Borovitskaya tower. Moscow Kremlin. Borovitskaya (Predtechenskaya) tower

The Borovitskaya Tower is located in the southwest of the Moscow Kremlin. It offers a stunning view of the Stone Bridge. In turn, the tower can be admired from the side of the Alexander Garden.

History reference

The Borovitskaya tower of the Kremlin is the ninth in a row. It was built by Peter Fryazin in 1490. The height of the structure reaches 54 meters along with the star. The chronicle says that earlier on the site of the tower there was another building, which was called exactly the same.

In 1658, the tower was renamed Predtechenskaya - after the Church of the Nativity of the Forerunner. But soon it was returned to its former name. Initially, it arose due to the location of the tower - it stands on Borovitsky Hill.

According to another legend, craftsmen from Borovsk were engaged in its construction, so it is named after them. Another version - the tower is named after one of the seven hills on which Moscow stands - Borovitsky.

Appearance

The basis of the Borovitskaya tower of the Moscow Kremlin is formed by a quadrangle, the top of which is decorated with a wooden tent. In 1666-1680, the tent was removed and three more quarters were built on, each of which decreases upwards, an octahedron and a stone tent.

As a result, the tower received a peculiar stepped shape. On the side, a diversion archer and a passage gate were attached. The gate was equipped with an iron grate, and a drawbridge was thrown across the Neglinka.

In the eighteenth century, this landmark of Moscow was decorated with white stone details made in pseudo-Gothic style. During the war with the French in 1812, the tower was seriously damaged - as a result of an explosion, the top of the tent fell off it. The reconstruction was carried out in 1816-1819 under the direction of the architect Beauvais.

In 1848, the Borovitskaya tower became a church, and all pseudo-Gothic decorations were destroyed. Other decorative elements disappeared during renovations in the 1860s. A century later, white-stone decorations were restored, and a shield was installed above the gate, on which the coat of arms of Moscow was drawn. In 1935, a red star with the image of a hammer and sickle appeared on the tower. Two years later - a ruby ​​star. Another renovation took place in the summer of 2006.

Internal layout

In total, the Borovitskaya tower has five tiers. They are connected by a system of stairs built into the northern and eastern walls. The main quadrangle is covered with cylindrical vaults. From the first tier you can go to the basement - it is partially filled up, on the second there are elements of the decor of the former church.

The second quadrangle is covered with a closed vault and has window openings. Two more quarters, as well as an octagon and a tent are combined into one room.

Gate of the Borovitskaya Tower

The outlet shooter of the tower has a triangular shape and is connected to the basement of the main quadrangle. There are narrow openings above the gate, in which the chains of the drawbridge across the Neglinka used to be located. In the passage of the gate, you can see vertical grooves for a special drop grate. The Borovitsky Gates are considered the oldest in the Kremlin Palace. They preserved old images of coats of arms, the origin of which has not been established.

Borovitskaya metro station

The nearest metro station to the tower is Borovitskaya. The distance between them is about 450 meters. During the construction of the subway was found brick house almost in perfect condition. It was built in the sixteenth century, and it fell underground due to a sinkhole. Inside, all things and furniture have been preserved. The easiest way to get to the Borovitskaya Tower of the Kremlin is by metro. The main landmarks are Borovitskaya Square and Alexander Garden.

surrounding area

Near the Borovitskaya tower is the Armory - the museum of the Moscow Kremlin. The building was built in 1547 and used to be called the Great Treasury. Inside is the Diamond Fund, which contains unique metals and precious stones of historical value.

• In 1969, near the Borovitskaya tower on L.I. Brezhnev was assassinated.
• There is an opinion that under the gates of this attraction of the Kremlin there is an underground passage.
• The Borovitskaya tower is similar to another tower of the Kremlin - the Tatar queen Syuyumbike.
• The flag of a foreign state located next to the Borovitsky Gate indicates that the head of this state has arrived in the Kremlin.

Number of faces * 4 levels- tetrahedrons
* 1 level- octahedron
* Top- tent Tower height * With a star - 54.05 m
* Without a star - 50.7 m

Borovitskaya (Predtechenskaya) tower- one of the southwestern towers of the Moscow Kremlin. It goes to the Alexander Garden and Borovitskaya Square, located next to the Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge. The name of the tower, according to legend, comes from the ancient forest that once covered one of the seven hills on which Moscow stands.

