The corner Arsenal Tower of the Moscow Kremlin soars up to 60.2 m. The diameter at the base is 26.4 m. The thickness of the walls is about 6 m. The tower was erected by the Milanese architect Solari (Petr Fryazin) in 1492. Initially, it had seven rows of loopholes and a secret exit to the Neglinnaya River. In 1670-1680 it was reinforced with an expanding conical base, and the lower row of loopholes was filled in.
The loopholes of the second row, located directly above the plinth, were soon also closed. In 1677-1686. the tower was built with a complex, multi-stage top, and in 1707, by order of Peter I, the loopholes of the remaining five rows were expanded to install artillery pieces in them.
The name of the corner Arsenal tower of the Moscow Kremlin
Initially, the tower was called Sobakina - in honor of the nearby courtyard of the Bor Sobakins. The modern name arose in the 18th century, since the Arsenal building was built nearby. The purpose of the tower was to defend the crossing of the Neglinnaya River (even before the latter was put into a pipe) and was a storage facility for a water source.
A spring-well still exists in the deep basement of the tower. In 1894 they decided to pump it out, but the water, according to contemporaries, was constantly rising. However, the water did not harm either the tower itself or the building located in it at the end of the 19th century. archive - there is no hint of dampness inside.
Riches of the corner Arsenal tower
From generation to generation, legends about hidden medieval fortresses wealth. Unfortunately, these legends are extremely rarely confirmed. The Moscow Kremlin, which has always had a special attraction for connoisseurs of antiquities, presented us with 24 amazing finds. One of the treasures was found in the Corner Arsenal Tower. In 1976, while clearing a clogged well, weapons from the late 15th and early 16th centuries were found hidden in it.
The word “treasure” is usually associated with precious stones, jewelry, bars of gold and silver, and certainly not with chain mail and helmets. But in the old days, military weapons were of considerable value and were expensive: helmets and chain mail, for example, were mentioned in wills indicating the cost of each item.
The Kremlin walls themselves contain extraordinary treasures. At the beginning of the 19th century, in the first years of the reign of Alexander I, the Kremlin walls and towers began to be repaired. Then a mystery treasure was discovered: a Russian treasure from the late 16th – early 17th centuries, filled with ancient Roman copper coins. One and a half thousand years separate these objects! We will never know who and, most importantly, why hid the coins, because in the 17th century. they had no material value. Apparently, in the old days there were people overcome by a passion for collecting.
Tower explosion
Corner Arsenalnaya is an amazingly strong and stable tower. It withstood the French bombing of the Arsenal in 1812, although the tower's mass suffered cracks. Only the top tent with the tower was demolished by the blast wave. In 1816-1818 under the leadership of O. Bove, the tower was restored. After restoration work 1946-1957. it again acquired the appearance it had in the 17th century.
Leaving through the openwork cast-iron gates of the Alexander Garden and turning right, we head towards Red Square. If the entrance through Zabelinsky Passage is closed (which often happens, especially when renovation work is underway in the Kremlin), you can go around the building of the Historical Museum and pass the Iverskaya Chapel to the Resurrection Gate. The stone Resurrection Gate of Red Square was built in 1680. On the days of coronations and special celebrations, Russian tsars entered the Kremlin from Tverskaya Street through them. In 1931 the gates were dismantled, but in 1994-1996. restored to its original architectural forms.
Resurrection Gate
The chapel of the Iveron Mother of God, perched at the Resurrection Gate, was erected in the name of miraculous icon, revered by Muscovites as one of the main shrines of the city. The chapel was demolished at the same time as the Resurrection Gate, and together with them it was rebuilt. There are always a lot of people in the chapel.
The Resurrection Gate and the Iverskaya Chapel adjoin the majestic dark red building in the pseudo-Russian style. This is Imperial (after 1918 - State) Historical Museum, opened in 1883 on the site of the main city pharmacy, which had been here since the beginning of the 18th century.
