Ancient towers. Old towers of Diaolou. Middle Arsenal Tower

Tourists arriving in Baku usually first of all go to get acquainted with the Maiden Tower, which is located in the Old City. However, in fact, this fortress is not the only one of its kind. So, in the vicinity of the city, on the Absheron Peninsula, other majestic monuments of the Middle Ages have been preserved. These powerful strongholds withstood countless assaults and sieges, and, having withstood the most difficult trials, continue to rise above the Baku villages. "Moscow-Baku" offers to make a tour of the five unique architectural structures of Absheron.

Ramanin fortress
This tower has a magical look: it looks like it was copied from the pages of fairy tales about Aladdin, where Princess Budur lived in a beautiful castle. The Ramanin fortress was built by order of the Shirvanshahs in the middle of the 14th century on top of a sheer cliff. This arrangement allowed it to merge organically with the rocky landscape of Absheron. Unlike European castles, Absheron buildings were not adapted for long-term residence and served only as a temporary shelter for soldiers during attacks. The height of the quadrangular tower in the village of Ramana is 12 meters, it consists of four tiers. From floor to floor can only be reached by a ladder. Narrow slit-like openings widening inward in all tiers of the towers, except for the first, served mainly for lighting and ventilation. By the way, the tower also has a primitive sewer line - risers and wells with water. There is written evidence that in the Middle Ages there was an underground road from the Ramana fortress to the Maiden's Tower.

Tower in Gala
This tower gave the name to the whole Absheron village - after all, Gala is translated from the Azerbaijani language as “tower, fortress”. Built in the 14th century, the citadel is similar to the quadrangular towers that still rise in the villages of Mardakan and Ramana to this day. However, unlike them, this citadel was in a dilapidated state for a long time. When they took up its restoration, only a wall 2-3 meters high was preserved from it. Nevertheless, the fortress was completely restored and next to it in 2008 an open-air ethnographic museum was opened. The complex, created with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, also includes mounds, tombs, residential buildings, underground reservoirs, mosques and other historical monuments.

fortress of light
This fortress was called Ishig Galasy (Fortress of Light), as it played a signal role - when the enemy approached, torches were lit on its top, and thus the population was notified of the approaching danger. That is why the tower was erected and close to the sea - just 500 meters from the Caspian coast. The construction inscription, carved on the stone, reports the date of its construction - 1232, and the name of the architect - Abdulmejid ibn Masud. The tower, 16 meters high, is located in the center of a square courtyard and surrounded by stone walls. Three inner tiers, covered with spherical domes, are connected with each other by spiral stone staircases laid in the thickness of the wall.

Quadrangular fortress in Mardakan
The round tower is connected by underground passages with a quadrangular castle - the largest building in Absheron. Its height is 22 meters, and consists of 5 tiers connected by spiral staircases. It is located inside the courtyard, surrounded by fortress walls 7 meters high. The rough expanse of the castle walls is shaded by slit-like embrasures and a rich crown of battlements. The tower was erected in 1372, and more than once was attacked by enemies. The fortress was most severely damaged during a seven-month siege by the Mongol-Tatar troops, as a result of which part of the tower and the mosque adjacent to it were destroyed. In the Soviet years, the tower was restored, but the restorers slightly changed its former appearance. So, the teeth of the crowns of the walls, which had the shape of a crescent, were replaced with ordinary, round ones. In turn, historical finds are still found on the territory of Mardakan - tombstones, coins, teeth, tools, and even an old juicer, in which grapes were decanted and sorbet was made from it.

Nardaran fortress
This tower, like other defense structures of Absheron, served as a reliable stronghold against foreign invasions. Laconic inscriptions in Arabic made on the southern wall of the fortress tell that the architect Ali Mahmud ibn Saad built this fortification in 1301 at the expense of the governor of the Arab Caliphate Hur Berke. By the way, the same master was the author of the old Bibi-Heybat mosque and the Molla Ahmed mosque in the Baku fortress. The height of the round tower is 12.5 m and, unlike the others, it has a more spacious courtyard, and there are practically no stepped parapets with battlements on the crown.

For me, every ancient city is associated with the Kremlin, and every Kremlin with an ancient Russian city. Many kremlins have not been preserved at all, some have been destroyed by time or fires, some have been dismantled by people. But, nevertheless, in Russia there is still something to see, what to visit.

One of the most interesting, both historically and architecturally, is kremlin moscow. The largest in area, with an incredible number of towers - there are twenty of them. And there are no two alike. Each of them has its own appearance, its own name and its own history.

Perhaps one of the most, in my opinion, unusual towers of the Moscow Kremlin is Kutafya. Relatively low, openwork, open - this is how it is now, after all kinds of restorations and after hundreds of years.

Kutafya, or as it was also called - Bridgehead, the tower is also unique because it is the only archer tower preserved in the Kremlin

It was built in 1516 year. Openwork parapet received in 1685 year, and an open area in the 18th century. Prior to this, the tower looked very severe.

So where does such a strange name of the tower - Kutafya come from? And here there are several versions. I liked the one in which it comes from the word "kutafya" - a full, clumsy woman. And indeed, if you look closely, there is a similarity!

Behind the Kutafya tower, connected to it by a long Trinity bridge, is the highest tower of the Kremlin - Troitskaya.

