Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin: this is definitely worth seeing. Spasskaya Tower
Spasskaya Tower(until 1658 - Frolovskaya) - the most famous of the 20 towers Moscow Kremlin, goes to Red Square close Execution Place And Intercession Cathedral. The tower's tent is decorated with a chiming clock, which has made the Spasskaya Tower a collective symbol of the Kremlin and Moscow as a whole.
The tower was built in 1491 according to the design of a Milanese architect Pietro Antonio Solari, subsequently built on by an English architect Christopher Galovey together with the Russian master Bazhen Ogurtsov. Originally built of red brick, different years depending on aesthetic preferences.
The shape of the base of the tower is a quadrangle, which is crowned with a multi-tiered hipped roof with a chiming clock and rich decorative design. Upper part The quadrangle is decorated with a lace arched belt with turrets at the corners and figures of fantastic animals; also in the carved design of the belt you can find images of flowers and shells, and above the chimes - figures of peacocks. Above the chimes there is a belfry, the tower is crowned with a tent with a red star on top.
The total height of the Spasskaya Tower with the star is 71 meters. Adjacent to the tower is a massive diversion arch with a drive-through gate.
History of the Spasskaya Tower
During the reign Ivan III In Moscow, a radical restructuring of the Kremlin began, during which in 1485-1495, instead of the old white stone walls and towers, new ones were erected - from baked bricks. The construction of the Spasskaya Tower, designed by the Italian architect Pietro Antonio Solari from Milan, became initial stage construction of the eastern line of fortifications of the Moscow Kremlin; before it, the Frolovskaya strelnitsa was located in this place. Since a moat was dug under the Kremlin walls, a bridge was built across it from the tower.
In memory of the construction of the tower, 2 white stone tablets with a commemorative inscription in Latin (from the Red Square side) and Russian (from the Kremlin side) were installed above the gate:
At the end of the 16th century, the tower was crowned with a wooden hipped top with a double-headed eagle, but in 1624-1625 another reconstruction was carried out: according to the design of the English architect Christopher Galovey with the participation of the Moscow master Bazhen Ogurtsov, a multi-tiered top in the Gothic style, decorated with nude figures, was erected over the tower - "boobs". The naked figures on the tower were perceived ambiguously, and by order of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, special caftans were sewn for them, however, the “blockheads” did not have long to live in any case - in 1628 they burned down in a fire. In the mid-17th century, the double-headed eagle - coat of arms - was re-installed on the top of the tower Russian state, subsequently installed on the Nikolskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya towers.
Before the Revolution of 1917, there were chapels to the left and right of the Spassky Gate - first wooden, then built in stone, but in 1925 they were demolished.
Initially, the tower, like the archery tower that preceded it, was called Frolovskaya - after the Church of Frol and Lavra on Myasnitskaya Street, where the road from the gate led - until 1658, when Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ordered to call it Spasskaya, since icons of the Savior were placed above the Spassky Gate Smolensky (from the Red Square) and the Savior Not Made by Hands (from the Kremlin).
Savior of Smolensk and Savior Not Made by Hands
One of the features of the tower, thanks to which it received its modern name, the icons of the Savior of Smolensk and the Savior Not Made by Hands began to be placed above the passage gates.
Image Savior of Smolensky was written in 1514 in gratitude for the capture of Smolensk and placed above the gate from Red Square. In 1521, when Moscow managed to avoid a siege by the troops of Khan Mehmed-Girey, instead of the icon, a fresco was painted on the wall, depicting the Savior with the opened Gospel and the saints falling at his feet Venerable Sergius Radonezhsky and Varlaam Khutynsky. During the years of Soviet power, the image was plastered over and was considered lost for a long time, since official documents did not record what happened to it, and experts did not have accurate information about whether it was painted on the wall or was a separate element. When the issue of restoring the icon was raised in the 2000s, it was searched for a long time in the storerooms of art museums, but in the end the image was discovered under a layer of plaster in its rightful place: in 2010 it was cleared and restored.
