The Kremlin, to which we are all accustomed today (with its walls and towers), was built during the years 1485-1495 on the site of the white stone fortress of the times of Dimitry Donskoy, which by that time had completely worn out. For our contemporaries, the walls and towers of the Kremlin are not only an amazing historical monument, they are also “living” evidence of the high level of development of the fortification art of the Russian people in the 15th century.
Kremlin towers are interconnected by fortress walls. The goal pursued by their creators was the ability to fire from towers in different directions. To do this, the architects pushed these buildings a little beyond the line of walls. Round towers appeared where the Kremlin walls closed at an angle. They were the most durable and practical, because they allowed round-the-clock firing. Among them are Angular Arsenalnaya, Beklimishevskaya and Vodovzvodnaya. Their peculiarity was also that inside they were equipped with caches-wells, which could supply the Kremlin with water for a long time in conditions of a long siege. All the towers of the Kremlin had several floors and practical through passages, which allowed the defenders of the fortress to move quickly and quietly from the enemy from one wall of the fortress to another. These passages in the towers have survived to the present day.
The height of the
Kremlin walls, depending on the terrain, ranges from 5 to 19 meters. Their thickness reaches 6.5 meters! The thinnest is 3.5 meters. The total area of the Kremlin fortress is approximately 28 hectares. The towers of the Kremlin, in the amount of 20 pieces, are evenly spaced around the entire perimeter of the fortress walls. Five of them are travel cards. Including, and the most beautiful - Spasskaya tower of the Kremlin.
Today she is a visiting card of Moscow. The most famous attraction not only of the capital, but also of the
Red Square, which it faces. It is in it that the main gate of the Kremlin with the same name is located - Spassky. Famous chimes, under the battle of which all Russia has been celebrating each New Year for so many years, are also located on this building. Its dome is decorated with a red star - a symbol of the USSR, which is still associated among all foreigners primarily with Moscow.
This Kremlin tower has a height of about 71 meters. It was built in 1491 under Ivan III. Its author is the architect Pietro Antonio Solari. This is evidenced by the inscription on the white stone slabs that are installed directly on the structure. The construction of the tower was the beginning of the construction of defensive structures on the eastern side of the Kremlin. During the construction, it was called Frolovskaya. The fact is that very close, on Myasnitskaya Street, was the church of Frol and Lavra, which, however, has not been preserved until today. The road to it from the Kremlin went precisely through this tower.
Its current name is Spasskaya, the tower owes its image to the Savior, which was painted above its gate in 1658 from the side of Red Square. Then not only the tower was renamed, but also the Frolovsky Gate of this building. Since then, they became known as Spassky. And until today they are considered the main gate of the Kremlin, Moscow and Russia.