The Trinity Tower was the central travel tower in those distant times, and now it allows crowds of tourists to pass through it. The Trinity Tower is a little older, located in front of Kutafya, the date of its construction is considered 1495 year, although after that it was completed and rebuilt several times.

During its existence, as soon as they did not name the tower: both Epiphany, and Rizopolozhenskaya, and Znamenskaya, and Kuretnaya. But in 1658, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in his decree ordered to call it Trinity in honor of the nearby courtyard of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery.

Middle Arsenal Tower

If we go from the main entrance of the Kremlin to the right, then the next tower we saw will be Middle Arsenal Tower. Previously named faceted for its facade in the 13th century, this small tower (only 38 meters) got its current name in connection with the construction of the Arsenal building nearby. The date of construction of the tower is considered 1495.

Corner Arsenal Tower

The most powerful tower of the Kremlin completes the northwestern wall. Corner Arsenal Tower, she is the Dog Tower. The Dog Tower was named after the nearby court of the Sobakin boyars. But in the XIII century, like its neighbor, it was called Arsenalnaya. The 60-meter Arsenal Tower was at one time the tallest tower of the structure.

- one of those towers of the Kremlin, which every traveler must have seen, because with one of its sides it overlooks Red Square. She was built in 1491 year. More than five hundred years ago, the Nikolskaya Tower, as well as the Troitskaya Tower, had a diverting shooter tower, a bridge and a gate. By the name of the tower, everything is quite clear, it was given on behalf of St. Nicholas of Mozhaisk, whose icon was installed above its gates.

Surely, many people noticed when walking along Red Square a low turret behind mausoleum of Lenin. This turret is called Senate. In general, for a long time it was nameless, until 1787, when construction was completed. Senate Palace in the Kremlin.

In the summer of July 6999, by the grace of God, this archer was made by the command of John Vasilyevich, the sovereign and autocrat of all Rus' and the Grand Duke of Volodimer and Moscow and Novgorod and Pskov and Tver and Yugra and Vyatka and Perm and Bulgarian and others in the 30th summer of his states, and Peter Anthony did Solario from the city of Mediolana.

This inscription was found, perhaps, on the most famous tower of the Kremlin - Spasskaya. For many years now, every New Year's Eve, the clock of the Spasskaya Tower counts down the last seconds until the New Year. By the way, modern chimes - 1852 years, before that, since 1624, there was a different clock on the tower.

The gates of the Spasskaya Tower were the main gates of the Kremlin. For a long time, images of the Savior were written over them. Citizens were forbidden to enter through the Spassky Gate on horseback, and men were supposed to take off their hats.

Passage gates, formerly called Frolovsky (from the Church of Frol and Laurus) on April 17, 1658, became Spassky by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, and then the whole tower inherited this name.

By the way, quite recently a mini copy of the Spasskaya Tower was built in the Mari city of Yoshkar-Ola.

Perhaps the smallest tower of the Kremlin - Royal. Initially, there was no tower at this place at all, and it was built only in 1680s years. And to be honest, this is just a small tent on the Kremlin wall.

Opposite the delightful Basil's Cathedral built . Already from the name it becomes clear that it was here that the alarm bell hung. There was a time when the Nabatnaya Tower began to lean. The causes of the roll were eliminated, but even today the tower deviates from the vertical by a meter.

I never thought that I would meet my name in the name of the towers of the Moscow Kremlin. But here she is in front of me.

She received her name after the construction of the Church of Constantine and Helena in the Kremlin. The church, unfortunately, has not survived to this day. Previously, the tower was called Timofeevskaya. Initially, the tower had a pair of diversion towers and was a passageway. The archery towers were demolished in the 13th century, the gate arch was laid, but if you look closely, you can see both the arch and the recess for the gate icon and places for the levers of the drawbridge.

It is very curious that it was through the gate that was on the site of this tower in 1380 that Dmitry Donskoy went to the Battle of Kulikovo.

Gradually, past the towers, we reached the southeastern corner of the Kremlin. Here the Kremlin wall turns and runs along the Moskva River. The corner tower bears the name Beklemishevskaya or Moskvoretskaya. Moskvoretskaya - because it is located next to the Moscow River, Beklemishevskaya - on behalf of the boyar Ivan Beklemishev who lived nearby. During wars and battles, the Beklemishevskaya Tower was the first to receive a blow, it so happened that the enemies attacked from the Moskva River.

One of the few, Moskvoretskaya tower, is round and for good reason. She had a defensive function, and her form strengthened the defense in case of a possible two-sided attack. For the same reason, the tower is remote, i.e. stands for the walls of the Kremlin.

Petrovskaya tower

Next to the Beklemishevskaya tower, very close to it, is located Petrovskaya tower. She is much shorter than her neighbor. In the old days, next to the tower was the courtyard of the Ugreshsky monastery with the church of Peter the Metropolitan, hence the name. The Petrovsky Tower is notable for the fact that in 1612 it was completely destroyed, and then rebuilt. The second time the tower was dismantled in 1770, and then in 1783 it was erected again. But the story doesn't end there either. In 1812, the French blew up the Petrovsky Tower, but already in 1818 the architect O.I. Bove restored it. This is such a difficult story.

