The Moscow Kremlin is the sovereign crown of Russia. Kremlin walls. History Full length of the Kremlin walls

The Moscow Kremlin is located in the very center of Moscow, on the high bank of the Moskva River. Its powerful walls and towers, golden-domed temples, ancient chambers and palaces rise above the Moskva River and form a beautiful architectural ensemble.

“There is the Kremlin over Moscow, and there is only the sky over the Kremlin,” an old proverb says. The Kremlin is the most ancient part of Moscow, currently the seat of the highest bodies of state power in Russia and one of the main historical and artistic complexes of the country.

In terms of plan, the Kremlin is an irregular triangle. Its southern wall faces the Moskva River, Red Square is located in the north, and Alexandrovsky Garden is located in the north-west. In the XIV century, cathedrals and monasteries were already built here, the Kremlin was the center of the Russian Orthodox Church. In the 15th and 16th centuries, three gigantic cathedrals were erected. There is a lot to see here! In the Annunciation Cathedral there are wonderful icons and an iconostasis; the bell tower of Ivan the Great with two golden domes is visible from a distance of 30 km, it rises next to the Assumption Cathedral, not far from the cathedral is the Kremlin's largest bell - the Tsar Bell; the Armory contains a wide variety of treasures, including royal crowns. In addition, there is the Amusement Palace, the Senate, in the premises of which the office of the President is located.

The most famous building on Red Square is St. Basil's Cathedral, its fabulous multi-colored domes topped with golden crosses, and a gilded dome rises above the main tower. The Mausoleum of V.I. Lenin, and people are still lining up to pass by his embalmed body. The space of Red Square, colorful temples and palaces, the Kremlin walls will be remembered for a long time.

Initially, the Kremlin served as a fortification of the village that arose on Borovitsky Hill, a cape at the confluence of the Neglinnaya River into the Moskva River. Here was the most ancient Moscow church - the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior, or Savior on Bor, built in 1330 for the millennium of Constantinople - "New Rome". The temple was destroyed in 1933. Moscow princes and princesses were buried in it until the cathedral received the status of a court temple.

In 1812, Napoleon blew up the Vodovzvodnaya, Petrovskaya and the First Nameless Towers, the Arsenalnaya Tower was seriously damaged, and the annexes to the Ivan the Great Bell Tower collapsed. It took 20 years to recover. In the 30s of the XX century, the double-headed eagles that crowned the main towers of the Kremlin: Spasskaya, Nikolskaya, Troitskaya, Borovitskaya and Vodovzvodnaya, were replaced by ruby stars with a diameter of 3-4 m.In 1941-1942, 167 German aerial bombs fell on the Kremlin, but it almost not hurt. Since 1955, the Kremlin has been open to the public, becoming an open-air museum.

The entrance to the Kremlin is through the Kutafya Tower, which was built in 1516. The name is also associated with her low and initially nondescript appearance: "kutafya" in Dahl's dictionary is an awkward, ugly dressed woman.

Behind the bridge is the mighty Trinity Tower. Passing through it, we find ourselves on a bridgehead open to all the winds, surrounded by spacious buildings of the Arsenal, the Senate and the Palace of Congresses.

Previously, there was a complexly arranged medieval city with narrow uneven streets, each quarter of which contained numerous temples and chambers, courtyards and passages. The only fragment of that incredible city is located in the passage to the right of the gate - this is the Amusement Palace of the mid-17th century, restored by restorers only at the beginning of this century. On its roof there is a golden-domed house church, once it was surrounded by open festivities and hanging apple orchards, laid out on high stone terraces - in about the same outlandish way, the entire female half of the Tsar's court was arranged, which occupied the place of the current Palace of Congresses.

The Patriarchal Palace, which also has its own home church and probably also had a roof garden. Through its arch you can get to Cathedral Square. From here, the square opens up in the old-time bright and unexpected way: right on the course - the bell tower of Ivan the Great, on the right - the Assumption Cathedral, one of the great Russian shrines, the main temple of Russia from the XIV century until 1918, the burial vault of the ancient metropolitans and patriarchs. The current building was built in the 1470s by the Italian master Aristotle. The temple is small in size (in architecture textbooks, a picture is popular, where the silhouette of the cathedral fits into the giant outlines of Roman St. Peter, like a youngest matryoshka), but at the same time incredibly strong and large-scale - both inside and outside: the Italians knew a lot about such illusions.

