What the Kremlin received in the 15th century. Architecture of the Moscow Kremlin
In the second half of the 15th century, when Moscow became political and cultural center Russian lands, the Kremlin was rebuilt with the participation of Italian architects. Its center was Cathedral Square with the Assumption Cathedral built by the architect Aristotle Fioravanti (1475-79) - the tomb of Russian metropolitans and patriarchs, the place of weddings and coronations of great princes, then tsars and emperors. Pskov craftsmen erected the Church of the Deposition of the Robe (1484-88) and Blagoveshchensky cathedral(1484-89) - the house church of the Moscow sovereigns. In 1505-08, the Archangel Cathedral was built - the tomb of Russian princes and tsars (before Ivan V Alekseevich). The stone sovereign palace (on the site of the modern Grand Kremlin Palace) with the Faceted Chamber (1487-91) completed the design of the western side of Cathedral Square. The Ivan the Great bell tower became the center of the Kremlin ensemble. In 1485-95, around the Kremlin, taking into account the traditions of Russian defensive architecture and the achievements of Western European fortification, the existing walls and towers were built from red brick with internal backfilling made of cobblestones and white stone on lime mortar. The Kremlin became one of the most powerful fortresses in Europe.
INSCRIPTION ABOVE THE GATES OF THE SPASSKAYA TOWER
“In the summer of July 6999 (1491), by the grace of God, this archer was made by order of John Vasilyevich, the sovereign and autocrat of all Rus' and the Grand Duke of Volodymyr and Moscow and Novgorod and Pskov and Tver and Ugra and Vyatka and Perm and Bulgaria and others in the 30th year of the state it was made by Peter Anthony Solario from the city of Mediolan (Milan - ed.).”
ARCHITECTS OF THE NEW ENSEMBLE OF THE MOSCOW KREMLIN
To realize the plan of Ivan III - to turn the Kremlin into a symbol of the Russian state, a demonstration of its greatness and power - architecture was one of the most important means. And the prince turns the Kremlin into a monumental ensemble. Almost all the buildings of the Kremlin - towers, walls, buildings on the central Kremlin square - not only stand in the same places and bear the same names where they began to be built and as Ivan Kalita called them in the 30s of the 14th century, but they even look the same as they looked during the reign of Ivan III...
The prince, on the advice of “Greek Sophia,” invited architects from Italy. The first to arrive from Bologna in 1474 was Aristotle Fioravanti with his son Andrei.
The Italian architect was 58 years old at that time, and he had already gone down in Italian history as the author of palaces, fortresses and fortifications for many Italian dukes and even for the Hungarian king, as the man who moved a huge bell tower from place to place. In Bologna, Fioravanti was about to begin construction of the Palazzo del Podesta, the model of which had so delighted his compatriots. But he went far to the east to enter the history of another people - the Russians.
Aristotle was settled in the Kremlin, given enormous powers, and work began to boil. Ivan III himself understood that the white stone walls were an unreliable defender; they would not withstand cannon fire. The Kremlin should be built in brick. And the Italian first built a brick factory on the Yauza River. The bricks produced at this factory according to Fioravanti’s own recipe were unusually strong. They were narrower and longer than usual, and therefore they began to be called “Aristotelian”.
Having created the general layout of the Kremlin fortress and its center - Cathedral Square, the Italian headed the construction of the Assumption Cathedral - the main cathedral of Moscow Rus'. The temple was supposed to carry a huge “preaching” meaning; it was supposed to announce to the world the birth of a new state, and therefore it was necessary to embody the truly national character of culture. Aristotle began to become acquainted with examples of Russian architecture in Vladimir, in northern Rus', and when, after four years of work, the five-domed cathedral was ready, it captured the imagination of his contemporaries. He looked “like one stone,” and with this feeling of monolith he inspired the idea of the monolith of the entire people. It cannot be considered accidental that a year after the completion of the cathedral, Ivan III refused to pay tribute to the Golden Horde.
