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The most famous clock is, of course, the chimes on the Kremlin's Spasskaya Tower. The whole country sees them at least once a year, even on a TV screen. On each of the four sides of the tower there is a dial, the diameter of which is 6 m 12 cm, the height of the numbers is 72 cm, the length of the hour hand is 2 m 97 cm, the length of the hour hand is 3 m 27 cm. The one and a half meter pendulum weighs 32 kg. Nine bells are chimed every quarter of an hour and one bell every hour. They occupy the last three (8th, 9th and 10th) floors of the Spasskaya Tower. The first clock at the court of Prince Vasily Dmitrievich appeared at the beginning of the 15th century, when there was no Spasskaya Tower. And the tower clock was made already in the 16th century. At the beginning of the 17th century, they were sold to the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery in Yaroslavl, and the English watchmaker Christopher Golovey was invited to make new ones in the capital. For two years he worked on the creation of a tower clock with a mechanism and 13 bells. However, they did not last long and in

In 1626 they burned down in a fire, and Golovey had to make others. This watch was a huge rotating dial, divided into 17 parts. He was knocked out of planks and painted with blue paint; bright tin stars were reinforced across the field. In the upper part of the dial, the moon and the sun were painted in gold, the ray of which served as a stationary hour hand. Hour divisions were designated by letters of the Slavic alphabet. The clock began to strike when the first ray of the sun fell on the Spasskaya Tower. Twice a day, when the sun crossed the horizon, the watchmaker climbed the tower and manually turned the dial to the starting point. Under Peter I, the watch was replaced with a more familiar to modern man - with a round dial, they were brought from Holland on 30 carts. Then the clock was changed several times, and already in 1851-1852, the watchmakers, the Butenop brothers, installed the ones that we see. The chimes played two melodies - "If our Lord is glorious in Zion" at noon and "Transfiguration march" at midnight.

On November 2, 1917, an artillery shell hit the watch and disabled it. The restoration was completed almost a year later. The chimes began to play the melody of the "Internationale" and "You fell a victim in a fatal struggle ...". In 1935, it was decided to get rid of music altogether and the unique musical mechanism was partially dismantled. When in 1974 the clock was stopped for 100 days to carry out restoration, the musical mechanism was not touched, and in 1991 the Plenum of the Central Committee decided to make the clock "singing" again. Then it turned out that three bells were not enough to sing the USSR anthem. They returned to this issue only in 1995. They did not add new bells, replacing them with metal beaters. After 58 years of silence, the chimes began to play again. At noon and midnight, six in the morning and six in the evening, the chimes began to perform Glinka's Patriotic Song, each time at 03:00, 09:00, 15:00, 21:00 - the melody "Glory" from Glinka's opera Ivan Susanin. The last major restoration was carried out in 1999: the arrows and numbers were gilded, the historical appearance of the upper tiers was restored, and the battle was adjusted. Instead of "Patriotic Song", the Kremlin chimes began to sing the national anthem of the Russian Federation. Now in the lower floors of the tower there is a double chime, connected with the mechanism of the tower clock, the progress of which is tirelessly monitored by specialists and sensitive equipment. The slightest deviation from synchronicity in the work of the original and the copy - and a signal is received about the need for repair work. By the way, the Kremlin chimes are one of the two remaining clocks in Moscow, the hands of which are manually translated. (The second ones are located on the tower of the Kievsky railway station.) When the clock had to be set twice a year, in order not to disturb the ancient mechanism once again, the hands were turned only once, and the second was simply stopped for an hour and then started again.