The Archangel Cathedral of 1505, also built by Italians on the other side of the square, makes a completely different impression - it is close to the Assumption Cathedral in size, from the outside it is much more playful and complex, but inside it is cramped and mysterious. Most of its floor is occupied by the gravestones of princes and kings who ruled from the 13th to the 18th century. All the tombstones are of the same type, only the carved canopy over the tomb of Tsarevich Dimitri stands out - one of the most tragic losses in Russian history.

The nine-domed palace Cathedral of the Annunciation, the Church of the Deposition of the Robe with a small exposition of Old Russian wooden sculpture, exhibition halls in the Assumption Belfry and the Patriarch's Palace are also open to the public on Cathedral Square. The archaeological exposition in the basement of the Annunciation Cathedral and the lower tier of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower receive visitors for certain sessions.

The Armory and the Diamond Fund are located in another part of the Kremlin, at the Borovitsky Gate, and you need to buy separate tickets in advance to view them. Unfortunately, the Kremlin Palace is closed for free access, although in theory there are guided tours, but on a very separate appointment and for separate money. The working population can be content with only an external view of the Faceted Chamber - the throne room of sovereigns from the end of the 15th century, as well as a fragment of the residential royal choir visible to its right, crowned with many domed house churches and the heavy bulk of the Great Palace, built in the middle of the 19th century.

The Tsar Cannon and Tsar Bell are also located on the territory. When mentioning the square, many recall the saying “to shout at the whole Ivanovskaya”, believing that it was here that the tsar's decrees were announced. However, there is another way to decipher this saying. The Ivan the Great Bell Tower was the main Russian bell tower, it had forty bells, each with its own name. All the bells were rung only on the most special occasions. So the expression "to the full of Ivanovskaya" means that some work must be done with all the strength and completeness.

The famous monuments of foundry art - Tsar Bell and Tsar Cannon are so huge that they have never been used for their intended purpose. But touching them with your hand is a good omen.

The ceremonial of the equestrian and foot divorce of the Presidential Regiment takes place on Saturdays at 12.00 on the Cathedral Square of the Kremlin and on the last Saturday of every month at 14.00 on Red Square.

And the most important thing: do not miss the first shrine of modern times, the mystical oak "Cosmos", planted by Yuri Gagarin a day after the flight. Muscovites have long believed in its magical properties, remember also you: if someone walks around the tree three times, saying "Gagarin, Gagarin, fly with greetings, come back with an answer", his children will certainly be born great cosmonauts.

By the way, the Moscow Kremlin, the main of all the kremlins, is the only one written with a capital letter. It is the largest active fortress in Europe. Its semi-regime status is explained by the fact that the entire complex is both a monument included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List and the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation.

At the entrance to the Kremlin, visitors' personal belongings are searched. All unauthorized items will have to be handed over to the storage room located in the lower tier of the Kutafya tower. Photography and filming, including amateur filming, is prohibited in cathedral museums. The Armory and the Diamond Fund.

Construction history

Since the time of Dmitry Donskoy, Moscow has been adorned with a white-stone Kremlin (built in 1368)... Over the past century, its walls have become so worn out that foreigners, due to the abundance of gaping bald spots that were laid by logs, happened to mistake them for wooden ones. And this Kremlin was being built in those years when no one had heard of Italian masters in Russia. Having the master Aristotle Fioravanti at the court, Ivan III could well have thought about how to remake the fortress so that no one not only could not take it, but also did not even dare to approach it. However, the name of Aristotle Fioravanti has never appeared anywhere among the builders of the Moscow Kremlin. However, many historians are inclined to believe that Aristotle was the real creator of the master plan, who outlined the general line of the Kremlin walls, outlined the positions of the towers, laid secret dungeons and labyrinths, and his compatriots worked on individual areas. Work on the Moscow Kremlin was carried out in a way that no fortress had ever been built in Russia. On the square with a radius of 100 fathoms, not a single building was left around. Even churches that had stood there for several centuries were demolished. The area beyond the Moskva River, opposite the future Kremlin walls, was also cleared of buildings. A similar approach to construction was required by the fortification rules of those times, which came from Europe.