In those same years, Pskov craftsmen, still unknown to us, were rebuilding the Annunciation Cathedral - the house church of the royal court. In the basement of this cathedral, a new Treasury Courtyard was built - the Treasury Depository, the deep white stone cellars of which lasted for three centuries. The Treasury was built by another Italian - Marco Ruffo, whose name we associate with another remarkable Kremlin building - the Chamber of Facets - the ceremonial throne room of the future Russian tsars. For the 15th century, the Chamber of Facets represents a unique creation: a hall with an area of 500 square meters, the vaults of which rest on only one central pillar.
Marco Ruffo just started this chamber. He completed the work together with the architect Pietro Antonio Solari, who arrived from Italy - one of the legendary builders of the Milan Cathedral. It was Solari who was responsible for the main engineering solution for the Faceted Chamber, which was later named so for the tetrahedral stones with which it is lined. Both architects simultaneously built the stone sovereign's palace.
One can only regret that Solari lived in Moscow so little - in 1493, three years after his arrival, he suddenly died. But even in three years he did too much and, most importantly, brought to life the plan of Ivan III: to turn the Moscow Kremlin into the most impregnable fortress in Europe. The new fortress walls, 2235 meters long, ranged in height from 5 to 19 meters. Inside the walls, the thickness of which reached from 3.5 to 6.5 meters, closed galleries were arranged for the secret movement of soldiers. To prevent enemy undermining, there were many secret passages and “rumors” from the Kremlin.
Its towers became the centers of the Kremlin's defense. The first was erected in the very middle of the wall, facing the Moscow River. It was built under the direction of the Italian master Anton Fryazin in 1485. Since there was a secret spring under the tower, they called it Tainitskaya.
After this, almost every year it is built new tower: Beklemishevskaya (Marco Ruffo), Vodovzvodnaya (Anton Fryazin), Borovitskaya, Konstantino-Eleninskaya (Pietro Antonio Solari). And finally, in 1491, two towers were erected on Red Square - Nikolskaya and Frolovskaya, - the latter would later become known to the whole world as Spasskaya (as it was named in 1658 by royal decree in the image of the Savior of Smolensk, written above the gates of the tower in memory of the liberation by Russian troops city of Smolensk). The Spasskaya Tower became the main, main entrance to the Kremlin...
In 1494, Aleviz Fryazin (Milanets) came to Moscow. For ten years he built the stone chambers that became part of the Terem Palace of the Kremlin. He erected both the Kremlin walls and towers along the Neglinnaya River. He also owned the main hydraulic structures of Moscow in those years: the dams on Neglinnaya and ditches along the walls of the Kremlin.
In 1504, shortly before his death, Ivan III invited another “Fryazin” to Moscow, who received the name Aleviz Fryazin the New (Venetian). He came from Bakhchisarai, where he was building a palace for the khan. Vasily III already saw the creations of the new architect. It was under him that the Venetian built eleven churches (which have not survived to this day) and the cathedral, which now serves as the decoration of the Moscow Kremlin - Arkhangelsk, designed in the best traditions of ancient Russian architecture. One feels that its creator was greatly influenced by the original Russian culture.
At the same time, in 1505-1508, the famous Ivan the Great bell tower was built. Its architect Bon-Fryazin, having erected this pillar, which later reached 81 meters, accurately calculated that this architectural vertical would dominate the entire ensemble, giving it a unique color.
The construction of the Moscow Kremlin was an outstanding event for its time. Even if we consider the beginning of the construction of the ensemble to be 1475 - the year of the foundation of the last, fourth version of the Assumption Cathedral, and the end of construction - the construction of the last Kremlin fortifications in 1516, we have to admit that all this splendor and power was created in thirty (!) years.
Address: Russia Moscow
Start of construction: 1482
Completion of construction: 1495
Number of towers: 20
Wall length: 2500 m.
Main attractions: Spasskaya Tower, Assumption Cathedral, Bell Tower of Ivan the Great, Annunciation Cathedral, Archangel Cathedral, Faceted Chamber, Terem Palace, Arsenal, Armory Chamber, Tsar Cannon, Tsar Bell
Coordinates: 55°45"03.0"N 37°36"59.3"E
Cultural heritage site Russian Federation
Brief history of the Moscow Kremlin
In the very heart of Moscow, on Borovitsky Hill, the majestic Kremlin ensemble rises. It has long become a symbol not only of the capital, but of all of Russia. History itself decreed that an ordinary village of Krivichi, located in the middle of the forest, eventually turned into the capital of a mighty Russian state.