History

Before the construction of the modern Borovitskaya tower, there was another one in its place, which had the same name. This is evidenced by a record about the construction in 1461 of the Church of John the Baptist "on the forest", where it was written that this church stood at the "Borovitsky gates".

The new Borovitskaya tower was built in 1490 by order of Ivan III by the Italian architect Pietro Antonio Solari, who arrived in Moscow from Milan. At the same time, Solari erected a wall from Borovitskaya to the corner Vodovzvodnaya tower.

In 1493, the tower was seriously damaged by fire.

By decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, on April 16, 1658, the Borovitskaya Tower was renamed the Predtechenskaya - after the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist in the Kremlin (dismantled in 1847), but this name did not take root.

Above the Borovitsky Gates in the icon case was the icon of St. John the Baptist. The clergy of the Church of St. Nicholas Streletsky, located on Borovitskaya Square, looked after the icon lamp. The temple was destroyed in 1932 during the construction of the Sokolnicheskaya subway line. The icon was also lost in Soviet times.

In the 18th century, the tower was repaired and decorated with white stone details in pseudo-Gothic style. When the French army led by Napoleon entered Moscow in 1812, many of Moscow's architectural monuments were damaged or destroyed by fires and explosions. So, they also blew up the Vodovzvodnaya tower adjacent to Borovitskaya. During the explosion, the top of the tent fell from the Borovitskaya tower.

In 1816-1819, the tower was repaired under the guidance of the architect O. I. Bove. Apparently, at the same time, a clock appeared on the tower, at least on the drawings that have survived from that time, the gate and the clock are indicated.

In 1848, after the destruction of the Church of the Nativity of the Forerunner near Bor, the tower was turned into a church. The throne was moved there from the church and the pseudo-Gothic decorations were destroyed. Many other decorative elements of the Borovitskaya Tower were destroyed during the next renovation in the 1860s.

In the 1970s, the white stone decorations were restored, and a shield with the coat of arms of Moscow was placed over the gate.

In the summer of 2006, the next repair work of the Borovitskaya Tower was carried out. During the week, government motorcades traveled through the Spassky Gates.

Internal layout

The tiers are connected with each other by stairs, which are located in the thickness of the eastern and northern walls. A spiral staircase in the southeast corner of the tower runs through the entire main quarter from the basement to the second quarter.

Arrow and gate

Write a review on the article "Borovitskaya Tower"

Notes

Literature

• Libson V. Ya., Domshlak M. I., Arenkova Yu. I. et al. Kremlin. China town. Central squares// Architectural monuments of Moscow. - M .: Art, 1983. - S. 309. - 504 p. - 25,000 copies.
• Zabelin I. History of the city of Moscow. - Moscow: Capital, 1990. - S. 605-616.
• Ivanov V.N. The Moscow Kremlin. - Moscow: Art, 1971. - S. 32-36.

Links

Administrative buildings and museums Monuments Squares and gardens Cathedrals and monasteries Attractions Notes: † - has not been preserved to this day; ≠ - was destroyed and rebuilt again; ± - Moved to another location.