The oldest center of Moscow - the Moscow Kremlin- was founded as a fortification of a small settlement located on Borovitsky Hill, when its history began.

The first mentions of Moscow were found in the annals for 1147. They also say that the wooden walls of the Kremlin were erected by order of Yuri Dolgoruky. Initially, the size of the fortress was small, the length of the wall reached 1200 meters.

Versions of origin There are several words "Kremlin".

According to one of them, this name comes from the name of the central part of the ancient cities, called "Krom". Another version suggests that this word could have come from the "kremleny", a very strong tree used to build the fortress walls. There is even an assumption that the roots of this word are Greek, that is, "flint" - a steep mountain, steepness over a ravine or coast. Judging by where the fortress was built, this version has every right to exist.

But all this does not change the essence, which lies in the fact that the Moscow Kremlin is the largest surviving fortress in Europe.

And at first it was a small fortification on an area of about nine hectares, where the inhabitants of the townships located outside the walls of the fortress could take refuge in the event of a threat of an enemy attack. Over time, the settlements grew, and the fortress grew along with them.

New Kremlin walls were erected during the reign of Ivan Kalita. They were stone inside, and outside they were wooden and plastered with clay.

It is noteworthy that even in the difficult years of the yoke in Russia, the Moscow princes rebuilt the existing and erected new fortresses. So, under Dmitry Donskoy, the Kremlin, damaged in a fire in 1365, was rebuilt. For the construction of the walls, the length of which became about two kilometers, and the Kremlin towers, white stone was used. Since then, in the annals, Moscow began to be called white-stone.

At the very beginning of the 18th century, Peter I ordered the removal of government offices outside the Kremlin. All dilapidated buildings are demolished, and the Arsenal building is laid. It was built from 1702 to 1736. From 1776 to 1788, the Senate building with a spectacular round hall covered with a dome was built in the Kremlin.

In the middle of the nineteenth century, the idea of building the Grand Kremlin Palace appeared. There were many projects, but it was built according to the drawings of the architect K.A. Tones. The years of construction are 1839-1849.

A tangible damage was inflicted on the buildings of the Moscow Kremlin in 1812.

Napoleon, during his retreat from Moscow, ordered to blow up the Kremlin. Mines were laid under buildings, walls and towers. Some explosions were prevented thanks to Russian patriots, but, nevertheless, significant destruction nevertheless occurred. After the French emperor was expelled from the country, they began to restore the destroyed palaces, towers and walls, then they completed the Armory and the Grand Kremlin Palace. In those days, the Moscow Kremlin was accessible to the public. Visitors entered the territory through the open Spassky Gate, having previously bowed to the icon of the Savior.

Kremlin in Moscow after the 1917 revolution

In 1917, there were cadets on the territory of the Kremlin. As a result of the shelling, which was carried out by the revolutionary troops, the Moscow Kremlin was partially destroyed: the walls, the Small Nicholas Palace, almost all the cathedrals, the Beklemishevskaya, Nikolskaya and Spasskaya towers were damaged.

In 1918 V.I. Lenin and the entire government of Soviet Russia, since the capital was transferred to Moscow. Because of this, the bells in the Kremlin are silenced, churches are closed, Muscovites are deprived of free access to the territory.

The dissatisfaction of believers with the closure of cathedrals was quickly stopped by Yakov Sverdlov, who was not slow to declare the primacy of the interests of the revolution over all prejudices. In 1922, more than thirty kilograms of gold, about five hundred kilograms of silver, the shrine of Patriarch Hermogenes and more than a thousand different precious stones were seized from the religious buildings of the Moscow Kremlin.

During the Soviet era, the Kremlin architectural ensemble suffered more than in the entire previous history of its existence.

Of the 54 structures marked on the Kremlin plan at the very beginning of the last century, less than half remain. Monuments to Alexander II, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich were demolished. Congresses of Soviets began to be held in the large Kremlin palace, a public dining room was set up in the Faceted Chamber, and a kitchen in the Golden Chamber. The Catherine Church of the Ascension Monastery was adapted into a gymnasium; the Kremlin hospital is located in the Chudov Monastery. In the thirties, the Small Nicholas Palace and all the monasteries with buildings were demolished. Almost the entire eastern part of the Moscow Kremlin has turned into ruins. The Soviet power destroyed 17 churches.

