THE RUSSIAN KREMLIN FROM THE FREEWAY

Actually not part of the Kremlin itself, this dark red building is the state historical museum.  It sits at the entrance of Red Square.  It was built in 1881.  It was presented to the people of Russia by their last tsar, Alexander III on his coronation day.













The Kremlin is boardered by two rivers:  the Moskva River and the Neglinnaya River.  A man-made moat boardered the other two sides.  This is a bridge over one of the rivers.  Notice the iron work depicting grain, one of the symbols of Russia--the sykle and hammer and stocks of wheat.

There are 19 towers around the Kremlin walls and each is different with a different purpose and name.  The towers look the same as they did when they were reconstructed in the 17th century.  Six of the towers have gates and passageways into the Kremlin.

There is only one round tower, the Corner Arsenal (Uglovaya Arsenalnaya) tower.  It was built in 1493-1495.  It is 39 meters high.

Five of the towers (see tower in background) are decorated with a large red star on top.  These starts were placed atop in 1935.  The stars are 4 meters in size and they weigh approx. 1.5 tons  They are on a metal frame and covered in ruby colored glass.  Inside is a 5,000 watt lamp.  Ten kilograms of gold was used to gild each star.

The work on the walls started in 1485 and were designed by Italian architects.  The walls are from 3-6 meters thick.  They were changed in the 17th century to look much like they do today.

This is a view of one of Russia's most famous sights--St. Basil's cathedral.  It sits at the top of Red Square and is a magnificant example of old  Russian architecture.  It is named for one of Russia's gods who was famous for his miracles and deeds.  He was buried in the cathedral in one of the chapels.  Legend has it that the architects of the building were blinded after the building was constructed by order of Tsar Ivan the Terrible so that no one else could ever build a building like this one.  Construction begain in 1552.  In 1936 the building was supposed to be destroyed but wasn't thank goodness!  It is still undergoing renovation and restoration today.

Inside the Kremlin are many cathedrals and churches (some 7 or more).  This one behind the tower is the Annunciation Cathedral, the home church of the tsars and princes.  It has 9 domes and was built in 1489 and then rebuilt in 1564.

This is the Archangel Cathedral, built by an Italian architect in 1508.  It is the burial place of many Russian  princes and tsars.

Another view of the Annunciation Cathedral

This is the grand Kremlin Palace.  Built  in 1849 it was originally a residency for the tsars family when they would come to Moscow from St Petersburg.  There are 700 rooms