First and second unnamed towers

There are a couple of unnamed towers in the Kremlin wall, so they are called the First Nameless and Second Nameless Towers. The first nameless tower was previously called the Powder Tower and, like Petrovskaya, has a very rich history. In 1547, the tower was destroyed during a fire in Moscow. The situation was aggravated by the fact that a powder warehouse was arranged in it. In 1770, together with the Petrovskaya and the Second Nameless Tower, it was again dismantled during the construction of the Palace. And in 1812 she suffered from the French.

The second Nameless Tower suffered from destruction a little less. Only in 1771 it was dismantled, and then rebuilt.

The central tower of the southern wall - Taynitskaya, she is the first tower of the Kremlin. The date of construction of the tower is considered 1485 but in 1781 it, like its neighbors, was dismantled, and rebuilt only in 1783. The Tainitskaya tower was nicknamed because it had a hiding place well and a hidden passage to the Moskva River. Until 1932, an archer was attached to the Taynitskaya tower. It is curious that until 1917 a cannon shot was fired from here every day at noon. Only here in St. Petersburg the tradition has been preserved to this day, but not in Moscow.

There is a very beautiful legend about the origin of the name of this tower. It says that at one moment the icon of the Annunciation appeared miraculously on the northern wall of the tower. Later, in 1731, the Church of the Annunciation was added to the tower. In 1932-33, the church was dismantled, and the tower was returned to its original form.

Another corner tower Vodovzvodnaya. Similar to the Konstantin-Eleninskaya tower, it has a cylindrical shape. In 1633, a water-lifting machine was installed in the tower, hence the name. The tower was rebuilt twice: in 1805 and 1817.

At the Borovitsky hill rises the majestic Borovitskaya tower. They say that once a dense pine forest grew here, hence the name. It is hard to believe it now, when there is only glass and concrete of the metropolis in front of your eyes now.

The ancient weapons workshops, once located at its foot, gave the name to the tower. And not just the tower. Here, behind the Kremlin wall, there is an interesting museum: the Armory.

Previously called the Kolymazhnaya Tower, located on the northwestern part of the Kremlin wall, the Commandant's Tower was built in 1495. It received its current name in the 19th century, when the Moscow commandant settled in the Amusement Palace of the Kremlin. Like other towers of the Moscow Kremlin, the tower was transformed in the 17th century, when it had a decorative tent top.

With the commandant's tower we closed the circle of the Kremlin wall. Great towers, great walls that hold history.

Bypassing the Kremlin, I first of all admired the architecture, the intricate decorations of the hipped towers, the lancet arches of the loopholes. Only later, having learned the history of each of the towers, I reviewed the photographs from a different angle.

A long time ago, clock towers were a real helper for city dwellers, since until the middle of the 20th century, most people did not have a clock. Interestingly, the first tower clock did not have a dial. They counted the time with blows and bells to invite the inhabitants to prayer. Such clocks were placed in towers that were located in the center of the city so that the sound of blows could be heard by everyone. The very first clock tower was the Tower of the Winds in Athens.

Now it is very convenient to watch the time on the clock towers, these clocks are visible from any corner of the city.

Torre dell`Orologio - Clock tower in Venice

The clock tower was built by the architect Mauro Coducci in the years 1496-1499, the side extensions were made in the years 1500-1506 according to the design of Pietro Lombardi, and the superstructures were made around 1755 by Giorgio Massari.
The clock has two facades, one front and the second, simplified, for the Venetians. The clock shows the time with an accuracy of 5 minutes. Once every five minutes the wheel turns and a new number appears in the window overlooking the square. The clock indicates the change of seasons, the passage of the sun in the signs of the zodiac, the time and phases of the moon.
On the day of the celebration of the Ascension, the side doors, at each stroke of the clock, open and from them, following the angel, the magi come out, who, passing in front of the Virgin Mary, bow to her. The tower is crowned by the Moors. Every hour they strike the time by striking the bell. The peculiarity is that they beat the prescribed number of hours together. For example, at noon, the Left Moor makes 12 strikes first, then the Right Moor strikes the same number of times, for a total of 24 strikes on the bell. At noon on San Marco there is a real chime. At one o'clock in the afternoon, the Moors make two strokes (one each). At two o'clock - four. In general, time should be divided in two. The clock tower has two "wings". What is most interesting, people have been living there since the sixteenth century.

Clock tower in Italy resort of Rimini

Rimini is the capital of the province of the same name in Italy, located in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. Today it is one of the most popular seaside resorts on the Adriatic Riviera. At the height of the summer season, the number of people here grows many times over. The history of the city of Rimini begins in the 3rd century BC. Here the ancient Romans established their colony Ariminum.
Palazzo Brioli is a famous landmark of Rimini, part of the complex of buildings located on Tre Martiri Square, where Julius Caesar once delivered a legendary speech. This complex includes a clock tower built in 1562. In 1750, a native of Rimini, D. Carini, decorated the tower with the "Eternal Astrological Calendar".

Clock tower in Regensburg, Bavaria

The clock on the tower located above the entrance to the city from the side of the Stone Bridge, 1648

Clock tower (Zytglogge) - Switzerland, Bern

Bern is the capital of Switzerland, an important city of diplomacy and the seat of many international organizations. It is one of the oldest and most charming cities in Europe. The origin of the city dates back to the 12th century. In 1353 the city joined the Swiss Confederation. In 1848 Bern became the seat of the federal government instead of Zurich.