Kazan Cathedral
The first thing we see, having passed the Resurrection Gate and entered Red Square, is the small, almost miniature Cathedral of the Kazan Mother of God, a monument church built in 1636 to commemorate the liberation of Moscow from Polish invaders. In 1937, the temple was demolished because it allegedly interfered with the movement of columns of military equipment and participants in festive demonstrations. In 1993, the Kazan Cathedral was restored to its original form according to measurement drawings.
Walking past the revived temple, you may hear the solemn words of a prayer service or the singing of a church choir, broadcast to the street by powerful loudspeakers. So, you are on Red Square. In front of you is the northeastern wall of the ancient Kremlin.
The museum-apartment of A. B. Goldenweiser, one of the greatest musicians of the first half of the twentieth century, pianist, composer, teacher, musical and public figure, People's Artist of the USSR, rector of the Moscow Conservatory, was created by decision of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on January 26, 1955. The museum was created with the direct participation of Alexander Borisovich and received its first visitors in 1959. At first, Alexander Borisovich himself conducted excursions, and after his death in 1961, his student, assistant and wife E. I. Goldenweiser (1911−1998) became the head of the museum. The museum-apartment of A. B. Goldenweiser today, in fact, is a “museum within a museum” - a single memorial, collection and exhibition, scientific research, musical, educational and reference-methodological complex. The museum premises are divided into two zones - a memorial and a chamber music salon. The memorial department conducts educational and excursion work; the music salon hosts meetings with students of A. B. Goldenweiser, concerts of piano, vocal and instrumental music, as well as video and sound recording evenings. The museum hosts scientific readings, methodological seminars, consultations and reviewing of scientific works on musical topics, and there is an opportunity for researchers and scientists to work. The exhibition pays much attention to Goldenweiser’s more than half a century of teaching activity. The names of his students are widely known: S. Feinberg, G. Ginzburg, A. Kaplan, L. Sosina, T. Nikolaeva, D. Paperno, G. Grodberg and many others. The subject of constant concern for Alexander Borisovich was children's music education. The Central Music School in Moscow, which grew out of the Special Children's Group organized in the early 1930s, owes its creation largely to A. B. Goldenweiser. The museum stores, studies and displays A. B. Goldenweiser’s archive, his library, numerous collections, and valuable memorial items. The basis of the Goldenweiser collection are manuscripts, books, notes and letters of great scientific and documentary-historical value. And the extensive collection of paintings, graphics and sculpture speaks of his subtle artistic taste. The musician’s photo archive contains photographs with autographs of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, S. I. Taneyev, S. V. Rachmaninov, N. K. Medtner, M. A. Chekhov, K. S. Stanislavsky. Of particular interest are the photographs in Yasnaya Polyana with L.N. Tolstoy, which were made by Sofia Andreevna Tolstoy. The collection of concert and theater programs reflects the musical life of Moscow from 1886 to 1961. Many memorial items create an atmosphere of comfort and the effect of the presence of the owner in the museum-apartment. Among them are two pianos from the C. Bechstein company, furniture from the early 20th century, and personal belongings of L.N. Tolstoy, with whom A.B. Goldenweiser had almost 16 years of friendship. The collection of the A. B. Goldenweiser Apartment Museum is of great value not only for researchers of the work of the outstanding musician, but also for ordinary music lovers, as well as for everyone interested in the history of Russian musical culture.
(1492 Height - 60.2 m)
At the beginning of the 18th century, after the construction of the Arsenal, the tower received its modern name. It is known for the fact that inside it there was a spring with artesian water, which supplied the Kremlin until a water supply was made from the Moscow River in the 17th century. In the well built above the spring in the 16th century, someone hid weapons that were valuable at that time - two helmets and four stirrups were wrapped in chain mail. Judging by the ornamented helmets, these were the weapons of a noble warrior. The treasure lay there for more than four centuries, and only in 1976 was it found by a worker while clearing a well.