The Kremlin from a bird's eye view
Kremlin or Detinets in ancient Rus' 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 Our Lady.
View of the Kremlin walls from the Kremlin embankment
In 1367, Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy surrounded the Kremlin with a powerful fortress wall made 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 worthy of the “Sovereign of All Rus'” in the Kremlin.
Ivan III invited architects from Milan to build fortifications. It was in 1485 - 1495 that the walls and towers of the Kremlin that still exist today were built. The top of the walls is crowned with 1045 battlements in the shape of a “swallowtail” - they have the same appearance as the battlements of Italian castles. At the turn of the 15th - 16th centuries, the Moscow Kremlin turned into an impregnable massive fortress, lined with red brick.
View of the Kremlin from the Bolshoy 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 shrine of the Moscow Kremlin
The main one of the 20 towers of the Moscow Kremlin is rightfully considered 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 tower's tent 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 increasingly calls to remove the star and erect a double-headed eagle in its place. The tower got its name from the icon of the Savior of Smolensk over the gate.
View of the Kremlin from the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge
The icon was revered by saints, so men, passing through the gate, in front of the image of the Savior had to take off their headdress. Legend has it that when Napoleon was passing through the Spassky Gate, a gust of wind tore the cocked hat off 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 ladder 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 hiding the image of Christ under a layer of plaster. On August 28, 2010, on the feast of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, Patriarch Kirill solemnly consecrated the newly found icon above 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 unlimited power of the sovereign, 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 been preserved under the former Chudov Monastery, which until the 1930s was located in the eastern part of the Kremlin Hill.
These are passages, interiors of temples and long galleries. Today, some of them are flooded with groundwater.
Eternal flame at the walls of the Kremlin There are rumors among Muscovites that previously there were branched roads leading out from each of the Kremlin towers. 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 dating back to the 16th century. The dungeons were so wide that you could drive a cart through them.
Underground passages were found during every major reconstruction. Most often, voids, gaps and labyrinths were walled up or simply filled with concrete for safety reasons.
Spasskaya Tower
One of the secrets of the Moscow Kremlin is also connected with its dungeons. For several centuries now, historians and archaeologists have been struggling with the mystery of the disappearance of the library of Ivan IV the Terrible, which is also called Liberia.
The Russian sovereign inherited a unique collection of ancient books and manuscripts from his grandmother Sophia Paleologus, who received these books as a dowry.
The discovery of books in storage facilities located underground was not an accident. When Sophia Paleologus arrived in the city in 1472, she saw the terrible consequences of the fire that raged in Moscow two years earlier. Realizing that the library she brought could easily perish in a fire, Sophia ordered a spacious basement, which was located under the Kremlin Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, to be equipped for storage. After this, the valuable Liberia was always kept in dungeons.
View of Cathedral Square and Ivan the Great Bell Tower
Cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin - “altars of Russia”
Today the Moscow Kremlin is both the place of work of the President of the Russian Federation and a historical and cultural museum. Historical Center The Kremlin is represented by Cathedral Square with three cathedrals- Uspensky, Arkhangelsky and Blagoveshchensky. An old proverb says: “The Kremlin rises above Moscow, and above the Kremlin there is only the sky.” That is why all the people honored the tsar’s decrees, which he proclaimed in the Assumption Cathedral.
This temple can rightfully be called the “altar of Russia.” In the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin, kings were crowned kings, the next head of the Russian church was elected, and in the tombs of the temple the relics of Moscow saints found eternal rest. The Archangel Cathedral, from 1340 until the 18th century, served as the tomb of Moscow princes and kings.
Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin
Under its arches, tombstones are placed in strict order on white stone slabs. The Annunciation Cathedral was the personal house of prayer for the Moscow princes: here they were baptized, confessed, and got married. According to legend, the grand ducal treasury was kept in the basement of this temple. The Cathedral Square is surrounded by the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, Faceted and Patriarchal Chambers. Meetings of the Boyar Duma and Zemsky Sobors 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 younger buildings of the Kremlin include the Grand Kremlin Palace, built in the mid-19th century by order of Emperor Nicholas I. Today, the ceremonial residence of the President of Russia is located within its walls.