The clock tower (Zytglogge) with the gate was part of the city fortifications in the past, the gate in the tower was one of several city gates. On the eastern facade of the tower there is an astronomical clock installed there in 1530. The mechanism of the clock sets in motion mechanical figures (rooster, bears, Chronos), every hour they play a performance. The show starts four minutes before the new hour. The watch also shows the movement of the stars and the signs of the zodiac. Previously, this clock was the main clock of the city and the standard of time, all other clocks were compared to them.

Clock tower - Rijeka, Croatia

The historical part of Rijeka - the Old Town, can be reached through the passage in the City Tower ("Pod uriloj"), on the pediment of which there are images of the Austrian emperors - Leopold I and Charles VI. The oldest architectural monument of Rijeka - the City Gate (Stara Vrata) has been preserved since ancient times.

Old Town Clock, Prague, Czech Republic

The celestial bodies on this watch have an interesting arrangement: the Earth is in the center of the dial, and the Sun revolves around it, thereby confirming the theory that once existed about the Earth located in the center of the Universe.

Clock tower - Straubing, Germany

The history of the Tower is inextricably linked with the history of the city. The City Tower itself was the first significant building of the new Straubing, the city that grew up on its present site. On the southern wall of the Tower, towards the Steinergasse, according to the customs of the Middle Ages, two slabs with a Latin script are embedded.
Already in the 14th century, clocks appeared on many city towers, it is not surprising that the Straubing Tower received its own clock after construction was completed in 1390.

Famous Big Ben - London, England

Big Ben is the bell in the clock tower in London. However, the clock and the entire tower are named after Big Ben.
There are two theories regarding the origin of the name. According to the first, Big Ben (Big Ben) was named after Sir Benjamin Hall, who supervised the casting of the bell. According to another, the heaviest bell at that time - 13.7 tons - got its name in honor of Benjamin Count, an extremely popular heavyweight boxer at that time.

Albert Memorial Clock Tower, Belfast, Northern Ireland

Located at the intersection of High St. and Victoria St. Sister of Pisa, Albert's tower, like the entire center, built on marshy soil, "moved out" to the side, to the south. The tower was built after the death of Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria 1865-1870, in his memory. The tower overlooks Belfast, and the two famous giant cranes, nicknamed Samson and Goliath, are especially clearly visible from the shipyard of the Harland and Wolff company, also famous - they built the Titanic. A renovation in 2002 strengthened the foundation and straightened the tower.

Moscow. Kremlin.

My discovery of Moscow. WORLD OF OLD TOWERS
From the Kremlin-Kremlin, strong city, From the palace-palace of the Sovereign, As far as the Red Square itself, A wide path lay here.
From a song of the seventeenth century

All Kremlin buildings are good in their own way. The glory of the corner Arsenal tower is military, heroic and ... key. There has long been a well in the strelnitsa that fed the Kremlin with spring water. When it was laid in 1492, the chronicle noted that She was "a new archer over Neglinnaya with a hiding place." A hiding place is a key spouting out of the ground. Spring streams do not dry out, water plays in them, as it did five hundred years ago. There can be no doubt that the architect Pietro Solari and the Moscow builders deliberately erected a round tower over the little keys that beat in the open, on the banks of the Neglinnaya. When the time of siege came, there was no concern where to get water. The tower generously watered both the soldiers and the civilian population hiding behind the fortress walls.

A hiding place, covered with legends, is almost as precious to us as a key on Tver land, where the Volga begins ... When now, by the light of a lamp, you peer into the waters, you see a warrior in a helmet, an ascetic monk, a hawthorn maiden , the commander, wiping, as it was conveyed in the legend, a bravely victorious sweat. Here a spring stream beats from under the ground and babbles something. "What are you whispering about, stash?" - "I remember, I remember a lot ... The sky, my sister Neglinnaya River, the smell of herbs." - "And yet?" - “Ivan Kalita drank my water. Dmitry Donskoy washed his face with a stream before the great campaign. And when they put me in the tower, a wounded warrior crawled up, but he didn’t reach the water. fought off the siege ... "

The tower crowned the main wall of the Kremlin, facing the Great Posad. The wall began at the Moskva River with the Beklemishevskaya Tower (named after the owner of the estate, located behind the wall), and the archer completed it. The tower, which rose above the expanses of Neglinnaya along with all the other Kremlin towers (there were eighteen of them under Ivan III), told in an epic architectural form that Moscow, which had outgrown the white stone attire of the time of Dmitry Donskoy, had become a great power. The picturesqueness of the fortress, its originality, the wholeness of the entire stone panorama, the natural placement of the towers, their heights, outlines, their "binding" to the battlements, the tents of the archers - all this made the Kremlin triangle, fenced in summer with greenery, powdered with snow in winter, the one and only. Foreign travelers, seeing Arsenalnaya from a distance, mistook the Kremlin for a royal castle, but when they got closer, they compared it to the Capitol Hill. The architectural grandeur - in Russian traditional forms - corresponded to the state idea that Moscow is the successor to the historical missions of Rome and Constantinople.