An excerpt characterizing the Borovitskaya Tower

Although none of the column commanders drove up to the ranks and did not speak with the soldiers (the column commanders, as we saw at the military council, were out of sorts and dissatisfied with the work being undertaken, and therefore only carried out orders and did not care to amuse the soldiers), despite On top of that, the soldiers went merrily, as always, going into action, especially in the offensive. But, after passing through a dense fog for about an hour, most of the troops had to stop, and an unpleasant consciousness of disorder and confusion swept through the ranks. How this consciousness is transmitted is very difficult to determine; but what is certain is that it is conveyed with unusual fidelity and quickly overflows, imperceptibly and irresistibly, like water down a hollow. If the Russian army had been alone, without allies, then, perhaps, a long time would have passed before this consciousness of disorder would become a general confidence; but now, with particular pleasure and naturalness, attributing the cause of the disturbances to the stupid Germans, everyone was convinced that a harmful confusion was taking place, which the sausage workers had done.
- What have become then? Al blocked? Or did you stumble upon a Frenchman?
- No, don't hear it. And then he would start firing.
- Then they hurried to speak, but they spoke - they stood uselessly in the middle of the field - all the damned Germans confuse. Eki stupid devils!
- Then I would let them go ahead. And then, I suppose, they huddle behind. Now stop and don't eat.
- Yes, will it be there soon? The cavalry, they say, blocked the road, - said the officer.
“Oh, the damned Germans, they don’t know their land,” said another.
What division are you? shouted the adjutant as he drove up.
- Eighteenth.
"So why are you here?" you should have been ahead long ago, now you won’t get through until evening.
- These are stupid orders; they don’t know what they are doing,” the officer said and drove off.
Then a general drove by and angrily shouted something not in Russian.
“Tafa lafa, and what he mumbles, you can’t make out anything,” the soldier said, mimicking the general who had left. “I would have shot them, scoundrels!”
- At the ninth hour it was ordered to be on the spot, but we didn’t get even half. Here are the orders! – repeated from different sides.
And the feeling of energy with which the troops went into action began to turn into annoyance and anger at the stupid orders and at the Germans.
The reason for the confusion was that during the movement of the Austrian cavalry, marching on the left flank, the higher authorities found that our center was too far from the right flank, and all cavalry was ordered to move to right side. Several thousand cavalry advanced ahead of the infantry, and the infantry had to wait.
Ahead there was a clash between an Austrian column leader and a Russian general. The Russian general shouted, demanding that the cavalry be stopped; the Austrian argued that it was not he who was to blame, but the higher authorities. Meanwhile, the troops stood, bored and discouraged. After an hour's delay, the troops finally moved on and began to descend downhill. The mist that dispersed on the mountain only spread thicker in the lower parts, where the troops descended. Ahead, in the fog, one shot, another shot rang out, at first awkwardly at different intervals: draft ... tat, and then more and more smoothly and more often, and the affair began over the Goldbach River.
Not expecting to meet the enemy below over the river and accidentally stumbling upon him in the fog, not hearing a word of inspiration from the highest commanders, with the consciousness spreading through the troops that it was too late, and, most importantly, in thick fog not seeing anything ahead and around them, the Russians lazily and slowly exchanged fire with the enemy, moved forward and stopped again, not receiving orders from the commanders and adjutants during the time, who wandered through the fog in an unfamiliar area, not finding their troops. Thus began the case for the first, second and third columns, which went down. The fourth column, with which Kutuzov himself was, stood on the Pratsen Heights.
There was still thick fog downstairs, where the affair had begun, and it cleared up above, but nothing of what was going on ahead could be seen. Whether all the enemy forces were, as we assumed, ten miles away from us, or whether he was here, in this line of fog, no one knew until nine o'clock.
It was 9 o'clock in the morning. The fog spread like a solid sea along the bottom, but near the village of Shlapanitsa, at the height on which Napoleon stood, surrounded by his marshals, it was completely light. Above him was a clear, blue sky, and a huge ball of the sun, like a huge hollow crimson float, swayed on the surface of a milky sea of ​​fog. Not only all the French troops, but Napoleon himself with his headquarters were not on the other side of the streams and the lower villages of Sokolnits and Shlapanits, behind which we intended to take a position and start the business, but on this side, so close to our troops that Napoleon with a simple eye could in our army to distinguish horse from foot. Napoleon stood a little ahead of his marshals on a small gray Arabian horse, in a blue greatcoat, in the same one in which he made the Italian campaign. He silently peered into the hills, which seemed to emerge from a sea of ​​fog, and along which Russian troops were moving in the distance, and listened to the sounds of shooting in the hollow. At that time, his still thin face did not move a single muscle; shining eyes were fixed fixedly on one place. His guesses turned out to be correct. Part of the Russian troops had already descended into the hollow to the ponds and lakes, partly they were clearing those Pratsensky heights, which he intended to attack and considered the key to the position. In the midst of the fog, in the deepening made up by two mountains near the village of Prats, Russian columns were moving in the same direction towards the hollows, shining with bayonets, and one after another they were hiding in a sea of ​​fog. According to the information he had received in the evening, from the sounds of wheels and steps heard at night at outposts, from the disorderly movement of Russian columns, according to all assumptions, he clearly saw that the allies considered him far ahead of them, that the columns moving near Pratsen constituted the center of the Russian army, and that the center is already sufficiently weakened to successfully attack it. But he still hasn't started the business.
Today was a solemn day for him - the anniversary of his coronation. Before morning, he dozed off for several hours and healthy, cheerful, fresh, in that happy state of mind in which everything seems possible and everything succeeds, mounted a horse and rode into the field. He stood motionless, looking at the heights visible through the fog, and on his cold face there was that special shade of self-confident, well-deserved happiness that happens on the face of a boy in love and happy. The marshals stood behind him and did not dare to divert his attention. He looked now at the Pracen Heights, now at the sun emerging from the mist.
When the sun was completely out of the fog and splashed with a blinding brilliance over the fields and fog (as if he had only been waiting for this to start the business), he took off the glove from his beautiful, white hand, made a sign to the marshals with it and gave the order to start the business. The marshals, accompanied by adjutants, galloped in different directions, and after a few minutes the main forces of the French army quickly moved to those Pratsensky heights, which were more and more cleared by Russian troops descending to the left into the hollow.

