftsmen under the guidance of Italian architects Marco Ruffo and Pietro Antonio Solari. The chamber building with a clear silhouette of a simple rectangular volume is distinguished by the unusual decoration of the main facade. It is faced with tetrahedral white limestone (hence the name), starting from the basement floor and ending below the cornice. The Chamber itself is a huge square hall with cross vaults resting on a central pillar. The majestic and spacious hall, 9 meters high, is illuminated by 18 windows located on three sides, and in the evening by 4 round massive chandeliers. They were made in the 19th century from bronze according to the model of ancient Novgorod chandeliers. The floor area of ​​the Chamber of Facets is 495 square meters. In the second half of the 16th century, the Chamber of Facets was decorated with murals on church and biblical themes. Over the centuries, many major events in the life of the Russian state were celebrated in the Faceted Chamber; it was the ceremonial throne room. Foreign ambassadors were received there, the heirs to the Russian throne were solemnly announced, Zemsky Councils met, at one of which, more than 300 years ago, the issue of reunification of Ukraine with Russia was resolved. The victories of the Russian troops were celebrated here.

Bell tower of Ivan the Great and belfry.

In the center of the Kremlin on Cathedral Square stands one of the most remarkable buildings of the 16th century, the Ivan the Great Bell Tower. It unites all the ancient churches of the Moscow Kremlin into a majestic architectural ensemble. The bell tower is considered a miracle of architectural art of the 16th century. The history of the bell tower goes back centuries. Under Ivan Kalita in 1329, approximately on the site of the existing bell tower, a small stone church was built in honor of John Climacus. In 1505 this church was dismantled and in 1508 a new one was founded, the builder of which was the architect Bon Fryazin. In 1532-1543, the architect Petrok Maly added a rectangular belfry of the Novgorod-Pskov type with the Church of the Ascension to the north side of the bell tower. The belfry housed a thousand-pound bell called the Blagovestnik. To enter the temple, which was located on the third tier of the belfry, Moscow craftsmen built a high stone staircase in 1552. The Ivan the Great Bell Tower is a three-tiered pillar made of elongated, tapering octahedrons, placed one on top of the other. Each of the octahedrons has a terrace and an open gallery, in the arched spans of which bells are placed. The galleries of the tiers house bells, which are remarkable monuments of Russian foundry art of the 16th-19th centuries. The height of the bell tower is 81 meters. It was the main watchtower of the Kremlin, from the height of which Moscow and its surroundings within a radius of up to 30 kilometers were clearly visible.

Church of the Deposition of the Robe.

The small one-domed Church of the Deposition of the Robe was built by Pskov craftsmen in 1484-1486.

This church is located on the site of the ancient Church of the Deposition of the Robe, erected in 1451 by Metropolitan Jonah in memory of the deliverance of Moscow from the invasion of the Tatar hordes of Mazowsza. On the night of July 2, 1451, the Tatars approached Moscow, but suddenly retreated, leaving behind all the loot. This event was caused by a political struggle in the camp of the enemy, but the church gave it a purely religious significance, since it coincided with the church holiday "Provisions of the Robe". In memory of this, the church was named. In 1473, it burned down along with the metropolitan's courtyard. On the vacant site, a new brick church was erected on the basement, surrounded on three sides by an open porch-gullbishche. It retained its old name.

Moscow is fraught with many mysteries. For some of them, look at

1. Tram is a very old type of Moscow public transport; the first electric line opened in 1899. Therefore, some tram stops in Moscow are quite old. One pre-revolutionary pavilion is still pleasing to the eye on Krasnostudenchesky passage near the Dubki park. And tram number 3 is the oldest route in the capital (now it runs from Chistye Prudy to Balaklavsky Prospekt).2. There are many rumors about the Moscow metro. There are some reliable ones among them. For example, there are actually four abandoned stations: Volokolamskaya (between Tushinskaya and Shchukinskaya), Sovetskaya (between Teatralnaya and Tverskaya), Pervomaiskaya (between Partizanskaya and Izmailovskaya - not confuse with modern names of the same name), "Kaluzhskaya" (between "New Cheryomushki" and modern "Kaluzhskaya"). Traces of these stations - poles and even vestibules - can be seen if you peer into the darkness while moving along the stretch.3. Moscow is so old that there are cars here that are older than any resident. They live in the Lomakovsky Museum of Vintage Cars on Krasnodarskaya Street in Lyublino.

