The Moscow Kremlin is a unique monument of Russian history and culture, as well as ancient Russian defense architecture, because the words “kremlin” and the word “fortress” in Rus' meant almost the same thing. All ancient Russian fortresses were of the tower type, which means that the main architectural and defensive element in them were towers. Such towers are called flanking towers, since they make it possible to defend not only on the distant approaches to the edge, but also along the entire length of the fortress wall.
Briefly about the Moscow Kremlin
The history of the Moscow Kremlin is very ancient and dates back to the beginning of the 12th century - during the reign of Prince Dmitry Dolgoruky. The first Kremlin, erected by his decree on the banks of the Moscow River, was built from pine logs and often burned. After another fire at the beginning of the 14th century, which completely destroyed the ancient structure, Ivan Kalita ordered the construction of a new wooden Kremlin in its place, this time from oak logs. A little less than 30 years later he suffered the same fate. Under Dmitry Donskoy, they began to rebuild from white limestone. Its construction took only a year, although it was almost the size of the existing one. However, limestone is a fragile stone, and by the middle of the 15th century it began to crumble heavily. The Kremlin was rebuilt again, this time from red brick. Construction was carried out by the Italian architect Antonio Gilardi or, in the Russian style, Anton Fryazin.
Place of the Vodovzvodnaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin in the system of fortress walls
In total, the system of fortress walls of the Moscow Kremlin has 20 towers. The Vodovzvodnaya Tower is located in the southwestern corner of the system, exactly at the place where it connects with the Alexander Garden. It is through this tower that one of the entrances to the Kremlin territory passes. It is intended for the passage of government vehicles. However, the original function of the Vodovzvodnaya Tower was to guard the ford. And it initially had a completely different name - Sviblova. At the tower there was previously a raft on which ports were rinsed, and therefore it is easy to guess what the raft at the Vodovzvodnaya Tower was called - Portomoyny. On the shore nearby there was a port-washing hut.
History of the Vodovzvodnaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin
The name Sviblovo was assigned to the tower due to the nearby courtyard of the boyar Sviblo. In addition, it was this man who supervised the construction of the tower. But the second name assigned to the structure - Vodovzvodnaya - is associated with the construction of a special water-cocking device at the top of the tower, which pumped water from the Moscow River. Through a system of lead pipes passing through the water supply tent, the flow of water was distributed throughout the Kremlin territory. The water platoon tent was located in the area of the old Money Yard. With the help of such a water supply, Christopher Golovey intended to provide water to the Embankment Garden, Khlebny and Kormovaya orders. However, there is an opinion that a little later the water supply tent was moved to the Clock Tower to supply water to the gardens of the new women's wards.
At the end of the 18th century, due to severe disrepair, Vasily Bazhenov proposed dismantling it, but his initiative was not supported, and at the beginning of the 19th century, the tower was dismantled and reassembled, preserving its historical features.
In 1812, during the retreat of Napoleon's army from Moscow, on the orders of the French commander, the tower was blown up, but five years later it was restored by Osip Beauvais. During the restoration work, the decor of the tower underwent some changes: details reminiscent of the medieval Gothic style appeared on the facades.
In 1935, instead of a weather vane, a five-pointed star made of precious stones was installed on the tower's tent, which was replaced with a ruby one two years later.
Architectural features of the tower
The description of the Vodovzvodnaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin is quite voluminous. Therefore, we will divide it into two parts: a description of the tower itself and a description of its tent covering.
Vodovzvodnaya is one of the tallest towers in the system of defensive walls of the Kremlin. Its height reaches 61.25 m. Previously, before the erection of a tent covering on it at the end of the 17th century, its height was somewhat less. The tower is round in plan. In total, the tower has three tiers. The lower one has no windows or loopholes; the entire plane of the wall is designed in the form of rustication. Above the white rim of the cornice, separating the second tier, there is a stone carved ornament of semicircles. The blank wall of the second tier in its upper part has tall narrow windows with a semi-circular end. The third tier, separated from the second by a white rim of the cornice, has the shape of an inverted truncated cone, round in plan. The inclined consoles support a wide frieze band and have semi-circular ends. Above the frieze is a scalloped border, the shape of the teeth reminiscent of a dovetail.
Architectural features and decor of the tent covering
The tent top of the Vodovzvodnaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin is also divided into tiers. The lower one, round in plan, is cut across the entire plane of the wall by rectangular, vertically elongated windows with a semicircular end. Along the upper edge above the white rim there is a carved stone pattern in the shape of semicircles.
The second tier of the pommel has an octagonal shape. Windows of the same shape as in the first tier are flanked by blades and pilasters.
The third tier has a hexagonal tent shape. Its edges are decorated with windows designed in the form of antique columned porticoes with triangular pediments. And the walls are lined with material of two colors - white and green.
The hexagonal fourth tier resembles a lantern tower in shape. Its edges are also decorated with columned porticoes, but without pediments, and have the same cladding as the previous one.
The fifth tier is hexagonal in shape and has blind windows separated by blades.
The sixth tier - a hexagonal lantern tower - is crowned by the seventh - a tent-shaped, faceted, cone-shaped covering with white and green cladding. Along the lower edge it is framed by triangular teeth extended upward.
The Vodovzvodnaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin is an important historical and cultural monument of ancient Russian architecture.
