Flickr, Barry Mangham

The Moscow Kremlin is a kremlin, the oldest part of Moscow, the city's main socio-political and historical-artistic complex, and the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation. It is located on the high left bank of the Moskva River — Borovitsky Hill, at the point where the Neglinnaya River flows into it. In plan, the Kremlin is an irregular triangle with an area of 27.5 hectares (ha). The southern wall faces the Moskva River, the northwestern wall faces Alexander Garden, and the eastern wall faces Red Square. The first settlements on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin date back to the Bronze Age (2nd millennium BC). Near the present-day Archangel Cathedral, a Finno-Ugric settlement dating to the Early Iron Age (second half of the 1st millennium BC) was found. At that time, the Dyakovo-type population occupied the center of the upper floodplain terrace of Borovitsky Hill (the area of today's Cathedral Square) and may already have had fortifications.

Flickr, eiji kudo1

The State Kremlin Palace[1] (until 1992 — the Kremlin Palace of Congresses[2]) was built in 1961 under the direction of architect Mikhail Vasilyevich Posokhin (the project was also developed by Ashot Ashotovich Mndoyants and Yevgeny Nikolayevich Stamo) and with Khrushchev's support. The building was designed as a venue for socio-political events. Thus, in the 1960s—80s its walls hosted delegates of the 22nd—28th Congresses of the CPSU. In addition to various socio-political forums, the State Kremlin Palace is also used as a stage for concerts and theatrical productions. For some time it was under the control of the Academic Bolshoi Theatre. At present, the Kremlin Ballet theatre is located on its premises. Every winter, the country's main New Year's tree celebration is held within its walls.

Flickr, eiji kudo1

The Patriarch's Palace and the Church of the Twelve Apostles is a complex of buildings on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin, located north of the Dormition Cathedral and Ivan the Great Bell Tower. They were built in 1635—1656 by Russian masters Antip Konstantinov and Bazhen Ogurtsov by order of Patriarch Nikon. The five-domed Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles was erected on the site of the old church and part of Boris Godunov's estate. The complex of buildings of the Patriarchal Court with the Church of the Twelve Apostles took shape on the basis of the metropolitan's residence that had stood on this site since the beginning of the 14th century. In 1450, the first stone chamber was built on the estate grounds; then, during the second half of the 15th century, white-stone and brick chambers, cells, and utility buildings were erected. In 1566—1568, on the eastern side, the Church of the Solovetsky Miracle-Workers was added to the chambers, with a ceremonial passage into the estate courtyard in its basement. In 1589, the metropolitan's court became patriarchal[1].

Flickr, gre99qd

The Tsar Cannon is a medieval artillery piece (bombard), a monument of Russian artillery and foundry art, cast from bronze in 1586 by the Russian master Andrey Chokhov at the Cannon Yard. The length of the cannon is 5.34 m, the outside diameter of the barrel is 120 cm, the diameter of the patterned band at the muzzle is 134 cm, the caliber is 890 mm (35 inches), the weight is 39.31 t (2400 poods). It is decorated with relief bands; on the right side of the muzzle section there is an image of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich (in a crown and with a scepter in his hand) on horseback. On each side of the barrel there are four brackets intended for fastening ropes when moving the cannon. Above the front right bracket above the image of the tsar is cast: 'By God's mercy, Tsar and Grand Prince Fyodor Ivanovich, sovereign and autocrat of all Great Russia'.

Flickr, Andos_pics

The Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin is an Orthodox church located on Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin, the Patriarchal cathedral of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' (since 1991). It was built in 1475—1479 under the direction of the Italian architect Aristotle Fioravanti. The main church of the Russian state. The oldest completely preserved building in Moscow. The first stone cathedral on the site of the present one was built at the beginning of the 14th century, during the reign of Ivan I: on August 4, 1326, on the site of the former wooden church, the white-stone Cathedral of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos was laid in fulfillment of the wish of Metropolitan Peter of Kyiv and All Rus', who had moved to Moscow shortly before. The Dormition Cathedral of 1326—1327 was Moscow's first stone church. Archaeological studies[1] showed that it was a four-pier, three-apse, three-porch, single-domed church built on the model of St. George's Cathedral in Yuryev-Polsky.