4. Since 1980, the “Lights of Moscow” museum has been operating in Armenian Lane, dedicated to the history of city lighting. Antique lamps, lanterns, photographs and drawings of various types of lighting devices - there is so much collected here! If you can’t find the Lefortovo lantern, this is definitely the place for you. Pay attention to the master classes organized by the museum: who can resist “The History of Fireworks” and “Ballroom Noble Traditions of the 18th Century”?

5. Bolshoi Kamenny, perhaps, has the longest history among Moscow bridges. In the 17th century, the first stone bridge in Moscow was built on this site. Later, two centuries later, a metal one was erected in its place, and only in 1938 a modern one made of reinforced concrete appeared. At the same time, the name - Bolshoi Kamenny - remained with it. And to justify it, the bridge was lined with granite. By the way, you can admire the live panorama of the Kremlin, depicted on the back cover of all Russian passports, from the middle of this particular bridge.

6. Since 1938, the sculpture “Border Guard with a Dog” at the Ploshchad Revolyutsii metro station has been an object of worship for passengers. Even in the hustle and bustle, many people do not forget to rub the dog’s nose. At first it was fun for students: if you rub your nose, you pass a test, if you rub your paw, you get an exam. Everyone has long forgotten about this, and a dog’s nose has simply become a harbinger of good luck.

7. Along with traditional monuments to Pushkin, Lermontov and many other worthy people, there are also outlandish monuments in Moscow. For example, a stool (Taganskaya street), processed cheese “Friendship” (at the intersection of Rustaveli streets and Ogorodny Prospekt), a monument to a janitor (the intersection of Bazhov and Malakhitova streets) and a student (the sculpture adorns the entrance to the MIIT building, and it was installed in honor of the 110th according to student enrollment).

8. The first 10 electric lamps in Moscow were lit on the towers of the Kremlin and Lefortovo Palace in 1856 on the days of the coronation of Alexander II.

9. Moscow is a pioneer in the development of higher education for women. Its beginning is associated with the opening of the Moscow Higher Women's Courses by Professor V.I. Guerrier in 1872. Today it is the Moscow State Pedagogical University.

10. Epiphany Cathedral (Elokhovskaya Church) is the only one in Moscow equipped with an elevator. The height of its shaft is 21 m; the elevator was made for Patriarch Pimen.

11. There is an anchor near the 35 mm cinema. There is a simple explanation for this: in Soviet times, the cinema was called “Novorossiysk”, and the anchor (as a symbol of the city) was specially brought from the Black Sea Fleet.

12. On Yakimanskaya embankment (house 4, building 1) a mark about the flood of 1908 has been preserved. The sign hangs on the corner of the house at a height of 2 m above the level of the embankment - that April, boatmen carried residents along the streets and between houses.

13. The expression “bird's milk” for a long time meant something unheard of, the limit of desire. Until in 1975, the confectioner of the Prague restaurant on Arbat, V. M. Guralnik, came up with a recipe for a new cake, which he gave the name “Bird's Milk”. Muscovites liked it so much that they “hunted” for it, stood in huge queues, and invited guests to see it.

14. In 1993, during excavation work on Pyatnitskaya Street, a clay jar with 726 silver kopecks and 21 gold coins was discovered, which was completely uncharacteristic of Russian coinage - they were minted for a short time at the beginning of the 17th century and were used to pay foreign mercenaries, Russian archers or as award insignia. According to numismatists, the treasure was buried in 1610 by one of the foreign mercenaries before the Smolensk campaign. By the way, this is not the only Moscow treasure. And how many of them have not yet been found...

15. In 1910, rent in Moscow was 97.1 rubles per month for a large apartment (6 rooms), 33.7 rubles for a medium apartment (4-6 rooms), 19.8 for a small apartment (up to 4 rooms).

16. In 1910 there were 606 restaurants and taverns in Moscow; 933 taverns, snack bars, tea houses, coffee shops; 25 buffets and 905 beer shops and wineries. Today, according to the Department of Consumer Market and Services, there are 3,500 restaurants and cafes in Moscow.

17. In 1900, there were 36 recognized photographers in Moscow. Today, it seems, no less than 36 photographers live in every house in the most remote area of ​​​​Moscow. And the same number of journalists.

18. In 1902, a kilogram of bread cost 1 kopeck, caviar - 1 ruble, beef - 12-13 kopecks, butter - 12-13 kopecks, sturgeon - 20 kopecks. Note that the daily earnings of a worker (mechanic, blacksmith) averaged 1–2 rubles. At the same time, a skilled worker could receive about 50 rubles a month, and people in the government service and in ranks had much higher salaries.