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In the 17th century, the Portomoyny Gate was built next to the tower for the passage of palace laundresses to the Portomoyny raft on the Moscow River to rinse the ports - laundry. In 1831, the Portomoynye Gate was laid.
In the depths of the tower there was a deep underground. The height of the Annunciation Tower is 30.7 meters, with a weather vane -
32.45 meters.
1st UNNAMED TOWER
In the 1480s, the blind 1st Nameless Tower was built next to Taynitskaya. In the 15th - 16th centuries gunpowder was stored in it. This tower has a difficult fate. In 1547, during a fire, it was destroyed, and in the 17th century it was rebuilt. At the same time it was built with a tent tier. In 1770-1771, in connection with the construction of the Kremlin Palace of V.I. Bazhenov, the tower was dismantled, and when this construction was stopped, it was rebuilt.
In 1812, during Napoleon's invasion, the tower was blown up. It was restored in 1816 - 1835 under the supervision of O.I. Bove.
The height of the 1st Nameless Tower is 34.15 meters.
2nd UNNAMED TOWER
To the east of the 1st Nameless Tower is the 2nd Nameless Tower. In 1680, it was built with a tetrahedral tent topped with an observation tower. The tower is crowned with an octagonal tent with a weather vane.
In ancient times this tower had a gate. In 1771, in connection with the construction of the Kremlin Palace, it was demolished, and after construction ceased, it was rebuilt. Inside the quadrangle there are two tiers of vaulted rooms.
The height of the 2nd Nameless Tower is 30.2 meters.
COMMANDANT TOWER (KOLYMAZNAYA)
In 1495, a blank, strict tower was erected to the south of the Trinity Tower, which was built on two centuries later, in 1676 - 1686.
Previously, it was called Kolymazhnaya - from the Kolymazhny yard, located in the Kremlin. In the 19th century, when the commandant of Moscow settled in the Kremlin, not far from the tower in the Poteshny Palace, it began to be called “Komendantskaya”.
The height of the Commandant's Tower from the side of the Alexander Garden is 41.25 meters.
CONSTANTINO - ELENINSKAYA TOWER (TIMOFEEVSKAYA)
The passage Timofeevskaya Tower was built in 1490 on the site where the tower of the white-stone Kremlin from the time of Dmitry Donskoy previously stood. The tower served for the passage of the townspeople to the Kremlin, and regiments passed through it. Through the ancient gates of this tower in 1380 Dmitry Donskoy left the Kremlin, heading to the Kulikovo field.
The need to build a new tower in the same place was determined by the fact that on this side of the Kremlin there were no natural barriers in case of an enemy attack; the place was open and vulnerable to defense. The new tower protected Veliky Posad, the entrances to the pier on the Moskva River from the nearby streets - Velikaya and Varvarskaya. It had a powerful diversion arch, a drawbridge and passage gates to the Kremlin.
The tower received its name in the 17th century from the Church of Constantine and Helena, which stood nearby in the Kremlin.
In 1680, a slender hipped roof was erected over the tower on an arched quadrangular base. At the same time, the tower gates were closed, and the outlet archway was turned into a dungeon. In 1707, by order of Peter I, loopholes were cleared out on the Konstantino-Eleninskaya Tower to install cannons. In the 18th - early 19th centuries, the bridge and diversion arrow were dismantled.
The height of the Konstantino-Eleninskaya Tower is 36.8 meters.
WEAPONS TOWER (STABLE)
Between the Borovitskaya and Commandant towers, from the side of the current Alexander Garden, there is the Armory Tower, formerly called the Konyushennaya Tower. It was built in 1493-1495 next to the royal stable yard. The name "Armory" tower received in 1851, when the building of the Armory Chamber was built on the territory of the Kremlin.
The tower was built in 1676-1686. Its height is 32.65 meters.
BOROVITSKAYA TOWER (PREDTECHENSKAYA)
In the 90s of the 15th century, work on the construction of the Kremlin fortress was headed by Pietro Antonino Solari. Written sources note that it was at this time that the Kremlin acquired a grand scale and majestic severity.
On the site of the oldest exit from the Kremlin, on its western side, the Borovitskaya Tower passage was founded in 1490. From its gates there were convenient gatherings on the Neglinnaya River. Basically, the Borovitskaya tower was used for the household needs of the Zhitny and Konyushenny courtyards, which were located nearby. Its passage gates were like the “back” gates of the Kremlin.
The name of the tower reminds us that once here, on the Kremlin hill, a dense forest rustled. Some researchers associate the name of the tower with the fact that during the time of Dmitry Donskoy, this section of the white-stone Kremlin was built by residents of Borovsk, a large shopping center of that time.
In the 15th century, the quadrangle of the tower was covered with a wooden tent; the tower was connected by a bridge to the other bank of the Neglinnaya River. In the 17th century, 1666-1680, the powerful quadrangle of the tower was built on with three tetrahedrons decreasing upward, which gave it a pyramidal shape. The top of the tower was crowned with an open octagon and a high stone tent.
Simultaneously with the superstructure of the stepped top of the Borovitskaya tower, a diversion arrow was attached to its side, which still exists today. On the sides of the passage gates you can see holes in the shape of keyholes, through which ancient times passed the chains of the drawbridge across the Neglinnaya River. The vertical grooves for the grating - gers, which protected the entrance to the gate - have also been preserved.
