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

Content:

A brief history of the Moscow Kremlin

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

A bird's eye view of the Kremlin

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

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

View of the Kremlin walls from the Kremlin embankment

In 1367, Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy enclosed the Kremlin with a powerful fortress wall of white limestone. Since then, the capital has received the nickname "White-stone Moscow". Large-scale construction began under Ivan III, who united a significant part of the Russian lands around Moscow and built a residence in the Kremlin worthy of the "sovereign of all Russia".

For the construction of fortifications, Ivan III invited architects from Milan. It was in 1485 - 1495 that the Kremlin walls and towers that still exist today were built. The top of the walls is crowned with 1,045 dovetail-shaped teeth - they have the same appearance as the teeth of Italian castles. At the turn of the 15th - 16th centuries, the Moscow Kremlin turned into an impregnable massive fortress faced with red brick.

View of the Kremlin from the Bolshoi Kamenny Bridge

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

The miraculous return of the Moscow Kremlin shrine

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

View of the Kremlin from the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge

The icon was revered as saints, so men, passing through the gate, had to take off their headdress in front of the image of the Savior. Legend has it that when Napoleon drove through the Spassky Gate, a gust of wind blew off the cocked hat from his head. But the bad omens did not end there: the French tried to steal the gilded robe that adorned the image of the Savior of Smolensk, but the staircase attached to the gate overturned, and the shrine remained unharmed.

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

Beklemishevskaya tower

Legends and myths of the Kremlin

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

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

The eternal flame at the walls of the Kremlin

There are rumors among Muscovites that before, from each of the Kremlin towers, branched underground passages... The same secret passages connected everything royal palaces... When builders began digging a large foundation pit for the State Kremlin Palace in the 1960s, they discovered three underground passages built in the 16th century. The dungeons were so wide that it was possible to drive through them on a cart.

Underground passages were found during every major reconstruction. Most often, voids, gaps and labyrinths were walled up or simply poured with concrete for security purposes.

Spassky Tower

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

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

View of the Assumption, Annunciation Cathedrals and Cathedral Square

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

View of Cathedral Square and the Ivan the Great Bell Tower

Cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin - "the altars of Russia"

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

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

Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin

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

Sights of the Moscow Kremlin

The Kremlin's younger buildings include the Grand Kremlin Palace, built in the middle of the 19th century by order of Emperor Nicholas I. Today, it houses the ceremonial residence of the President of Russia.

The architecture of the Moscow Kremlin allows you to get a complete picture of how the center was originally arranged the Russian capital... includes temples, squares, chambers, buildings. Today, all these are sights that guests and tourists from all over Russia and from abroad come to see.

Kremlin construction

The architecture of the Moscow Kremlin was formed at the end of the 15th century. The main towers and walls were built in the years 1485-1495. Was used red brick and white stone on a lime mortar. It is worth noting that local craftsmen were not qualified for such work. Therefore, foreign specialists were invited. Ivan III hired architects from Italy to build the Moscow Kremlin.

However, some towers were nevertheless erected by Russian masters. The fact is that their shape resembles characteristic wooden structures. As you know, at that time the carpentry art in Russia reached its perfection, which was facilitated by the universal material itself, and work was constantly required, since periodically large fires destroyed all buildings. To avoid this, stone was used in the construction of the Moscow Kremlin.

Assumption Cathedral

One of the main buildings of this architectural ensemble is the Assumption Cathedral. It was erected on the site of the first stone cathedral by Ivan Kalita in the first half of the XIV century. The architecture of the Moscow Kremlin is largely determined by this structure.

The construction of the cathedral began in 1475. A similar religious building in Vladimir of the 12th century was taken as a model. Thus, the continuity of Moscow in relation to Vladimir, who was previously considered one of the main cities of Russia, was once again emphasized.

Over the next 400 years, it was the main temple in Russia. It was here that all the rulers were crowned to the kingdom. The main entrance is located on the side of Cathedral Square. The entrance to this is, as it were, guarded by the Archangel Michael, whose figure is depicted above the arch. Even higher is the Mother of God and the Child.

The iconostasis, which we can see today in the Assumption Cathedral, was made by the icon painters of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra in the middle of the 17th century.

During the Patriotic War of 1812, the buildings of the Moscow Kremlin were plundered and devastated. This cathedral was no exception. Part of the loot from the French was then recaptured by the Russian Cossacks.