"Unsolved Mysteries": Maroseyka

Maroseyka is a very small street. You can walk it at a leisurely pace in literally five minutes. But every house that an attentive pedestrian meets on the way keeps so many amazing stories, mysteries and secrets that one always wants to stay here longer. What secrets does this street keep? Where did the Mazurin curse come from? What movie was filmed at the college, “Maroseyka”?

Murder of the Jeweler

In the spring of 1867, Moscow was shocked by the shocking news: a stone's throw from the Kremlin, in one of the most respectable quarters of the city - on Maroseyka - a brutal murder was committed. Jeweler Ilya Kalmykov was stabbed to death. Moreover, he did not die at the hands of street robbers: Vasily Mazurin, a representative of a well-known merchant dynasty, was accused of murder.

“It was a crime that Moscow was talking about for not only a few days, but several months. Because, of course, for that era it was not typical for such people to appear in a rich family, ”says Alexander Mishin, a Moscow historian.

Reporters from the newspaper Moskovskie Vedomosti relished the details with might and main. The killer and victim knew each other well and had a close business relationship. Therefore, an invitation to dinner at the Mazurins’ estate, on Bolshoi Zlatoustinsky Lane, did not arouse any suspicion among the jeweler Ilya Kalmykov. In a good mood, he went to visit the house of a respected family.

The door was opened by Vasily Mazurin himself. After exchanging pleasantries, the gentlemen proceeded to the office. The jeweler sat comfortably in his armchair, prepared to light a cigar. At that moment, his business partner and longtime friend Mazurin calmly took a razor from the sideboard and slashed the guest in the throat. Yes, so cleverly that Kalmykov did not even cry out.

“As the killer himself later testified during the investigation, in the evening he goes to the pharmacy, buys the so-called Zhdanovskaya liquid - this drug prevents the spread of the smell of decomposition and decomposition itself, wraps the body in American oilcloth and leaves everything as it is,” says Moscow expert Alexander Mishin. The body of Ilya Kalmykov could not be found for a long time - he lay in the basement of a house in Bolshoi Zlatoustinsky Lane for more than six months.

"Little Russian"

The imagination of contemporaries was especially struck by the fact that the bloody drama took place in one of the most prestigious areas of Moscow. From time immemorial, nobility have settled in these places, not far from the Kremlin. So why did Vasily Mazurin, a representative of a famous family, a rich and respected man, commit such a bloody crime? What terrible secret does ancient Maroseyka and its quiet alleys hide?

“The name “Maroseyka” appears only in the 17th century after the famous epic with the reunification of Russia and Little Russia. It was here that the Little Russian Compound appeared, starting from the middle of the 17th century. That is, “Maroseyka” is “Little Russian” or “Little Russian,” notes Moscow expert Denis Drozdov.

Maroseyka became a street only in the 19th century. Two centuries earlier, there was a road leading from the Kremlin to the village of Pokrovskoye-Rubtsovo, the country residence of the Romanovs. In those days this area was called the royal path. In the 17th-18th centuries, the city estates lined along it were wooden. They all died in a fire in 1812. But the stone buildings from the end of the 18th century have survived to this day.

Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Klenniki

Before the revolution, there were many churches and chapels on Maroseyka. Every self-respecting merchant or nobleman with sufficient funds considered it his duty to build a church. However, most of the temples and churches on Maroseyka have not survived.

“The Soviet government destroyed churches. Exactly half of the churches were completely demolished. Memories and photographs remain. But something has been restored - at the beginning of Maroseyka there is a wonderful church of St. Nicholas in Blinniki or St. Nicholas in Klenniki,” says Moscow historian Alexander Mishin.

The first mention of the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker on Maroseyka dates back to 1657. Before that, there was a small wooden church here, which appeared during the reign of Ivan III and was named after Simeon Divnogorets. It was this saint, as the inhabitants of Moscow believed, who saved the Kremlin from fire, not allowing the all-devouring flame to spread to him from the White City.

“Our temple changed its name several times. It was “Behind bars at the Pokrovsky gate”, “In Blinniki”, “In Klinniki” - a variety of names. But somewhere from the middle of the 19th century, the name “In Klenniki” was already established. What this is connected with is not recorded in the annals, but, it seems, there is a legend that once there was a maple grove here, ”says Alexandra Kozhevnikova, head of the archive of the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Klenniki.

