Photo: architectural monuments, castles, fortresses and palaces, The Moscow Kremlin, Moscow

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Moscow Kremlin: the Oldest Cathedrals and Unique Monuments

Architectural Monuments • Castles, Fortresses and Palaces

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The year 1147 is considered to be the date of foundation of Moscow and construction of the wooden Kremlin on Borovitsky Hill. In the XIV century, the wooden walls of the fortress were changed to stone ones, and Moscow received its second name - "white-stone" (White-Stoned City). The extant architectural ensemble of the Kremlin dates back to the 15th century. The total length of the walls, decorated with famous swallow-tailed battlements, exceeds two thousand meters, and the height reaches 20 meters. Twenty Kremlin towers have survived to the present day, including the highest one, the 80-meter Troitskaya Tower.

The oldest building in Moscow, the Cathedral of the Dormition, erected in 1479, is in the Kremlin. Here is also the Cathedral of the Archangel, which served as the burial vault of Moscow rulers. The Kremlin also holds the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation and the Palace of the Facets, which used to be the major great hall of the Grand Ducal Palace. Here also you can see the famous monuments: the Tsar Cannon weighing 40 tons and cast from bronze in the XVI century, and a 200-ton Tsar Bell of the XVIII century. The most famous building of the Kremlin is St. Basil's Cathedral. It is located outside the Kremlin Wall, next to the Spasskaya Tower. As legend has it, its architect Postnik Yakovlev was blinded in order that he could never build anything like this.

Moscow Kremlin: the Oldest Cathedrals and Unique Monuments

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