During the recent repair-resumption, Arsenalnaya shared one of the secrets, and she has a lot of them - there is no doubt - a lot. When they were clearing an old well, to the surprise of the builders, they found two hundred stone cores there, hewn back in the fourteenth century. Some of them are quite large - half a meter in circumference. You can't even call them, these cannon balls, because they were intended for throwing guns. Who hid them in Arsenalnaya? Various guesses are possible. Chain mail, helmets, and stirrups were also found. The tower justifies its later name: an arsenal - a warehouse of weapons and all military equipment.

None of the Kremlin towers has such a martial and severe in its simplicity of appearance. It is more than any other erected under Ivan III, it resembles a warrior. Now, when the searchlight illuminates Arsenalnaya late at night, you perceive the red-brick light reflections as a reflection of the fire of the military glory of the Kremlin Hill.

The old fortress engineering has not been adequately comprehended by us. Moscow builders were more cunning than Daedalus, who created, as you know, the most mysterious structure in the Mediterranean - the Labyrinth in Crete. It was possible to step on the walls only from the inside and not through every tower. They climbed where the wall was widened, and only near three archers. Tower spans, located one above the other, communicated with the help of ladders: they lifted them - and the floor turned into a stone island in the air. To prevent the enemy from digging and blowing up the walls, hiding places and "rumors" were built underground. The underground passages were so long that from the Kremlin - there were such conversations for a long time - it was possible to go through the gallery that ran under the square to Nikolskaya Street. The underground passages of the old fortress are still poorly understood and covered in legends.

* * *
Bypassing the Kremlin, I am talking with the towers:

Which one of you towers is the oldest?

I, - the Taynitskaya tower proudly answers, - the masters of the first hand built me. In 1485. There was no restructuring either. They even said that they are building anew.

And the youngest?

Of course, I, the Tsarskaya Tower, am not yet three hundred years old.

And the highest?

I, Trinity Tower, I am a giant tower. My height is eighty meters.

And the smallest one?

Mal, yes removed. This is about me, about the Kutafya tower, it is said. I stand in front of all walls. Let there be no fourteen meters in me, but I am a bridgehead watchtower. I am braver than all my sisters...

How many are you towers?

We are twenty sisters. Although there are similarities between us, but each has its own face.

But the harmonious rumble will be broken by exclamations:

And we are very special...

At first, you can't make out who is saying this, but then it becomes clear.

This is us, the Kremlin towers. There are five of us: Spasskaya, Borovitskaya, Troitskaya, Nikolskaya, Konstantin-Eleninskaya... All roads lead to Moscow, and in Moscow all the streets converge to the Kremlin. People go to the Kremlin through our gates...

And my glory is in the past, - the Konstantin-Eleninskaya Tower will notice that it stands between Spasskaya and Beklemishevskaya (Moskvoretskaya) and looks at Red Square. - Now people don’t go through me.

Why?

My gates have long been blocked. My old stones have been resting for more than a century. Much flashed before me, much was forgotten, but I always remember one thing. The army of Dmitry Donskoy is moving through the wide-open gates.

I also have merit. And considerable ones, - the Moskvoretskaya tower will say.

What?

In the old days, the Moskva River flowed almost beside me. And near me the river joined the moat, filling a long and deep ditch with water. A blue ribbon encircled the Kremlin, and we, the towers, considered ourselves inhabitants of the island...

But what about merit?

Many people know about my merits. I, the Moskvoretskaya Tower, was the first to meet the enemies who came from across the river. The first contractions started right next to me. And for the longest time I looked after the enemy hordes fleeing across the Moscow River.

Yes, you have seen a lot of fights, Moskvoretskaya Tower.

But I haven't said everything yet. Look how thin I am. Such a beautiful and stately tower, like me, is no longer in the Kremlin.

But with this I will argue! - the Nabatnaya Tower will say, which rises opposite St. Basil's Cathedral. - Look how smart and handsome I am, how white stone jewelry sparkles on me. Oh, if you only heard with what a loud and piercing voice I sang! No wonder they gave me the name - Nabatnaya Tower. Under my tent hung a bell cast of echoing bronze laced with silver. As soon as the alarm signal was given from the tower, my dashing guards would strike the bell, and the sounds of the tocsin - the alarm - could be heard all over Moscow. Everyone loved me, groomed me and decorated me... And then misfortune happened...

What happened?

It happened in Moscow in 1771, the Plague Riot. The rebellious citizens struck my bell, and at the booming sound the entire capital fled to the Kremlin. The rebels were dispersed, but the instigators who struck the alarm bell could not be found - they flowed away beyond the Don, into the free Cossack steppes. Then Empress Catherine the Second got angry and ordered the tongue of my bell to be torn out. So I was left without a voice. I'm dressed up, but I can't sing.

I don’t understand at all, - the bridgehead Kutafya tower intervenes in the conversation, - how you can talk so much about your beauty! Were we built to show off? We towers are the first defenders of the Kremlin. In the old days people called me "Kutafya"; Now, however, rarely anyone understands such a word. In the old days, a clumsily dressed woman was jokingly called Kutafya. There was even a riddle: "A little kutafishka is sitting in a cramped place." A smart person immediately answers: "Button." So I look like a button; I don’t differ in dress, but I stand in the very first place, in front of the Kremlin walls. Not beauty should be valued, but strength and power.