Panoramio, Анатолий Колосов

Verkhospassky Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin is the common name for the complex of house churches of the Russian tsars at the Terem Palace. The cathedral is closed to free visits; services are not held there.[1][2] Since olden times, house churches existed beside the living quarters of Moscow princes, and later tsars. By the mid-17th century, the house churches consisted of several buildings of varying volume, located on the substructures of the grand-princely palace north of the Church of the Deposition of the Robe: In the 1680s, the Resurrection and Exaltation churches crowning both church groups were brought under one roof. The complex was conceived as a single volume, above which 11 small gilded cupolas on slender drums were built. The reconstruction work was directed by the well-known architect O. D. Startsev. The domes were decorated with tiles by the master elder Ippolit from the New Jerusalem Monastery; the round medallions in the domes (now empty) were filled with figures of saints painted on copper sheets. During the construction in the 1840s.

Flickr, kuznetsovsv

The Faceted Chamber is an architectural monument in the Moscow Kremlin, one of the oldest civil buildings in Moscow. It was built in 1487 — 1491 by decree of Ivan III by architects Marco Ruffo and Pietro Antonio Solari. It received its name from the eastern facade, finished with faceted 'diamond' rustication characteristic of Italian Renaissance architecture. It is sometimes mistakenly believed that the name comes from the main hall of the chamber, located on the second floor. The hall is covered by groin vaults resting on a central pillar, which give the ceiling a distinctive faceting. Originally it was called the Great Chamber. It was built on the site of an ancient gridnitsa (dining hall). The Great Chamber was the front reception room of the palace. Next to the Great Chamber, the Middle Chamber was built. In front of the Middle Chamber, the Upper Porch (Front Passages) was built.

Plus.google, J. Philipp Krone

The Annunciation Cathedral is an Orthodox church dedicated to the Annunciation of the Theotokos, located on Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin. The cathedral was built in 1489 by Pskov masters on the white-stone basement of the late 14th — early 15th centuries (left from the old cathedral) and was originally three-domed. The cathedral was seriously damaged in the fire of 1547 and restored in 1564, with two domes added on the western side. In 1572, a porch was added to the cathedral, later called Grozny's Porch. Partially preserved is the painting made in 1508 by the artist Feodosy, son of Dionysius, 'with the brethren'. The original iconostasis of the cathedral contained icons painted in 1405 by Andrei Rublev and Theophanes the Greek. After the fire of 1547, two ancient tiers were selected for the iconostasis — the Deesis and Festal tiers, from the era of Theophanes the Greek and Andrei Rublev.[1] On the porch of the Annunciation Cathedral (first painted in 1564, then repainted in 1648 and partially in 1667.

Flickr, hiroshiken

The Cathedral of the Holy Archangel Michael (Archangel Cathedral) in the Kremlin is an Orthodox church located on Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin. The first wooden Archangel Cathedral in the Kremlin appeared on the site of the present one, possibly as early as the reign of Mikhail Khorobrit, brother of Alexander Nevsky, in 1247—1248. In 1333, over the summer, Ivan Kalita built a new stone church — by vow, in gratitude for the deliverance of Rus' from the famine caused by rye that had shot up and failed to give grain. The new Archangel Cathedral was consecrated by Metropolitan Theognostus on September 20, 1333. The existing cathedral was built in 1505—1508 under the direction of the Italian architect Aloisio the New on the site of the old 14th-century cathedral and consecrated on November 8, 1508 by Metropolitan Simon[1]:10. From 1599 to 1765, special bishops were attached to the cathedral, whose duty was to serve memorial services on the days commemorating princes and tsars. From 1743 to 1883 it was the cathedral church of the Moscow diocese.

Flickr, MontanNito

Cathedral Square is the historical and architectural center of the Moscow Kremlin. It occupies the highest part of Kremlin Hill.[1] The square is surrounded by the Faceted Chamber and Patriarchal Chambers, the Dormition Cathedral, the Archangel Cathedral, the Annunciation Cathedral, the Church of the Deposition of the Robe, and Ivan the Great Bell Tower. The layout of the square took shape in the 14th century, when the first Dormition Cathedral, Archangel Cathedral, and the Church of St. John Climacus under the bells were built, none of which have survived to this day. Later, the first Annunciation Cathedral adjoining the grand-princely palace appeared, and in the middle of the 15th century, the Church of the Deposition of the Robe. The present appearance of the square took shape at the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th centuries, when the cathedrals and churches were rebuilt, the Faceted Chamber was erected, and in place of the Church of St. John Climacus appeared Ivan the Great Bell Tower, to which later a belfry with the Church of the Ascension was added. In 1600, by order of Tsar Boris Godunov, Ivan the Great Bell Tower was raised to its current height — 81 m.