The temple gained particular fame in the late 19th - early 20th centuries, when priest Alexei Mechev served as rector here.

Father Aleksey not only consoled his parishioners, but also urged them to help each other. Thus, in the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Klenniki, a community was formed, which, according to the most conservative estimates, numbered about 300 people.

The Marose community also existed after the temple was looted and closed in 1932. The parishioners secretly held divine services, risking their lives to save the shrines of the temple - including the main image of this monastery, the miraculous Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God, the patroness of motherhood.

“This image was taken away by a parishioner of this temple, the spiritual daughter of the holy righteous Alexei and Hieromartyr Sergius, Maria Nikolaevna Sokolova. She was a nun in secret, no one knew about it until her death,” said Alexandra Kozhevnikova, head of the archives of the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Klenniki.

Also, in an atmosphere of complete secrecy, Maria Sokolova taught icon painting and studied the techniques of this ancient craft. She founded an icon painting circle at the Moscow Theological Academy, which then turned into an icon painting school.

Decades later, in 1990, when the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Klenniki was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church, the followers and students of Maria Sokolova were able to contribute to the revival of the monastery. They created examples of new iconography that adorn the walls of the church to this day. And the temple also has its own Book of Miracles, or rather, a multi-volume collection of them.

There are also monuments from the Soviet era on Maroseyka. For example, the newest building built on this street next to the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is the so-called House of Trusts.

“On the top floor there was a trust called Glavyaytso, which provided the entire Soviet Union with relevant products. Then the Ministry of Finance, from 1939 to 1991 in this building - the headquarters of our Komsomol, the main building of the Komsomol Central Committee. Therefore, the entire block was given over to the youth organization, and the lanes behind this block were Bolshoi and Malaya Komsomolsky lanes. Thank God, now they have returned their names – Bolshoi and Maly Zlatoustinsky lanes,” notes Moscow expert Alexander Mishin.

Bloody Lane

But long before Bolshoi Zlatoustinsky Lane became Komsomolsky, it was called bloody for some time. The investigator who led the case of the murder of jeweler Kalmykov, again and again compared the testimony of witnesses and the suspect, the merchant Mazurin. He could not understand in any way the reason for not only the cruelty, but also the recklessness with which the resident of house No. 4 on Bolshoye Zlatoustinsky committed a crime.

During the investigation, it turned out that the rake and spender Mazurin was completely entangled in debt, and in order to somehow improve matters, he took a decisive step: he took the family diamonds from his mother and pawned them to the jeweler Kalmykov. Vasily hoped to buy them back for his sister's wedding, but he did not get the money, and Kalmykov, despite the high interest that Mazurin promised him, did not give out the jewelry. Finally, on the eve of the wedding, Vasily Fedorovich invited the jeweler to his place, allegedly to buy back the diamonds. He apparently hid the straight razor in the sideboard in advance.

In November 1867, the trial of Vasily Mazurin took place. Neither the investigator nor the jury found any extenuating circumstances in his case. Only a few lines that appeared in the killer's written testimony were alarming: “It was as if the devil had possessed me when I was cracking down on Kalmykov. I didn’t know what I was doing.”

Vasily Mazurin was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. Then it turned out that this was far from the last misfortune in the famous Moscow merchant family.

“The theme of the murder of the jeweler Kalmykov falls into Dostoevsky’s novel, which is being written simultaneously with the investigation of this crime, the novel The Idiot. First, there is a discussion in the living room of the main character, Nastasya Filippovna. She says: “There is a scary house in Moscow. A man was killed there." And the same thing, almost according to the same scenario, Rogozhin does. He also buys Zhdanov’s liquid and covers Nastasya Filippovna’s body with oilcloth,” adds Moscow expert Alexander Mishin.

Dostoevsky often visited Maroseyka to visit his closest relatives.

“They often talk about Dostoevsky as a writer from St. Petersburg, and this is absolutely fair. But it is often forgotten that he was a Muscovite by birth and Moscow was extremely dear and important to him. His sisters lived here in Moscow, his aunt lived in the area of ​​Maroseyka, Pokrovka, Starosadsky Lane,” adds Mishin.

Fedor Dostoevsky. Photo: TASS

Maroseyka can be called the birthplace of another great Russian writer. Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev spent his childhood and youth in Armenian Lane.