In 1658, by royal decree, the Borovitskaya Tower was renamed the Predtechenskaya Tower, after the name of the nearby church, but the new name did not take root. In the 18th century, white stone psedagothic details were introduced into the decor of the tower.
In 1812, during the explosion of the neighboring Vodovzvodnaya tower by retreating French troops, the Borovitskaya tower was also damaged - the top of its tent fell. In 1816-1819, the tower was repaired under the leadership of O. I. Bove. In 1821, when the Neglinnaya River was enclosed in a pipe, the Borovitsky Bridge was broken. In 1048, the Borovitskaya tower was moved to the altar of the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist near Bor.
A ruby star, installed in 1937, burns on the tower. The height of the Borovitskaya tower to the star is 50.7 meters, with the star -
54.05 meters.
ROYAL TOWER
Between the Spasskaya and Nabatnaya towers, right on the Kremlin wall, there is a small tower - the Tsarskaya. In ancient times, judging by the plans of Moscow, there was a tetrahedral wooden tower in this place. Tradition says that from this tower, Tsar Ivan the Terrible watched from the walls of the Kremlin the events taking place on Red Square.
In 1680, on the site of a tower on the Kremlin wall, this small, unusual stone beauty tower, reminiscent of a tower, was built. An elegant octagonal tent, topped with a gilded weather vane, rests on four jug-shaped pillars. It once housed the bells of the Kremlin fire service. The tower has survived to this day without any major changes. And its name, apparently, retained the echo of an ancient legend.
The height of the tower with a weather vane is 16.7 meters.
SENATE TOWER
It was built in 1491 on Red Square, between the Frolovskaya and Nikolskaya towers. Architect - Pietro Antonino Solari. Until the end of the 18th century, it was nameless, and only after the completion of the building for the Senate in the Kremlin (1790, architect M. F. Kazakov) it began to be called Senate.
Inside the main volume of the tower there are three tiers of vaulted rooms. The blank, square tower in 1680 was built with a stone tent, crowned with a gilded weather vane.
In 1918, with the participation of V.I. Lenin, a plaque by sculptor S.T. Konenkov “To those who fell in the struggle for peace and brotherhood of peoples” was installed on the Senate Tower, which is now in the Museum of the USSR Revolution.
The height of the tower is 34.3 meters.
CORNER ARSENAL TOWER (SOBAKINA)
This is the third corner tower of the Kremlin. It was built in 1492 by the architect Pietro Antonio Solari. It is the most monumental of the defensive structures. The walls of the lower massif are divided into 16 sides, the base is greatly expanded, the thickness of the walls is 4 meters. In the deep basement of the tower, accessed by an internal staircase, there is a spring - a well with clean, clear water, which has survived to this day. The spring, enclosed in a pine frame, was unusually clean and abundant, and when in 1894 they decided to pump out this water, it, as Kremlin historian S.P. Bartenyev wrote, arrived “every five minutes by 2 and a half inches.” The influx of water, as engineers calculated, was about 10-15 liters per second. But the water did not cause any harm to either the tower itself or the archives stored inside it. In ancient times, there was a secret passage from the Corner Arsenal Tower to the Neglinnaya River. In the 15th-16th centuries, the tower was strengthened with an additional wall that went around it in a semicircle.
The Vodovzvodnaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin is located at the intersection of the Kremlin embankment and the Alexander Garden. It has three main tiers. In terms of height, this is one of the tallest towers in the Kremlin - 61.25 m with a star and 57.7 m without a star.
The mighty walls of the structure are 2.2 m thick. Erected in 1488 by a talented engineer from Italy - Antonio Gilardi, also widely known as Anton Fryazin. Its purpose was to defend the ford near the Neglinnaya River. Initially it was equipped with a well and a secret tunnel to the river.
Name Vodovzvodnoy
The Vodovzvodnaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin did not immediately receive an interesting name. Until the 17th century, she was called Sviblova. They called her that because nearby was the courtyard of the boyar Sviblo, who monitored the progress of construction. In 1633, according to the design of the English architect Christopher Galovey, a water cocking machine was installed.
Thanks to this device, water was delivered from the Moscow River to the reservoir, which was located at the top of the structure. Next, the water entered the water supply tent (through lead pipes), located near the old Money Yard. Further distribution of water took place through underground pipes throughout the Kremlin. From that moment on, they began to call her Vodovzvodnoy.
Reconstruction of the tower
In 1672-1686. the tower was replenished with a stone tent. 1770 could have been fatal for it - the architect Bazhenov proposed demolishing it due to its dilapidated condition, but fortunately, he was refused. 35 years later, it was completely dismantled and reassembled. The reconstruction was led by engineer I. Egotov.
Architect Beauvais
Fleeing from Moscow, Napoleon ordered the destruction of the Vodovzvodnaya Tower. Unlike Spasskaya, Vodovzvodnaya was blown up. 5 years later it was restored under the strict guidance of the architect O. Beauvais. Since that time, it began to be decorated with classical and pseudo-Gothic details.
Ruby Star
With the Bolsheviks coming to power, the weather vane that crowned the top of the Vodovzvodnaya Tower was replaced with a red star. Initially, the star was made of precious metals, but after 2 years in 1937, it was replaced with a ruby one, as the precious stones faded over time.
