Russia 16-Kremlin
July 18-21, 2008
The Kremlin is a self contained city. Inside its red wall are a multitude of palaces, armories, and churches. It is a medieval fortress that today houses Russia government houses. The Armory is headquarters of the Kremlin Guard. A group marched past as we entered. The State Palace uses its 6000 seat hall to host theater, music and dance performances. The Senate building was commissioned by Catherine the Great and is today used as the Presidential residence; when the flag is up he is home. The 40-ton Tsar Cannon is the largest in the world capable of projecting wine casket size balls; it was never used however. The 200-ton Tsar Bell was never completed and never rung, but is the largest in the world. If one thinks of Russia as a traditional matryoska doll, with Moscow contained within the country and the Kremlin similarly nested inside Moscow, then Cathedral Square is the final solid figure contained within the Kremlin; it was Russia's first great public space. Dominating not only Cathedral Square but the entire Kremlin is the gleaming gilt dome of the Ivan the Great Belltower, long the tallest structure in all of Russia. Assumption Cathedral is the oldest, largest, and most important of the Kremlin's many churches. The Cathedral of the Archangel Michael is the most Italian of the Kremlin's churches, the last of Ivan the Great's contributions to Cathedral Square, is the burial place of the early Tsars and their predecessors, the princes of Moscow. The golden-domed Cathedral of the Annunciation served as the private chapel of the Tsars. Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles and The Patriarch's Palace are in fact a continuous structure, together constituting the Kremlin domain of the patriarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Terem, Faceted, and Great Kremlin PalacesNone of the three great palaces of the Kremlin are open to visitors;it is said that the palaces possess extraordinary interior decorations belied by their rather unremarkable exteriors, but who knows if no one can go inside. We walked around and looked over the red walls to the Moscow River far below. Never enough time...We walked back through the archway.
The Kremlin is a self contained city. Inside its red wall are a multitude of palaces, armories, and churches. It is a medieval fortress that today houses Russia government houses. The Armory is headquarters of the Kremlin Guard. A group marched past as we entered. The State Palace uses its 6000 seat hall to host theater, music and dance performances. The Senate building was commissioned by Catherine the Great and is today used as the Presidential residence; when the flag is up he is home. The 40-ton Tsar Cannon is the largest in the world capable of projecting wine casket size balls; it was never used however. The 200-ton Tsar Bell was never completed and never rung, but is the largest in the world. If one thinks of Russia as a traditional matryoska doll, with Moscow contained within the country and the Kremlin similarly nested inside Moscow, then Cathedral Square is the final solid figure contained within the Kremlin; it was Russia's first great public space. Dominating not only Cathedral Square but the entire Kremlin is the gleaming gilt dome of the Ivan the Great Belltower, long the tallest structure in all of Russia. Assumption Cathedral is the oldest, largest, and most important of the Kremlin's many churches. The Cathedral of the Archangel Michael is the most Italian of the Kremlin's churches, the last of Ivan the Great's contributions to Cathedral Square, is the burial place of the early Tsars and their predecessors, the princes of Moscow. The golden-domed Cathedral of the Annunciation served as the private chapel of the Tsars. Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles and The Patriarch's Palace are in fact a continuous structure, together constituting the Kremlin domain of the patriarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Terem, Faceted, and Great Kremlin PalacesNone of the three great palaces of the Kremlin are open to visitors;it is said that the palaces possess extraordinary interior decorations belied by their rather unremarkable exteriors, but who knows if no one can go inside. We walked around and looked over the red walls to the Moscow River far below. Never enough time...We walked back through the archway.
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