Beautiful

The clock on the tower of the Kazan station was the brainchild of the architect Alexei Shchusev. He personally developed their design and, having insisted on installing a striking clock, even ordered a corresponding bell in advance. The architect also drew the zodiac signs for the large blue dial with his own hand. In St. Petersburg, these sketches were used to make overhead bronze signs. Unfortunately, he did not succeed in completing his plans: in 1917, all work was suspended. The clock went off only in 1923 and caused a lot of talk among Muscovites: some liked the unusual design, others considered it unsuitable for the station and for the Soviet way of life in general. In the fall of 1941, a bell fell from the station tower because of the explosion of a high-explosive bomb. He returned to the place after 30 years, but at the beginning of the XXI century, the station management decided to turn off the bell ringing, which was almost inaudible due to the noise of the street. In 1996, the watch was restored with the help of industrial climbers (the dial cannot be removed). Their error is, on average, plus or minus two minutes a week, so once a week mechanics climb the tower, lubricate numerous gears with machine oil and bring up the arrows.

The design of the clock at the Kazan station was developed by the architect Shchusev. Photo: Irina Afonskaya / TASS

Sunny and mysterious

There are several hours of sunshine in the capital - in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Kadashi, at house number 15 on Nikolskaya Street, on the wall of the Lopukhinsky Chambers of the Novodevichy Convent, at house number 3 in Hospital Lane, at house number 12a along Malaya Lubyanka, on the Cosmonauts Avenue at VDNKh ... But the most interesting are those that were at the so-called Bryusov house (2 Spartakovskaya st.). All that remained of them was a stone board - a trapezoid. They say that before wars and revolutions, she blushes. There is a legend that Count Musin-Pushkin ordered a sundial with wonderful properties, known in Moscow to Yakov Vilimovich Bruce, a sorcerer and warlock. In addition to time, they had to indicate the location of the treasures and predict the future of their master. On the finished clock, astrological symbols, magic formulas and other mysterious signs were placed around a rod sticking out of the wall. However, the earl died, and the heirs did not want to pay for the work, and then Bruce cursed the clock, ordering them to continue to show only bad events.

Although the word chimes is quite generally recognized and denotes a type of tower or large room clock with bells that play a certain melody every hour, playing it in a different quarter every 15 minutes, but for every Russian, there is only one chime in the world - the Moscow Kremlin Chimes.

Everyone knows that the Kremlin chimes are the main clock of the country. But not many people know that today's chimes are the fourth in a row, which were installed on the Spasskaya Tower. It is not known for certain when the first ones appeared. The first record that has survived to this day, indicating the presence of a clock on the tower, dates back to 1585. It is also not known for sure whether these were really the first watches, but it is from them that the modern report is being conducted.

The first and second hours were not 12, but 17 hours, indicating the maximum duration of daylight hours in summer. The first "correct" clock appeared on the Spasskaya Tower only in 1705 by the decree of Peter I. Peter's Kremlin chimes were not of very high quality, although they were bought in Holland. They often broke down, and a whole staff of watchmakers was kept to maintain them, the bulk of which were foreigners. After the capital moved to the newly built St. Petersburg, the authorities' interest in the Kremlin chimes disappeared altogether. Hours were served "slipshod". In 1770, the chimes even began to play an Austrian folk song just because the chime watchmaker acting at that time, a German by birth, so wanted. And the authorities did not pay attention to this for almost a year.

The clock was badly damaged when the French were in Moscow in 1812. After their expulsion, the clock was restored many times, but not for long. In 1852, the chimes appeared on the Spasskaya Tower, which we see today. This time the watch was made in Russia, but under the guidance of the Butenop brothers, they were Danes.

The clock was constantly reconstructed with the development of progress in one or another area of ​​mechanics, materials science and other sciences. But even more often the melodies played by the chimes changed. The coronation of the new sovereign, and subsequently the tumultuous events of 17, the changeable Soviet period, more than once changed the music played by the bells of the Spasskaya Tower. Today the clock plays two melodies - the Anthem of Russia at 6 and 12 o'clock, and Glory from the opera A Life for the Tsar at 3 and 9 o'clock. The rest of the time there is a typical chime and a regular battle. Until 1937, the clock was wound manually twice a day, and then the process was mechanized by installing as many as three electric motors for the factory.

Today the Kremlin chimes are one of the symbols of Russia, which, as in the old days, measure the course of the country's history.