At 8 o'clock Kutuzov rode on horseback to Prats, ahead of the 4th Miloradovichevsky column, the one that was supposed to take the place of the Przhebyshevsky and Lanzheron columns, which had already descended. He greeted the people of the front regiment and gave the order to move, showing by the fact that he himself intended to lead this column. Having left for the village of Prats, he stopped. Prince Andrei, among the huge number of persons who made up the retinue of the commander-in-chief, stood behind him. Prince Andrei felt agitated, irritated, and at the same time restrainedly calm, as a person is at the onset of a long-desired moment. He was firmly convinced that today was the day of his Toulon or his Arcole bridge. How it would happen, he did not know, but he was firmly convinced that it would be. The terrain and the position of our troops were known to him, as far as they could be known to anyone from our army. His own strategic plan, which, obviously, now there was nothing to think of to carry out, was forgotten by him. Now, already entering into Weyrother's plan, Prince Andrei pondered possible accidents and made new considerations, such that his quickness of thought and decisiveness might be required.
To the left below, in the fog, there was a skirmish between invisible troops. There, it seemed to Prince Andrei, the battle would be concentrated, an obstacle would be encountered there, and “there I will be sent,” he thought, “with a brigade or division, and there, with a banner in my hand, I will go forward and break everything that is in front of me” .
Prince Andrei could not look indifferently at the banners of the passing battalions. Looking at the banner, he kept thinking: maybe this is the same banner with which I will have to go ahead of the troops.
By morning the night mist left only hoarfrost on the heights, turning into dew, while in the hollows the mist spread like a milky white sea. Nothing could be seen in that hollow to the left, where our troops had descended and from where the sounds of shooting were coming. Above the heights was a dark, clear sky, and to the right a huge orb of the sun. Ahead, far away, on the other side of the foggy sea, one could see protruding wooded hills, on which the enemy army should have been, and something could be seen. To the right, the guards entered the region of fog, resounding with trampling and wheels, and occasionally shining with bayonets; to the left, behind the village, similar masses of cavalry approached and hid in a sea of ​​mist. Infantry moved in front and behind. The commander-in-chief stood at the exit of the village, letting the troops pass by. Kutuzov this morning seemed exhausted and irritable. The infantry marching past him stopped without orders, apparently because something ahead of them delayed them.
“Yes, tell me, finally, that they line up in battalion columns and go around the village,” Kutuzov angrily said to the general who had arrived. - How can you not understand, Your Excellency, my dear sir, that it is impossible to stretch along this defile of the village street when we are going against the enemy.
“I planned to line up behind the village, Your Excellency,” the general replied.
Kutuzov laughed bitterly.
- You will be good, deploying the front in the sight of the enemy, very good.
“The enemy is still far away, Your Excellency. By disposition...

The address: Moscow Kremlin, between Vodovzvodnaya and Armory towers
Date of construction: 1490
Tower height: with a star 54.05 m.
A ruby ​​star is mounted on the tower
Coordinates: 55°44"56.2"N 37°36"45.7"E

The Borovitskaya Tower is one of the southwestern towers adorning the wall of the Moscow Kremlin. The building is located next to three other attractions - Bolshoi Kamenny Bridge, a square called Borovitskaya and Alexander Garden.