Reasonable words, - the corner Arsenal tower will confirm. - What can be more expensive than power and impregnability? My walls go deep into the ground, and their thickness reaches four meters. Look how tall I am. And in modern times, sixty meters is a considerable height, and in the old days I was revered as a giant tower, which was not equal in the surrounding lands. And still in my dungeon there is a hiding place-well. For hundreds of years the stream has not dried up, for hundreds of years I have been giving people tasty and clean water. That is why they laid me so high, strong and impregnable, so that the water would always be under reliable protection.

I also had a hiding place, - the Tainitskaya tower, facing the Moscow River, noticed. - And not even one, but two: a hiding place-a well and a hiding place - an underground passage to the river bank. It was only a long time ago...

Then her closest neighbors - nameless towers - will exchange words among themselves:

We each have our own story

Evgeny Osetrov.

The Moscow Kremlin has 20 towers and they are all different, no two are the same. Each tower has its own name and its own history. And for sure, many do not know the names of all the towers. Let's meet?

Most of the towers are made in a single architectural style, given to them in the second half of the 17th century. The Nikolskaya Tower stands out from the general ensemble, which was rebuilt in the Gothic style at the beginning of the 19th century.

BEKLEMISHEVSKAYA (MOSKVORETSKAYA)

BEKLEMISHEVSKAYA (Moskvoretskaya) tower is located in the south-east corner of the Kremlin. It was built by the Italian architect Marco Fryazin in 1487-1488. The courtyard of the boyar Beklemishev adjoined the tower, for which it got its name. Beklemishev's courtyard, together with the tower under Vasily III, served as a prison for disgraced boyars. The current name - "Moskvoretskaya" - is taken from the nearby Moskvoretsky Bridge. The tower was located at the junction of the Moskva River with the moat, so when the enemy attacked, it was the first to take the hit. The architectural solution of the tower is also connected with this: a high cylinder is placed on a beveled white stone plinth and separated from it by a semicircular roller. The surface of the cylinder is cut through by narrow, rarely spaced windows. The tower is completed by machicolas with a combat platform, which was higher than the adjoining walls. In the basement of the tower there was a hiding place-a rumor to prevent undermining. In 1680, the tower was decorated with an octagon, carrying a tall narrow tent with two rows of eaves, which softened its severity. In 1707, expecting a possible offensive by the Swedes, Peter I ordered to build bastions at its foot and expand the loopholes to install more powerful guns. During the Napoleonic invasion, the tower was damaged and then repaired. In 1917, during the shelling, the top of the tower was damaged, which was restored by 1920. In 1949, during the restoration, the loopholes were restored in their original form. This is one of the few Kremlin towers that has not been radically rebuilt. The height of the tower is 62.2 meters.

KONSTANTINO-ELENINSKAYA (TIMOFEEVSKAYA)

The KONSTANTINOV-ELENINSKAYA tower owes its name to the church of Constantine and Helena that stood here in antiquity. The tower was built in 1490 by the Italian architect Pietro Antonio Solari and was used for the passage of the population and troops to the Kremlin. Earlier, when the Kremlin was made of white stone, another tower stood in this place. It was through her that Dmitry Donskoy with the army went to the Kulikovo field. The new tower was built for the reason that there were no natural barriers on its side outside the Kremlin. It was equipped with a drawbridge, a powerful diversion archer and a passage gate, which after, in the 18th and early 19th centuries. were disassembled. The tower got its name from the church of Constantine and Helena, which stood in the Kremlin. The height of the tower is 36.8 meters.

alarm

The alarm tower got its name from the large bell - the alarm that hung above it. Once upon a time, sentinels were constantly on duty here. From a height, they vigilantly watched - if the enemy army was coming to the city. And if danger was approaching, the sentinels had to warn everyone, strike the alarm bell. Because of him, the tower was called Nabatnaya. But now there is no bell in the tower. Once, at the end of the 18th century, a riot began in Moscow at the sound of the alarm bell. And when order was restored in the city, the bell was punished for disclosing bad news - they were deprived of the language. In those days it was a common practice to remember at least the history of the bell in Uglich. Since then, the alarm bell fell silent and remained idle for a long time until it was removed to the museum. The height of the Nabatnaya tower is 38 meters.

TSAR

TSAR tower. It is not at all like other Kremlin towers. There are 4 columns directly on the wall, and on them there is a peaked roof. There are no powerful walls, no narrow loopholes. But they are of no use to her. Because they were built two centuries later than the rest of the towers and not at all for defense. Previously, there was a small wooden tower at this place, from which, according to legend, the first Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible watched the Red Square. Previously, there was a small wooden tower at this place, from which, according to legend, the first Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible watched the Red Square. Later, the smallest tower of the Kremlin was built here and called it the Tsarskaya. Its height is 16.7 meters.