Appearance of the image Savior Not Made by Hands on the inside of the gate (from the Kremlin side) is associated with the plague epidemic that swept through Russia in the mid-17th century. Moscow suffered greatly from the epidemic, but one of the cities - Khlynov (modern Kirov) - was spared; There were rumors that the reason for Khlynov’s deliverance from the disease was the miraculous image of the Savior Not Made by Hands, to whom the residents of the city prayed. In 1648, by order of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the image was delivered to Moscow. Having placed the original icon in the Novospassky Monastery, two copies were made from it: the first was sent to Khlynov, the second was placed on the inside of the gate of the Spasskaya Tower. Unfortunately, during the Soviet years the image was destroyed and the original icon disappeared; Today, the icon case on the inside of the gate of the Spasskaya Tower remains empty.
Chimes of the Spasskaya Tower
- probably the most famous watch in Russia, because it is with them that Russians greet New Year- chime Kremlin chimes became one of the brightest New Year's traditions peace.
The chimes are installed on the upper quadrangle of the tower on all four sides and have impressive dimensions:
Dial diameter - 6.12 meters;
The length of the minute hand is 3.27 meters;
The length of the hour hand is 2.97 meters;
The height of Roman numerals is 0.72 meters.
The clock has a musical mechanism: the anthem is played at 00:00, 06:00, 12:00 and 18:00 Russian Federation, at 03:00, 09:00, 15:00 and 21:00 - the melody of the choir “Glory” from Glinka’s opera “A Life for the Tsar”.
The clock on the Spasskaya Tower first appeared in the 16th century and almost nothing is known about it. In 1625, according to the project of Christopher Galovey, the old clock was replaced with new ones, which had a unique structure: the clock counted day and night time, indicated in Slavic letters and Arabic numerals, while the hand stylized as the Sun was motionless - the dial itself rotated. In 1705, by decree of Peter I, the clock was remade in the German style: with a dial at 12 o'clock, and in 1770 it was installed on the tower english watch. Modern chimes were made by brothers Nikolai and Ivan Butenop in 1851-1852.
Star of the Spasskaya Tower
The star on top of the Spasskaya Tower appeared in 1935, when Soviet power wished to be erected on the Kremlin towers new symbol to replace the ideologically outdated double-headed eagle.
The first Kremlin stars were made of stainless steel and red copper; in the middle there was a gilded sickle and hammer, lined with Ural gems. The star on the Spasskaya Tower, among other things, was decorated with rays diverging from the middle. Unfortunately, the stars of 1935 quickly dimmed due to the weather, and in 1937 they were replaced by the glowing ruby ones that can still be seen today.
The span of the rays of the star on the Spasskaya Tower is 3.75 meters.
Spasskaya Tower Today it is one of the symbols of Moscow and a prominent landmark on tourist routes.
You can get to the Spasskaya Tower on foot from metro stations "Okhotny Ryad" Sokolnicheskaya line, "Theatrical" Zamoskvoretskaya and "Revolution Square" Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya.
Built in 1491 by the architect Pietro Antonio Solari. Its construction marked the beginning of the construction of the eastern line of the Kremlin fortifications. The tower is located on the site of the Frolovskaya strelnitsa of 1367-1368. Its gates, facing Red Square, have always been the main main entrance to the Kremlin. They were especially revered by the people and were considered saints. The gate served for the tsar's departures, the ceremonial exits of the patriarch, and meetings of foreign ambassadors.
The tower has a tetrahedral shape and a powerful diversion arrow closely adjacent to it, which served to protect the passage gate. They were closed with special lowering iron gratings - gers. If the enemy penetrated inside the archery, the gers were lowered, and the enemy found himself locked in a kind of stone bag. He was fired at from the upper gallery of the archery. On the facade of the tower you can still see the holes through which chains were passed to raise and lower the special wooden decking of the bridge, and in the gate passage there are grooves along which people walked. metal grill. Drawbridges descended from the archery gates.
