Moscow Kremlin

A fortified complex of red-brick walls, towers, palaces and cathedrals at the heart of Russian power.

For centuries the Kremlin was the home of Russia's grand princes and tsars, and later the seat of the Soviet government. Today it holds the official residence of the President of Russia, so the word "Kremlin" is often used to mean the Russian government itself. Its churches and the Armoury are museums open to visitors, and together with Red Square it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990.

History

People have lived on this hill above the river for more than 2,000 years. A wooden fort stood here in the 1100s; it was burned by Mongol armies in 1237 and rebuilt in oak. In 1366–1368 Prince Dmitry Donskoy replaced it with white limestone walls. The red-brick walls and towers we see today were built between 1485 and 1495 for Grand Prince Ivan III by architects invited from Renaissance Italy. In 1812 Napoleon's French army occupied the Kremlin and, when it retreated, tried to blow it up. Rain spoiled many of the fuses, so the damage was less than planned, and it was repaired a few years later.

Walls and towers

The walls form an uneven triangle about 2,235 metres long. Depending on the slope of the ground they are 5 to 19 metres high and up to 6.5 metres thick. There were first 18 towers, and two more were added in the 1600s, making 20. The tallest is the Trinity Tower, about 80 metres high. Most towers once had wooden roofs; the pointed brick roofs decorated with coloured tiles date from the 1680s. In the 1700s and 1800s the walls were often painted white, as was the fashion at the time.

What's inside

At the heart of the Kremlin is Cathedral Square, surrounded by golden-domed churches. The Cathedral of the Dormition, finished in 1479, is where Russia's tsars were crowned. Beside it rises the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, 81 metres tall, which for centuries was the tallest building in Moscow; it was said that no one was allowed to build higher. At its foot sits the Tsar Bell, about 6 metres tall, often called the biggest bell in the world. The Armoury museum displays the tsars' ceremonial clothes, jewelled Fabergé eggs and the huge Orlov Diamond.

On the globe

The model shows the Kremlin's red-brick walls and towers, with palaces and cathedrals inside, in the heart of Moscow. Zoom in to follow the triangle of walls and spot the pointed towers along them.