Address: Russia, Moscow, Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin
Start of construction: 1505 year
Completion of construction: 1508 year
Architect: Bon Fryazin
Height: 81 m.
Coordinates: 55 ° 45'03.3 "N 37 ° 37'05.5" E
Cultural heritage site of the Russian Federation
Content:
- Assumption bell
- Bell Howler
- Seven hundred bell
- And the rest ..
The Ivan the Great Bell Tower, which is located in the Moscow Kremlin, has another name: the Church-Bell Tower of St. John of the Ladder. The temple is a very ancient architectural monument - like the Assumption Cathedral, its history goes back more than 500 years.
The Ivan the Great Bell Tower is a kind of architectural center of the Moscow Kremlin, uniting all its buildings into a single ensemble.
History of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower in Moscow: How did it all start?
The history of the church-bell tower of Ivan the Great officially begins in 1329, when the church of Ivan Climacus was built on the site of today's church. with the characteristic name "Under the Bell".
View of the bell tower from Ivanovskaya square
This church did not last long - exactly until 1505, and in the same year the architect Fryazin, specially invited from Italy, began to build a new church. The construction of the new church was timed to coincide with the death of Prince Ivan III and was fully completed in 1508. Muscovites literally marveled at such high stone churches, Moscow, and the whole of Russia has never seen: after all, the height of the temple at the highest point was 81 meters.
In 1600, the Church of Ivan the Great was thoroughly modernized by Boris Godunov - an additional cylindrical tier was added to it. Surely many are familiar with one common expression: "to the whole of Ivanovskaya." So, it came from these places - next to the Church of Ivan the Great (on its eastern side) there was a square, which was called Ivanovskaya. It was on this square "in the whole of Ivanovskaya" that the heralds voiced princely decrees, and the executioners punished the guilty.
View of the bell tower from Cathedral Square
Bell tower construction
In 1532, it was decided to attach a large bell tower to the building of the Cathedral of Ivan the Great. This task was entrusted to the Italian architect Petrok Maly Fryazin. The architect coped with the task by adding a belfry to the church, together with the church, which was named in honor of the Resurrection of the Lord. In this church, a bell weighing one thousand poods (more than 1.5 kilotons) was installed, called the "Evangelist". The temple was located on the 3rd tier of the entire architectural complex, and in order to get into it, a special staircase was built. At the beginning of the 17th century, on the initiative of Mikhail Romanov, the Church of the Resurrection of the Lord was transformed into the Assumption Belfry. And in the 30s of the same century, during the patriarchal period of Father Filaret, the temple of Ivan the Great was supplemented with one more structure - an extension with a tent made of tiles and pyramids made of white stone. The annex in honor of the patriarch was named Filaretovskaya.
The fate of the Cathedral of Ivan the Great during the war with Napoleon
Russia suffered a lot during the aggressive Napoleonic aggression of 1812. And it was during this difficult time that the Assumption Belfry and the Filaretovskaya annex were destroyed. One of the few buildings that survived at that time was the bell tower with the "Blagovestnik".
View of the bell tower from the Assumption Cathedral
It is known for certain that the French stole a domed cross from it, which has not yet been found. At present, there is another cross on the bell tower - an iron cross of eight-pointed shape with an ornamental covering in the form of gilded copper sheets. The inscription "King of Glory" is carved on the upper crossbar.
Restoration of destroyed buildings in the post-war period
The Philaret annex and the belfry, destroyed by French vandals, were rebuilt only 7 years after the end of the war - in 1819. Dominico Gilardi, a Swiss architect who was working in Moscow at the time, was appointed as the author of the project.
About bells on the Ivan the Great Bell Tower
If we name the exact number of bells installed on the Filaretov annex, the belfry and the bell tower of Ivan the Great, then it will be equal to 21. In the old days, all the bells were suspended on wooden beams, and only starting from the 19th century all beams were replaced with metal ones. and the latter - already in the 20th century.
The Assumption Bell is the largest operating bell in the world
Only three bells are suspended on the belfry and the Filaretovskaya annex. The largest of them is Uspensky, also called Festive. The exact value of its mass is 65 tons 320 kilograms. This bell was cast by renowned master casters of the 19th century Rusinov and Zavyalov. The Assumption bell is rightfully considered the largest of the really operating bells and the best in terms of sound characteristics - the purity of tone and the strength of sound.
Bell Howler
Another large bell is called Reut (or Howler), its weight is 2 times less than the Uspensky one: 32 tons 760 kg. The bell is much older than the Dormition bell - in 1622, the Howler was cast by master Andrey Chekhov.
Seven hundred bell
In the 18th century, the Russian foundry I. Motorin cast another bell for the bell tower of Ivan the Great - Daily or Seven-hundredth. It also hangs on the Filaretovsky annex and weighs no less than 13 tons 71 kilograms.
Of course, it is the smallest in comparison with the previous 2, but at the same time such a 13-ton bell would immediately become a tourist attraction, place it in other cities of the world.
And the rest ..
The remaining 18 bells are located on the middle and lower tiers of the bell tower. In the lower tier there are 6 pegs suspended, the names of which are given below:
- 1. Swan
- 2. Bear (daily bell)
- 3. Wide
- 4. Novgorod
- 5. Rostov
- 6. Slobodsky
There are 9 bells in the middle tier. Two of them with the same name Korsunskie are distinguished by their whitish color. The other seven are listed below:
Bell tower domes
- 1. New (renamed from Uspensky);
- 2. Nemchin
- 3. Nameless
- 4. Danilovsky
- 5. Deaf
- 6. Korsunsky (not related to the previously named)
- 7. Maryinsky
As for the upper tier of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, there are 3 unnamed bells.
Ivan the Great Bell Tower today
Today Ivan the Great Bell Tower is a museum of the history of the Moscow Kremlin... Almost the entire first floor of the Assumption Belfry is occupied by an exhibition hall, where art monuments from the Kremlin itself and from many other museums in the world are displayed. The exhibits are diverse, including such interesting examples as, for example, a panorama of the capital or elements of architectural white-stone structures used in the construction of the 14th century.
View of the bell tower from the Cathedral of the Annunciation
The museum is also equipped with modern technology - those invited to the excursion are shown the historical monuments of the Kremlin architectural ensemble right in the hall. And the observation deck will allow you to enjoy the opening and breathtaking view of the Kremlin from a bird's eye view.
