Borovitskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin: history. How to get to the tower?

One of the main attractions of Moscow, and indeed Russia as a whole - is the huge Kremlin and the square adjacent to it. Filled with a huge stone wall, it has as many as twenty towers installed along the perimeter. Each of them keeps its history, its secret.

The Kremlin and its towers

Starting from the south-east corner and moving clockwise forward, you can see the diversity and magnificence of this architectural structure.

The first on the way is the Beklemishevskaya Tower, later called Moskvoretskaya Tower. Next - Konstantin-Yelenin, formerly called Timofeevskaya in honor of the nearby gates. And if you go through eleven high buildings, the view opens Borovitskaya tower.

Interesting is the fact that all the buildings were built at different times under the guidance of foreign architects. At the same time they have truly Russian features and character. The only unique in its kind and not quite fitting into the overall ensemble is the Nikolskaya Tower. It was erected later and inherited features of Gothic buildings. All corner towers have a rounded shape, the rest, located along the perimeter of the wall, are tetrahedral.

History

To date, it is reliably known that the first settlements on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin existed even in the Bronze Age. And only in 1156 the first structures were built to strengthen the territory and protect against frequent enemy raids. The walls were surrounded by a deep moat.

Quite complex and troubled times survived this architectural construction. And now comes the moment when Moscow acquires the status of the capital of all principalities and cities of Russia. Then there comes a speech about the inconsistency of the ancient Kremlin with modern trends. The era of great construction begins.

Aristotle Fioravanti, Petro Solari, Marco Ruffo, Aleviz Novy, Bon Fryazin - all these architects were invited from Italy to breathe new life into architecture. However, it is worth noting that, working closely with Russian masters, they adopted the manner and character of Soviet buildings. Local conditions were taken into account. Thus appeared the modern appearance of the Kremlin, Borovitskaya, Beklemishevskaya and all other towers.

Borovitskaya Tower: from the past to the present

As evidenced by the ancient records, as early as the year 61 of the 14th century, on the site of modern construction there was the same name. The modern Borovitskaya tower of the Moscow Kremlin appeared after thirty years, at the end of the 14th century. The author was a foreign architect, known as Peter Fryazin. He came from Italy to Russia at the invitation of the tsar.

In the 16th and 17th centuries the tower acted as a passage to the Zhitny and Stables Courtyards, it was not possible to get to them through the main gate.

In the middle of the sixteenth century Borovitskaya Tower receives its new name - Predtechenskaya, in honor of the church, which was located in the Kremlin. However, despite all the efforts, the title was never used.

Once there was an icon of St. John the Precursor above the Borovitsky Gates. But in the early nineteenth century, when the construction of metro lines was actively carried out, the eponymous church was destroyed. The icon is lost, and on its former place appeared the watch.

Architecture

Initially Borovitskaya tower was much lower and consisted of one wide building of rectangular shape. On top of it was a roof in the form of a tent, made of wood.

However, after 1666, over several decades, it began to acquire completely new outlines. First, there were three more superstructures, which gradually decrease in size, giving a certain pyramidal form to the structure. Secondly, the top was decorated with a tall octagon with a stone roof, striving towards the sky.

Soon to the side of the tower appeared a strelnik and a lattice gate. A bridge was crossed across the river, which could be raised.

The eighteenth century brought with it as quiet days, and quite heavy. Only a few years after the restoration, when the tower acquired beautiful white stone details, the capital was attacked by the army of Napoleon. Dozens of historical monuments are destroyed, fortunately, the tower suffered slightly. Explosion wave she tore the tent.

After that, the building was put in order for three years. It is during this period that the clock appears above the entrance.

In the middle of the eighteenth century, the tower was converted to a church. There they carry the necessary utensils and the throne. Pseudo-gothic details are removed, but they appear again in the late 19th century. And above the gates set the image of the Moscow emblem. As you can see, the history of Borovitskaya tower is filled with various events. The erection, destruction, restoration, changing of goals and the nature of use - all this affected the construction and created the image that can be seen today.

The last repair of the tower was carried out nine years ago.

Interior

If you look inside, you can see that Borovitskaya tower of the Moscow Kremlin on its lower quadrilateral (the lower rectangular structure) is divided into tiers. From here you can go to the basement, which is today dilapidated. In the other part of the quadrangle, elements that once adorned the church were preserved.

An integrated staircase leads visitors to the second floor, which has rectangular windows. The last two quads are united in one room, the octagon and the tent installed on it have an identical design.

Goal

However, not only the Borovitskaya Tower is noteworthy. How to get to it, you will find out below. And, hitting the right place, you can see that there is an extension next to it. This is the gate and the diversionist strelnitsa. The latter connects with the tower at the very bottom, the passage leads to the basement. If you look at the structure from above, you can see that it has a triangular shape.

Looking up above the gate, two narrow holes are detected. Once they served as a place for huge chains, which, if necessary, raised the bridge. And if, going through the gate, look up, you see the notches that hid the iron grating. Historians say that these gates appeared among the first in comparison with the rest in the Kremlin. In addition, they retained quite old images of coats of arms, the origin of which has not yet been established.

Bridge

Today it is already difficult to imagine the former kind of nature that surrounded the Kremlin walls. The Neglinnaya River, now taken into the pipes, was located along the entire western wall. These were marshy and swampy places. Directly at the very tower the river bed turned sharply and left. In the 16th century a stone bridge was built here .

To strengthen and protect the riverbed, we decided to bring it closer to the tower. The relevant work was carried out. As a fortress, it was a great solution. However, there were questions: how accessible will the Borovitsky Tower of the Kremlin be, how to get to the right place through stormy waters to the prince's troops? The solution was found in the form of a suspension bridge.

Today, there is no trace left of this structure, because of the loss of its destination, it was destroyed.

Guide

The Borovitskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin is quite interesting and picturesque. How to get to it by subway? Everything is simple enough. The main landmarks may be Borovitskaya Square and Alexander Garden. These places are located in close proximity to the tower.

To get out of the garden, you can use four subway stations:

• "Arbatskaya" (Arbat-Pokrovskaya blue branch No. 3);

• "Alexander Garden" (Filevskaya blue branch number 4);

• "Lenin Library" (red branch number 1);

• "Borovitskaya" (gray branch number 9).

Thus, access to this remarkable landmark is open from anywhere in Moscow.