Above the gates of the diversion strelnitsa and the gates of the Spasskaya Tower from the side of the Kremlin, inscriptions in Russian and Latin are carved on white stone boards, telling about the time of its construction: “In the summer of July 6999 (1491 - ed.), by the grace of God, this strelnitsa was made by order of Ivan Vasilyevich the sovereign and autocrat of all Rus' and the Grand Duke of Volodymyr and Moscow and Novgorod and Pskov and Tver and Yugorsk and Vyatka and Perm and Bulgaria and others in the 30th year of his state, and Peter Anthony Solario did from the city of Mediolan (Milan - ed.).”
Initially, the tower was called Frolovskaya, due to the fact that the Church of Frol and Lavra was located nearby in the Kremlin. In 1516, a wooden bridge was built from the tower across the moat. Already at the end of the 16th century, there was a tent top above the tower, crowned with a double-headed eagle. By decree of April 16, 1658, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ordered to call it Spasskaya. The new name was associated with the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands, placed above the gate on the Red Square side. The icon itself has not survived, but the place where it hung is clearly visible.
In 1624-1625, the Russian architect Bazhen Ogurtsov and the English master Christopher Galovey erected a multi-tiered top over the tower, ending with a stone tent. This was the first tent-roofed completion of the Kremlin towers. Bottom part The building was decorated with a white stone lace arched belt, turrets, and pyramids. Fantastic figures (“boobs”) appeared, whose nakedness, by order of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, was bashfully covered with specially tailored clothes. The tower rightfully began to be considered the most beautiful and slender tower of the Kremlin. Unfortunately, during the superstructure of the tower, the white stone reliefs by V.D. Ermolin, made for the Frolov Gate of the time of Dmitry Donskoy, were removed from its facades. They depicted the patrons of the Moscow princes - Saints George the Victorious and Dmitry of Thessaloniki. (A fragment of the relief of St. George is kept today in the Tretyakov Gallery).
In the 17th century, a stone bridge on arches was thrown across the moat to the Spassky Gate, on which lively trade took place. In the 50s of the 17th century, the coat of arms of the Russian state - a double-headed eagle - was erected on top of the tent of the main tower of the Kremlin. Later, similar coats of arms were installed on the highest towers - Nikolskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya.
The first clock on the Spasskaya Tower was installed according to the design of Christopher Galovey. In 1707 they were replaced by Dutch chimes with music. In 1763, the clock was replaced again, and in 1851, these last 18th-century chimes were overhauled by the brothers N. and P. Butenop. In 1920, during the repair of the Spasskaya Tower, musician M.M. Cheremnykh and mechanic N.V. Berens, having repaired the clock, picked up the melody of the Internationale on the chimes.
The star on the Spasskaya Tower was first installed in 1935. In 1937, it was replaced by a new one, with a wingspan of 3.75 m. Inside the star, a 5000-watt lamp burns around the clock. The star rotates in the wind, like a weather vane.
The Spasskaya Tower has 10 floors.
The height of the tower - up to the star - 67.3 m, with the star - 71 m.
Spasskaya Tower - overlooking one of the 20 towers of the Moscow Kremlin
The main gate - Spassky - is located in the tower, the towers are installed in the tent famous watches- chimes
Story
The tower was built in 1491 during the reign of Ivan III by the architect Pietro Antonio Solari, as evidenced by the white stone slabs with memorial inscriptions installed on the tower itself.
Sergius, GNU 1.2When built, the tower was approximately half as tall. In 1624–25, the English architect Christopher Galovey, with the participation of the Russian master Bazhen Ogurtsov, erected a multi-tiered top over the tower in the Gothic style (there are flying buttresses in the fifth tier) with elements of mannerism (unpreserved naked “boobies” statues), the figurative design of which goes back to the town hall tower in Brussels (finished in 1455), ending with a stone tent. Fantastic figurines - an element of decor - under Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, their nakedness was bashfully covered with specially sewn clothes.