According to the legend, the tower owes its name to the ancient forest that once covered the hill on which Moscow was built. But there is another version, which indicates that the tower received the name "Borovitskaya" from the builders of the Kremlin, who lived in the city of Borovsk.

View of the tower from St. Borovitskaya

The Borovitskaya Tower adorned Moscow in 1490, and the Italian architect named Solari, who arrived in the Russian capital city at the direction of Vasily III, was in charge of its construction. In the same year, the architect erected a wall connecting the Borovitskaya and Vodovzvodnaya (Sviblova) towers.

In 1658, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich decided to rename the tower into the Forerunner, since the Church of the Nativity of the Forerunner was located on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin. Later, the shrine was dismantled in preparation for the construction of the Armory, and the new name of the tower did not take root.

According to some historical data, before the construction modern design Borovitskaya tower, its place was occupied by another building with the same name. This fact became known from the record of 1461 about the construction of the church of I. Baptist "on the forest". The same historical document also proves the fact that the church is located in the neighborhood of the Boroviat Gates.

View of the Borovitsky Gate

For a long time, the icon of John the Baptist served as an adornment of the Borovitsky Gates. The fire in the lamp was maintained by the servants of the Streletsky temple, located on Borovitskaya Square. Unfortunately, in 1932 the temple building was destroyed during the planning of works related to the laying of the Sokolniki subway line, and the icon of the saint in the years Soviet power just got lost. Now its place is taken by hours.

By decision of the Soviet government, the Borovitskaya Tower was crowned with a 5-pointed star, the span of which is 3.2 m, and the star itself is 3.35 m high. These changes appearance the towers date back to 1935 of the last century - before that, the royal double-headed eagle served as its crown. A couple of years later, the star was replaced with a new one, which still serves as a decoration for one of the most beautiful towers in Moscow. And the Borovitsky Gates remained active gates, which cannot be said about the other gates of the Moscow Kremlin.

Architectural features of the Borovitskaya Tower

Initially, the basis of the Borovitskaya tower was a quadrangle, “headed” with a wooden tent. From 1666 to 1680, work was carried out to improve the structure.

From left to right: Armory tower, Borovitskaya tower

As a result, the wooden tent disappeared, and three more quadrangles appeared one after the other on the main quadrangle, decreasing upwards. The addition of the whole structure was an octagonal quadrangle and a tent made of stone. Thanks to the implementation of such an interesting architectural solution, the Borovitskaya Tower received a stepped shape resembling a pyramid. Also, on the side of the tower, the craftsmen erected a retractable archer and added a passage gate with an iron grate. A drawbridge was thrown across the Neglinnaya River, which flows near the Moscow Kremlin.

Some time later, the tower was reconstructed, and it was decorated with white stone elements in pseudo-Gothic style. Subsequently, the invasion of the French army, led by Napoleon Bonaparte, led to the fact that the best architectural monuments of the capital city were either damaged or completely destroyed due to numerous explosions or fires. The result of one of these explosions was the fall of the tent from the top of the Borovitskaya tower.

View of the tower from the Kremlin

However, from 1816 to 1819, both Borovitskaya and all other damaged towers were repaired (architect O.I. Bove supervised all the work). Historians believe that as the work was completed, the clock was added to the structure of the tower.. How reliable this fact is is unknown, since the opinion of historians is based only on drawings depicting gates and clocks that have survived from ancient times.

Somewhat later, already in 1848, the Church of the Nativity of the Forerunner was destroyed, and the Borovitskaya Tower was turned into one of the churches in Russia, equipping it with a throne, but destroying the pseudo-Gothic decorations. Most of the decorative elements suffered a similar fate - they were simply destroyed in 1860 during the planned repair work. But in the 1970s stone ornaments white color restored, and a shield with the coat of arms of Moscow was hung over the gate.

The internal layout of the Borovitskaya Tower is designed as follows: in the main 16.68-meter quadrangle there are two tiers covered with cylinder vaults. The first tier leads to a partially filled basement, and the second serves as a repository for the remains of the decor of an ancient church of the 19th century.

Another, 4.16-meter quadrangle is represented by a room with window formwork and a closed vault.