Today, in the building where he grew up, the Russian Children's Fund is located, and the memory of Tyutchev is preserved by his memorial rooms, in which the fund's employees tried to recreate the atmosphere of the 19th century.

Temple of Cosmas and Damian

At the very end of Maroseyka, on the corner of Starosadsky Lane, stands another unique architectural and historical monument - the temple in the name of Saints Cosmas and Damian. It was built at the expense of the family of Lieutenant Colonel Mikhail Khlebnikov, and the author of the project was one of the most famous Russian architects, Matvey Kazakov.

The Church of Cosmas and Damian on Maroseyka is shaped like a cross made up of three round buildings. The clergy did not immediately approve of such a non-standard architectural solution.

“In the design of the temple that Khlebnikov submitted to Metropolitan Platon of Moscow, there is a resolution from the Bishop: he wrote that it is beautiful, but the temple will be very inconvenient for worshipers. It is really very inconvenient to serve in the side aisles. But in itself it is very beautiful. It was even copied several times,” notes Archpriest Peter Borodin, rector of the Church of Cosmas and Damian.

The Temple of Cosmas and Damian was closed at the end of the 20s of the last century. And in 1930 it was almost demolished. However, it remained standing: the temple first housed warehouses, then a motorcycle club. Then he entered the complex of the neighboring building where the Ministry of Medium Engineering was located.

In the end, the temple was received by the artist Ilya Sergeevich Glazunov. He was given premises for the Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Just 1.5-2 months later, he handed over the keys to the temple to the rector, Archpriest Peter Borodin.

People come to the temple with prayers for healing - the relics of the holy doctors and wonderworkers Cosmas and Damian are kept here. And recently, during the restoration of the church, another unique artifact was discovered - a mortgage cross, on which it is written: “This chapel in the name of the wonderworkers of the unmercenary Cosmas and Damian was built in 1791.”

During the restoration of the temple, other interesting finds were discovered that tell about the structure of life and everyday life of parishioners in the 19th century - for example, a pipe for draining water, a smoking pipe, glass vessels.

The curse of the Mazurin dynasty

The Church of Cosmas and Damian was visited by many famous Muscovites. First of all, residents of Maroseyka and the surrounding area. Both Fyodor Tyutchev and Fyodor Dostoevsky often visited here. However, the Masurin merchants were considered the most devout in the area. They went to the local churches every day and prayed for a long time, as if asking the saints for protection from something unknown and irreversible.

“Among the Moscow merchants they began to talk about the curse of the Mazurins to the seventh generation. Indeed, there were mental disorders, there were suicides, there were alcoholics. Until the seventh generation - this means until the genetic program is completely changed,” notes Moscow expert Alexander Mishin.

Studying the biography of the Mazurin family, even the most cynical representatives of the law could not help but sympathize with their fate. When it turned out that the eldest son, Vasily Mazurin, was a murderer, his brother Alexei lost his mind. After the public trial of his brother, Alexei fell into severe depression; he did not get out of bed for days. And when he got up to take a sip of water, his gaze was wandering and distant.

The younger Mazurin said that he was haunted by his brother’s shadow. Alexei's fiancée, a French actress, chose to break up with the madman. Soon he shot himself - right here, in the garden of a large house, in Bolshoi Zlatoustinsky Lane. But the troubles of the Mazurin family did not end there. The third son, Nikolai, having survived the new shocks that befell the family, began to show signs of a nervous breakdown and soon also lost his mind.

The youngest, Neil Mazurin, fell ill with consumption and burned out young. Sister Masha, at whose wedding the jeweler Kalmykov was killed, died at the age of 18, having been married for only a year.

Alexey Mazurin

The legend about the curse of the Mazurin family says that the family’s misfortunes began with the act of its ancestor, Alexei Alekseevich Mazurin, who, by a strange coincidence, also made friends with a jewelry master.

“In the early 1830s, two people living became friends: a Greek jeweler who bought furs, precious stones in Russia and resold them abroad, and Alexey Alekseevich Mazurin, who was the Moscow mayor. Their relationship became so close that they fraternized and exchanged crosses,” says Moscow expert Alexander Mishin.

Circumstances were such that the jeweler had to leave Russia for a long time and go on an expedition to India. On the day of departure, the Greek brought a casket filled to the brim with diamonds to his sworn brother for safekeeping, and took Mazurin’s word that the treasures would remain safe and sound. Mazurin had to give the valuables to the Greek’s wife in parts.

Alexey Mazurin swore on the cross that he would take care of the Greek family, but he did not keep his promise.