Blagoveshchensky cathedral

The architecture of the Moscow Kremlin cannot be imagined without the Annunciation Cathedral. It is located in the southwestern part of Cathedral Square. It was built at the end of the 15th century. The works were carried out by Pskov masters.

During the reign of Ivan the Terrible, a porch with a high porch of white stone was added.

This Kremlin was built in the tradition of early Moscow architecture. Today, the murals of the cathedral, which appeared at the beginning of the 16th century, are of great interest. The main merit belongs to the artel of artists, which was led by Theodosius and his son Dionysius. There are many stories about the Apocalypse. You can also find secular motives. For example, Russian princes and Byzantine emperors.

The floor of this cathedral is unique. It was laid with special tiles made of precious agate jasper.

Cathedral of the Archangel

This cathedral within the walls of the Moscow Kremlin appeared at the beginning of the 16th century. It was erected by the invited Italian architect Aleviz Novy. In doing so, he followed the traditions of Russian architecture. The features of the Italian Renaissance are visible only in the rich decoration of the temple.

Its construction was carried out on the site of the ancient Archangel Cathedral, which was erected by Ivan Kalita in the XIV century, in memory of the deliverance of the capital from the general famine. It was dismantled due to the cramped space, making room for a more spacious temple.

The cathedral is crowned with five domes. The central one is gilded, and the side ones are simply painted with silver paint. Carved white stone portals are made in the style of the Italian Renaissance.

During the capture of the capital by Napoleon, a wine warehouse was located here. The French set up a kitchen on the altar, and plundered all the valuables.

Church of the Deposition of the Robe

The small church built by Russian craftsmen at the end of the 15th century is also noteworthy. She appeared in the place of the old wooden church The Deposition of the Robe, which was built after the Tatars retreated from Moscow.

In 1451, they came close to the city, but did not storm it, but retreated, leaving everything looted. Orthodox Church gave it a religious meaning, considering it a miracle. In reality, the Tatars retreated due to political differences between the military leaders.

The new church was severely damaged by fire in 1737. It was restored by the architect Michurin.

Armouries

The chambers of the Moscow Kremlin are of great interest to tourists today. The first mention of the values ​​that are today in the Armory can be found in 1339. Even during the time of Ivan Kalita, the formation of princely treasures began. Among them were jewelry, dishes, church vessels, expensive clothing and weapons.

At the end of the 15th century, one of the centers of Russian artistic crafts was located here. In addition, gifts from foreign embassies were brought here. Pearls, ceremonial horse harness.

By 1485, the treasury had grown so much that it was decided to build a separate two-story stone building between the Annunciation and Archangel Cathedrals. It received the name of the state courtyard.

Faceted Chamber

The Faceted Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin is one of the few parts of the palace that have survived from the time of Ivan III. This was his ceremonial throne room. This is the oldest civil stone building in Moscow.

It was built in 4 years rus with the help of invited Italians - Pietro Solari and Marco Ruffo.

The chamber is a square hall in which they lean on a pillar in the center of the room. The 9-meter-high hall is illuminated by 18 well-positioned windows and four massive chandeliers. total area The Faceted Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin is almost 500 square meters.

At the end of the 16th century, its walls were painted with church and biblical subjects. For centuries, it was here that the most important events in the history of the Russian state were celebrated. Foreign embassies and delegations were received here, the Zemsky Sobor sat. The victories of Russian arms were regularly celebrated in the Faceted Chamber. For example, Ivan the Terrible and Peter I celebrated the victory over the Swedes at Poltava.

the Red Square

The Red Square of the Moscow Kremlin appeared in the 15th century. Today it is one of the symbols of not only the capital, but also the country, its visiting card.

It was laid by Ivan III, who ordered to demolish all the wooden buildings around the Kremlin. Since they seriously threatened him with fire. This place, by his order, was taken away for trade. Therefore, initially, Red Square was called Torg. True, this did not last long.

Already in the 16th century it was renamed Troitskaya. Because of the nearby Church of the Holy Trinity. Later, the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed appeared in its place. According to the documents, in the 17th century the square was called Fire. At the same time, one should not forget an interesting toponymic feature Ancient Rus... At that time, one and the same object could have several official names at the same time.

Red Square officially began to be called that only in the 19th century. Although in some documents this name is found in the 17th century. The meaning of this name, according to the dictionary of Vladimir Dahl, is that our ancestors had the word "red" meant beautiful, excellent.