Many years passed before the restoration of the Moscow Kremlin began.

To celebrate Moscow's 800th anniversary, the towers and walls were thoroughly restored. Palekh artists in the Annunciation Cathedral opened the murals of 1508. A large amount of restoration work has been carried out in the Archangel Cathedral (wall paintings have been restored). The Assumption Cathedral has also undergone a major restoration.

The ban on living in the Kremlin was introduced in 1955, and the ancient architectural ensemble becomes a museum, partially open to the public.

In today's multifaceted Moscow, the Kremlin remains a historical place that millions of tourists strive to visit, hoping to touch the history of the white-stone capital there, to feel and understand it.

The Moscow Kremlin to this day is the main socio-political, artistic, historical and religious-spiritual center of Russia. In addition, the Moscow Kremlin is the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation.

In 1990, UNESCO included the Moscow Kremlin, whose history continues, into the list of world cultural heritage.

The Moscow Kremlin is the main attraction of the capital of Russia, of great historical, architectural and socio-political value.

The Kremlin is located in the very center of the city on the high Borovitsky hill near the Moskva River. On one side there is Red Square, on the other - the Alexander Garden.

How to get to the Moscow Kremlin, which Kremlin sights to see first, how to buy entrance tickets, about the opening hours, excursions and much more, read this article.

History of the Moscow Kremlin

The first to settle on the territory of the modern Kremlin were the Finno-Ugric tribes back in the Bronze Age. In the 10th century, Borovitsky Hill, located at the intersection of important trade routes, was occupied by the Vyatichi, and in 1156, by the will of Prince Yuri Dolgoruky, a typical Russian fortress with defensive fortifications - earthen ramparts with palisades surrounded by a deep moat was built here.

Until the middle of the 14th century, the Moscow Kremlin was made of wood. Under Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy, its walls and towers were replaced with white-stone ones, which served until the end of the 15th century.

Under the guidance of Italian craftsmen, in 1485-1516, new powerful fortifications of fired bricks were erected - towers and battlements from three to six and a half meters thick, which we have the opportunity to admire today.

Architectural ensemble

The architectural ensemble of the Moscow Kremlin consists of the golden-domed Annunciation, Archangel and Assumption Cathedrals, the Patriarch's Chambers, the Church of the Deposition of the Robe, the Faceted Chamber, and the Ivan the Great Bell Tower. In the 17th century, the Terem Palace was erected, at about the same time the Kremlin towers acquired their modern appearance. In the 18th century, the Arsenal, the Senate, the Grand Kremlin Palace and the Armory appeared.

Unfortunately, the most ancient Cathedral of the Savior on Bor, built in 1330 and destroyed in 1933, the Chudov Monastery, founded in 1365 and demolished in 1929, the Ascension Monastery, the Small Nicholas Palace and many other buildings, have not survived. In total, during the years of Soviet power, out of 54 Kremlin buildings, only 26 survived.

However, in 1990 the Kremlin was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Photo - excursion around the territory

The entrance to the territory is carried out through the Kutafya tower, crowned with a beautiful openwork "crown".

Before getting to the Kremlin, you need to buy tickets in the dark glass pavilion, which is located nearby in the Alexander Garden, go through the "frame" of a metal detector and the procedure for inspecting personal belongings. Large bags, suitcases and backpacks will have to be dropped off at the locker.

The Kutafya Tower, previously surrounded by a river and a moat, protected the approaches to the Trinity Tower.

After crossing the Trinity Bridge, we will look at the multi-tiered Trinity Tower from the other side. Its height is 80 meters, it is the tallest tower in the Kremlin.

On the right in the photo is the Arsenal, erected by order of Peter the Great. The building was supposed to be used as a military warehouse and trophy storage. In our time, the administrative services of the Kremlin Commandant's Office and the barracks of the Presidential Regiment are stationed here.

Left - the State Kremlin Palace (formerly the Palace of Congresses), built in 1961. The main New Year tree of the country is held here, concerts and ballet performances are held.

Near the walls of the Arsenal are historical weapons - collections of old Russian and foreign cannons, military trophies of the Patriotic War of 1812.