Detectives found out that with the help of actually stolen jewelry left for safekeeping by a jeweler, Alexey Mazurin made a fortune.

However, after some time, that same Greek appeared and demanded to return everything that was due to him, and with interest. Mazurin could not find anything better than to say that he did not understand what was being said.

“Moreover, he accused the Greek of deception, tore off his cross, and said that they were no longer brothers. The Greek was sent to prison. And he would have sat there until the end of his life if, a few years later, Emperor Nicholas I had not organized an action to reinvestigate criminal cases. Each of those in prison could submit a petition. And the Greek submitted a petition with approximately the following content: you can leave me here for the rest of my life, but I ask that Alexey Alekseevich Mazurin be sworn in in the temple, sworn on the Bible, let him swear that he did not take these jewelry,” says Moscow expert Alexander Mishin.

The Emperor ordered that the Greek be released from prison, and Mazurin, a well-known and respected person, be sworn in. I had to obey. That night Maroseyka witnessed an extraordinary spectacle. Exactly at midnight, Alexei Mazurin left the house. He was barefoot, dressed in a shroud, and a black wax candle quivered in his hand. The procession was accompanied by monks, also with candles in their hands.

Before inviting Mazurin to swear on the Gospel, the priest warned him to think about the consequences that could await him. But Mazurin calmly swore on the Bible that he did not know about any treasures. The enraged Greek cried out: “Cursed be you, and may your family be short-lived.”

“After a few months, the Greek fell ill and asked Mazurin to come and repent. Mazurin refused to do this, but came to the Greek's funeral. And when he approached him to say goodbye, the Greek’s body suddenly tossed, something burst in him - there is such a rare phenomenon when the blood vessels of the dead break, a terrible sound is heard from the body, as if a person is coming to life. The distraught Mazurin recoiled; as witnesses say, he came home completely crazy and did not recover from this shock until the end of his life,” notes Moscow expert Alexander Mishin.

College of Music Teachers

The fate of Maroseyka Street itself, like many of its inhabitants, cannot be called simple. Tragedies happened here not only in the 19th century, but also in Soviet times.

“The fate of house number 13 in Maroseyka is more than tragic. Here, in the arch, there is a rare tablet for Moscow, which says that those who left and did not return lived in this house. Although, to be fair, such signs can be safely hung on any Soviet-era residential building in Moscow. However, at least 200 people left this house at different times - between 1937 and 1952 - and did not return,” says Moscow expert Denis Drozdov.

In Soviet times, the street was renamed. Since 1954, she bore the name of Bogdan Khmelnitsky. Only in 1990 Maroseyka got its former name back.

The local college, which trains music workers for preschool institutions, also bears the name “Maroseyka”.

“Before, it was simply called Pedagogical College No. 7. But on the initiative of our director Galina Yuryevna Kapustina, our college was named exactly that - “Maroseyka,” says Tatyana Zarubina, deputy director for academic affairs at the Maroseyka College.

Photo: TASS / Valery Sharifulin

College on Maroseyka is one of the oldest in Moscow. This year he will celebrate his 50th birthday. The building that the educational institution occupies is even older; it was built in 1938 for a secondary school.

“The shots of the film “The Cranes Are Flying” were filmed here. The fence that can be seen in this film is our fence,” notes Zarubina.

In Soviet times, the college on Maroseyka was called the Institute of Noble Maidens behind its back. Many people wanted to get here.

“Our curricula and programs were structured in such a way that the girls who came to us here learned everything: they knew how to sew, embroider, knit, and cook. All this, in addition to teaching work, was taught here. We had sewing machines on which they made dresses, aprons, gifts for mothers and grandmothers,” says Zarubina.

In the 1970s, young music teachers with conservatory education came to work at Maroseyka. To this day, the college is considered one of the best for training music workers for preschool institutions. College students are studying the history of Maroseyka and the surrounding alleys.

Pushkinsky yard

The courtyard of one of the private hotels in the vicinity of Maroseyka can easily be attributed to Pushkin’s places in the capital. There is a legend: the poplar tree that stands in the yard saw Pushkin.

Alexander Pushkin. Photo: TASS

“But this is no longer a legend, but a fact: our building has the only balcony on the entire street. There is no longer a single balcony in any house on the street. Why it is the only one, why in this particular house and why this happened in general is unknown,” notes hotel owner Andrei Vatulin.