History of the Kremlin starsIn the 17th century, Christopher Galloway's lifting machine was installed in the tower to supply the royal palaces with water. Horses lifted water into a pressure tank, and from there it went through lead pipes to utility buildings and gardens on the roofs of palaces. This mechanism gave the Kremlin tower a new name - Vodovzvodnaya.
The sovereign's water supply system operated until the fire of 1737. The fire broke out from a candle forgotten near the icon in the house of Prince Miloslavsky, and quickly engulfed other buildings - hence the expression “Moscow burned down from a penny candle.”
Over time, the Vodovzvodnaya Tower fell into disrepair, and when Napoleon left Moscow, it was blown up. The building was restored under the leadership of Osip Bove in 1817-1819.
And even before 1831, there was a port-washing raft on the Moscow River near the Vodovzvodnaya Tower, where clothes were rinsed. On the shore there was a port-washing hut, and in the Kremlin wall there was a Port-washing gate. Then they were laid down, but their remains can still be seen on the inside of the Kremlin wall.
On August 23, 1935, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR decided to replace the double-headed eagles on the Kremlin towers with five-pointed stars. In total, there are 20 towers in the main Moscow complex and each has its own story...
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It is not for nothing that Karamzin said that the Kremlin is “a place of great historical memories,” and the Kremlin towers occupy a huge place in them. The walls and towers, as we are used to seeing them, were built in 1485 - 1516 and form an irregular triangle in shape.
Initially, there was a through passage inside the wall through all the towers, but over time most of it was filled with construction debris; the section between the Konstantino-Eleninskaya and Nabatnaya towers was preserved. The three towers standing in the corners of the triangle have a circular cross-section, the rest are square. Almost all of them are made in the same architectural style of the 17th century; only Nikolskaya, which was rebuilt in the pseudo-Gothic style at the beginning of the 19th century, is out of order.
Beklemishevskaya (Moskvoretskaya) tower
Height - 46.2 m.
It is located near the junction of the Moscow River with a moat and performs an important defensive function. Built in 1487-1488 by the Italian architect Mark Fryazin. The first name comes from the courtyard of the boyar Beklemishev adjacent to the tower; later - from the nearby Moskvoretsky Bridge.
Ivan Beklemishev was nicknamed “Bersenem” for his caustic tongue, that is, gooseberry (hence Bersenevskaya embankment). He led the boyar opposition to the grand ducal power. Vasily III, who sought to rule alone without the boyars, ordered his head to be cut off, and his courtyard, along with the tower, was used as a prison for disgraced boyars.
There was a well and a rumor cache in the tower. S.P. Bartenev mentioned it in the book “The Moscow Kremlin in the Old Time and Now”: “The Italian engineers who built the Kremlin appreciated its position (near the river) and provided it with a hiding place as a warning against undermining.” The presence of the cache was also confirmed by the architect I. E. Bondarenko, who examined the Kremlin in 1918: “A cache was made in the Beklemishevskaya Tower to prevent undermining.”
Under Peter I in 1707, it was re-equipped for defense against the Swedes. The loopholes of the tower were expanded to accommodate more powerful guns. Then, during restoration in 1849, they regained their original appearance.
This is one of the few Kremlin towers that were practically not rebuilt. After Napoleon's invasion, it needed only minor repairs. During the storming of the Kremlin by the Bolsheviks in 1917, the top tent was knocked down by a shell, but three years later it was restored.
Konstantino-Eleninskaya tower
Height - 36.8 m.
Built in 1490 by Pietro Antonio Solari. It received its modern name after the Church of Constantine and Helen was built nearby in the Kremlin in the 17th century (it was dismantled in 1928).
Previously, in its place there was an ancient white stone tower from the time of Demetrius Donskoy, called Timofeevskaya. Through its gates, Dimitry Donskoy in 1380 rode with his squads to the famous Battle of Kulikovo.
Originally it was a passageway, with a drawbridge over the moat and a diversion arrow (an additional tower connected to the main bridge).
At the end of the 17th century, when Velikaya Street lost its former significance and the former defensive role of the tower came to naught, the strelnitsa was turned into a prison, the dungeon was nicknamed “Torture”. The tower gates were closed. In 1707, the loopholes were also cleared out for cannons. In the 18th century, the diversion arrows and the bridge were demolished.
By the way, the arch of the blocked gate, partially covered by later layers, is still clearly visible on the facade of the tower from the side of Vasilyevsky Descent, as well as the recess for the gate icon and traces of vertical slots for the levers of the drawbridge.
The main quadrangle is divided into two tiers. The first tier was previously used for travel, and the second was used for office space. The ascent to the upper platform of the tower is via a narrow staircase located deep in the wall.
Alarm tower
Height - 38 m.
The name comes from the Spassky alarm bell hanging on it, which served as a fire alarm. Erected in 1495. Well preserved its original shape.
The lower tier of the tower is a complex multi-chamber room connected to the running part of the walls by stairs and openings.
The tower is placed very high - on a hill. It was a watchtower of the Kremlin fortress. Columns of smoke indicated the approach of the steppe enemy, which the watchmen announced by ringing bells. Muscovites from unprotected settlements hurried to take refuge, some behind the walls of the monastery, and some in the Kremlin.
In 1771, during the Plague Riot, the rebels sounded the Spassky alarm and thus gathered Muscovites to the Kremlin. At the end of the riot, Catherine II ordered the removal of the tongue from the bell. For more than 30 years, the bell hung on the tower without a tongue. In 1803 it was moved to the Arsenal, and in 1821 - to the Armory, where the bell still hangs in the lobby.