The symbol of the Russian capital, the Moscow Kremlin is an incredibly interesting and beautiful ancient fortress. Once erected to protect against enemies, today it has become the most recognizable symbol not only of Moscow, but of the whole of Russia. In some cities, beautiful kremlins have also survived, but only the one located in the capital is always written with a capital letter, because it is unique.

1. It is he who is the oldest building in Moscow.
2. The thickness of the walls of the Moscow Kremlin in some places reaches 6.5 meters, and the height is 19 meters. At one time, he was completely unapproachable.
3. The Kremlin that we see now was built in the 15th century on the basis of the old, white stone, by order of Ivan III the Great (see).
4. The walls of the Moscow Kremlin are crowned with 20 towers, of which only three are round. The rest are rectangular.
5. Red stars were installed on the Kremlin towers only in the 30s of the XX century.
6. Long before the Kremlin, at first a wooden Kremlin, built by Yuri Dolgoruky, stood in its place. Then he was replaced by a white stone by the order of Dmitry Donskoy. Hence the nickname of Moscow - "white stone" (see).
7. In Russian cities, about 20 kremlin have survived, interesting and remarkable in their own way, but the Moscow one is the most ancient among them.
8. The Assumption Cathedral is located in the very center of the Moscow Kremlin, and all the towers are at the same distance from it.
9. There are numerous underground passages and shelters under the Kremlin walls.
10. At one time the Kremlin was a real island. Ditches were dug around it and connected to the river. True, later the ditches were filled up, as this created a number of inconveniences.
11. In the 20th century, during the era of the USSR, 28 churches and monasteries located on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin were destroyed.
12. During World War II, the Kremlin was camouflaged with paints, plywood and mesh to protect it from possible airstrikes. However, during the fighting, 165 bombs fell on it, which damaged some buildings and destroyed the Arsenal.
13. According to experts, the cost of the Moscow Kremlin is about $ 50 billion, comparable to the cost of the entire island of Manhattan, the most prestigious part of New York (see).
14. In the 18th century, unique hanging gardens were located on the Kremlin territory, in which exotic overseas fruits and flowers were grown.
15. The two Kremlin towers did not receive names, so the names First and Second Nameless, respectively, were assigned to them.
16. The chimes located on the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin always show perfectly accurate time, because they are directly connected to the control clock of the Astronomical Institute.
17. The Moscow Kremlin is the largest fortress in all of Europe. There is nothing in any European city comparable to it in scale.
18. During the war of 1812, when Moscow was left to the French, Napoleon Bonaparte ordered the Kremlin to be blown up. Some of the shells did not work, but three towers were completely destroyed, and many buildings were damaged (see).
19. Each of the stars crowning the Kremlin towers weighs over a ton.
20. The Moscow Kremlin was red when built, but during the 17th century it was painted white.
21. Before the red stars were placed on the Kremlin towers, they were decorated with double-headed eagles.
22. The Kremlin stars are not motionless. Under the influence of the hurricane wind, they turn sideways to avoid damage.
23. In the middle of the 20th century, townspeople lived in the Kremlin, but in 1955 a law was passed prohibiting it, and the last tenants were evicted from there in 1962.
24. According to legend, somewhere in the Kremlin dungeons the lost library of Ivan the Terrible is hidden (see).
25. The length of the walls of the Moscow Kremlin reaches 2.5 kilometers.

Interesting facts about the Moscow Kremlin will tell the secrets and history of this building. The Kremlin is the oldest part of Moscow and the main building of history, culture and politics. At the moment, the Moscow Kremlin is the official residence of the Russian president. What is interesting and remarkable about this building?