Throughout the centuries, using the example of Red Square, one can trace how the Moscow Kremlin has changed. In the 15th century, it appeared here with the famous towers - Senate, Spasskaya and Nikolskaya. In the 16th century, the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed and the Execution Ground. In the 19th century - Historical Museum, Upper trading rows, which are now called GUM, a monument to Minin and Pozharsky. The 20th century brought the Mausoleum and the necropolis at the Kremlin wall to Red Square.

St Basil's Church

This temple was built in the middle of the 16th century. It was erected in honor of the capture of Kazan by the Russian troops. The building is a grandiose structure of 9 pillars that rise above the basement, connected by a gallery. The composition is united by a central pillar, which is crowned with tents with a decorative dome at the top. Many people specially come to Moscow to see this temple with their own eyes.

The central tent is surrounded by eight pillars. All others end with onion-shaped chapters.

From the side of the Spasskaya Tower, two porches lead to the terrace of the temple. From there you can get to the bypass gallery. Tourists and residents of the capital are still impressed by the color of the temple, even though it was made several centuries ago. The St. Basil's Cathedral was painted by real masters. They used extremely natural colors combined with white stone and red brick. The smallest details are made of the latter. The bright painting was done in the 17th century. When later annexes appeared, a bell tower and a chapel of the temple in the northeast were placed in them. The names of the architects who erected this iconic religious building have survived to our time. Their names were Posnik and Barma.

In 1367, during the reign of Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy, the wooden walls of the Kremlin were replaced with walls and towers made of local white stone (according to archeology, stone was the towers and the most important parts of the wall, from where there was the greatest danger of an assault). From this period in the annals the name “Moscow white-stone” is often found.

Alas, the strength of the material turned out to be insufficient and the structures "floated". During the restoration of the Kremlin walls and towers in 1946-1950 and in 1974-1978, white-stone blocks were found inside their brickwork, in the lower parts and foundations, which were used as a backfill. It is possible that these are the remains of the white-stone walls of the Kremlin of the time of Dmitry Donskoy.

Moscow Kremlin under Dmitry Donskoy (defense of Moscow from Tokhtamysh in 1382).
Painting by A.M. Vasnetsov

In 1485-95, under Ivan III, the fortifications of the Kremlin were rebuilt. For example, the Portomoynye Gate was laid on the side of the Moskva River.

In 1508-16, a moat was dug on the site of the present-day Red Square, water into which came from the Neglinnaya River. The Kremlin becomes an impregnable fortress, surrounded by water on all sides.

In the second half of the 15th century, the Moscow Kremlin was rebuilt under the leadership of Italian architects, in particular, Pietro Antonio Solari (Castello Sforzesco). In the construction of the Kremlin, carried out on a huge scale, the achievements of both Russian and Italian military engineering art were used. Fired brick was chosen as the main material for the construction. Many buildings, including churches, were designed and erected by Italian craftsmen.

As conceived by the architects, the center of the Kremlin became Cathedral Square with the Assumption Cathedral (1475-79), the Annunciation Cathedral (1484-89), the Faceted Chamber (1487-91), the Archangel Cathedral (1505-08) - (the burial vault of Russian princes and tsars) ) and the Ivan the Great bell tower. Unlike the main buildings of the Kremlin, the Annunciation Cathedral and the Church of the Deposition of the Robe (1484-86), built by Russian craftsmen, are much more connected with the old Russian traditions.

View of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower and the Archangel Cathedral

Giacomo Quarenghi.
View of the Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin. 1797.
hermitage Museum

Assumption Cathedral

Blagoveshchensky cathedral

Faceted Chamber

Cathedral of the Archangel

Terem Palace, view from Mokhovaya Street

In the XVII-XIX centuries, there is an active construction of secular buildings, and Kremlin ensemble gets a logical conclusion.

In 1635-36, the Terem Palace was built, adjacent to the Faceted Chamber.

In the 17th century, the Kremlin towers received tiered and hipped roofs, acquiring a modern look.

State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve
MOSCOW KREMLIN

Publications in the Architecture section

"The land begins, as you know, from the Kremlin"

Dietinets, krom, fortress, kremlin - the names changed from century to century, but the essence remained the same: the city fortification, surrounded by a powerful wall with towers and loopholes. The Kremlin is the main medieval centers of Russia and the main defenders in the event of an enemy attack. They are pearls today tourist routes and the main decoration Russian cities... Those that have been poorly preserved are being actively restored, for “the earth begins, as we know from the Kremlin” ...