The inscriptions on the bell say: “On the 6th day of July 1714, this alarm bell poured out from the old alarm bell which broke the Kremlin of the city to the Spassky Gate. It weighs 150 poods”, “The master Ivan Motorin ran this bell”.
In the 1970s, the Alarm Tower began to tilt due to the loss of soil density and a cracked foundation. After bracing the base of the tower with metal hoops and strengthening the soil, the tilt was stopped. However, the tower still deviates from the vertical by one meter.
Tsar's Tower
Height with weather vane - 16.7 m.
This is the youngest and smallest tower of the Moscow Kremlin, built in 1680. Its octagonal tent on jug-shaped pillars resembles the porch lockers of stone residential mansions that were common at that time. Well preserved its original shape.
Strictly speaking, this is not a tower, but a stone tower, a tent placed on the wall. Once upon a time there was a small wooden tower from which, according to legend, Tsar Ivan IV (the Terrible) loved to watch the events taking place on Red Square - hence the name of the tower.
In its lower tier there is a through arched passage - a continuation of the running part of the wall.
Spasskaya Tower
Height with star – 71 m.
It was built in 1491 during the reign of Ivan III by the architect Pietro Antonio Solari, as evidenced by the white stone slabs with memorial inscriptions installed on the tower itself.
Initially it was called Frolovskaya after the nearby church of Frol and Lavra. In 1516, a wooden bridge was built from the tower across the moat. In 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.
When built, the tower was approximately half as tall. In 1624-1625, the English architect Christopher Galovey, with the participation of the Russian master Bazhen Ogurtsov, erected a multi-tiered top in the Gothic style over the tower.
If the enemy penetrated inside the archery, the iron bars were lowered, and the enemy found himself locked in a kind of stone bag. He was fired at from the upper gallery of the archery. On the façade of the tower you can still see the holes through which chains were passed to raise and lower the special wooden deck of the bridge, and in the passage of the gate there are grooves along which a metal lattice ran.
Fantastic figurines - an element of decor - under Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, their nakedness was bashfully covered with specially sewn clothes. In the mid-17th century, the first double-headed eagle was installed on the main tower of the Kremlin.
The Spassky Gate was revered as saints. It was forbidden to ride through them on horseback, and men passing through them had to remove their headdresses in front of the image of the Savior, which was illuminated by an unquenchable lamp. Anyone who disobeyed the holy rule had to make 50 prostrations. Criminals sentenced to death who were executed at Lobnoye Mesto prayed to the image of the Savior of Smolensk.
There is a legend that when Napoleon was passing through the Spassky Gate in captured Moscow, a gust of wind pulled the famous cocked hat from his head. During the retreat of the French army from Moscow, the Spasskaya Tower was ordered to be blown up, but the Don Cossacks arrived in time and extinguished the already lit wicks.
They were also the main entrance to the Kremlin, from here regiments left for battle, and here they met foreign ambassadors. All religious processions from the Kremlin went through these gates, all the rulers of Russia, starting with Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, solemnly passed through them before his coronation.
To the left of the gate stood the chapel of the Great Council Revelation (Smolenskaya), to the right - the Great Council Angel (Spasskaya). They were demolished in 1925.
The legend associated with the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands is also interesting. In the mid-17th century, a plague epidemic swept through the central city. The epidemic bypassed the city of Khlynov; there were rumors that the reason for this was the miraculous image of the Savior Not Made by Hands, to which the townspeople prayed. Having learned about this, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ordered to bring the icon to Moscow. The image was delivered in a religious procession in 1648.
With the coming to power of the Bolsheviks, the gate image, as well as the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands itself, were lost. However, in June 2010, icon painter Dmitry Vinokurov wrote an accurate list of the famous miraculous icon.
The famous chiming clock has existed since the 16th century. They were made in 1625 under the direction of the English mechanic Christopher Galovey. In 1705, by decree of Peter I, the Spassky clock was converted into a German style with a dial at 12 o'clock. In 1770, the English clock found in the Chamber of Facets was installed. Since 1770, the clock has played the German melody “Ah, my dear Augustine” for some time. Modern chimes were made by brothers Nikolai and Ivan Budenop in 1851-1852 and installed on 8-10 tiers of the Spasskaya Tower. From that time on, the chimes played the “March of the Preobrazhensky Regiment” at 12 and 6 o’clock, and at 3 and 9 o’clock the hymn “How Glorious is Our Lord in Zion” by Dmitry Bortnyansky, which sounded over Red Square until 1917. On November 2, 1917, during the storming of the Kremlin by the Bolsheviks, a shell hit the clock and the clock stopped for almost a year. In August-September 1918, at the direction of Lenin, they were restored by watchmaker Nikolai Behrens. The clock began to play “Internationale” at 12 o’clock, and “You have fallen a victim...” at 24 o’clock. However, already in 1938, the chimes fell silent, only chiming the hours and quarters. In 1996, during Yeltsin’s inauguration, the chimes began to play again after 58 years of silence. At 12 and 6 o'clock the chimes began to play the "Patriotic Song", and at 3 and 9 - the melody of the choir "Glory". The last major restoration was carried out in 1999. Instead of the “Patriotic Song,” the chimes began to play the national anthem of the Russian Federation.