In the middle of the 17th century. The first double-headed eagle, which was the coat of arms of the Russian state, was installed on the main tower of the Kremlin. Subsequently, double-headed eagles appeared on and towers.
unknown, Public Domain The Spassky Gate was the most important of all the Kremlin Gates and was always revered as saints. It was forbidden to ride through them on horseback, and men passing through them had to remove their hats in front of the image of the Savior written on outside towers, illuminated by an unquenchable lamp; this custom survived until the 19th century: according to Juan Valera,
“When passing under them, everyone is obliged to bare their heads and bow, and neither foreigners nor those who profess a faith other than the Orthodox faith are in any way exempt from the obligation to give such honors.”
Anyone who disobeyed the holy rule had to make 50 prostrations.
The Spassky Gate was the main entrance to the Kremlin. Regiments left for battle from the sacred gates, and foreign ambassadors were also met here. All religious processions from the Kremlin they walked through these gates; all the rulers of Russia, starting with Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, solemnly passed through them before his coronation.
There is a legend that when Napoleon was passing through the Spassky Gate in captured Moscow, a gust of wind pulled off his famous cocked hat. When retreating French army From Moscow, the Spasskaya Tower was ordered to be blown up, but the Don Cossacks arrived in time and extinguished the already lit wicks.
Chapels
There were always chapels to the left and right of the Spassky Gate. On the left stood the chapel of the Great Council Revelation (Smolenskaya), on the right - the Great Council Angel (Spasskaya).
The chapels were built of stone in 1802. In 1812 they were destroyed and restored according to a new design. In 1868, during the restoration of the Spasskaya Tower according to the design of the architect P. A. Gerasimov, the chapels were dismantled and rebuilt.
On October 22, 1868, the new single-domed tent chapels were consecrated. Both chapels belonged to the Intercession Cathedral. The duties of the rectors of the chapels included caring for the unquenchable lamp at the gate icon of the Savior of Smolensk.
Both chapels were demolished in 1925.
Chimes
Near the tower is the famous chiming clock. They have existed since the 16th century, constantly changing. The new clock was made in 1625 at the Spasskaya Tower under the direction of the English mechanic and watchmaker Christopher Galovey. Using special mechanisms, they “played music” and also measured the time of day and night, indicated by letters and numbers. The numbers were indicated in Slavic letters; there were no hands on the dial.
In 1705, by decree of Peter I, the Spassky clock was converted into a German style with a dial at 12 o'clock. In 1770, the English clock found in the Chamber of Facets was installed. Since 1770, the clock has played the German melody “Ah, my dear Augustine” for some time.
A. Savin, CC BY-SA 3.0 Modern chimes were made by brothers Nikolai and Ivan Budenop in 1851-1852 and installed on 8-10 tiers of the Spasskaya Tower. From that time on, the chimes played the “March of the Preobrazhensky Regiment” at 12 and 6 o’clock, and at 3 and 9 o’clock the hymn “How Glorious is Our Lord in Zion” by Dmitry Bortnyansky, which sounded over Red Square until 1917. Initially, they wanted to play the Russian anthem “God Save the Tsar” on the playing shaft of the chimes, but Nicholas I did not allow this, stating that “the chimes can play any songs except the anthem.”
On November 2, 1917, during the storming of the Kremlin by the Bolsheviks, a shell hit the clock, breaking one of the hands and damaging the mechanism for rotating the hands. The clock stopped for almost a year. In August-September 1918, at the direction of V.I. Lenin, they were restored by watchmaker Nikolai Behrens. The clock began to play “Internationale” at 12 o’clock, and “You have fallen a victim...” at 24 o’clock. However, already in 1938, the chimes fell silent, only chiming the hours and quarters.