View of the tower from the Vodovzvodnaya tower

The last two quarters, the size of which was 3.47 and 4.16 meters, respectively, the builders combined with a closed vault, turning it into a single room, and provided for window stripping. The craftsmen combined a 18.07-meter tent with a 4.16-meter octagon, and narrow but long windows were cut through all the walls (rumors).

To move between the tiers, the northern and eastern sides of the Borovitskaya tower were equipped with stairs, and in the southeastern corner of the building a spiral staircase was installed, passing completely through the main quarter from the basement equipped in it and to the next quadrangle.

Decoration of the tower archer, gate and drawbridge

The triangular outlet archer is connected to the basement located in the main quadrangle. There are narrow openings above the passage gate, through which chains were previously passed to raise the bridge across the Neglinka River. If you look closely at the passage of the gate, you can also notice the vertical grooves necessary for the gate. According to connoisseurs of history, the Borovitsky Gates are the oldest of all the gates of the Moscow Kremlin.

If you approach them from the outside of the Kremlin, on the folds of the gates you can see coats of arms made of white stone - Moscow and Lithuania. To this day, historians do not give an exact answer to the question of when and why they appeared. Be that as it may, the two coats of arms became the decoration of the retractable archer, which harmoniously complemented the Borovitskaya tower in its time. Of course, the coats of arms could have been taken from another ancient building, which was undergoing reconstruction in the same years. But they appeared on the Borovitskaya Tower for a reason, because the coats of arms carry a certain dialectical meaning, conveying a message to descendants from the depths of antiquity.

As for the design of the drawbridge, it was made of stone and resembled an arch in shape. In 1510, the bed of the Neglinnaya River, characterized by swampy and swampy banks, was straightened and brought closer to the wall of the Moscow Kremlin. And they did this by breaking through the Borovitskaya Tower - Vodovzvodnaya Tower - Moscow River canal. Thus, a certain section of the Kremlin became more protected militarily, and the construction of a drawbridge became a necessity. Himself lifting mechanism located on the 2nd tier of the Borovitskaya tower.

The Kremlin once arose at the very base of Borovitsky Hill. This is where the tower now stands, built in 1490 by Peter Antonio Solario. Before that, there was an old exit from the Kremlin and the closest approach from the fortress wall to the river.

In just one summer, a white-stone Kremlin grew up on Borovitsky Hill, on the site of which, a hundred years later, the construction of the very walls that can be seen today in modern Moscow began.

The Kremlin's Borovitskaya Tower, once considered the "rear gate", is today the main route through which the president usually enters the Kremlin. If the flag of any state flutters on the building at the Borovitsky gates, this indicates that its president is located here.

Kremlin towers

All the towers and walls that currently exist in the Kremlin were built from 1485 to 1495 in the place where the dilapidated old white stone walls, built by Dmitry Donskoy, stood.

In those days, they were the most powerful fortifications, designed taking into account the latest achievements of military technology of the 15th century at that time. Now, the towers and walls of the Kremlin, first of all, are an invaluable architectural and historical monument of the Russian state.

All the towers are interconnected by rather high walls, forming an irregular triangle in the perimeter. The entire territory covers an area of ​​28 hectares. When designing, the architects took into account that the soldiers from the fortress walls could fire not only on the part of the terrain that opens up to their eyes, but also so that they could control the situation along the Kremlin walls. In this regard, the towers protrude slightly beyond the line of the walls.

In those days, the towers were crowned with wooden tents, on which watchtowers were built. Some of them were equipped with bells (alarms or flashes). Watchmen called for them during threats real danger for the Kremlin.

In addition, clocks were installed on the towers of the main towers (Troitskaya and Spasskaya). They are on the Borovitskaya Tower now.

Location of the Borovitskaya Tower, surrounding area

The tower is located in the southwestern part of the Moscow Kremlin. The tower itself, which offers an amazing view of the Stone Bridge, is clearly visible from the side of the famous Alexander Garden.

Next to it is the most famous museum - the Armory. Its building was built in 1547 and used to be called the Big Treasury. The Diamond Fund located inside it contains a variety of precious stones and unique metals of great historical value.

The tower is located near the Moscow metro station of the same name, the distance to which is approximately 450 meters.