Was under the tower underground passage to the Neglinnaya River, subsequently founded. They tried to explore it in different centuries in search of the mysterious library of Ivan the Terrible. To the right of the tower, behind an ancient cast-iron fence with gilded decorations, is the Alexander Garden.
Not far from the 1b-faceted tower in the Middle Ages there was a courtyard of the Sobakin boyars. This explains its ancient name
(1495, superstructure - 1680, height - 38.9 m)
The tower received its modern name after the construction of the Arsenal building at the beginning of the 18th century. In 1821, at its foot, when laying out the Alexander Garden, a romantic grotto was built in accordance with the architectural fashion of that time.
The tower supposedly stands on the spot where the corner towers of the fortresses of the times of Ivan Kalita and Dmitry Donskoy stood
Moscow Kremlin - a unique fortress in the center of Moscow and the oldest district of the city. The Kremlin is considered the heart of Russia - both because the Russian capital began its journey from here, and because the center of the state has long been located within the walls of the fortress: first the royal chambers, and now the residence of the President of Russia.
And, of course, great importance has always been attached to the defense of the Kremlin.
In plan, the fortress is an irregular triangle: the Kremlin acquired this shape during the Ivan III the Great, during which they began to build new red brick walls to replace the old white stone ones built during Dmitry Donskom. Simultaneously with the construction of the walls, new towers were also erected, which formed the defensive lines of the new Moscow fortress. The main array of walls and towers was built in 1485-1495; part of the Kremlin fortifications were completed until 1516, when the Tsar was already Vasily III. Initially, the towers were erected without tiered hipped roofs - they were added only in the 17th century.
Total along Kremlin wall There are 20 towers.
Beklemishevskaya (Moskvoretskaya) tower
Architect: Marco Ruffo.
Years of construction: 1487-1488.
Height: 46.2 meters.
Completion: weathervane flag.
The name is given by the building Arsenal, built at the beginning of the 18th century.
Trinity Tower
Architect: Aleviz Fryazin (Old).
Years of construction: 1495-1499.
Height: 80 meters.
Completion:
Located on the western side of the Kremlin wall between the Middle Arsenal and Commandant towers. Outwardly it resembles the Spasskaya Tower; It is a quadrangle, which is crowned with a multi-tiered tented roof with rich decorative design. It has a diverting archway with passage Trinity Gates. Unlike other passage towers of the Moscow Kremlin, it has retained the gateway Trinity Bridge, connecting it with the Kutafya Tower.
The name was given after the nearby courtyard Trinity Monastery.
Kutafya Tower
Architect: Aleviz Fryazin (Old).
Years of construction: 1516.
Height: 13.5 meters.
Completion: absent.
Located on the western side of the Kremlin wall opposite the Trinity Tower - this is the only tower of the Moscow Kremlin, which is located away from the wall and in fact represents the only surviving barbican of the fortress. In the past, it was surrounded by water and was used to defend the Trinity Bridge over the Neglinnaya River, leading from the Kutafya Tower to the Trinity Gate. Compared to other towers, it resembles an elegant holiday cake. Currently, the Kutafya Tower is equipped with the main checkpoint for visitors to the Moscow Kremlin.
The name probably comes from an obsolete word "kutafya" meaning a plump, clumsy, unkemptly dressed woman.
Commandant (Kolymazhnaya) tower
Architect: Aleviz Fryazin (Old).
Years of construction: 1493-1495.
Height: 41.2 meters.
Completion: weathervane flag.
Commandant's Tower located on the western side of the Kremlin wall between the Trinity and Armory towers. It is an elongated quadrangle with a base widening towards the bottom and a parapet with machicolations at the top, topped with a hipped roof.
The name is given after the residence of the commandant of Moscow in the Poteshny Palace.
Armory (Konyushennaya) tower
Architect: Aleviz Fryazin (Old) - perhaps.