During the reconstruction carried out in the summer of 2014, Maroseyka was turned into a pedestrian zone, the facades of its ancient estates were updated, and numerous parking lots were freed. Maroseyka has become especially attractive to tourists.

Who has not heard of the famous Butyrka? The sad glory of this architectural monument, located on Novoslobodskaya Street, stretches back to the distant 18th century. Within its walls were thieves, murderers, robbers, political prisoners. Many never left its walls. Even birds do not fly over this Butyrka, unable to tolerate its negative energy.

How could such a place be without ghosts?

Ghost of Pugachev

Butyrka Castle was built at the behest of Empress Catherine II and was immediately built as a prison. It was here that the captured Yemelyan Pugachev was brought. The leader of the rebels was kept in the basement of the tower, which has since been called Pugachevskaya. In prison, the “thief and robber” who pretended to be Emperor Peter III was chained to the wall.

On December 31, 1774, Pugachev was sentenced to death by quartering. On January 10, on Bolotnaya Square, he bowed in all directions and said “Forgive me, Orthodox people!”, after which he lay down on the scaffold.

However, there is a version that it was not Pugachev himself who was executed on Bolotnaya Square, but his double. There are grounds for such assumptions: Catherine really could have feared a popular revolt. If Pugachev's rebellious crowd had been freed, it, led by a competent, active leader, could have really done some serious things in Moscow. Therefore, the real Pugachev was stabbed to death with pikes in the basement of the tower.

Prison guards are confident that this is exactly what happened. Many of them, who, on duty, move at night through the corridors of Butyrka, a repeatedly “famous” convict.

Mikhalych

Mikhalych is no less famous among prisoners than Pugachev. Unlike other ghosts, he is not afraid of the dark and can appear during the day. Moreover, one person can see and hear him, but those standing next to him cannot. In blood-stained rags, he turns to the convict with a demand to give him his liver.

From meetings with Mikhalych, a legend went for a walk among the inmates of Butyrka that secret experiments on organ transplantation were carried out in prison. Mikhalych was then left without a liver, and since then he has been walking along the corridors of Butyrka, looking for a replacement for the lost organ. According to established beliefs, meeting him is a mark of death.

Girl in white

But meeting the Girl in White, on the contrary, is good luck. It is believed that the nameless convict who died in custody warns with her appearance that the prisoner will soon receive good news: a commutation of the sentence, and perhaps a long-awaited amnesty will come. Therefore, let the guards who saw her reflection in the mirror get scared, let the guard dogs whine, and the convict has a holiday in his soul.

To meet a ghost, you don’t have to walk through the corridors of Butyrka. Sometimes he comes on his own, straight to the camera.

Many residents of Butyrka sleep restlessly. In a dream, as if someone is strangling them with cold hands, stabbing with a knife, twisting their arms. Nightmare? The pranks of the cellmates? However, when even those sitting alone (!) find bruises on the neck, abrasions and wounds on the body, one involuntarily has to believe in the most incredible.

According to Butyrka beliefs, this is the ghost of the pedophile serial killer Sergei Golovkin, the last executed criminal in Russia, takes out his anger on the living. The maniac was just a few weeks short of Russia declaring a moratorium on death sentences. The employees, contrary to all the rules, informed the criminal in advance about the date of the execution in order to intensify his torment. By the appointed day, Golovkin had already gone crazy and his soul still could not find peace in the world of the dead.

Legends about underground passages

The Butyrskaya prison building is more than 200 years old. How could there be no legends about mysterious dungeons here! The most common one is about the underground passage of Catherine II. The formidable empress went along it to look at Pugachev, and at the same time to check whether her faithful husband had really resurrected? The passage is so huge that it was possible to move along it in a carriage (an entire street!).

Not inferior to this legend in popularity is the story of a secret underground passage connecting Butyrka with the Kremlin, dug specially on Stalin’s orders. They say the leader of the peoples also sometimes showed a desire to look at his defeated enemies.
It is impossible to confirm or refute these legends: no plans for Butyrka’s dungeons have survived. The deputy head of the prison assures that he has personally crawled through all the basements and there are no passages. However, in 2001, three special prisoners used spoons to pick out the floor in the cell, went down to the Butyrka basements... and soon found themselves outside the prison.

So, is there still something there?

Hi all! Today we have prepared for you interesting facts about Red Square and the Kremlin.
These are some of the main attractions of Russia, and we decided that many would be interested in learning something new about them.