In 1996, during the inauguration of B. N. Yeltsin, the chimes began to play again after 58 years of silence. At 12 and 6 o'clock the chimes began to perform the "Patriotic Song", and at 3 and 9 - the melody of the choir "Glory" from the opera "A Life for the Tsar" (Ivan Susanin) also by M. I. Glinka. The last major restoration was carried out in 1999. The hands and numbers were again gilded. The historical appearance of the upper tiers was restored. By the end of the year, the final adjustment of the chimes was carried out. Instead of the "Patriotic Song" the chimes began to play National anthem Russian Federation, officially approved in 2000.
The chime dials, 6.12 m in diameter, extend onto four sides of the tower. The height of the Roman numerals is 0.72 m, the length of the hour hand is 2.97 m, the minute hand is 3.27 m. The clock strikes using a hammer connected to the mechanism and the bell. The watch was originally wound by hand, but since 1937 it has been wound using three electric motors.
Star of the Spasskaya Tower
Double headed eagle
From the 1600s until 1935, the tower was crowned with a gilded double-headed eagle. The eagle was replaced quite often. The first eagle may have been made entirely of wood.
Gem Star
In August 1935, it was decided to replace the eagles with five-pointed stars with a hammer and sickle. Sketches of the stars were developed by academician Fyodor Fedorovsky. The first stars were made of high-alloy stainless steel and red copper. In the middle of each star, a hammer and sickle covered with gold was lined with Ural gems. The star on the Spasskaya Tower was decorated with rays diverging from the center to its tops. Before the stars were installed on the Kremlin towers, they were shown in Gorky Park.
Unknown, Public Domain glowing star
However, the first stars quickly dimmed under the influence of precipitation. In addition, they looked rather awkward in the overall composition of the Kremlin, were bulky and greatly disrupted the architectural ensemble.
In May 1937, it was decided to replace the stars with ruby and luminous ones. New star became operational on November 2, 1937. The star can rotate like a weather vane and has a frame in the form of a multifaceted pyramid. The star has double glazing. Inner layer consists of milk glass, the outer one is ruby. The span of the rays of the star on the Spasskaya Tower is 3.75 meters. The frame of the star is made of special stainless steel, and special autonomous lamps burn inside. Thus, it is protected from precipitation and power outages. The power of the lamps in the star is 5000 watts. The operation of the lamps is checked twice a day. To protect the lamps from overheating, a special ventilation system was developed, which consists of an air purification filter and two fans. The height of the tower to the star is 67.3 m, with the star - 71 m. The first Spasskaya star, unlike other semi-precious stars, has been preserved and now crowns the spire of the Northern River Station of Moscow.
Alex Zelenko, GNU 1.2 Current situation
With the collapse Soviet Union There were calls for the restoration of the double-headed eagle over Spasskaya and other Kremlin towers. This initiative is supported by Russian Orthodox Church and a number of movements, such as the “People's Council”, “Return”, etc. There were no official statements on this matter from the authorities.
On September 10, 2010, members of the “Return” foundation, in connection with the opening of the gate icon, appealed to the President of Russia with a request to remove the five-pointed star from the Kremlin’s Spasskaya Tower and install a double-headed eagle on it.
Photo gallery
Useful information
Spasskaya Tower
formerly - Frolovskaya Tower
Cost of visit
for free
Opening hours
- 24/7, external inspection
Address and contacts
Moscow, Kremlin
Location
Located between the Tsarskaya and Senate towers of the Kremlin wall on Red Square.
Etymology
The original name of the tower - Frolovskaya - comes from the Church of Frol and Lavra on Myasnitskaya Street, where the road from the Kremlin led through this gate. The church has not survived to this day.
In 1658, by royal decree of Alexei Mikhailovich, the Frolovsky Gate was renamed Spassky in honor of the icon of the Savior of Smolensk, painted above the passage gate from the Red Square, and in honor of the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands, located above the gate from the Kremlin. The whole tower inherited this name after them.
