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| Essential
Architecture- Moscow The Kremlin (candidate for the new seven wonders of the world) |
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architect |
These included the Dormition Cathedral (1327, with St. Peter's Chapel, 1329), the church-belltower of St. John Climacus (1329), the monastery church of the Saviour's Transfiguration (1330), and the Archangel Cathedral (1333) — all built of limestone and decorated with elaborate carving, each crowned by a single dome. Of these churches, the reconstructed Saviour Cathedral alone survived into the 20th century, only to be pulled down at the urging of Stalin in 1933. |
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overlooking the Moskva River (to the south), Red Square (to the east) and the Alexander Garden (to the west) |
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date |
1330s |
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style |
mediaeval Russian Orthodox |
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construction |
various |
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Church Government Palace |
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The Moscow Kremlin, as seen from the Balchug. |
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Church of the Twelve Apostles (1654-56). Right- Plan of Moscow Kremlin, 1917 |
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Left- View from the Winter Palace across the Moskva River in the 1820s. Right- "Kremlenagrad": the first detailed map of the Kremlin (ca. 1601). |
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Saint Basil's Cathedral and Spasskaya Tower of Moscow Kremlin at Red Square
in Moscow. Right- Victory Parade on Red Square, June 24, 1945. |
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The rich history of the Red Square is reflected in many artworks, including
paintings by Vasily Surikov, Konstantin Yuon, and others. |
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The Moscow Kremlin (Russian: Московский Кремль) is a historic fortified
complex at the very heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River (to
the south), Red Square (to the east) and the Alexander Garden (to the
west). It is the best known of kremlins (Russian citadels) and includes
four palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with
Kremlin towers. The complex serves as the official residence of the
President of Russia. History Origin The site has been continuously inhabited since the 2nd millennium BC, and originates from a Vyatich fortified structure on Borovitsky Hill where the Neglinnaya River flowed into the Moskva River. The Slavs occupied the south-western portion of the hill as early as the 11th century, as testifies a metropolitan seal from the 1090s, which was unearthed by Soviet archaeologists on the spot. Until the 14th century, the site was known as the grad of Moscow. The word "kremlin" was first recorded in 1331 and its etymology is disputed (see Vasmer online). The "grad" was greatly extended by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky in 1156, destroyed by the Mongols in 1237 and rebuilt in oak in 1339. Seat of Grand Dukes The first recorded stone structures in the Kremlin were built at the behest of Ivan Kalita in the late 1320s and early 1330s, after Peter, Metropolitan of Rus had moved his seat from Kiev to Moscow. The new ecclesiastical capital needed permanent churches. These included the Dormition Cathedral (1327, with St. Peter's Chapel, 1329), the church-belltower of St. John Climacus (1329), the monastery church of the Saviour's Transfiguration (1330), and the Archangel Cathedral (1333) — all built of limestone and decorated with elaborate carving, each crowned by a single dome. Of these churches, the reconstructed Saviour Cathedral alone survived into the 20th century, only to be pulled down at the urging of Stalin in 1933. When Dmitri Donskoi prepared to challenge the Tatar authority, he replaced the oaken walls with a strong citadel of white stone (1366-1368), which withstood a siege by Khan Tokhtamysh. Dmitri's son Vasily I made peace with the Tatars and resumed construction of churches and cloisters. The newly-built Annunciation Cathedral was painted by Theophanes the Greek, Andrey Rublev, and Prokhor in 1405. The Chudov Monastery was founded by Dmitri's tutor, Metropolitan Alexis; while his widow, Eudoxia, established the Ascension Convent in 1397. Residence of Tsars By 1475, the principalities of medieval Russia were united under Grand Prince Ivan III, who assumed the title of the Grand Prince of All Rus, envisioning Moscow as the only legitimate successor to Rome and Constantinople. In order to illustrate his imperial ambitions, Ivan organised the reconstruction of the Kremlin, inviting a number of skilled architects from Renaissance