SPASSKAYA (FROLOVSKAYA)

SPASSKAYA (Frolovskaya) tower. Built in 1491 by Pietro Antonio Solari. This name comes from the 17th century, when an icon of the Savior was hung over the gates of this tower. It was erected on the spot where in ancient times the main gates of the Kremlin were located. It, like Nikolskaya, was built to protect the northeastern part of the Kremlin, which had no natural water barriers. The passage gates of the Spasskaya Tower, at that time still Frolovskaya, were considered “holy” by the people. They did not pass through them on horseback and did not pass with their heads covered. Regiments marching on the march passed through these gates, tsars and ambassadors were met here. In the 17th century, the coat of arms of Russia, the double-headed eagle, was hoisted on the tower, and a little later the coats of arms were hoisted on other high towers of the Kremlin - Nikolskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya. In 1658 the Kremlin towers were renamed. Frolovskaya turned into Spasskaya. She was so named in honor of the icon of the Savior of Smolensk, located above the gate of the tower from the side of Red Square, and in honor of the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands, located above the gate from the Kremlin. In 1851-52. a clock was installed on the Spasskaya Tower, which we still see. Kremlin chimes. Chimes are called large clocks that have a musical mechanism. At the Kremlin chimes, bells play music. There are eleven of them. One large one, it marks the hours, and ten smaller ones, their melodious chime is heard every 15 minutes. There is a special device in the chimes. It sets the hammer in motion, it strikes the surface of the bells and the sound of the Kremlin chimes sounds. The mechanism of the Kremlin chimes occupies three floors. Previously, the chimes were wound by hand, but now they do it with the help of electricity. The Spasskaya Tower occupies 10 floors. Its height with a star is 71 meters.

SENATE

The SENATE Tower was built in 1491 by Pietro Antonio Solari, rises behind the Lenin Mausoleum and is named after the Senate, whose green dome rises above the fortress wall. The Senate Tower is one of the oldest in the Kremlin. Built in 1491 in the center of the northeastern part of the Kremlin wall, it performed only defensive functions - it protected the Kremlin from Red Square. The height of the tower is 34.3 meters.

NIKOLSKAYA

NIKOLSKAYA Tower is located at the beginning of Red Square. In ancient times, there was a monastery of St. Nicholas the Old nearby, and an icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was placed above the gate of the tower. The gate tower, built in 1491 by the architect Pietro Solari, was one of the main defensive redoubts in the eastern part of the Kremlin wall. The name of the tower comes from the St. Nicholas Monastery, located nearby. Therefore, an icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was placed over the travel gates of the archer. Like all towers with entrance gates, Nikolskaya had a drawbridge across the moat and protective bars that were lowered during the battle. The Nikolskaya Tower went down in history in 1612, when militia troops led by Minin and Pozharsky broke into the Kremlin through its gates, liberating Moscow from the Polish-Lithuanian invaders. In 1812, the Nikolskaya Tower, along with many others, was blown up by Napoleon's troops retreating from Moscow. The upper part of the tower was especially damaged. In 1816, it was replaced by the architect O.I. Bove with a new needle-shaped dome in pseudo-Gothic style. In 1917 the tower suffered again. This time from artillery fire. In 1935, the dome of the tower was crowned with a five-pointed star. In the 20th century, the tower was restored in 1946-1950s and in 1973-1974s. Now the height of the tower is 70.5 meters.

CORNER ARSENAL (DOG)

CORNER ARSENAL tower was built in 1492 by Pietro Antonio Solari and is located further away, in the corner of the Kremlin. It received its first name at the beginning of the 18th century, after the construction of the Arsenal building on the territory of the Kremlin, the second comes from the nearby estate of the Sobakin boyars. There is a well in the dungeon of the corner Arsenal Tower. He is over 500 years old. It is filled from an ancient source and therefore there is always clean and fresh water in it. Previously, there was an underground passage from the Arsenal Tower to the Neglinnaya River. The height of the tower is 60.2 meters.

AVERAGE ARSENAL (FACETED)

The MIDDLE ARSENAL tower rises from the side of the Alexander Garden and is called so because right behind it there was a warehouse of weapons. It was built in 1493-1495. After the construction of the Arsenal building, the tower got its name. Near the tower in 1812 a grotto was erected - one of the attractions of the Alexander Garden. The height of the tower is 38.9 meters.

TRINITY

The TROITSKAYA tower is named after the church and the Trinity Compound, which were once nearby on the territory of the Kremlin. Troitskaya Tower is the tallest tower in the Kremlin. The height of the tower at present, together with the star from the direction of the Alexander Garden, is 80 meters. The Trinity Bridge, protected by the Kutafya Tower, leads to the gates of the Trinity Tower. The gates of the tower serve as the main entrance for visitors to the Kremlin. Built in 1495-1499. Italian architect Aleviz Fryazin Milanets. The tower was called differently: Rizopolozhenskaya, Znamenskaya and Karetnaya. It received its current name in 1658 after the name of the Trinity Compound of the Kremlin. The two-storey base of the tower housed a prison in the 16th-17th centuries. From 1585 to 1812 there was a clock on the tower. At the end of the 17th century, the tower received a multi-tiered tent superstructure with white stone decorations. In 1707, due to the threat of a Swedish invasion, the loopholes of the Trinity Tower were expanded for heavy cannons. Until 1935, an imperial double-headed eagle was installed on top of the tower. By the next date of the October Revolution, it was decided to remove the eagle and install red stars on it and the rest of the main towers of the Kremlin. The double-headed eagle of the Trinity Tower turned out to be the oldest - manufactured in 1870 and prefabricated on bolts, therefore, when dismantled, it had to be dismantled at the top of the tower. In 1937, the faded semi-precious star was replaced with a modern ruby one.