By the way, the watch weighs 25 tons and is driven by three weights weighing from 160 to 224 kg. The watch has four dials with a diameter of 6.12 m, the height of the numbers is 72 cm, the length of the hour hand is 2.97 m, the length of the minute hand is 3.28 m. They are wound 2 times a day.
From the 1600s until 1935, the tower was crowned with a gilded double-headed eagle. In August 1935, it was decided to replace the eagles (they were installed on the Borovitskaya, Spasskaya, Nikolskaya and Trinity towers) with five-pointed stars with a hammer and sickle (the star was also installed on the Vodovzvodnaya Tower). Sketches of the stars were developed by academician Fyodor Fedorovsky. The first ones were made of high-alloy stainless steel and red copper. In the middle of each star, a hammer and sickle covered with gold was lined with Ural gems. But they quickly faded, and they also looked ridiculous in the overall composition of the Kremlin, they were bulky and greatly disturbed the architectural ensemble. In 1937 they were replaced with ruby and luminous ones. The power of the lamps in the star is 5000 watts.
Recently, social activists and the church are increasingly turning to the president with a request to replace the stars with eagles, but so far there have been no official statements on this matter.
Spasskaya Tower has 10 floors
Senate Tower
Height - 34 m.
Built in 1491 by the architect Pietro Antonio Solari. The tower received its name after the construction of the Senate Palace on the Kremlin territory was completed in 1787. In 1680, a stone tent was built over the tower, ending with a golden weather vane. Inside the tower has three tiers of vaulted rooms. In front of the tower is the Lenin Mausoleum.
In 1948, a passage was made from the tower to the Mausoleum so that members of the CPSU Central Committee could enter the stands directly from the Kremlin, bypassing Red Square.
Inside the main volume of the square tower there are three tiers of vaulted rooms.
Nikolskaya Tower
Height with star - 70.4 m.
Built in 1491 according to the design of Pietro Antonio Solari. It is named after the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, located above the passage gate of the diversion arch. According to the existing tradition, at this tower in front of the icon of St. Nicholas - the holy saint of God, the most revered in Rus' - the townspeople resolved their controversial issues.
In 1612, it was through the gates of the Nikolskaya and Spasskaya towers that the people's militia, led by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin, solemnly entered the Kremlin on November 1. Muscovites and residents of surrounding villages greeted the winners with jubilation. (On October 27, an agreement on the surrender of the Polish garrison was signed).
In 1702-1736 the Arsenal building was built. The building is adjacent to the Kremlin wall between the Nikolskaya and Corner Arsenal towers. The Nikolskaya Tower acquires Baroque decor, just like the original design of the Arsenal.
In 1806, the tower was completely rebuilt; the previous superstructure over the quadrangle was replaced with a Gothic eight-shaped top with a high white-stone tent and openwork decorations. This, by the way, is the main difference between the Nikolskaya Tower and other Kremlin towers.
In 1812, it was blown up by the French retreating from Moscow, the tent collapsed, part of the passage gate was damaged, but part of the quadrangle with the gate icon of St. Nicholas of Mozhaisky was not touched. In the book by Alexey Remizov you can find a mention: “It exploded so hard that it broke the windows and doors of all the houses in the area. All that remains of the Arsenal are ruins. And half the tower collapsed. But Nikola - with sword and hail - resisted! Even the glass on the icon did not crack. Even the lantern with the candle continued to hang.”
News of the miracle soon reached the emperor. Arriving in Moscow, Alexander I personally became convinced of the safety of the icon and ordered, first of all, to restore the tower, and to hang a marble plaque under the icon, the words for which he himself had drawn. It was later dismantled.
The tower was restored in 1816-1819.
There used to be single-domed chapels near the Nikolsky Gate, but they were also demolished in 1925.
During the battles in October 1917, the gate image of St. Nicholas of Mozhaisk was riddled with bullets and shrapnel, but the face itself was not damaged, which was perceived as a miracle by believing Muscovites.
At the end of April 1918, before the first official celebration of the proletarian May Day, the facade, including the icon, was completely draped in red calico. According to the official version, strong gusts of wind, twisting the panels, freed up the view of the image. However, according to people’s recollections, the weather was calm and the red canvas tore as if it had been cut with a sword.
Today, the star of the Nikolskaya Tower has the largest number of faces per ray - 12.
Corner Arsenal Tower
Height - 60.2 m.
The most powerful tower of the Moscow Kremlin. Its lower mass consists of 18 faces, and the base is greatly expanded. This gives it greater stability. In the upper part there are hinged loopholes - mashikuli. The walls reach 4 meters in thickness. Built in 1492 by Pietro Antonio Solari.
A well was dug in the tower, which in case of a siege could be used by the garrison of the fortress (it has survived to this day). From the Corner Arsenal Tower there was a secret passage to the Neglinnaya River (later it was laid). In the 15th-16th centuries, the tower was strengthened with an additional wall that went around it in a semicircle. In 1672-1686, an octagonal tent was erected over it.
During the Patriotic War of 1812, the tower was partially damaged by an explosion. In 1894, the tower was repaired and adapted for the Moscow provincial archive, while the interior was remodeled.
Middle Arsenal Tower
Height - 38.9 m.
Built in 1493 - 1495 on the site of the corner tower of the time of Dmitry Donskoy. Previously, it was called Granena - from the facade dissected on the edge.