Moscow Kremlin

With the transformation of Moscow in the middle of the 15th century into the capital of Russia, it became necessary to show the whole world the power of the new state. The old dilapidated Kremlin did nothing to help solve this problem. In addition, Byzantium fell in 1453, and the Moscow clergy announced: "Moscow is the third Rome, and there will be no fourth ..." The territory of the Moscow Kremlin turns into one large construction site. Not only Pskov, Novgorod and Moscow craftsmen worked here, but also Fryazh fortifiers and architects. In 1472, the main cathedral church was erected - the Assumption Cathedral, on the site of the old one, built in the XIV century by architects Krivtsov and Myshkin.

But the haste leads to the fact that in 1474 the almost finished building collapsed. The Pskov masters refused to build it anew, but the Bolognese architect Aristotle Fioravanti agreed, who, together with Russian masters, erected the magnificent Assumption Cathedral by 1479. In 1484, Pskov architects began to rebuild the Annunciation Cathedral, which closed the Cathedral Square of the Kremlin.

Faceted Chamber

In 1485, they begin to lay new brick walls around the Kremlin. Two years later, the reconstruction of the Kremlin Palace began, and in 1487-1491 the Italian architects Marco Ruffo (Mark Fryazin) and Antonio Solari erected the Palace of Facets. In 1505, the reconstruction of two small and dilapidated churches began - the Archangel Cathedral and the Church of John Climacus. Italian Bon Fryazin (the real name of this Italian architect did not survive; Southern Europe, as a rule, of Romanesque origin, hence fryazin - a distorted franc. - Approx. ed.) turns the church-bell tower into a pillar of Ivan the Great. And Aleviz New by 1509 completed the construction of the Archangel Cathedral.

The construction of the new Kremlin was completed by the beginning of the 16th century. For the first time it was erected from brick, thanks to which it turned not only into an impregnable bastion, but also into the ideological and artistic center of Moscow. Mighty battlements with loopholes, austere towers with watchtowers and impregnable gates - all this was worked during ten years from 1485 to 1495 with the participation of Italian craftsmen. This is how the ensemble of the Moscow Kremlin - the heart of Russia - was formed. In the 16th century, fortresses were erected in his image and likeness in other Russian cities.

Tula Kremlin

Tula is the southern outpost of Moscow, which for centuries has defended the capital from foreign invaders. That is why the best gunsmiths are Tula. And the Tula Kremlin is an outstanding monument of Russian defense architecture of the 16th century. Its construction began in 1507 by order of Vasily III, who ordered the construction of “ stone city". It took 13 years to build it.

Throughout its existence, the Tula fortress has never surrendered to the enemy. In 1552, the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey was defeated here, and in 1607 for four months the rebels led by Ivan Bolotnikov held back the siege of the government troops of Vasily Shuisky.

The Tula Kremlin is located in a low swampy place in the floodplain of the Upa River. Its walls rest on a solid stone foundation about 5.5 meters deep. The original height of the walls is about 10 meters, and the thickness, according to the inventory of 1685, is about 4 meters. They were built of two types building material: the lower part is made of white limestone, the upper part is made of large-sized red bricks. The spins of the walls (a section of the fortress wall between two towers. - Approx. ed.) are divided by wide semicircular arches, in the lower part of which loopholes of the lower tier of the defense are cut, the so-called. plantar fight. The walls end with two-horned dovetail-shaped merlons. The firepower of the fortress was concentrated in nine towers, which were strongly extended beyond the line of the walls, which ensured the conduct of flank and frontal combat.

Holy Assumption Cathedral

Besides the walls and towers in architectural ensemble The Tula Kremlin includes the Holy Dormition and Epiphany Cathedrals, shopping arcades and the building of the first city power plant. The Holy Dormition Cathedral (1762–1764) is one of the most beautiful churches in Tula: simple and austere architectural forms are combined with the regal monumentality of the interior. To this day, unique paintings by Yaroslavl masters (1765–1766), a seven-tiered carved gilded iconostasis (II n. XVIII century) have been preserved in the church. The Epiphany Cathedral is 100 years younger than its brother (1855-1862) and was built by the architect M.A. Mikhailov in memory of the Tula soldiers who died in the Patriotic War of 1812. The shopping arcade (1837-1841) once had 48 stone shops, but 24 of them were demolished at the end of the 19th century. And the vacated space was adapted for the premises of the first city power plant. The arcade-gallery of the shopping malls that has survived to this day gives the monument a unique charm of antiquity.

Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin

The 16th century fortress has the shape of an irregular polygon with towers at the corners. The first stone Kremlin was erected in the XIV century on the site of a wooden fortress by order of Prince Dmitry Konstantinovich. And at the beginning of the 16th century, when military conflicts escalated between Russia and the Kazan Khanate, stone fortifications were erected. The work was carried out quickly - from 1508 to 1515, and the construction was supervised by the Italian engineer and architect Peter Fryazin. The fortress has become a unique military fortification: 13 towers, the total length of the walls is 2045 meters, the height of the walls is 12, the thickness is 5 meters.

Dmitrievskaya tower

Throughout its long history, the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, like the Tula fortress, has never been taken by enemies. Located on the high right bank, at the confluence of the Volga and Oka rivers, it resembles "a stone necklace thrown on the slopes of the Dyatlovy Gory". The Kremlin ensemble includes a unique architectural monument 17th century Cathedral of the Archangel Michael, and the main - Dmitrievskaya - tower is crowned with the symbol of the city - a golden deer.

Volokolamsk Kremlin

Detinets was founded by Prince Andrey Bogolyubsky. Today the ensemble of the Kremlin includes the white-stone Resurrection Cathedral of the 15th century, the bell tower of the 18th century, Nikolsky Cathedral of the 19th century, an architectural fence with turrets from the 19th - early 20th centuries.

At one time it even became the center of an independent appanage Volotsk principality, which was owned by Ivan III's brother Boris, and then his son Fedor. At the same time, a beautiful white-stone Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ was being built in the Kremlin, the ramparts of which have survived to this day. The single-domed temple, adorned with a terracotta frieze, is distinguished by exquisite proportions. In its interior, on one of the pillars, there is a fragment of the painting from the end of the 15th century. Nikolsky Cathedral (1853-1862) is dedicated to the memory of those killed in the Crimean War. Its decor uses a favorite technique of the pseudo-Russian style - a combination of red brick with white decorations. At the end of the 19th century, the cathedral complex was surrounded by a brick fence with corner and gate turrets, enclosing the entire historical space into a single composition.

Astrakhan Kremlin

The first wooden fortress in the lower reaches of the Volga on a high hill surrounded by swamps and marshes was founded in 1558. Under Ivan the Terrible in 1582, the Astrakhan Kremlin began to be rebuilt from stone. Architects - Moscow city masters Mikhail Ivanovich Velyaminov, Grigory Ovtsyn and clerk Dey Gubasty. For the construction they used an old, but very strong Tatar plinth, which was brought from the ruins of the Golden Horde cities. The Astrakhan Kremlin was built like its counterpart in Moscow.

The impregnable stronghold on the southeastern border of the state remembers a lot. Crimean-Turkish campaigns on the Lower Volga in the 16th century, the Troubles in Russia and the peasant uprising led by Stepan Razin in the 17th century, the uprising of the archers of 1705-1706, the Persian campaign of Peter I and the formation of the Caspian flotilla in the 18th century, strengthening the borders of the state and entering composition of Russian territories of the Caucasus and Central Asia.

The Astrakhan Kremlin was distinguished by the system of organizing the "fiery battle" which was the latest for that time. For the first time, additional loopholes were arranged in the walls, in addition to the traditional lower plantar combat, on the middle line. The loopholes of the middle and plantar battle were staggered, which made it possible to significantly increase the density of fire when attacking the enemy, and the straight-line form of the Kremlin walls and strongly protruding battle towers made it possible to fire at the enemy from the flanks.

The thickness of the walls of the Astrakhan Kremlin reached 3–3.5 meters. There were eight towers in the fortress, of which seven have survived to this day - three are passages and four are deaf.

The Kremlin ensemble includes the Gate Church in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (1729–1738), the Prechistenskaya bell tower (early 20th century), the Assumption Cathedral (1698–1710), the Trinity Monastery, and the artillery yard.

Tobolsk Kremlin

The only stone Kremlin in Siberia. The city of Tobolsk was founded in 1587. In the 17th century it became the capital of Siberia, and in the 18th century it became the center of the largest Tobolsk province in Russia.
Moscow strongly encouraged stone building here, and in 1683-1686 the stonemasons Gerasim Sharypin and Gavrila Tyutin erected the Cathedral of the Sophia-Assumption here. By the beginning of the 18th century, stone walls and towers of the Kremlin appeared, as well as a number of temple buildings that have not survived to our time.