Flickr, Ana Paula Hirama

The bell tower 'Ivan the Great' (also known as Ivan the Great Bell Tower) is a church-bell tower located on Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin. At the base of the bell tower is the church of St. John Climacus. The bell tower is an example of the influence of the Italian tradition of building free-standing bell towers (so-called campanili). After it was raised to a height of 81 m in 1600 (under Boris Godunov), the bell tower was the tallest building in Moscow until the beginning of the 18th century. In 1329, the Church of St. John Climacus of the 'beneath the bells' type was built on this site. According to materials from excavations at the turn of the 19th—20th centuries, published by V. V.

Flickr, snaphappy51

The Tsar Bell is a monument of 18th-century Russian foundry art. In 1730, Empress Anna Ioannovna ordered the broken Grigoryev bell to be recast with the addition of metal and the bell's weight brought to 10 thousand poods. The son of Field Marshal Minich was tasked with finding a master for this work in Paris. Minich proposed that the royal mechanic Germain carry out the work, but he took it as a joke — to cast a bell of such size. Ivan Fyodorovich Motorin undertook the job. First, Motorin cast a small (12 poods) model of the bell. After that, all the drawings, including the lifting scheme, were sent to St. Petersburg for approval. After all approvals, the bell was cast by the Russian masters Ivan Motorin and his son Mikhail Motorin in 1733—1735 at the Cannon Yard. In casting the bell, in addition to new metal, metal from the old broken bell from the time of Boris Godunov and Alexei Mikhailovich was used. The bell was molded on Ivanovskaya Square.

Flickr, Peer.Gynt

Taynitsky Garden is a garden on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin, located along the southern side of the Kremlin wall facing the bank of the Moskva River. It is named by analogy with the Taynitskaya Tower, located in the center of the Kremlin fortifications on the side of the Moskva River. The garden is included on the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage list. Previously, it contained the Annunciation Church with the Granary Yard, where bread reserves for the tsar's court were stored, as well as the Church of Saints Constantine and Helen, which is first mentioned in chronicles at the end of the 14th century. The Annunciation Church was destroyed in 1932, and on the site of the Church of Constantine and Helen, destroyed in 1928, children's New Year tree celebrations were held until the mid-1960s. On the high hill until 1918 stood the memorial complex to Tsar-Liberator Alexander II, completed at the end of the 19th century. From 1967 to 1995, the garden housed a monument to V. I. Lenin, unveiled for the 50th anniversary of October.

Flickr, Andy Millard

The Grand Kremlin Palace[1][2][3] is one of the palaces of the Moscow Kremlin. It was built in 1838—1849 by order of Emperor Nicholas I by a group of Russian architects under the direction of K. A. Ton (N. I. Chichagov, F. F. Richter, P. A. Gerasimov, V. A. Bakaryov, N. A. Shokhin[4]). The palace is 125 meters long, 47 meters high; the total area is about 25 000 m². The palace ensemble includes the Terem Palace, nine churches (from the 14th, 16th, and 17th centuries), a vestibule, and about 700 rooms. The palace building forms a rectangle with an inner courtyard. Five palace halls (St. George's, Vladimir, Alexander, Andrew, and Catherine), named after the orders of the Russian Empire, are currently used for state and diplomatic receptions and official ceremonies, while the palace itself is the ceremonial residence of the President of the Russian Federation.

Flickr, WrldVoyagr

The Diamond Fund of the Russian Federation is an integral part of the State Fund of Precious Metals and Precious Stones of the Russian Federation, representing a collection of unique nuggets of precious metals and unique precious stones of historical and artistic value, as well as a collection of unique jewelry and other items made of precious metals and precious stones. The collection began to take shape in the 18th century, when Peter I issued a special decree on preserving items 'belonging to the state', thereby recognizing that the most significant of them should be the property not only of the royal family, but of the entire Russian state. Until 1914, the precious items of state regalia, order insignia, and secular ornaments of many generations of Russian autocrats were kept in the special Diamond Room of the Winter Palace (the Imperial Renteria).

photo-moskva.ru

The Armoury Chamber is a Moscow treasury museum and part of the Grand Kremlin Palace complex. It is housed in a building constructed in 1851 by architect Konstantin Ton. The basis of the museum collection was formed by precious items that had been kept for centuries in the tsar's treasury and the patriarchal sacristy, made in Kremlin workshops, as well as received as gifts from embassies of foreign states. The museum owes its name to one of the oldest Kremlin treasuries. Since 1960, the Armoury Chamber has been part of the State Museums of the Moscow Kremlin, and its branch — the Museum of Applied Art and Life of 17th-Century Russia (opened in 1962) — is located in the former Patriarchal Chambers.[1] The Armoury Prikaz (as the Armoury Chamber was originally called) is first mentioned in 1547 only as a weapons repository in the Moscow Kremlin. (At the same time, the repository apparently already had production workshops for weapons and banners).