In ancient times, it was connected by intra-wall passages with the Corner Arsenal and Trinity towers. The first move was unwalled in 1934. Another passage inside the wall was discovered in June 1974, when during the restoration of the Kremlin wall from the side of the Alexander Garden, an entrance arch was found in it, next to the Middle Arsenal Tower.
Previously, it was called Granena - from the facade dissected on the edge.
Trinity Tower
Height with star - 80 m.
This is the tallest tower of the Kremlin. The Trinity Bridge, protected by the Kutafya Tower, leads to its gates. The tower gate serves as the main entrance for visitors to the Kremlin. Built in 1495-1499. Italian architect Aleviz Fryazin.
During its history, it managed to change several names - Epiphany, Rizopolozhenskaya, Znamenskaya, Karetnaya. It received its current name in 1658 by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich based on the nearby courtyard of the Trinity Monastery.
The two-story base of the tower housed a prison in the 16th and 17th centuries. A stone staircase led to it; a small hatch led from the upper rooms to the lower ones, through which only one person could crawl. This was the only way out of these “stone bags”. For air circulation, vents were made in them - special slots.
In 1870, it was adapted to house the Archives of the Ministry of the Imperial Household.
Above the Trinity Gate in the icon case there was an icon of the Kazan Mother of God, damaged during the storming of the Kremlin by the Bolsheviks in 1917. The fate of the gate icon during Soviet times is unknown. Currently, the place of the icon above the Trinity Gate on the side of the Alexander Garden is occupied by a clock, and on the side of the Kremlin - by the same empty architectural niche.
The double-headed eagle of the Trinity Tower turned out to be the oldest - 1870, so when dismantled in 1935 it had to be dismantled at the top of the tower. The star installed in its place was the most massive, its weight was about 1.5 tons. The star we see on the tower now was installed in 1937.
In terms of its administrative significance it was second only to Spasskaya. The tower gate served as the entrance to the metropolitan's mansion, to the chambers of the queen and princesses, as well as the exit to the Volotsk road leading to the north, along which the princes, and later the kings, went on campaigns. Ceremonial meetings of returning rulers also took place here.
Now the Presidential Orchestra of Russia is based here.
Kutafya Tower
The height on the city side is 13.5 m.
The only surviving diversion tower. Built in 1516 under the leadership of Aleviz Fryazin.
It has only one gate, which in moments of danger was tightly closed by the lifting part of the bridge.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the water level in the Neglinnaya River was raised high by dams, so that water surrounded the tower on all sides.
Drawbridges across the moat that surrounded the tower led to the side tower gates. The remaining gaps for the chains of the lifting mechanisms can still be seen.
In 2011, the construction of modern pavilions began on the sides of the tower, which, according to the fears of experts in the preservation of cultural heritage, will distort the historical appearance of the monument.
Commandant's Tower
Height - 41.25 m.
Built in 1493-1495 under Ivan III, it was formerly called Glukha or Kolymazhnaya (after the nearby Kolymazhny yard, where the royal carriages were kept and stables were located). It received its current name in the 19th century, when the commandant of Moscow settled nearby in the Poteshny Palace.
The main volume of the tower contains three tiers of rooms covered with cylindrical vaults.
In 1676-1686, the tower, like all the others, was built with a hipped top for decoration (initially all the towers were without these superstructures and ended with a belt of overhanging archers for a gloomy and menacing look).
Weapon Tower
Height - 38.9 m.
Built in 1493-1495. At the beginning of the 17th century, it had a passage gate to the Stables Yard in the Kremlin. Hence its ancient name Konyushennaya. The tower received its modern name in the 19th century after the Armory Chamber building built on the territory of the Kremlin.
In 1676-1686, the tower was built with a hipped roof and has well preserved its medieval shape to this day. Inside the main volume of the tower there are two tiers of vaulted rooms; the lower one has an entrance from the Kremlin.
During its construction, extensive hydraulic engineering work was required; due to the swampy floodplain, it was necessary to strengthen the creeping soil of the slope and rebuild the fortress wall above the river bank.
Borovitskaya Tower
Height with star - 54.05 m.
The name of the tower, according to legend, comes from an ancient forest that once covered one of the seven hills on which Moscow stands. According to another legend, the tower got its name from the builders of the white-stone Kremlin under Dmitry Donskoy - this part was built by the residents of Borovsk.
Before the construction of the modern Borovitskaya tower, there was another one in its place, which had the same name. This is evidenced by the record of the construction of the Church of John the Baptist “on the forest” in 1461, where it was written that this church stood at the “Borovitsky Gate”.
The new Borovitskaya Tower was built by Pietro Antonio Solari during the renovation of the Kremlin in 1490, by order of Ivan III.
Through it they entered the economic part of the Kremlin - to the Zhitny and Konyushenny courtyards. In 1493, the tower was seriously damaged by fire. In 1658, by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, it was renamed Predtechenskaya - after the Church of the Nativity of the Baptist in the Kremlin (later dismantled during the construction of the Armory), however, the new name did not take root.
Above the Borovitsky Gate in the icon case there was an icon of St. John the Baptist. The lamp was looked after by the parable of the Church of St. Nicholas Streletsky, located on Borovitskaya Square. The temple was destroyed in 1932 during the construction of the Sokolnicheskaya metro line. The icon was lost during Soviet times. Its place above the gate is occupied by a clock. In Soviet times, double-headed eagles were replaced with stars (as well as on the Spasskaya, Nikolskaya, and Trinity towers).