At the end of the 17th century, the Tobolsk Kremlin was rebuilt according to the plan of Semyon Remezov, a cartographer and historian of Siberia. The Prikaznaya Chamber (1699-1704) appeared at the southern cliff of the mountain, and in the north-western corner of the Kremlin they erected Gostiny Dvor(1702-1706). Remezov's Kremlin, the new administrative center of Siberia, repeated the broken configuration of the previous walls and corner towers. However, secular buildings corresponded to the style of the Moscow architecture XVII century.

Peter I also patronized Tobolsk and strove to give the Siberian capital a representative look. Prince Matvey Petrovich Gagarin, appointed in 1708 as the first governor of the Siberian province, conceived in the Kremlin impressive buildings of a military-administrative and trade complex, which, together with the Sofia courtyard, were to form a monumental center. In 1712, a stone tower of the Dmitrievsky Gate was built at the Sofia Vzvoz, and next to it, on the very edge of the mountain, was the Ascension Church, unfortunately lost.

Holy gates

In 1743-1746 the Intercession Church was erected. In 1748 - in the northern wall of the fortress - the Holy Gates. In 1782, a viceroyalty was established in Tobolsk with the subordination of cities to it. Western Siberia... Two new buildings appear in the Tobolsk Kremlin - the governor's palace and the bishop's house. The 19th century also left its monument in the ensemble of the Kremlin - the Castle of the convict-transit prison.

Kazan Kremlin

The history of Kazan begins with the most ancient fortifications of the Bulgar settlement, built at the turn of the 10th – 11th centuries. In the pre-Mongol period, the city developed as a military and trading place. Already in the XII century, the Kazan Kremlin became a stone outpost on the northern border of the Volga Bulgaria. In the XIII-XV centuries the fortress turns into the center of the Kazan principality within the Golden Horde. From 1438 to 1552, the Kremlin was the military and administrative center of the Kazan Khanate. After the capture in 1552 by the troops of Ivan the Terrible, the former capital of the Kazan Khanate became the administrative and military center of the annexed Volga region (1552–1708). Since 1708, the Kazan Kremlin has been the center of the Kazan province.

After the capture of Kazan by the Terrible, the fortress lay in ruins. The tsar entrusted the construction of the new Kremlin to the Pskov architects Postnik Yakovlev and Ivan Shiryai (builders of St. Basil's Cathedral). The fortress was significantly expanded, six towers (out of 13) were built of stone, but only a third of the wooden wall with a total length of 1800 meters was replaced with a stone one, and most of the wall was re-erected from oak. Only at the beginning of the 17th century, the Kremlin became completely made of stone.

Blagoveshchensky cathedral

Simultaneously with the construction of the walls, the Pskov masters also built the first Orthodox churches of the Kazan Kremlin: the Annunciation Cathedral (16th century), the Church of Cyprian and Justina, the Church of Dmitry Solunsky at the Dmitrievskaya Tower, the Savior Church, as well as two monasteries - Trinity-Sergievsky and

Spaso-Preobrazhensky

(XVI century). For more than a century and a half, five stone buildings of the Khan period were preserved in the Kazan Kremlin: the Khan's mosque, the Khan's palace and mausoleums, used as storage facilities for storing weapons and ammunition, but over time they were dismantled due to dilapidation.

The multi-ministerial Kul-Sharif mosque (named after the last imam of the seid Kul-Sharif, one of the leaders of the defense of Kazan), the center of religious education and development of sciences of the Middle Volga region of the 16th century. It was destroyed in October 1552 during the storming of Kazan by the troops of Ivan the Terrible. Recreated in its original appearance in 1996. It is the main juma mosque of the Republic of Tatarstan and Kazan.

Tower Syuyumbike

Tower Syuyumbike. Scientists suggest that it was built during the reign of Shah Ali Khan, who established good relations with Moscow. It is hypothesized that the Moscow prince could have sent his masters to build it, which explains the outward resemblance of Syuyumbike to the Borovitskaya tower of the Moscow Kremlin. Until 1917, Syuyumbike was crowned with a two-headed eagle. After the revolution, a crescent moon rose over it, which was removed in the 1930s and put back in place in the 1990s.

Since 2000, the Kazan Kremlin has been included in the List of World Cultural and natural heritage UNESCO.

Rostov Kremlin

The former residence of the Metropolitan of the Rostov Diocese, located in the center of Rostov on the shores of Lake Nero. The name "Kremlin" was assigned to the metropolitan court, although it is controversial.

During the construction of the fortress (1670-1683) Rostov no longer had any defensive significance, nevertheless, the Kremlin was built in the traditions of Russian defense architecture and is a monument of Russian military architecture of the pre-Petrine period.