KUTAFIA

KUTAFYA tower (connected by a bridge with Troitskaya). Her name is associated with this: in the old days, a casually dressed, clumsy woman was called a kutafya. Indeed, the Kutafya tower is not high, like the others, but squat and wide. The tower was built in 1516 under the leadership of the Milanese architect Aleviz Fryazin. Low, surrounded by a moat and the Neglinnaya River, with the only gate, which in moments of danger was tightly closed by the lifting part of the bridge, the tower was a formidable barrier for the besiegers of the fortress. She had loopholes of the plantar battle and machicolations. In the XVI-XVII centuries, the water level in the Neglinnaya River was raised high by dams, so that the water surrounded the tower from all sides. Its initial height above ground level was 18 meters. It was possible to enter the tower from the side of the city only on an inclined bridge. There are two versions of the origin of the name "Kutafya": from the word "kut" - shelter, corner, or from the word "kutafya", denoting a full, clumsy woman. The Kutafya Tower has never been covered. In 1685, it was crowned with an openwork "crown" with white stone details.

KOMENDANTSKAYA (KOLYMAZHNAYA)

The KOMENDANTSKAYA tower got its name in the 19th century, since the commandant of Moscow was located in the building nearby. The tower was built in 1493-1495 on the northwestern side of the Kremlin wall, which today stretches along the Alexander Garden. It was formerly called Kolymazhnaya after the Kolymazhny yard located near it in the Kremlin. In 1676-1686 it was built on. The tower is made up of a massive quadrangle with machicolations (mounted loopholes) and a parapet and an open tetrahedron standing on it, completed with a pyramidal roof, an observation tower and an octagonal ball. In the main volume of the tower there are three tiers of rooms covered with barrel vaults; vaults are covered and tiers of completion. In the 19th century, the tower was called “Komendantskaya”, when the commandant of Moscow settled in the Poteshny Palace of the 17th century near the Kremlin. The height of the tower from the Alexander Garden is 41.25 meters.

ARMORY(STABLE)

The ARMORY tower, which once stood on the banks of the Neglinnaya River, now enclosed in an underground pipe, was named after the nearby Armory, the second comes from the nearby Stables Yard. Once upon a time, ancient weapons workshops were located next to it. They also made precious dishes and jewelry. The ancient workshops gave the name not only to the tower, but also to a wonderful museum located next to the Kremlin wall - the Armory. Many Kremlin treasures and simply very ancient things are collected here. For example, helmets and chain mail of ancient Russian warriors. The height of the Armory Tower is 32.65 meters.

BOROVITSKAYA (PREDTECHENSKAYA)

Built in 1490 by Pietro Antonio Solari. Travel card. The first name of the tower - the original, comes from the Borovitsky hill, on the slope of which the tower stands; the name of the hill, apparently, comes from the ancient forest that grew on this place. The second name, assigned by the royal decree of 1658, comes from the nearby Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist and the icon of St. John the Baptist, located above the gate. At present, it is the main passage for government motorcades. The height of the tower is 54 meters.

VODOVZVODNAYA (SVIBLOV)

WATER TOWER - so named because of the car that was here once. She raised water from a well, arranged at the bottom to the very top of the tower into a large tank. From there, water flowed through lead pipes to the royal palace in the Kremlin. Thus, in the old days, the Kremlin had its own water supply system. He worked for a long time, but then the car was dismantled and taken to St. Petersburg. There it was used for the device of fountains. The height of the Vodovzvodnaya tower with a star is 61.45 meters. The second name of the tower is associated with the boyar surname Sviblo, or the Sviblovs, who were responsible for its construction.

BLAGOVESCHENSKAYA

Blagoveshchenskaya tower. According to legend, the miraculous icon of the Annunciation was previously kept in this tower, and in 1731 the Church of the Annunciation was attached to this tower. Most likely, the name of the tower is associated with one of these facts. In the 17th century, for the passage of laundresses to the Moscow River, a gate was made near the tower, called Portomoinny. In 1831 they were laid down, and in Soviet times the Church of the Annunciation was also dismantled. The height of the Annunciation Tower with a weather vane is 32.45 meters.

TAINITSKAYA

TAYNITSKAYA tower - the first tower laid down during the construction of the Kremlin. It was named so because a secret underground passage led from it to the river. It was intended to be able to take water in case the fortress was besieged by enemies. The height of the Tainitskaya tower is 38.4 meters.

PETROVSKAYA (UGRESHSKAYA)

The PETROVSKAYA tower, together with two nameless ones, was built to reinforce the southern wall, as it was the most frequently attacked. Like the two nameless ones, the Petrovsky Tower did not have a name at first. She received her name from the church of Metropolitan Peter at the Ugreshsky Compound in the Kremlin. In 1771, during the construction of the Kremlin Palace, the tower, the church of Metropolitan Peter and the Ugreshskoye metochion were dismantled. In 1783 the tower was rebuilt, but in 1812 the French destroyed it again during the occupation of Moscow. In 1818, the Petrovsky Tower was restored again. It was used for their needs by the Kremlin gardeners. The height of the tower is 27.15 meters.