The Kremlin, Moscow

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The 70 m (230 ft) high Saviour Tower is the most magnificent of the Kremlin towers, the very symbol and emblem of Moscow. From time immemorial it has been the principal entrance to the Kremlin. The tower, like its two neighbors tothe north, was built in 1491 by the Italian architect Pietro Antonio Solari.
The tower was given its name in 1658, when an iconof Christ was set up over the entrance. It was not tall originally but then it was added to in 1624-1625 by the architect Bazhen Ogurtsovand adorned with white-stone sculptures.

The first clock was set into the tower in the 16th century. The Kremlin chimes that adorn the tower today were made in 1851-1852 by the brothers N. and P. Butenop.

The gigantic mechanism (about 25 tons) of the carillon occupies three storeysof the tower. The clock now only strikes the hours.

The 'ruby' star was installed in 1937. Sure it's not a real ruby. Just a name and color.

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It's the most monumental Kremlin's corner tower.
The tower has large round foundation and mighty walls.

Long time ago it was used for protection and housed a water source for the fortresses garrison, as I know the spring water well is still there.

Its height is 60.20 meters (197.51 feet).

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The Tsar Cannon is an interesting specimen of 16-th century foundry work. It was cast of bronze in 1586 by the Russian master Andrei Shchokhov.

It weighs nearly 40 tons and has a barrel 5.34 m (17 ft) long and a bore of 890 mm (35 in). This is the largest bore of any cannon in the world.

Its ornate carriage and the cannon balls lined up near it are decorative and were cast of pig-iron in 1835 at the Berd works in St.Petersburg. The cannon balls weigh a ton each.

Citing the site:

If you want to visit the Kremlin and its museums on your own you can purchase tickets in the ticket offices located at the Kutafiya Tower, in Aleksandrovsky Sad (the Aleksandrov Gardens), the Armoury Chamber and Cathedral Square.

Ticket offices are open daily, except Thursdays, from 9:30 to 16:30.
24-hour inquiry phone: (495) 695-37-76.

International department
phone: (495) 697-80-86, phone/fax: (495) 697-17-83,
e-mail: interdep@kremlin.museum.ru

Museums in Russia are very conservative, as it becomes to institutions of this kind; they usually don't do Internet sales - tickets or whatever.
And I wouldn't go to their ticket office equipped with plastic cards only.

The Kremlin is a huge area with many churches, buildings and historical landmarks. It was founded in the 12th century and is now the spiritual, political and historical heart of Moscow.

If you want to see it all, you will need quite a bit of time! I have visited twice and I am sure I have not even seen half of it!

Landmarks are:

- The State Armory (the oldest museum in Russia and home to a collection of Imperial artifacts)
- The Cathedral of the Assumption, which is the oldest of the Kremlin's cathedrals
- The Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel
- The Cathedral of the Annunciation
- Ivan the Great Bell Tower
- The Church of the Deposition of the Robe
- The Great Kremlin Palace
- The State Kremlin Palace (a modernist concrete and glass structure built in the 1960s to host Communist Party congresses)
- The Patriarch's Palace
- The Faceted Palace
- The Terem Palace
- The Arsenal
- The Presidium
- The Senate Building (which in 1991 became the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation)
- The Tsar Bell and Tsar Canon (the bell has never been rung and the canon has never been fired!!!)

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Although the Kremlin is a government area with offices for President Putin and other government officials, the public are allowed to visit. within the confines of the walls are seven churches, an arsenal, two palaces, gardens, towers and the state armoury.
The word Kremlin means fortress.
The Kremlin was the stronghold of the Tsars and the headquarters of the soviet union. It is now the residence of the President.
In 1156 Prince Yuriy Dolgorukiy chose this site for the first wooden Kremlin.
In the 15th century Tsar Ivan III asked some leading Italian architects to build a new complex. They designed the Cathedral of the Assumption and the Faceted Palace.
In the 1930’s it was closed and many churches and palaces were destroyed on Stalin’s orders.
In 1955, Two years after Stalin’s death, parts of the Kremlin were reopened to the public.

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The Borovitsky Gate - Tower, at the west end of the Kremlin walls, was erectedin 1490 during the rebuilding of the Kremlin. The tent-roofed superstructure was added in the 1670s. Like many of the towers, this tower is topped bya five-pointed ruby star, 10 ft high and weighing 1.5 tons, which is illuminated at night.

The total height of the Pinewood Tower is 54.05 m (177 ft). The tower occupies the position of the oldest entrance to the Kremlin. Its name is derived from the word "bor" (forest) - suggesting that the original settlement on the site of Moscow was established in this wooded area (now represented only by some trees), on the Neglinnaya River near the Moskva River.

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The Great Kremlin Palace was formerly the tsar's Moscow residence. The palace, which has more than 700 rooms, was built for Tsar Nicholas I between 1838 and 1849 by Konstantin A.Thon and Nikolay A. Chichagov and associates.

It comprises the Palace of Facetsand the Holy Vestibule, parts of a 15th-century Palace, the Tsarina's GoldenChamber from the 16th century, the 17th-century Terem Palace, along with palace cathedrals and churches. At first sight,the building seems to have two storeys above the ground floor, but in factthere is only one upper storey with a double row of windows. Situated inthe new palace, is the enfilades of halls dedicated to the Russian orders St.George, St.Vladimir, St.Andrew, St.Alexander and St.Catherine, aswell as the imperial family's private apartments and a suite of state apartments.