Italy, like Antonio Solari and Marco Ruffo. It was during his reign that three extant cathedrals of the Kremlin, the Deposition Church, and the Palace of Facets were constructed. The highest building of the city and Muscovite Russia was the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, built in 1505-08 and augmented to its present height in 1600. After construction of the new Kremlin walls and churches was over in 1516, the monarch decreed that no structures should be built in the immediate vicinity of the citadel. Furthermore, the Kremlin was separated from the walled merchant town (Kitai-gorod) by a 30-metre-wide moat, over which the Intercession Cathedral on the Moat was constructed during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. The same tsar also renovated some of his grandfather's palaces, added a new palace and cathedral for his sons, and endowed the Trinity metochion inside the Kremlin. The metochion was administrated by the Trinity Monastery and boasted the graceful tower church of St. Sergius, which was described by foreigners as one of the finest in the country. During the Time of Troubles, the Kremlin was held by the Polish-Lithuanian forces for two years, between 21 September 1610 and 26 October 1612. The Kremlin's liberation by the volunteer army of Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky paved the way for the election of Mikhail Romanov as the new tsar. During his reign and that of his son Alexis, the eleven-domed Upper Saviour Cathedral, Armorial Gate, Terem Palace, Amusement Palace and the palace of Patriarch Nikon were built. Following the death of Alexis, the Kremlin witnessed the Moscow Uprising of 1682, from which tsar Peter barely escaped alive. This emotional trauma made him dislike the Kremlin. Three decades later, Peter abandoned the residence of his forefathers for his new capital, Saint Petersburg. Imperial period Although still used for coronation ceremonies, the Kremlin was abandoned and neglected until 1773, when Catherine the Great engaged Vasily Bazhenov to build her new residence there. Bazhenov produced a bombastic Neoclassical design on a heroic scale, which involved the demolition of several churches and palaces, as well as a portion of the Kremlin wall. After the preparations were over, construction halted due to lack of funds. Several years later, Matvey Kazakov restored the dismantled sections of the wall, rebuilt the ancient Saviour Cathedral and some structures of the Chudov Monastery, and constructed the spacious and luxurious residence of the Senate, since adapted for use as the principal workplace of the President of Russia. During Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812, the French forces occupied the Kremlin from 2 September to 11 October. When Napoleon fled Moscow, he ordered to blow up the whole Kremlin. The Kremlin Arsenal, several portions of the Kremlin Wall and several wall towers were destroyed by explosions and fires damaged the Faceted Chamber and churches. Explosions continued for three days, from 21 to 23 October. Fortunately, the rain damaged the fuses, and the damage was less severe than intended. Restoration works were held in 1816-19, supervised by Osip Bove. During the remainder of Alexander I's reign, several ancient structures were overhauled in a fanciful neo-Gothic style, but many more were simply swept away as "disused" or "dilapidated" (including all the buildings of the Trinity metochion). On visiting Moscow during his coronation, Nicholas I of Russia was not satisfied with the Grand, or Winter, Palace, which had been erected to Rastrelli's design in the 1750s. The elaborate Baroque structure was demolished, as was the nearby Church of St. John the Precursor, built by Aloisio the New in 1508 in place of the very first church ever constructed in Moscow. The architect Konstantin Thon was commissioned to replace them with the Grand Kremlin Palace, which was to rival the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg by its dimensions and the opulence of its interiors. The palace was constructed in 1839-49, followed by the new building of the Kremlin Armoury in 1851. After that, there was virtually no new construction in the Kremlin until the Russian Revolution of 1917. The only new structures were the Monument to Alexander II and a stone cross marking the spot where Grand Duke Sergey Aleksandrovich of Russia was assassinated by Ivan Kalyayev in 1905. These monuments were destroyed by the Bolsheviks in 1918. Soviet period and beyond The Soviet government fled from Petrograd to Moscow on 12 March 1918. Lenin selected the Kremlin Senate as his residence; his room is still preserved as a museum. Stalin also had his personal rooms in the Kremlin. He was eager to remove from his headquarters all the "relics of the tsarist regime". Golden eagles on the towers were replaced by shining