Memorial plaques
Hangs above the Spassky Gate memorial plaque(a copy, the damaged original is in the collections of the Kremlin Museum) with the inscription in Latin:
IOANNES VASILII DEI GRATIA MAGNUS DUX VOLODIMERIAE, MOSCOVIAE, NOVOGARDIAE, TFERIAE, PLESCOVIAE, VETICIAE, ONGARIAE, PERMIAE, BUOLGARIAE ET ALIAS TOTIUSQ(UE) RAXIE D(OMI)NUS, A(N)NO 30 IMPERII SUI HAS TURRES CO( N) DERE F(ECIT) ET STATUIT PETRUS ANTONIUS SOLARIUS MEDIOLANENSIS A(N)NO N(ATIVIT) A-(TIS) D(OM)INI 1491 K(ALENDIS) M(ARTIIS) I(USSIT)P(ONE-RE)
WITH inside There is an inscription in Russian on the wall, preserved from the time of construction:
IN THE SUMMER OF 1491, BY THE GRACE OF JULIA, SIA STRELNITSA WAS MADE BY THE COMMAND OF JOHN VASILIEVICH GDR AND THE SELF-PRIEST OF ALL RUSSIA. AND THE GREAT PRINCE OF VOLODIMERSKY. AND MOSCOW AND NOVOGORODSKY. AND PSKOVSKY. AND TVERSKY. AND YUGORSKY AND VYATSKY. AND PERM. AND BULGARIAN. AND OTHERS IN THE 30TH SUMMER OF THE CITY OF HIS A DID PETER ANTONY FROM THE CITY OF MEDIOLAN
- In the courtyard of one of the residential complexes in the south-west of Moscow there is a small copy of the Spasskaya Tower. Previously, military units were located nearby and organized morning formations near the tower.
She's the same Frolovskaya tower.
Built in 1491 by the architect Pietro Antonio Solari. Its construction marked the beginning of the construction of the eastern line of the Kremlin fortifications. The tower is located on the site of the Frolovskaya strelnitsa of 1367-68. Its gates, facing Red Square, have always been the main main entrance to the Kremlin. They were especially revered by the people and were considered saints. The gate served for the tsar's departures, the ceremonial exits of the patriarch, and meetings of foreign ambassadors.
The tower has a tetrahedral shape and a powerful diversion arrow closely adjacent to it, which served to protect the passage gate. They were closed with special lowering iron gratings - gers. If the enemy penetrated inside the archery, the gers were lowered, and the enemy found himself locked in a kind of stone bag. He was fired at from the upper gallery of the archery. On the façade of the tower you can still see the holes through which chains were passed to raise and lower the special wooden deck of the bridge, and in the passage of the gate there are grooves along which a metal grate ran. Drawbridges descended from the archery gates.
Above the gates of the diversion strelnitsa and the gates of the Spasskaya Tower from the side of the Kremlin, inscriptions in Russian and Latin are carved on white stone boards, telling about the time of its construction: “In the summer of July 6999 (1491), by the grace of God, this strelnitsa was made by order of Ivan Vasilyevich, sovereign and autocrat of all Rus' and the Grand Duke of Volodymyr and Moscow and Novgorod and Pskov and Tver and Ugra and Vyatka and Perm and Bulgaria and others in the 30th year of his state, and Peter Anthony Solario did from the city of Mediolan (Milan).”
Initially, the tower was called Frolovskaya, due to the fact that the Church of Frol and Lavra was located nearby in the Kremlin. In 1516, a wooden bridge was built from the tower across the moat. Already at the end of the 16th century. above the tower there was a hipped roof topped with a double-headed eagle. By decree of April 16, 1658, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ordered to call it Spasskaya. The new name was associated with the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands, placed above the gate on the Red Square side. The icon itself has not survived, but the place where it hung is clearly visible.