Tsar Cannon
In the palace halls, ceremonies of inauguration of the President are held, state awards and credentials are presented. In one of the palace buildings the Diamond Fund of the Russian Federation and the Armory Chamber are located - a treasury of palace items. In the Kremlin, on pedestals stand the Tsar Cannon weighing 40 tons and the Tsar Bell weighing 200 tons - masterpieces of Russian foundry craftsmanship. Due to their gigantic dimensions, they are not suitable for their intended use, but they have become symbols of great Russia. The Kremlin is always crowded. Guests admire the enduring beauty of architectural creations that personify Russian history. As M.Yu. wrote Lermontov in “Panorama of Moscow”, nothing can compare with this Kremlin which, “surrounded by battlements and golden domes of cathedrals, reclines on high mountain, How crown of sovereignty on the forehead of the formidable ruler."
Attraction rating
How to get to the Kremlin
Dear readers! This article was written in 2012. We constantly monitor changes in the situation in the Kremlin and, if necessary, edit the text. The last update was made in March 2019. The algorithm for purchasing tickets and access to the Kremlin remains the same.
In order to be guaranteed to buy tickets to the Armory Chamber, we advise you to purchase them online on the Moscow Kremlin website.
For those for whom it is important to save themselves from reading a tedious article of 1700 words and quickly buy tickets and an excursion to the Kremlin, I offer an alternative.
How to get to the Kremlin
Be careful! Many websites are misleading and give incorrect information about ticket prices to the Kremlin. Tickets have increased in price since February 2019.
Summary of the article
- How to get to the Kremlin.
- Where to buy tickets to the Kremlin
- Where are the Kremlin ticket offices?
- Tickets to the Kremlin. How much are?
- Excursions to the Kremlin
All the aspirations of those who want to meet cultural heritage capitals are directed towards the Kremlin. What do you need to know in order to watch all three Kremlin components ( , ; ; ) with minimal losses?
Part one. For Russian and Russian-speaking tourists.
How to get to the Kremlin. For visitors
Attention! With the onset of the warm season (from mid-April), the queues for tickets to the Kremlin have increased! On weekends, be prepared to spend 30 minutes or more at the checkout! During the summer on Saturdays, there is a long line at the box office long before its opening, by 9 o'clock in the morning there may already be a substantial tail standing.
– Day off is Thursday. On holidays the Kremlin is usually open. But there are ceremonial events, meetings of foreign heads of state, inaugurations again. In such exceptional cases it is closed.
– works in sessions. There are four of them - at 10, 12, 14.30 and 16.30
– Opening hours of the Moscow Kremlin Museum-Reserve from 10 to 17 winter time, from 9.30 to 18 in the summer (from mid-May to mid-September). closes at 18:00. open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., lunch break: 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
The Borovitsky Gate of the Kremlin is intended for vehicles. The entrance to the Kremlin is to the left of the gate through the arch.
To get to the Borovitsky Gate you need to go from the ticket office along the road, it is shown in the picture. If you stand facing the cash register, then to the right. Borovitsky Gate of the Kremlin is NOT visible from the ticket office
In the top photo, the Borovitskaya Tower is barely visible in the distance on the left. On the way to the Borovitskaya Tower you will pass by the recently erected monument to Emperor Alexander I.
The monument to Tsar Alexander I was erected in the Alexander Garden between the Commandant (pictured) and Armory towers
When entering the Borovitsky Gate, you need to present an entrance ticket to the Kremlin or the Armory and go through a security check.
Officers at the entrance to the Kremlin through the Borovitsky Gate will ask you to open your bags and lay out all the contents of your pockets on the table. Be sure to inquire about the availability of tickets.
You will be asked to show your ticket either in the building (ticket to visit the Armory Chamber) or at the very end of the long building of the Armory Chamber. There you need to present a ticket to the Kremlin territory.
You can enter the Kremlin through the Trinity Gate
The Trinity Gate is located in the Alexander Garden, in the Trinity Tower, which is connected by a bridge to the Kutafya Tower. Ticket control and inspection is carried out at the Kutafya Tower.
The photo shows the Kutafya Tower (left), Trinity Tower (right). They are connected by the Trinity Bridge. After inspection by officers of the Kremlin commandant's office (the procedure is the same as at an airport), visitors enter the Kremlin through the Trinity Gate. Metal detectors are very sensitive. Be prepared to empty all your change from your pockets.