Now we will go out to the Senate Square.

The Senate building, designed by the architect M.F. Kazakov, has the shape of a triangle. In Soviet times, there was a study and an apartment of V.I. Lenin, the offices of I.V. Stalin, L.I. Brezhnev, M.S. Gorbachev. Today, the Senate houses the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation.

View from about the same point in the other direction - to Trinity Square and the Kremlin Cathedrals.

The Tsar Cannon, which is a must-see, stands at Trinity Square and the Patriarch's Chambers with the Church of the Twelve Apostles.

The powerful cannon was manufactured in 1586. This is the largest cannon in the world, an outstanding example of Russian arms art. Its caliber is 890 mm, weight is 40 tons.

At the foot of the bell tower there is another giant - the Tsar Bell, cast in the 18th century. Its weight is 202 tons, diameter is 6.6 meters. The Tsar Bell was cast right there, on the territory of Ivanovskaya Square. A piece of the bell broke off during a big fire in the Kremlin.

On the south side, the Big Kremlin Square and Taynitsky Garden adjoin Ivanovskaya Square.

Unfortunately, you cannot walk around the entire garden - this is a secure facility. But you can still see something interesting: for example, an aviary for peregrine falcons, goshawks and an eagle owl, which are kept specially so that they chase crows and pigeons. Or here is a helipad for the President and the Prime Minister, equipped not so long ago.

View from the park to the Ivan the Great Bell Tower ensemble. The Kremlin bell tower became the tallest building in Moscow under Boris Godunov, who ordered to build it up in 1600 to a height of 81 m. You can go upstairs in the summer by purchasing a separate ticket.

From April to October, on Saturdays at 12-00, the ceremony of the equestrian and foot divorce of the Presidential Regiment takes place on Cathedral Square. Viewing the ceremony is included in the price of a single ticket to visit the territory of the Kremlin and cathedral-museums of Cathedral Square.

The Assumption Cathedral, built according to the project of the Italian architect Aristotle Fioravanti, was the main temple of Russia for four centuries - Ivan the Terrible and other tsars were crowned here, and emperors were crowned. Many patriarchs and metropolitans are buried in the Assumption Cathedral.

In the photo - the Archangel Cathedral, erected in 1505-1508 in honor of the Archangel Michael by the Venetian Aleviz Novy.

Entrance to the Archangel Cathedral. The temple-royal burial vault contains 54 burials of saints, princes, kings and their wives, including the holy Tsarevich Dmitry of Uglich, Moscow princes Vasily Dark, Dmitry Donskoy, Ivan Kalita, Tsars Ivan the Terrible and Alexei Mikhailovich.

The Annunciation Cathedral, one of the oldest on the Kremlin territory, was built by Pskov craftsmen in 1484-1489. The small church was used as the home church of the Russian sovereigns.

An interesting exhibition "Treasures and Antiquities of the Moscow Kremlin" is located in the basement of the Annunciation Cathedral.

The Faceted Chamber, one of the oldest civil buildings in Moscow, in tsarist times served as the main ceremonial reception hall, a place for meetings of the Boyar Duma, meetings of Zemsky sobors. Now it is the representative hall of the residence of the President of the Russian Federation.

The Faceted Chamber is called because it is lined with blocks having 4 edges.

In the corner of Cathedral Square are the Verkhospassky Cathedral - part of the ancient Terem Palace, the eastern facade of the Golden Tsaritsin's Chamber and the Church of the Deposition of the Robe - the home church of Moscow metropolitans and patriarchs.

From Cathedral Square we move to the Grand Kremlin Palace, built in the 19th century. The ensemble of the palace includes about 700 rooms, including the Georgievsky, Vladimirsky, Andreevsky, Alexandrovsky and Catherine halls, the Golden Tsaritsin's chamber, the Malachite foyer, the Cabinet and the Bedroom of the emperors, nine churches and the Terem Palace.

Since the Grand Kremlin Palace is the ceremonial residence of the President of the Russian Federation, you can get there only as part of a group from an organization upon a preliminary application submitted a month in advance.

Next to the BKD there is the Armory Chamber - a museum with countless riches: old gold and silver jewelry and other items, weapons, armor, state decorations, and a collection of carriages. Here you can see the cap of Monomakh, scepters, orbs, thrones, coronation dresses and royal royal dress.