In 1624-25. Russian architect Bazhen Ogurtsov and English master Christopher Galovey erected a multi-tiered top over the tower, ending with a stone tent. This was the first tent-roofed completion of the Kremlin towers. The lower part of the building was decorated with a white stone lace arched belt, turrets, and pyramids. Fantastic figures (“boobs”) appeared, whose nakedness, by order of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, was bashfully covered with specially tailored clothes. The tower rightfully began to be considered the most beautiful and slender tower of the Kremlin. Unfortunately, during the superstructure of the tower, the white stone reliefs of V.D. were removed from its facades. Ermolin, made for the Frolov Gate of the time of Dmitry Donskoy. They depicted the patrons of the Moscow princes - Saints George the Victorious and Dmitry of Thessaloniki. (A fragment of the relief of St. George is kept today in the Tretyakov Gallery.)
In the 17th century A stone bridge on arches was thrown across the moat to the Spassky Gate, on which lively trade took place. In the 1650s. On top of the tent of the main tower of the Kremlin, the coat of arms of the Russian state was erected - a double-headed eagle. Later, similar coats of arms were installed on the highest towers - Nikolskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya.
The first clock on the Spasskaya Tower was installed according to the design of Christopher Galovey. In 1707 they were replaced by Dutch chimes with music. In 1763 the clock was replaced again, and in 1851 these last chimes of the 18th century were replaced. overhauled by brothers N. and P. Butenop. In 1920, during the renovation of the Spasskaya Tower, musician M.M. Cheremnykh and mechanic N.V. Behrens, having repaired the clock, picked up the melody of the Internationale on the chimes.
The star on the Spasskaya Tower was first installed in 1935. In 1937, it was replaced by a new one with a wingspan of 3.75 m. Inside the star, a 5000 W lamp burns around the clock. The star rotates in the wind, like a weather vane.
Restoration of the gate icon. Last time the gate image was seen in 1934. For a long time Only a white rectangle bordered by a frame reminded of the gate icon. The image above the gate was considered lost until a sounding of the gate icon case of the Spasskaya Tower, carried out at the end of April 2010, showed the presence of an image of Christ under the plaster. At the end of June 2010, restoration of the icon began. First, they cleaned off the plaster and dismantled the mesh that protected the icon of the Savior of Smolensk from external environment. By July 5, 2010, the icon of the Savior of Smolensk was completely opened. By approximate estimates Restorers preserved 80% of the icon. Traces of shrapnel from shelling the tower and from the pins holding the net were noticeable. On August 24, 2010, the restoration of the icon of the Savior of Smolensk was completed. It was decided not to restore the gilding applied in 1895, but also not to open the earlier layers. Restorers precisely restored the paints and lost fragments. On August 26, 2010, after the scaffolding was removed, the gate icon of the Spasskaya Tower again appeared before visitors to Red Square. The consecration of the returned shrine by Patriarch Kirill took place on August 28, 2010, on the feast of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary.
The Spasskaya Tower has 10 floors. Tower height: up to the star - 67.3 m, with the star - 71 m.
The Spasskaya Tower is the most beautiful and slender tower of the Moscow Kremlin, its main gate. It was built under the direction of the Italian architect Peter Antonio Solario in 1491. This is evidenced by inscriptions carved on white stone boards placed above the tower's passage gates. From the Red Square side, the inscription is made on Latin, from the side of the Kremlin - in Russian in Slavic script: “In the summer of July 6999 (1491), by the grace of God this strelnitsa was made by order of John Vasilyevich, sovereign and autocrat of all Rus' and the Grand Duke of Volodymyr and Moscow and Novgorod and Pskov and Tver and Yugorsk and Vyatka and Perm and Bulgaria and others in the 30th year of his state, and Peter Anthony Solario did from the city of Mediolan” (Milan.-Ed.).