Years of construction: 1493-1495.
Height: 32.6 meters.
Completion: weathervane flag.
Weapon Tower located on the western side of the Kremlin wall between the Commandant and Borovitskaya towers. It is a quadrangle with a base widening towards the bottom and a parapet with machicolations at the top, topped with a tiered hipped roof.
The name is given after the building of the Armory Chamber.
Borovitskaya (Predtechenskaya) tower
Architect: Pietro Antonio Solari.
Years of construction: 1490.
Height: 54 meters.
Completion: glowing ruby weather vane star.
Borovitskaya Tower located on the western side of the Kremlin wall between the Armory and Vodovzvodnaya towers. It consists of 4 quadrangles decreasing towards the top, placed on top of each other and crowned with a stone tent; a diversion arch with Borovitsky passage gates is attached to the side. Despite the rather poor decorative design, the Borovitskaya Tower stands out from the others due to its stepped (pyramidal) shape.
On the outside Borovitsky Gate the coats of arms of the Lithuanian and Moscow principalities are located carved from white stone; when and why they appeared there is unknown.
The name is given after the ancient forest that covered Borovitsky Hill in past.
Vodovzvodnaya (Sviblova) tower
Architect: Anton Fryazin.
Years of construction: 1488.
Height: 61.2 meters.
Completion: glowing ruby weather vane star.
Located on the southwestern corner of the Kremlin wall near the Kremlin embankment of the Moscow River between the Borovitskaya and Blagoveshchenskaya towers. It is an elongated cylinder with a complex hip-shaped end. The tower's parapet is crowned with dovetail battlements; it is equipped with machicolations for all-round firing. The decorative design of the tower is noteworthy: up to the middle of the height, it is lined with alternating belts of protruding and sinking masonry, above which there is an arcature belt, emphasized by a thin strip of white stone. Interestingly, the star on top of the Vodovzvodnaya Tower is the smallest among the other Kremlin towers (3 meters in diameter).
In the past, the tower housed a water-lifting machine developed according to the project Christopher Galovey- the first water supply system in Moscow from tanks installed on the upper tiers of the tower to supply water from the Moscow River to the Kremlin. Later it was dismantled and transported to St. Petersburg, where they began to use it to fill fountains with water.
The name is given after Galovey's water-lifting machine.
Annunciation Tower
Architect: ?
Years of construction: 1487-1488.
Height: 32.4 meters.
Completion: weathervane flag.
Annunciation Tower located on the southern side of the Kremlin wall between the Vodovzvodnaya and Tainitskaya towers. It is a quadrangle with a built-on tetrahedral tent and an observation tower. The parapet of the tower is equipped with machicolations. Under Ivan the Terrible it was used as a prison, in 1731-1932 - as the bell tower of the Church of the Annunciation (demolished during the Soviet years).
The name is given after the icon of the Annunciation, which, according to legend, miraculously appeared on the northern wall of the tower during the reign of Ivan the Terrible.
Taynitskaya Tower
Architect: Anton Fryazin.
Years of construction: 1485.
Height: 38.4 meters.
Completion: weathervane flag.
Taynitskaya Tower located in the central part of the southern side of the Kremlin wall between the Annunciation and First Nameless towers. It is a massive quadrangle with a built-on tetrahedral tent and an observation tower. The parapet of the tower is equipped with machicolations. In the past, the tower contained Tainitsky Gates, a well-spring and a secret passage to the Moscow River.
The first tower of the Moscow Kremlin to be built - it was from it that the construction of modern walls and towers began.
The name is given after the secret exit to the Moscow River.
First Nameless Tower
Architect: ?
Years of construction: 1480s.
Height: 34.1 meters.
Completion: weathervane flag.
First Nameless Tower located on the southern side of the Kremlin wall between the Tainitskaya and Second Nameless towers. It is a quadrangle with a built-on tetrahedral tent and an observation tower. During its history it was destroyed and rebuilt several times. In the past, there was a gunpowder warehouse inside the tower, which is why the tower was called the Powder Tower.