The same building houses the Diamond Fund - the national treasury of Russia, a repository of precious stones and nuggets, ceremonial jewelry of Russian tsars and emperors. It is here that the Great Imperial Crown, made on the occasion of the coronation of Catherine II, is located. The crown is adorned with 5,000 diamonds, 75 large pearls and a very large rare dark red spinel gem.

View from the Armory to Vodovzvodnaya, Borovitskaya Tower and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

The amusing palace - the chambers of the boyar Miloslavsky is best seen from the Alexander Garden, it is located at the Kremlin wall between the Trinity and the Commandant towers. In 1672, entertainments were held here - performances for the amusement of the kings, which gave the name to the palace. Under Peter the Great, the Police Order was located in the Amusement Palace, and nowadays - the services of the Commandant's Office.

How to get to the Kremlin

By public transport: the nearest metro stations are the Lenin Library, Aleksandrovsky Garden, Borovitskaya and Arbatskaya blue Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya lines. It is also easy to walk to the Kremlin from many central stations: Okhotny Ryad, Revolution Square, Teatralnaya and others.

Opening hours

The territory of the Kremlin and cathedrals-museums of Cathedral Square:

from May 16 to September 30 - every day, except Thursday, from 9-30 to 18-00 (ticket offices are open from 9-00 to 16-30)
from October 1 to May 15 - every day, except Thursday, from 10-00 to 17-00 (ticket offices are open from 9-30 to 16-00)

The Armory works in sessions from 10-00 to 18-00 every day, except Thursday. The beginning of the sessions - 10-00, 12-00, 14-30, 16-30

Diamond Fund - every day, except Thursday, from 10-00 to 17-20 for sessions. Break - from 13-00 to 14-00. The duration of the session is 40 minutes. Ticket sales for morning sessions start at 9-00, for evening - at 13-00. Morning sessions: 10-00, 10-20, 10-40, 11-00, 11-20, 12-00, 12-20. Evening sessions: 14-00, 15-00, 15-20, 16-00, 16-20, 16-40, 17-00, 17-20.

The Diamond Fund is closed on holidays. More details about the working hours - on the official website: gokhran.ru/ru/diamond-fund/contacts.phtml

Rarely, but it happens that access to the Kremlin is closed in connection with solemn events, meetings of heads of foreign states, receptions on the occasion of public holidays and other events.

Ticket prices

Single ticket (territory, cathedrals, exhibitions)- visiting the territory of the Kremlin, cathedral-museums of Cathedral Square, exhibition halls of the Patriarch's Chambers, the exposition "Treasures and Antiquities of the Moscow Kremlin" in the basement of the Annunciation Cathedral, an exhibition of wooden sculpture in the Church of the Deposition of the Robe, expositions in the annex of the Arkhangelsk Cathedral:

adults - 500 rubles
Russian students and pensioners - 250 rubles, without the possibility of visiting museums (only the territory) - free
children under 16 years old, members of large families, disabled persons of the 1st and 2nd groups and other preferential categories of citizens - free of charge
for persons under the age of 18, the second Tuesday of each month - free
on the Days of Cultural Heritage one ticket is free for everyone

Single tickets are sold online on the official website of the Moscow Kremlin kreml.ru (except for free and discounted tickets) and at the box office in the Alexander Garden on the day of the visit.

- the visit is carried out with a separate ticket, the price includes an audio guide:

adults - 700 rubles
Russian students and pensioners - 350 rubles
children under 16 years old, members of large families, disabled persons of the 1st and 2nd groups and other preferential categories of citizens - free of charge

Entrance tickets to the Armory are sold on the day of the visit, subject to the availability of tickets at the box office in the Alexander Garden and via the Internet on the official website of the Moscow Kremlin kreml.ru (except for free and discounted ones).

Attention! Purchasing tickets Online for a specific session does not guarantee that you will receive additional free or reduced tickets for the same session on the day you visit the museum. Free and discounted tickets are issued only if they are available at the box office, on a first-come, first-served basis. The museum's bandwidth does not allow for an unlimited number of tickets for each session.