According to the plan of the customer, Metropolitan Jonah Sysoyevich, the local Kremlin was supposed to resemble heaven on earth in full accordance with the biblical description: the Garden of Eden surrounded by walls with towers with a mirror of a pond in the center.

After the metropolitanate was transferred from Rostov to Yaroslavl in 1787, the royal court lost its significance and gradually fell into disrepair. However, thanks to the Rostov merchants and merchant money in the 1860s and 1880s, the architectural complex was restored.

The ensemble of the Rostov Kremlin includes: the Assumption Cathedral (1508-1512), the Holy Gates, the Gate Church of the Resurrection (1670), the Judgment Order (1650-1660), the Church of St. John the Theologian (1683), the Church of Odigitria (1693), the Church of the Savior on Seny ( 1675), the Church of St. Gregory the Theologian (1680), the Red Chamber (1670-1680), "House in the Cellars" (17th century), Samuil's Corps, White (Dining) Chamber.

Novgorod Kremlin

The Novgorod children's - a fortress of Veliky Novgorod - is located on the left bank of the Volkhov River. The first mention of her in the annals dates back to 1044.

In 1302, stone structures were erected - towers. According to the number of administrative districts - "ends" of Novgorod - five towers were built, the location of which was determined by the direction of the Kremlin streets.

The Novgorod Kremlin was political and cultural center feudal Novgorod republic. On the square in front of St. Sophia Cathedral, a noisy veche gathered more than once. From here the Novgorodians left to fight for their city and all of Russia. Alexander Nevsky walked on this land. Chronicles were written here, old books and works of art were kept. Here in 1478 the unification of Novgorod with Moscow was proclaimed.

The Novgorod Kremlin, one of the oldest monuments of the military-defensive architecture of Russia in the 15th-17th centuries, has the shape of an irregular oval stretched from south to north and somewhat concave from the coastal side. The total area of ​​the fortress inside the walls is 12.1 hectares. A deep moat surrounds it from the north, west and south. The fortress walls, standing on the rampart, stretch for 1487 m, their height is from 8 to 15, the thickness is from 3.6 to 6.5 meters. Of the twelve towers that were in the 15th century Detinets, nine have survived: Dvortsovaya, Spasskaya, Knyazhaya, Kokuy, Pokrovskaya, Zlatoustovskaya, Metropolichya, Fedorovskaya and Vladimirskaya.

The ensemble of the Novgorod Kremlin includes: oldest temple Russia - St. Sophia Cathedral (1045-1050) with a belfry, Vladychnaya (Faceted) Chamber (1433), Likhudov building (1670), Palace tower. In the center of the Kremlin there is a monument to the Millennium of Russia (1862).

The ensemble of the Novgorod Kremlin is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site.

Pskov Kremlin

The local Krom is located on a high rocky promontory, where the small Pskov River flows into the Velikaya River at an acute angle. The height of the chrome walls is from 6 to 8 meters, the thickness is from 2.5 to 6 meters. There was a veche square with a bell tower and a chamber where the Council of Boyars met. At the veche, decisions important for the Pskov republic were made - about war, peace, the calling of a prince, taxes ... The last time the veche bell rang on January 13, 1510, when the period of the Pskov veche republic ended and the history of Pskov began as part of the Russian state of Muscovy.

Pskovites perceived their city as an earthly likeness of the Heavenly City "Like the Heavenly Jerusalem" and called it the House of the Holy Trinity. The first Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in 1699 was erected at the behest of Princess Olga in the middle of the 10th century. The second was erected in stone in the XII century by Vsevolod-Gabriel, the first prince of Pskov. The third, Trinity Cathedral in 1367, played an important role in the development of the local architectural tradition. Some scholars believe that its author was the master Kirill, who embodied in the Pskov city planning the idea of ​​the cathedral church as an image and likeness of Jerusalem above, the heavenly home of the Holy Trinity.

The current Trinity Cathedral, the fourth in a row, was built in the all-Russian Moscow traditions. Architectural solution rather strict: a clear volume of the temple, whitewashed walls, a little decor in the style of "Naryshkin Baroque" and bright spots of Pskov glazed tiles - in the first tier. Despite the restructuring in the 18th century (porch, buttresses, the laying of galleries) and renovations at the end of the 19th century, the cathedral has retained its original design.