Kremlin stars, while the wall near Lenin's Tomb was turned into the Kremlin Wall Necropolis. The Chudov Monastery and Ascension Convent, with their magnificent 16th-century cathedrals, were dismantled to make room for the Communist military school and Palace of Congresses. The Little Nicholas Palace and the old Saviour Cathedral were pulled down as well. The residence of the Soviet government was closed to tourists until 1955. It was not until the Khrushchev Thaw that the Kremlin was reopened to foreign visitors. The Kremlin Museums were established in 1961 and the complex was among the first Soviet patrimonies inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1990. Although the current director of the Kremlin Museums, Elena Gagarina (Yuri Gagarin's daughter) advocates a full-scale restoration of the destroyed cloisters, recent developments have been confined to expensive restoration of the original interiors of the Grand Kremlin Palace, which were altered during Stalin's rule. The Patriarch of Moscow has a suite of rooms in the Kremlin, but divine service in the Kremlin cathedrals is held irregularly, because they are still administrated as museums. Buildings Existing Kremlin walls and towers were built by Italian masters over the years from 1485 to 1495. The irregular triangle of the Kremlin wall encloses an area of 275,000 square metres (68 acres). Its overall length is 2235 metres (2444 yards), but the height ranges from 5 to 19 metres, depending on the terrain. The wall's thickness is between 3.5 and 6.5 metres. Originally there were eighteen Kremlin towers, but their number increased to twenty in the 17th century. All the towers are square in plan, except the three with circular sections. The highest tower is the Spasskaya, which was built up to its present height of 71 metres in 1625. Most towers were originally crowned with wooden tents; extant brick tents with strips of colored tiles go back to the 1680s. The Cathedral Square is the heart of the Kremlin. It is surrounded by six buildings, including three cathedrals. The Cathedral of the Dormition was completed in 1479 to be the main church of Moscow and where all the Tsars were crowned. The massive limestone facade, capped with its five golden cupolas was the design of Aristotele Fioravanti. The gilded, three-domed Cathedral of the Annunciation was completed next in 1489, only to be reconstructed to a nine-domed design a century later. On the south-east of the square is the much larger Cathedral of the Archangel Michael (1508), where all the Muscovite monarchs from Ivan Kalita to Ivan V are interred. There are two domestic churches of the Metropolitans and Patriarchs of Moscow, the Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles (1653-56) and the one-domed exquisite church of the Deposition of the Virgin’s Robe, built by Pskov artisans over the years 1484-88 and featuring superb icons and frescoes from 1627 and 1644. The other notable structure is the Ivan the Great Bell Tower on the north-east corner of the square, which is said to mark the exact centre of Moscow and resemble a burning candle. Completed in 1600, it is 81 metres (266 ft) high. Until the Russian Revolution, it was the tallest structure in the city, as construction of buildings taller than that was forbidden. Its 21 bells would sound the alarm if any enemy was approaching. The oldest secular structure still standing is Ivan III's Palace of Facets (1491), which holds the imperial thrones. Next oldest is the first home of the royal family, the Terem Palace. The original Terem Palace was also commissioned by Ivan III, but most of the existing palace was built in the 17th century. The Terem Palace and the Palace of Facets are linked by the Grand Kremlin Palace. This was commissioned by Nicholas I in 1838. The largest structure in the Kremlin, it cost an exorbitant sum of eleven million rubles to build and more than one billion dollars to renovate in the 1990s. It contains dazzling reception halls, a ceremonial red staircase, private apartments of the tsars, and the lower storey of the Resurrection of Lazarus church (1393), which is the oldest extant structure in the Kremlin and the whole of Moscow. The northeast corner of the Kremlin is occupied by the Arsenal, which was originally built for Peter the Great in 1701. The northwestern section of the Kremlin holds the Armoury building. Built in 1851 to a Renaissance Revival design, it is currently a museum housing Russian state regalia and Diamond fund. Political figures of speech The name Kremlin is often used as a metonymy to refer to the government of the Soviet Union (1922-1991) and its highest members (such as general secretaries, premiers, presidents, ministers, and commissars), in the same way the name Westminster refers to the British government, or White House refers to the government of the United States. To some extent, it is still used in reference to the government of the Russian Federation. "Kremlinology" referred to the study of Soviet policies. References Ivanov V. N. Московский Кремль. Moscow, 1971. Nenakormova I. S. Государственные музеи Московского Кремля. Moscow: Iskusstvo, 1987. Materials from the Official website of the Kremlin Museums |