Diamond fund- you can buy tickets at the box office # 4 and # 5 in the Alexander Garden on the day of your visit for a certain session. A guided tour is included in the ticket price.

adults - 500 rubles
schoolchildren, students, pensioners, members of large families - 100 rubles
disabled children, non-working disabled people of groups 1 and 2 and other preferential categories of citizens - free of charge

The number of tickets for each session is limited.

If you want to visit only the Armory Chamber and / or the Diamond Fund, you can enter through the Borovitskaya Tower.

The queue at the box office and at the entrance is least of all during the cold season on weekdays, most of all - in the warm season in good weather on weekends, especially on Saturday in the morning - because of the opportunity to watch the divorce ceremony on Cathedral Square.

Excursions

The Kremlin excursion center offers sightseeing and thematic excursions around the territory of the Kremlin, the Armory, cathedral-museums and museum expositions for organized groups and individual visitors as part of a combined group.

Prices for excursions around the Moscow Kremlin, the procedure for registration and payment of excursions, see the official website: kreml.ru

Free mobile guide around the Kremlin - izi.travel/ru/7cce-moskva-kreml/ru

Photography

Amateur photography and filming in cathedrals-museums, the Armory and the Diamond Fund is prohibited.

In the historical center of the capital there is the most recognizable architectural structure in Russia - the Moscow Kremlin. The main feature of the architectural ensemble is its strengthening complex, consisting of walls in the form of a triangle with twenty towers.

The complex was built between 1485 and 1499 and is well preserved to this day. Several times it served as a model for similar fortresses that appeared in other cities of Russia - Kazan, Tula, Rostov, Nizhny Novgorod, etc. Within the walls of the Kremlin there are numerous religious and secular buildings - cathedrals, palaces and administrative buildings of different eras. The Kremlin was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1990. Together with adjoining Red Square, which is on this list, the Kremlin is generally considered to be Moscow's main attraction.

Cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin

The architectural ensemble is formed by three temples, located in the center. The history of the cathedral began in 1475. It is the oldest fully preserved building among all the Kremlin buildings.

Initially, construction took place in 1326-1327 under the leadership of Ivan I. After the completion of the construction, the cathedral served as the home church of the Metropolitan of Moscow, who settled in the predecessor of the current Patriarchal Palace.

By 1472, the now collapsed cathedral was destroyed, and then a new building was built in its place. However, it collapsed in May 1474, possibly due to an earthquake or due to construction errors. A new attempt at revival was made by the Grand Duke Ivan III. It was in this cathedral that prayers were held before important campaigns, kings were crowned and elevated to the dignity of patriarchs.

Dedicated to Archangel Michael, the patron saint of Russian rulers, was built in 1505 on the site of the church of the same name in 1333. It was built by the Italian architect Aloisio Lamberti da Montignana. The architectural style combines traditional Old Russian religious architecture and elements of the Italian Renaissance.

Located at the southwest corner of the square. In 1291 a wooden church was built here, but a century later it burned down and was replaced by a stone church. The white-stone cathedral has nine onion domes on its facades and is intended for family ceremonies.

Working hours of cathedrals: 10:00 to 17:00 (closed on Thursday). A single ticket for visits will cost 500 rubles for adults and 250 rubles for children.

Palaces and squares of the Moscow Kremlin

- These are several representative secular buildings, created in different centuries and served as a home for Russian grand dukes and tsars, and in our time for presidents.
- a five-story building, decorated with richly carved decorative frames and a tiled roof.
- the building of the 17th century, has preserved the rare architectural features of civil architecture of that time. The museum exhibits jewelry, exquisite dishes, paintings, items of the royal hunt. The magnificent iconostasis of the Ascension Monastery, destroyed in 1929, has survived.
- a three-storey building made in the early neoclassical style. Initially, the palace was supposed to serve as the residence of the Senate, but nowadays it exists as the central working representation of the President of Russia.

Among the popular places in the Moscow Kremlin, the following squares should be noted:

Moscow Kremlin towers

The walls are 2235 meters long, their maximum height is 19 meters, and the thickness reaches 6.5 meters.

There are 20 defensive towers similar in architectural style. Three corner towers have a cylindrical base, the other 17 are quadrangular.

Trinity Tower is the tallest, rising 80 meters.

Lowest - Kutafya tower(13.5 meters) located outside the wall.

