The Senate Tower is part of the Kremlin ensemble, the main attraction of Moscow. It is located on the eastern wall and overlooks Red Square. The Senate Tower of the Kremlin was built at the end of the 15th century, during the time of Ivan III. It was erected according to the project of the Italian master Pietro Solari.
The face of the Kremlin
In terms of plan, the architectural ensemble has the shape of a triangle, the tops of which are three towers of circular cross section. Corners were once considered the most important and were intended for circular defense. In total, the Kremlin has 20 towers. The Senate is one of the oldest.
The total length of the Kremlin walls is more than two thousand meters with a height of five to twenty. On the outside they are equipped with dovetail-shaped teeth.
The highest tower, Troitskaya, reaches a height of nearly 80 meters. It is through her gate to the Kremlin that visitors enter the bridge today. At the entrance is the lowest tower of the ensemble - Kutafya.
It is worth adding that the height of some Kremlin towers increased significantly at the beginning of the XVII century. Then characteristic tents were built over them.
The most famous of the towers is Spasskaya. Its height is 71 meters. It contains the main entrance to the Kremlin - the Spassky Gate, named after the gate icon of the Savior Smolensky. They were ceremonial even in the old days - here they met foreign ambassadors.
Chimes of the Spasskaya Tower are known throughout the country. The first mention of them dates back to the 16th century. True, then the watch was not at all like the current one. The role of the arrow in them was played by the image of the sun with a long ray.
Deaf tower
In the eighties of the 15th century, large-scale construction began. The tsar wished to have a fortress in Moscow, which would symbolize the greatness and power of the Russian state, for which he wrote out skilled craftsmen from abroad.
It is not for nothing that the Russian capital is called White Stone. Before the red brick fortress appeared in the city center, there was a construction of white stone.
So, the Senate tower was built at the end of the 15th century. But then she had no name. In some documents it was listed as "Deaf Tower". But more often she was called Nameless. The Senate Tower received its modern name in the 18th century.
Architect Pietro Solari led the construction of the entire eastern wall. A tower that did not have a gate was built into this wall - the Senate. The Moscow Kremlin was surrounded by a moat. For additional protection, battlements were built along its edges.
On the territory of the Kremlin along the Senate Tower was the house of the Princes Trubetskoys. There were several churches and palace orders.
The article presents photos of the Senate Tower. It is worth knowing that in the 16th century this building looked completely different. The Senate tower was less elegant. Something severe, gloomy was present in the guise. Inside there were three tiers of loopholes, guns were located at the top.
Modernization
In 1680, the 17th Senate Tower was rebuilt. Now its height reached 34 meters. A four-sided tent was attached to the lower four, after which the appearance of the structure changed significantly.
In 1787, the Senate Palace was built on the territory of the Kremlin . It was then that the tower received its modern name.
1812 year
Moscow, as you know, was badly damaged by a fire set up by the French. Leaving the Russian capital, soldiers of the Napoleonic army mined part of the Kremlin ensemble. Later, many legends arose, according to which the French commander could not wipe the Kremlin off the face of the earth only thanks to a miracle. One way or another, the Senate Tower did not suffer a fire.
5 years after the end of World War II, the Russian emperor signed a plan for the reconstruction of the capital. Red Square was restored. And in 1818, a monument to Minin and Pozharsky was also erected on it.
The Senate Tower is located in the very center of the eastern wall. Of course, it has not performed fortification functions for many centuries. This tower once served as a kind of decoration during ceremonial events, especially the coronation of monks. When Alexander III ascended the throne, the state emblem was installed on the structure.
20th century
After the revolution, the Bolsheviks occupied the Kremlin. New objects appeared on the territory of the ancient fortress. So, on both sides of the Senate tower were laid urns with the ashes of statesmen. At the foot of the structure - the graves of Dzerzhinsky, Frunze, Kalinin, Zhdanov.
“To the fallen for peace and the brotherhood of peoples” is the name of the bas-relief installed on the Senate Tower in 1917. Before the formation of the Soviet state, another restoration of the Kremlin towers was carried out. In 1922, a monument to the proletarian was erected at the Senate Tower. In the forties, a passage to the Mausoleum was built in this building, which was used exclusively by members of the Central Committee.
In the mid-20th century, one of the sculptors proposed shortening the Senate Tower to erect a monument to Lenin on it. Fortunately, this idea was not supported. The last restoration was carried out in 2016.
Senate Square is depicted on the canvases of famous artists. For example, in Surikov’s painting “Morning of the Archery Execution”.
Each time brought something new to the Kremlin. So, under Peter the construction of the Arsenal began, along the facade of which the captured cannons of Napoleon are exhibited. At the end of the 18th century and in the first half of the 19th century, the Kremlin was replenished with two palaces: the Senate, in honor of which one of the towers is named, and the Great Kremlin, built by Nicholas I. In the 1840s, a new building of the Kremlin’s museum-treasury - the Armory, appeared from the naming of one of the Kremlin treasuries.