At the bottom, near the stairs, you need to present a ticket to the territory of the Kremlin or the Armory Chamber.
At the bottom of the stairs there is a lone ticket inspector checking the availability of tickets for those wishing to visit the Kremlin. (Taken on a weekday afternoon in the fall).
Here are the diagrams for clarity.
– You cannot enter the Kremlin with big bags and backpacks, suitcases. These things are left in a storage room near the Kutafya Tower of the Kremlin. (Water will not be taken into the storage room; take bottles with you to the Kremlin). Handbags, which sometimes come in quite large sizes, can be carried. It is prohibited to bring ANY weapons into the Kremlin, including gas cans and pocket knives. Professional photo and video shooting on the territory of the Kremlin is prohibited.
Entrance to the Kremlin with luggage - bags and backpacks
ENTRANCE TO THE KREMLIN WITH BACKPACKS is sometimes allowed, sometimes prohibited. It is better to leave a large backpack in a storage room under the Kutafya Tower. It is open from 10 to 18. Lunch breaks are from 11:00 to 11:30 and from 15:30 to 16:00.
Luggage storage is to the left of the stairs. The Kutafya Tower is visible at the top.
Details about the operation of the storage room can be found on the official Kremlin website. http://www.kreml.ru/visit-to-kremlin/ticket-prices/kamera-khraneniya1/
When is the best time to visit the Kremlin?
If you want to see the Kremlin in the morning and buy tickets for a 10-hour show (the museum's ticket office opens half an hour before the Kremlin opens), in the summer it is better to come early. On weekday mornings at 9.30 am the queue is usually small. Sometimes it’s not there at all. On weekends, people gather early in the morning. In the summer at 11 o'clock, there is a decent crowd at the Kremlin ticket office. I remind you once again that in the summer on Saturdays when the guard of honor ceremony takes place, The line at the cash register is very long even in the morning .
Not the longest line at the ticket office of the Moscow Kremlin museums Upon entering the museum, you will be subject to a serious search carried out by the Kremlin Commandant's Office and passage through very sensitive metal detectors. There is a queue at the Borovitsky Gate in the morning: from 10 to 11 and around 12 and 14 o’clock - people gather to get into the Armory Chamber at 12 or 14.30 and at
The best time to explore the Kremlin on your own
General advice. During the warm season, weekends and holiday It’s better to come to the Kremlin ticket office early. But if possible, go to the Kremlin in WEEKDAY day. The most best time to visit the Kremlin – afternoon. Around 2 p.m. Schoolchildren visit the Kremlin in the morning excursion groups. Plan to visit the Armory at 4:30 p.m. In the second half weekday there is a high probability that you will end up in the Diamond Fund.
It often happens that all tickets in already sold. Then at the cash registers there is a sign like this:
Tickets for evening sessions run out very quickly at the box office! The ideal option is to go to the Kremlin ticket office in the Alexander Garden around 2 p.m. Buy a ticket to visit the Kremlin territory. Maybe they will even sell you a ticket to the Armory Chamber and the Diamond Fund. Although, until recently, tickets to the Armory were sold only 40 minutes before the start of the show.
We'll tell you about it separately.
Dear sirs, if you still have questions on the topic “How to get to the Kremlin,” please re-read the article again and look at the comments. They have answers to many questions!
Let me remind you that some frequently asked questions are answered in a separate publication (comments to it are still open, if you have any questions, ask, we will try to answer). I hope that the article will help you get into the Kremlin.
Dear Muscovites and guests of the capital! Before entering the Kremlin, we strongly recommend that you resolve technical issues using, excuse me, the toilet in the Alexander Garden. On the territory of the Kremlin there is a nanotech toilet with an eternal queue. There is also a toilet in the Armory building, but you can’t get there from the street without a ticket. Therefore, we repeat again - the optimal solution technical problems located in the Alexander Garden opposite the Kremlin ticket office.
We described the rules for undergoing security checks at the entrance to the Kremlin in the publication.
We recommend you a service where in a couple of minutes you can book any excursion to the Kremlin. Let's offer two of them:
Our articles to help travelers
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