Kremlin tower. Travel to Moscow. Kremlin's Spasskaya Tower

All the main attractions of the historic part of the city and the best panoramic views of the Kremlin can be seen in a couple of hours of leisurely walking. Usually, tourists begin to get acquainted with Red Square, coming from the Okhotny Ryad. On each side of the Kremlin, seven towers of red baked brick were erected. The idea of the architects was that the Cathedral Square became the center of the Kremlin. It houses beautiful cathedrals: the Annunciation, the Assumption and the Archangel, the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, the Faceted Chamber (the Temple of the Deposition of the Robe, like the Cathedral of the Annunciation, built by Russian masters in the best traditions of Russian church architecture).

Any tourist wants to explore the towers of the Kremlin, facing the Red Square, because it is here that the most famous of them is the Kremlin's Spasskaya Tower. In 1491, under Prince Ivan III, the Spasskaya Tower was built to strengthen the north-eastern part of the city. The construction was done by architect Pietro Antonio Solari. At first it was called Frolovskaya, after the church in the name of the Holy Martyrs Frol and Laurus, located nearby. The construction was two times lower than now. The multi-tiered top and the stone dome in the Gothic style were built much later - in 1624-1625. English architect Christopher Galov and Russian master Bazhen Ogurtsov. By the decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich on April 16, 1658, the tower was renamed Spasskaya. She received such a name, because the road to the Smolensk Church of the Savior went through it. It is believed that she received the name in honor of the icon of the Savior, which was placed above the gate from the side of Red Square.

You can enter Red Square through the Resurrection Gate. Their second name is Iversky, according to the chapel of the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God located there. The chapel is an active Orthodox church and is open to visitors. Initially, the square was called "Bargaining" or "Fire", and from the second half of the XVII century - "Red" (beautiful). In 1547, Tsar Ivan the Terrible ordered the construction of wooden malls on the eastern side of the square; in 1595, at the behest of Boris Godunov, they were replaced by stone, facing the square and stretching parallel to the Kremlin wall. Over time, Red Square became the commercial and political center of Moscow. It was the most crowded place of the city. That is why royal decrees were announced here, important problems were discussed, various ceremonies were held.

Spassky Gate - the most important of the Kremlin gates. Men removed hats in front of the image of the Savior from the Red Square. It was impossible to ride through them. According to legend, when Napoleon drove through this gate, the wind tore off his cocked hat. All the kings before the coronation passed through this gate. The warriors left here for the decisive battle. For many years, the Spassky Gate opened very rarely, only in exceptional cases.

The main symbol of Russia is located on Borovitsky Hill, on the higher left bank of the Moskva River, in the place where the Neglinnaya River flows into it. If we consider the complex from a height, the Kremlin is a triangle of irregular shape, with a total area of 27.7 hectares, surrounded by a massive wall with towers. To list all the events that took place during the more than 900 years history of the Moscow Kremlin is not an easy task. It is interesting that the first human settlements on Borovitsky Hill are dated by archaeologists to the 2nd millennium BC.

At that time, the construction site of the future Kremlin was completely covered with dense forests, hence the name of the hill - Borovitsky. Under Ivan Kalita, in the first half of the 14th century, the treasury of Moscow princes began to form, the storage of which was, of course, the Kremlin. One of the main items of the treasury was the "golden hat" - scientists identify it with the famous Monomakh hat, which served as the crown of all Moscow rulers.

Red Square is a symbol and architectural monument of the capital of Russia. Since its inception (it is believed that it was 1493), it has become the main significant area of the city. One of the reasons for the emergence of Red Square was the need to expand the city's borders, its indispensable parts. No less important was the task of strengthening and ensuring the security of the strategically important part of the city - the Kremlin. In 1712, after Peter the Great decided to transfer the capital to the newly erected St. Petersburg, the Moscow Kremlin for a long time lost the status of the permanent and sole residence of the rulers of the state.

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