One interesting fact should be noted. During the construction of the metro, a house in perfect condition was found on this site. The brick structure, built in the 16th century, is well preserved with its interior utensils and furniture. It turned out to be underground after a failure of the soil.

Borovitskaya tower: photo, description

Without the star, the height of the tower is 50.7 meters (the star is 2.3 meters). The building was designed by the Italian architect Pietro Antonio Solari in 1490. These were the reign of Vasily III.

It is believed that this tower has a twin sister - the famous tower of Queen Syuyumbike, located in the Kazan Kremlin.

Unlike 2 other towers, Borovitskaya was used only for household needs, for travel to the Konyushenny and Zhitny yards, located on the site of the Tainitsky garden.

The Borovitsky Gates in the Kremlin Palace are the oldest. Until now, images of coats of arms have been preserved on them, the origin of which has not yet been established.

Narrow openings can be seen above the gate. Previously, they had chains of a drawbridge that spanned the Neglinka.

Interior setting

The Borovitskaya tower of the Moscow Kremlin has only 5 tiers, interconnected by a system of stairs that are built into the eastern and northern walls.

The main quadrangle is covered with vaults having a cylindrical shape. The second one, which has strippings for windows, is covered with a closed vault. Two other quarters, an octagon and a tent are connected to one room.

From the first tier there is a passage to the basement, which is partially covered. The second tier has the remains of decor elements of the former church.

About the name

The Borovitskaya Tower got its name from the hill of the same name, which, in turn, was named after the forest (dense forest) that covered the entire Kremlin hill.

This name did not change even after the tsar's decree (XVII century) on renaming it into Predtechenskaya due to its location near the temple built in honor of the Nativity of I. the Forerunner.

There is one legend that the tower got its name due to the fact that the residents of Borovsk built the white-stone Kremlin under Dmitry Donskoy.

Something from history

The Borovitskaya tower of the Moscow Kremlin is the ninth in a row. Its construction in 1490 was carried out by Peter Fryazin. The chronicles say that the building, which used to be located on this site, was called the same.

A long time ago, an icon of St. John the Baptist, but during the Soviet era it disappeared. Today there is a clock at this place.

The Borovitskaya tower, like many Kremlin buildings, was blown up in 1812 during the retreat of the French troops. However, it was soon restored by Osip Bove.

Until the 1820s, there was a bridge connecting the banks of the Neglinka near the tower itself. It was dismantled during the construction and improvement of the Alexander Garden, and the river was enclosed in a pipe.

There is one amazing secret of the city of Moscow, connected specifically with the Borovitskaya Tower. This is Ivan the Terrible's library - the mythical Liberia, once located inside the Kremlin. It is mentioned in many chronicles, as well as in the stories of numerous travelers. Presumably, the library was kept in the Annunciation Cathedral (in the basement) among numerous treasures. And yet, to this day, there were no precious folios there. Maybe she is hidden in an unknown secret dungeon. Not just because there are rumors about some secret passage located under the building. The Borovitskaya tower hides many mysteries.

More about the mystery of Liberia

It began at the end of the 15th century, when Sophia Palaiologos (princess of Byzantium) as a dowry to her husband Ivan III brought a lot of works by Byzantine and ancient Greek scientists and philosophers (Zarathustra, Aristotle, Cicero), papyrus books saved during a fire in the library of A. Macedonian.

Feeding no less passion for books (his love is also known for precious stones), Ivan IV continued to collect this library. He valued Liberia very much, so he ordered Feorovanti (Italian), a specialist in dungeons and caches, to create underground catacombs in the Kremlin. He performed his service so responsibly that a legend arose according to which the library of Ivan the Terrible should not be discovered for 8 centuries.

Conclusion

The Borovitskaya Tower is the most likely hiding place. There is another version that the library is not fiction. One of the boyars locked up in the Kremlin during the Polish intervention, said that all the books were lost due to terrible famine during a long siege. Then the boyars ate all living things (birds, dogs and cats), and also parchments found in one of the basements were assimilated into food with sheep fat.

The search for Ivan the Terrible's library continues to this day.

The Kremlin is the heart of Moscow, the capital of Russia. It covers an area of ​​almost 28 hectares. The basis for its buildings was Borovitsky Hill, located at the confluence of the Neglinnaya River and the Moscow River. The Borovitskaya Tower is located in the southwestern direction. She looks at Borovitskaya Square and the Alexander Garden. This gate has long been the most popular Kremlin attraction.