Why is Red Square

Of course, we should start with the name. Why "Red"? In fact, there are several versions about this. According to one of them, “Red” is used to mean beautiful, like “a beautiful maiden,” but experts say that there was nothing expressive at that time (mid-17th century) in the then trading area. According to another version, the name “Red Square” was given by order of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. Until this moment, there are records that the square was called “Torg” and “Fire”.

The place of execution is a rounded stone platform with a stone parapet. From the middle of the 16th to the beginning of the 20th century, it was used during religious processions, Orthodox holidays and public announcements of royal decrees. Also, executions were sometimes carried out on log platforms near the execution site. In 1786, the restoration of this place took place and today this is the same appearance.

By order of Empress Anna Ioannovna, in 1730, work began on recasting the broken Grigoriev bell. After a series of setbacks and mistakes, in 1735 the casting work was completed and the decorative embellishment began.

However, in 1737 the Trinity Fire occurred in Moscow. According to one version, the wooden structure above the bell burned down and the burning logs, falling, damaged it. In addition, during his rescue, the supports broke, the bell fell and an 11-ton piece broke off from it.

After that, for another 100 years they could not pull it out of the pit in which the casting was made and it was considered too heavy. Only in 1836 the bell was removed and installed on a pedestal, but it was never used for its intended purpose.

Not all Kremlin towers have a name

Another interesting fact about the Kremlin and its area is that each Kremlin tower has its own name. The highest is called Troitskaya, the most famous is Spasskaya, this is the one in which the chimes are located. But there are 2 towers that have not received a name for a long time; therefore, today they are called the First Nameless and Second Nameless Tower.

Eagles instead of Kremlin stars

From time immemorial, double-headed eagles have been the state symbols of Tsarist Russia and have been on the tops of the Kremlin towers since the 17th century.
However, in 1935, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks issued a resolution to replace the double-headed eagles with five-pointed stars.
Since the 1990s, there have been discussions about whether to return the eagles back.

More facts

• The first public theater was opened near the Nikolskaya Tower of the Kremlin by order of Tsar Peter 1.
• The Kremlin and Red Square have been awarded World Heritage status and are under the protection of UNESCO
• The first Hollywood film in which the authorities allowed filming in Red Square was the film with Arnold Schwarzenegger "Red Heat"

22/11/2018 22/11/2018 TanyaVU 140

Moscow Kremlin- a large fortress located on Borovitsky Hill in the Russian capital - Moscow. Since ancient times it has been the city-forming, historical, political and religious center of the city. Today the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation is located here. In 1991, a historical and cultural museum-reserve was formed on the basis of the State Museums of the Moscow Kremlin. Now the Kremlin is the main center of attraction for tourists visiting the Moscow capital.

It was built in the 15th century. In 1156, the first fortifications with a total length of about 850 meters and an area of ​​about 3 hectares were built on the territory of the modern Kremlin.

The Moscow Kremlin is younger than the Tula, Pskov, Novgorod and Kazan Kremlin.

The length of the walls, the Kremlin occupies 2500 meters. The Moscow fortress is the longest in Russia. The next contender is the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, which is as much as 500 meters shorter.

There are 20 towers along the walls of the Moscow Kremlin. 3 towers standing in the corners of the triangle have a circular cross-section, the rest are square. The tallest tower is Troitskaya, it has a height of 79.3 m. The next competitor of the Moscow Kremlin has three smaller towers and is located in Kolomna.

According to its meaning...

The Assumption Cathedral, located on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin, was the main temple of the country.

The Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin is the oldest treasury museum, one of the richest collections in the country.

Brief history of the Kremlin

The history of the first wooden buildings of the Moscow Kremlin goes back to the distant year 1156. Around the small fortress, which served as a shelter from enemies, there were many villages and villages. In 1238, Moscow was subjected to a terrible attack by the hordes of Khan Batu and was burned to the ground. In the 14th century, Moscow, having been resurrected from the ashes more than once, began to be actively built up with stone. In 1368, at the direction of the young Prince Dmitry Donskoy, the white stone walls and towers of the Kremlin were erected. Simultaneously with the stone fortification, the territory of the Kremlin was expanded. The Moscow Kremlin stood in this form for more than 100 years, subject to numerous attacks from enemies. In 1495, the Moscow Kremlin received new brick towers and walls, new fortifications and even larger territory. As a result, from the point of view of military engineering, the Moscow Kremlin was an outstanding structure that met all the requirements of world defensive technology of that time.