In 1812, during the explosion of the Vodovzvodnaya tower, the top of the tent fell from Borovitskaya. In 1816-1819 the tower was repaired. In 1848, after the destruction of the Church of the Nativity of the Baptist near Bor, the tower was turned into a church. The throne was moved there from the church and the pseudo-Gothic decorations were destroyed.
On the outside of the Kremlin wall, on the folds of the gate, you can see coats of arms carved from white stone, clearly of ancient origin - Lithuanian and Moscow. Experts still have not given an answer about the time and reasons for their appearance on the Borovitskaya Tower.
Another interesting fact is that if a foreign flag is flying on a building near the Borovitsky Gate, this means that a foreign president is currently in the Kremlin.
Today the Borovitsky Gate is the only permanently operating travel gate in the Kremlin. Visitors to the Armory Chamber also pass through the Borovitskaya Tower. It is believed that they are the most ancient of the Kremlin gates, there is an opinion. That there is an underground passage underneath them.
Vodovzvodnaya Tower
Height with star - 61.25 m.
Built in 1488 by Italian architect Anton Fryazin. The former name Sviblova Tower comes from the boyar family Sviblova, whose courtyard adjoined the tower from the Kremlin.
She had a well and a hiding place for access to the river. It received its modern name in 1633 after the installation of a water-lifting machine to supply water from the Moscow River to the Kremlin. According to contemporaries, a similar machine, manufactured under the leadership of the Englishman Christopher Galovey, cost several barrels of gold. Galloway made an ingenious device that supplied water through lead pipes to the gardens of the mountainous part of the Kremlin. This was the first pressure water supply system in the history of Russia. Unfortunately, the water-lifting machine has not survived.
On the Moscow River at the Vodovzvodnaya Tower there was a port-washing raft for rinsing clothes. On the bank of the river there was a port-washing hut with accessories for the raft. A small port-washing gate was built in the Kremlin wall, through which laundry was carried.
In 1731, the Church of the Annunciation was added to the tower, while the watchtower was converted into a bell tower with seven bells, and the weather vane was replaced by a cross. The tower was restored in 1866. From 1891-1892, the Annunciation Tower was used as a church chapel, while the loopholes were cut into large windows. In 1933, the church was dismantled, the cut loopholes on the facades were narrowed, and the cross was replaced by a weather vane.
Taynitskaya Tower
Height - 38.4 m.
The central tower of the southern wall of the Kremlin, the construction of the existing Kremlin walls and towers began with it. The construction of the Kremlin fortifications began on the southern side, since from here, it is believed, the Kremlin was most often threatened by the Tatars, and the old white stone walls here were the most dilapidated.
It was erected in 1485 by Anton Fryazin on the site of the Cheshkov or Chushkov gates of the fortress of the time of Dmitry Donskoy. There was a secret well inside and a hidden exit to the Moscow River, which is why the tower was nicknamed Tainitskaya.
When constructing the tower, the architect used brick for the first time for fortress construction. Until 1674, the tower had a striking clock.
Until the 18th century, a Jordan was held on the Moscow River, opposite the Tainitsky Gate, on the feast of the Epiphany. The royal entrance to Jordan was one of the most magnificent ceremonies.
In 1770-1771, in connection with the construction of the Kremlin Palace according to the design of V.I. Bazhenov, the Taynitskaya tower was dismantled, and in 1783 it was restored, but without the outlet arch. In 1812, during the retreat of Napoleon's troops from the Kremlin, the tower was damaged by an explosion and repaired in 1816-1818.
Until 1917, the Kremlin signal cannon was fired daily from the archer of the Tainitskaya tower, notifying Muscovites about the onset of noon - similar to the tradition of firing the Peter and Paul cannon in St. Petersburg.
View of the Moscow Kremlin from Moskvoretsky Bridge
First Nameless Tower
Height - 34.15 m.
This architecturally simple tower was rebuilt many times. It was first erected in the 1480s. In 1547, the tower collapsed during the fire of Moscow from the explosion of the gunpowder warehouse built in it (that’s why it was also called Porokhovaya). It was rebuilt in the 17th century.
The tower was dismantled in 1770 in preparation for the construction of the Grand Kremlin Palace by V. I. Bazhenov. After the completion of the palace in 1776-1883, the tower, together with the wall between it and the Second Nameless Tower, was rebuilt in a new location, closer to the Tainitskaya Tower.
In 1812, the tower was blown up by the retreating French. It was restored in 1816-1835.
Second Nameless Tower
Height - 30.2 m.
Built in the 1480s as an intermediate tower on the southern side of the Kremlin.
In 1701 the tower had a gate, which was later blocked. In 1771, in connection with the construction of the Kremlin Palace, it was demolished and then restored.
Inside the tower there are two tiers of vaulted rooms. The lower tier is covered with a cylindrical vault, the upper - closed with strippings. The upper quadrangle is opened into the cavity of the tent.
During the Polish intervention of the Time of Troubles, the tower was destroyed by cannon fire in 1612, then rebuilt. In 1667, a church was built in the tower.
In 1812, the tower was blown up by the retreating French; in 1818 it was restored.
Although the Petrovskaya Tower was erected “for a better appearance and strength,” it was used for household needs by Kremlin gardeners.