Borovitsky Gate are the oldest in the Kremlin. They argued for a long time with the Spassky Gates about their significance, but it was the Borovitsky Gates that won this kind of championship. It is through them that the head of the head enters the Kremlin. Russian Federation and the most honored guests of the state. but simple people and tourists can also get inside through them if their path lies as part of excursion groups to inspect the Armory. During their renovation, the doors of the Spasskaya Tower are opened for passage to the Kremlin. For several decades, the passage in the Borovitskaya Tower has been the main entrance to the territory of the residence of the head of Russia.

They are inextricably linked with a number of events that have gone into the past, strange incidents and myths. During the restoration, emblems of the Muscovite and Lithuanian state were found on the gate leaves. Most likely, they appeared at the same time, but when and with what it was connected, historians still find it difficult to say exactly. Near the Borovitsky Gate in 1969 there was an assassination attempt on the leader of the USSR of that period, L.I. Brezhnev.

Rumor has it that there is a special underground passage under the passage, designed for emergency evacuation of the main persons of the country in case of an attack on the Kremlin. It is above the Borovitskaya tower that the banners of foreign states periodically flutter. This informs about the guest from which state is visiting the Kremlin.

You can walk to the gate from the metro. After exiting the Borovitskaya metro station, you need to turn right, walk along Makhovaya until it intersects with Znamenka, then turn left and from there you can easily reach the Borovitsky passage. From the metro station "Aleksandrovsky Sad" you need to go along the pedestrian crossing directly to the garden, then turn right and go out to the doors of the Borovitskaya Tower.

It is believed that the Borovitsky Gate and the tower are named after the nearby coniferous forest (pine forest). Other researchers believe that the passage and the tower owe their name to the participation in their construction of the inhabitants of the city of Borovsk from the neighboring Kaluga province. The doors are at the closest distance from the Neglinnaya River. When they were erected, for a long time, passage and passage were made through them to the Kremlin courtyards engaged in economic activities.

Trinity gates of the Kremlin

Tourists can get behind the fortress walls through two entrances: through Borovitsky or through Trinity Gate.

These are the most visited places by tourists. They were built in the 16th century, and the tower of the same name towering above them was erected earlier, in 1495-1499. The name of the gate was given by order of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov. During his reign, they underwent restoration. Chimes and an icon were installed on the wall looking inside the Kremlin Holy Trinity. Unfortunately, the icon no longer exists. From time to time it collapsed, and in its place only the ornament that once surrounded it remained.

In ancient times, the pass of the townsfolk and commoners in order to communicate with the royal family passed through the Trinity Gate. In the 16-17 centuries, a prison was equipped in the tower. Since the 17th century, the coat of arms has risen on the endgame of the Trinity Gate Russian Empire: as it turned out during dismantling, the oldest coat of arms in the entire fortress in the center of the capital. During the years of Soviet power, it was replaced by a gilded star. The gates are located between the largest (Troitskaya) and the smallest (Kutafya) towers of the Kremlin.

In general, the Moscow fortress has 20 tall engineering structures in the form of towers. All of them have a square section and only 3 of them, which are located at the corners of the triangle, are round in section:

• Moskvoretskaya (or Beklimishevskaya);
• Vodovzvodnaya;
• Corner Arsenal.

None of the towers are alike. Only the Nikolskaya Tower was built in pseudo-Gothic style. Perhaps this is the whole grace and charm of the most beautiful building in Russia.

Being in the capital, you can get to the Kremlin by metro. To get to the Alexander Garden, you need to get to one of the stations of the Moscow subway:

• "Alexander Garden";
• "Borovitskaya";
• "Arbatskaya";
• "Lenin's Library".

In another way, you need to get to the metro stations "Teatralnaya" or "Okhotny Ryad" and from there go straight through the Alexander Garden, towards the Kutafya Tower.

Every resident of Russia or a foreign tourist simply needs to see with his own eyes the beauty of the Kremlin and visit the world-famous Red Square. It is here that the power of the Russian state is strongly felt.

Video

This informative video will tell you about the Trinity Gates of the Kremlin.

Didn't get an answer to your question? Suggest a topic to the authors.