The construction of new fortifications on the eastern side of the Kremlin began with the Spasskaya Tower. Initially, the tower was called the Frolovskaya Strelnitsa, presumably from the Church of Frol and Laurus. The tower had a tetrahedral shape and was approximately half the height of the current tower. From the side of Red Square, a diversion arch with two side bastions was attached to it. The tower ended with a wooden hipped superstructure on which hung a clock bell. From the diversion strelnitsa, a chain drawbridge was thrown across the moat that ran along Red Square, which was replaced by a stone one in the 17th century.
In 1625, the watchmaker of the “Aglitsky land” Christopher Galovey and the Russian master Bazhen Ogurtsov erected a multi-tiered top with a high stone tent on the tower, on which a new clock was placed. The newly built tower burned down, but was restored a year later.
The lower quadrangle of the tower was completed with a belt of arches decorated with a white stone lace pattern, turrets, pyramids, and sculptures of fantastic animals. White stone pyramids with gilded weather vanes rose in the corners.
White stone statues - “blockheads” - were installed in the niches of the arcature belt. As is known from documents, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich gave the order to sew single-row clothes for them to cover their nakedness (according to the customs of that time, it was considered indecent to display statues without clothes). In a fire in 1654, the statues were burned and crumbled.
The internal walls of the lower quadrangle are double. Between them there are bypass galleries and inter-tier stairs. From the upper platform of the lower quadrangle rose a two-tiered tetrahedron of a smaller size with white stone details and columns in the corners and with a clock - a remarkable technical innovation of that time. Above the clock, the tetrahedron turned into an octagon with open arched bells. The tower ended with an octagonal brick tent with a tiled covering.
Since ancient times, the Frolosha Gate has been considered the main, “holy” gate of the Kremlin and was especially revered by the people.
Solemn processions of the clergy passed through the Spassky Gate; tsars, emperors and foreign ambassadors entered the Kremlin.
It was forbidden to ride horses here and walk with your head covered; even kings were obliged to take off their hats. By a special royal decree in 1658, the Frolovskaya tower was renamed Spasskaya. Its new name is associated with the image of the Savior, written above its gates from the side of Red Square.
The Spasskaya Tower repeatedly suffered from fires and therefore was often repaired. Especially big ones renovation work were produced on the tower in early XIX century, after the expulsion of Napoleonic troops from Moscow, and in the second half of the 19th century.
During restoration 1946-1950. The dilapidated white stone parts and cladding on the tower were restored, the weather vanes were gilded and the tent was covered with copper.
Since ancient times, there has been a clock on the Spasskaya Tower. It is believed that they could have been installed for the first time immediately after the construction of the tower, in 1491. However, mention in the chronicles of the watchmakers of the Spasskaya Tower refers only to the 16th century.
This clock lasted until 1625, when it was replaced by a new one. They were installed under the leadership of Christopher Galovey by Russian blacksmiths and watchmakers, peasants Zhdan, his son and grandson, and thirteen bells for the watch were cast by foundry maker Kirill Samoilov.
The watch had a rotating dial, divided into 17 o'clock, and on top - an image of the sun, the ray of which served as an indicator hand. Above the clock there was a two-tier octagon with bells, which housed the hour bells. By the end of the 17th century. The tower clock installed by Galovey fell into complete disrepair. Under Peter I in 1706-1709. A new Dutch clock with music and a 12-hour dial was installed, which was subsequently repaired several times. The clock that we see on the Spasskaya Tower now was installed in 1851-1852. brothers N. and P. Butenop. This is evidenced by the inscription on the clock: “The clock was remade in 1851 by the Butenop brothers in Moscow.” Metal structures with a spiral staircase to the clock inside the tower, made according to the design of the architect K. Ton. During the capture of the Kremlin during the October battles of 1917, the Spassky clock was damaged by a shell. At the direction of V.I. Lenin, they were corrected in 1919 by master N.V. Behrens. The melody of the “Internationale” was set on the playing shaft by the Honored Artist M. M. Cheremnykh.