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| Red Square | |
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Red Square (Russian: Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad) is the most famous city square in Moscow. The square separates the Kremlin, the former royal citadel and currently the official residence of the President of Russia, from a historic merchant quarter, known as Kitay-gorod. As major streets of Moscow radiate from here in all directions, being promoted to major highways outside the city, the Red Square is often considered the central square of Moscow and of all Russia. Origin and name The land that Red Square is situated on was originally covered with wooden buildings, but cleared by Ivan III's edict in 1493, as those buildings were dangerously susceptible to fires. The newly-opened area (originally known simply as the Pozhar, or "burnt-out place") gradually came to serve as Moscow's primary marketplace. Later, it was also used for various public ceremonies and proclamations, and occasionally as the site of coronation for Russia's tsars. The square has been gradually built up since that point, and has been used for official ceremonies by all Russian governments since it was established. The name of Red Square derives not from the colour of the bricks around it, nor from the link between the colour red and Communism. Rather, the name came about because the Russian word красная (krasnaya) can mean either "red" or "beautiful" (the latter meaning is archaic). The word was originally applied (with the meaning "beautiful") to Saint Basil's Cathedral, and was subsequently transferred to the nearby square. It is believed that the square acquired its current name (replacing the older Pozhar) in the 17th century. Several ancient Russian towns, such as Suzdal, Yelets, or Pereslavl-Zalessky, have their main square named Krasnaya ploshchad, namesake of Moscow's Red Square. Recent history During the Soviet era Red Square maintained its significance, becoming the main square in the life of the new state. Besides being the official address of the Soviet government, it was renowned as the location for military parades. Kazan Cathedral and Iverskaya Chapel with the Resurrection Gates were demolished to make room for heavy military vehicles driving through the square. There were plans to demolish Moscow's most recognized building, Saint Basil's Cathedral, as well. The legend is that Lazar Kaganovich, Stalin's associate and director of the Moscow reconstruction plan, prepared a special model of Red Square, in which the cathedral could be removed, and brought it to Stalin to show how the cathedral was an obstacle for parades and traffic. But when he jerked the cathedral out of the square, Stalin objected with his famous quote: "Lazar! Put it back!" Two of the most significant military parades on Red Square were the one in 1941, when the city was besieged by Germans, and troops were leaving Red Square straight to the front lines, and the Victory Parade in 1945, when the banners of defeated Nazi armies were thrown at the foot of Lenin's Mausoleum. On May 28, 1987, a German pilot named Mathias Rust landed a light aircraft on St Basils' Descent next to the Red Square. In 1990, the Moscow Kremlin and Red Square was among the very first sites in the USSR added to UNESCO's World Heritage List. In December, 2006, a section of Red Square was replaced by a skating rink. Sights Each building in Red Square is a legend in its own right. One of these is Lenin's Mausoleum, where the embalmed body of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, the founder of the Soviet Union is displayed. Nearby is the elaborate bright-domed building of Saint Basil's Cathedral and also the palaces and cathedrals of the Kremlin. On the eastern side of the square is the GUM department store, and next to it the restored Kazan Cathedral. The northern side is occupied by the State Historical Museum, whose outlines echo those of Kremlin towers. The only sculptured monument on the square is a bronze statue of Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky, who helped to clear Moscow from the Polish invaders in 1612, during the Times of Trouble. Nearby is the so-called Lobnoye Mesto, a circular platform where public ceremonies used to take place. The square itself is around 330 meters long and 70 meters wide.[1] Red Square at night, with Lenin's Tomb (center) |
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History of the Kremlin |
| www.essential-architecture.com | |