Trinity Cathedral

The bell tower of the Trinity Cathedral of the 17th – 19th centuries was built on the site of the ancient tower “on Radchin vskhod”. Square in plan, multi-storey, completed with tiered bell spans, a decorative tier of a tower clock and a spire with a cross. The upper tiers were built on in the 18th – 19th centuries.

Pskov remained the most important defensive line of the north-west of Russia until the middle of the 18th century. During the war years, the walls of the Kremlin were strengthened and expanded, but then they began to decay, they were little followed, although in the 19th century, partial restoration was carried out. In the XX century, after the revolution, and then the German occupation of Pskov, the walls and towers of the Kremlin practically turned into ruins. Large-scale recovery began only in the 1960s.

The Moscow Kremlin is dear to the heart of every Russian. Each building here is a page of history. Once its walls were the borders of Moscow, now it is the heart of the capital.

Kremlin embankment

The history of the Moscow Kremlin is inextricably linked with the life of the Russian state.

This majestic architectural complex rises on Borovitsky Hill above the Moskva River. The walls of the Kremlin, their height, narrow loopholes and austere outline of the towers even today indicate that this is, first of all, a fortress. Their harsh power up close leaves a lasting impression.

The territory of the Kremlin today occupies 27.5 hectares. Its southern side faces the river, the eastern side faces Red Square, and the northwestern side faces the Alexander Garden.
Everything here breathes history, everything keeps the memory of the events of the ancients, ancient and not so distant, but no less memorable. Ancient cathedrals, squares, towers; cannons and bells; the residence of the President, world-famous museums and cozy green squares - everything is concentrated on this relatively small territory.

Kremlin under Ivan Kalita

History of the Moscow Kremlin. Yury Dolgoruky.

The history of the Moscow Kremlin began in the 12th century. Moscow of those times was a small settlement that protected the road to the city of Vladimir. The first fortress, the Kremlin ("kremnos" in Greek - "rock"), was made of wood and was built by Yuri Dolgoruky in 1156. The fortress, located on a high hill covered with a beautiful forest, protected the mouths of the navigable Vskhodnya and Yauza rivers, which was its strategic importance. Initially, the territory of the Kremlin was very small, occupying 3-4 hectares and was surrounded not only by wooden walls, but by earthen ramparts and ditches.

The history of the Kremlin in Moscow. Ivan Kalita.

Moscow received its further development under the leadership of Grand Duke Ivan Kalita in the first half of the 14th century. He built the first Moscow stone churches: the Assumption (1327), the Church of John Lestvinichka (1329) and the Archangel Cathedral (1333). The area formed by these cathedrals was named Cathedral Square. He also built the Church of the Savior on Bor.

The history of the Kremlin in Moscow. Dmitry Donskoy.

The further history of the Moscow Kremlin was already written by the Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy. Under him, the oak Kremlin walls were replaced with white-stone walls (1366), and the area enclosed by them increased significantly, reaching the size of the modern Kremlin.
In 1365, Metropolitan Alexy founded the Miracle Monastery, and on the site where the Grand Kremlin Palace now stands, a grand ducal mansion was built. At this palace in 1393, the widow of Dmitry Donskoy laid the foundation stone church of the Nativity of the Virgin. Today its fragments are the remains of the most ancient Kremlin stone church.

Kremlin during the time of Dmitry Donskoy

History of the Moscow Kremlin. Ivan III.

The 15th century brought the Moscow state liberation from the Golden Horde. The country developed, rebuilt, and established economic ties with Europe. Stone or brick buildings were also built in the Kremlin, including residential chambers.

Ivan III undertook a radical reconstruction of his residence. For this he invited Italian architects. Under their leadership, new grandiose Kremlin walls and towers are being erected that meet modern European requirements for fortification.

The dilapidated Assumption Church of Ivan Kalita was demolished and in its place Aristotle Fioravanti began the construction of the five-domed Assumption Cathedral in 1474. Pskov masters in 1484 laid the house of the Grand Duke Annunciation Church and the Church of the Deposition of the Robe. The old Cathedral Square takes on a look close to the modern one.

Cathedral Square. year 2013.

A stone palace is being erected in place of the wooden grand-ducal ones. Unfortunately, it was destroyed in the 16th century, but the Palace of Facets (1487), which has survived to our time, can give some idea of ​​it. In 1505, the construction of the Archangel Cathedral, the burial vault of the Moscow princes, began. XVI century - the time of construction and the bell tower of Ivan the Great, and other churches, and administrative buildings - for example, Prikazov on Ivanovskaya Square.

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