Four towers have access gates:

The tops of these 4 towers, which are considered especially beautiful, are decorated with the symbolic red ruby stars of the Soviet era.

The clock on the Spasskaya Tower first appeared in the 15th century, but burned down in 1656. On December 9, 1706, the capital heard the chimes for the first time, which announced a new hour. Since then, many events have happened: wars were fought, cities were renamed, capitals changed, but the famous chimes of the Moscow Kremlin remain the main chronometer of Russia.

The bell tower (81 meters high) is the tallest building in the Kremlin ensemble. It was built between 1505 and 1508 and still serves its function for three cathedrals that do not have their own bell towers - Arkhangelsk, Assumption and Annunciation.

Nearby there is a small church of St. John, where the name of the bell tower and the square came from. It existed until the beginning of the 16th century, then collapsed and since then has significantly decayed.

The Faceted Chamber is the main banquet hall of the Moscow princes; it is the oldest surviving secular building in the city. It is currently the official ceremonial hall for the President of Russia, so it is closed for excursions.

The Armory and the Diamond Fund

The chamber was built by decree of Peter I to keep weapons obtained in wars. Construction was delayed, starting in 1702 and ending only in 1736 due to financial difficulties. In 1812 the chamber was blown up in the war against Napoleon, it was reconstructed only in 1828. Now the Armory is a museum, which can be visited any day of the week from 10:00 to 18:00, with the exception of Thursday. The ticket price for adults is 700 rubles, for children it is free.

Here are not only the exhibits of the arms trade, but also the Diamond Fund. The permanent exhibition of the State Diamond Fund first opened in the Moscow Kremlin in 1967. Unique jewelry and precious stones are especially valuable here, most of them were confiscated after the October Revolution. Opening hours - from 10:00 to 17:20 on any day except Thursday. For a ticket for adults, you will have to pay 500 rubles, for a ticket for children, it costs 100 rubles.

Two diamonds on display deserve special attention, as they belong to the most famous examples of this gem in the world:

It is not only the largest medieval fortress in Russia, but also the largest active fortress in all of Europe. Of course, there were more such structures, but the Moscow Kremlin is the only one that is still in use.
The Kremlin walls were white. The walls "acquired" their red brick at the end of the 19th century. To see the White Kremlin, look for works by 18th or 19th century artists such as Pyotr Vereshchagin or Alexei Savrasov.
Red Square has nothing to do with red. The name comes from the Old Russian word for "red", which means beautiful, and has nothing to do with the color of buildings that we now know were white until the late 19th century.
The stars of the Moscow Kremlin were eagles. During the time of tsarist Russia, the four Kremlin towers were crowned with double-headed eagles, which have been the Russian coat of arms since the 15th century. In 1935, the Soviet government replaced the eagles, which were melted down and replaced with the five-pointed stars that we see today. The fifth star on the Vodovzvodnaya Tower was added later.
The Kremlin towers have names. Of the 20 Kremlin towers, only two do not have their own names.
The Kremlin is densely built up. Behind the 2235-meter Kremlin walls there are 5 squares and 18 buildings, among which the most popular are the Spasskaya Tower, Ivan the Great Bell Tower, Assumption Cathedral, Trinity Tower and Terem Palace.
The Moscow Kremlin was practically not damaged in the Second World War. During the war, the Kremlin was carefully camouflaged to look like a residential building block. The domes of the church and the famous green towers were painted gray and brown, respectively, fake doors and windows were attached to the walls of the Kremlin, and Red Square was burdened with wooden structures.
The Kremlin is in the Guinness Book of Records. In the Moscow Kremlin, you can see the world's largest bell and the world's largest cannon. In 1735, a 6.14 meter bell was made from metal casting, the Tsar Cannon weighing 39.312 tons was lost in 1586 and was never used in the war.
The stars of the Kremlin always shine. In 80 years of its existence, the lighting of the Kremlin stars has been turned off only twice. The first time was during World War II when the Kremlin was disguised to hide it from bombers. The second time they were turned off for the movie. Oscar-winning director Nikita Mikhalkov filmed the scene for the Siberian Barber.
The Kremlin clock has a deep secret. The secret of the accuracy of the Kremlin clock literally lies under our feet. The clock is connected to the control clock at the Sternberg Astronomical Institute via a cable.