The modern name was given for a reason that is not entirely clear.
Second Nameless Tower
Architect: ?
Years of construction: 1480s.
Height: 30.2 meters.
Completion: weathervane flag.
Second Nameless Tower is located on the southern side of the Kremlin wall between the First Nameless Tower and the Petrovskaya Tower. It is a quadrangle with a built-on tetrahedral tent and an observation tower topped with an octagonal tent. In the past there was a gate in the tower.
The name was given for a reason that is not entirely clear.
Petrovskaya (Ugreshskaya) tower
Architect: ?
Years of construction: 1485-1487.
Height: 27.1 meters.
Completion: weathervane flag.
Petrovskaya Tower located on the southern side of the Kremlin wall between the Second Nameless and Beklemishevskaya towers. It consists of 3 quadrangles placed on top of each other, topped with an octagonal tent. There are false machicolations in the parapet of the tower. Over the years of its existence, it has been rebuilt several times.
The name is given by the courtyard of the Ugreshsky Monastery with the Church of Peter the Metropolitan, which was located on the territory of the Kremlin near the tower in the 15th-17th centuries.
Interesting facts about the Kremlin towers
There are 20 towers along the walls of the Kremlin;
In the past, when the Kremlin was located on an island formed by the Moscow River, Neglinka and Alevizov Ditch, from the passage towers to " mainland“Bridges were thrown - only the Trinity Bridge has survived to this day;
The very first one to be built is the Tainitskaya Tower, erected in 1485;
Of the 20 towers, 5 are topped with ruby stars (Spasskaya, Nikolskaya, Troitskaya, Borovitskaya and Vodovzvodnaya), 1 - with a decorative finial (Tsarskaya), 1 - has no finial (Kutafya Tower), on the 13 remaining towers there are weathervane flags;
The red ruby stars on the tops of the towers rotate in the wind like a weather vane;
Initially, in 1935, gilded semi-precious stars were installed on the tops of the towers, but they quickly faded, and already in 1937 they were replaced with luminous ruby ones;
Before the stars, the towers were crowned with double-headed eagles, except for Vodovzvodnaya - state symbols were not placed on it;
To prevent the stars from overheating from the operation of the lamps, they are equipped with a ventilation system;
Trinity Tower - the highest tower of the Kremlin (80 meters);
Kutafya Tower - the lowest tower of the Kremlin (13.5 meters);
Kutafya Tower is the only surviving bridgehead barbican of the fortress;
The striking of the chimes of the Spasskaya Tower is a symbol of the New Year in Russia;
In past , however, some of the towers - including Spasskaya, Nikolskaya and Troitskaya - could be left red for aesthetic reasons;
The ensemble of walls and towers of the Moscow Kremlin is one of the most popular architectural attractions of Moscow.
Mini-guide to the Kremlin walls and towersThis is the most powerful Kremlin tower: the thickness of its walls reaches 4 meters. And in 1707, in preparation for defense against the Swedes, Peter I cleared away the old loopholes to install new cannons. This gave the Dog Tower a more menacing appearance. But during the War of 1812, the tower was damaged by an explosion and the Arsenal.
Inside the Corner Arsenal Tower there was a secret exit to the river, and in the dungeon there was a well. Moreover, the spring feeding the well could not be curbed - it often flooded the first floor. And even the architect Pietro Antonio Solari died after catching a cold while fighting the spring.
And in 1976, when clearing a well (the canal draining water to Neglinnaya was clogged), they found many ancient white stone cores of various sizes and rusted weapons of the 15th-16th centuries (2 helmets and 4 stirrups wrapped in chain mail).
Dungeons and secret passages of MoscowThey say that......in the Corner Arsenal Tower there is an entrance to the library of Ivan the Terrible, which was lost after the Moscow fire of 1470.
