Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
damaged bell out of the pit and put it on a pedestal. The bas-reliefs of Empress Anna and
Tsar Alexey, as well as some icons, were etched on its sides.
Tsar Cannon
)
. It was cast in 1586 by the blacksmith Ivan Chokhov for Fyodor I, whose portrait is on the
barrel. No shot has ever sullied its 89cm bore - certainly not the cannonballs beside it,
which are too big even for this elephantine firearm.
TOWERS OF POWER
The present Kremlin walls were built between 1485 and 1495, replacing the limestone
walls from the 14th century. The walls are 6m to 17m tall, depending on the landscape,
and 2m to 5m thick. They stretch for 2235m. Originally, a 32m-wide moat encircled
the northern end of the Kremlin, connecting the Moscow and Neglinnaya Rivers.
The 20 distinctive towers were built between 1485 and 1500, with tent roofs added
in the 17th century. Originally, the towers had lookout posts and were equipped for
heavy fighting. Most were designed by Italian masons.
The most prominent tower is the
Saviour Gate Tower
, the clock tower soaring above
Red Square. Right next to it is the Tsar T
r Tower,, (), a later addition (1680), which sits on
top of the Kremlin wall. Legend has it that Ivan the Terrible watched executions and
other Red Square activities from the old wooden tower that previously stood on this
site. Next along is the Ala
m Tower (), which used to house the Spassky Alarm Bell,
used to warn of enemy attacks and to spur popular uprisings. After quashing one
such uprising, Catherine the Great was so outraged that she had the clapper removed
from the bell, so it could sound no more.
The two towers anchoring the northern and southern ends of this eastern wall
played important roles in the Kremlin's defenses. At the corner of Alexander Garden,
St Nich
Alarm T
St Nichola
s Tower () was previously a gated defensive tower on the northeastern
flank. Through this gate, Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin (as depicted in the
statue in front of St Basil's Cathedral) led a civilian army and drove out the Polish oc-
cupiers. At the southern end of Red Square, Konstantin & Y
olas T
a Tower (-) was built to
protect the settlements outside the city. It is complete with firing platforms and a
drawbridge over the moat.
in & Yele
elena T
Archangel Cathedral