1. Previously, the place where the Kremlin is now built was called Borovitsky Hill... Archaeologists have found settlements of people who lived at that time. The finds date back to the 2nd century BC. All this testifies to the fact that the place of the Moscow Kremlin was previously the center of people's life. During paganism Borovitsky Kholm was - Witch's Mountain. They worshiped the gods, performed various rituals.
2. These buildings contain more secrets than many people think. In addition to the main structure, which everyone can see, there is also a dungeon.... Experienced archaeologists are conducting research into the Kremlin's secret passages. Interestingly, the underground labyrinths of the Kremlin and the Garden Ring are interconnected. Archaeologists have discovered an entire underground capital. From the underground of the Kremlin, you can get to the Sparrow Hills.
3. Hanging gardens were located on the territory of the Kremlin in the 17th century... There were two large gardens and a few smaller ones. They grew fruits, nuts, and was a real reservoir. The gardens were supplied with water from a water tower.
4. Now everyone sees the Kremlin in red... Initially, when it was first built, it was also red. However, in the 17th century it was made white. One playwright described the Kremlin in these words: "The white paint hiding the cracks gives the Kremlin a youthful appearance that erases its past." During World War II, a proposal was made to repaint the Kremlin to disguise it. The walls of houses, holes in windows were painted on it. Well, it was returned to the red color after the end of the war.
5. Today the Moscow Kremlin occupies a leading position among the fortresses of Russia... It is considered the largest, and not only in Russia, but also in Europe.
6. The exact time is always on the Kremlin chimes... The answer to this question lies underground. The cable from the chimes is connected to the control clock at the Moscow Institute of Astronomy.
7. The Kremlin was originally decorated with two-headed eagles... But in 1935 they were replaced by ruby ​​stars.
8. The weight of one star is a ton... They are able to withstand high winds and hurricanes. When there are windy days in Moscow, the stars rotate, changing their position, turning sideways to the wind.
9. The Alhill Group assessed the Kremlin, its price was $ 50 billion.
10. In the days of the tsars, anyone could visit the Kremlin... Also, tickets were issued to visit the Kremlin palaces.
11. Now the Kremlin is the center of Moscow, a secure facility... Interestingly, Muscovites lived there until the middle of the last century. In 1955, a law was passed banning residence in the Kremlin. The last residents of the Kremlin left it in 1962.
12. The Museum of Applied Arts was opened in 1955, everyone could visit it... Another grandiose building on the territory of the Kremlin is the Palace of Congresses. But he is not taken seriously, they say, against the background of other buildings, he is like a "glass".
13. Like all ancient buildings, the Kremlin is full of secrets... Basically, all the secrets and mysteries are associated with the dungeon. There is no exact map of the dungeon, it is lost. Archaeologists have not been able to study many corridors until our time. In the underground, there was a library of Ivan the Terrible. However, many books and documents were never found. There is an opinion that it simply burned down, or it is hidden in one of the unexplored corridors.
14. When Napoleon Bonaparte attacked Russia, the Kremlin suffered enormous damage... The French invaders were looking for values, they plundered churches and burial sites. And when Napoleon retreated, he partially blew up the walls and towers. The Kremlin was restored only in the 18th century. The October Revolution also brought destruction. The Kremlin was bombarded.
15. There are 20 completely different towers in the Kremlin... Each of them has its own story, name. They are rebuilt in the same style, of which the Nikolskaya Tower stands out. It is made in the Gothic style.

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1. Taynitskaya tower

The first tower, which was laid during the construction of the Kremlin, was Taynitskaya. The Taynitskaya Tower is so named because a secret underground passage led from it to the river. It was intended so that it was possible to take water in case the fortress was besieged by enemies. The height of the Taynitskaya Tower is 38.4 m.

2. Vodovzvodnaya tower

Vodovzvodnaya tower - so named because of the car that was here once. She raised water from a well, arranged at the very top of the tower, into a large tank. From there, water flowed through lead pipes to the royal palace in the Kremlin. The height of the Vodovzvodnaya tower with a star is 61.45 m.

3. Borovitskaya tower

At the Vodovzvodnaya Tower, the Kremlin wall turns from the river. There is another tower on the corner - Borovitskaya. This tower stands near Borovitsky Hill, on which a pine forest grew long ago. From him came her name. The height of the tower with a star is 54.05 m.

4. Armory tower

Once upon a time there were ancient weapons workshops next to it. They also made precious dishes and jewelry. The ancient workshops gave the name not only to the tower, but also to the remarkable museum located next to the Kremlin wall - the Armory. Here are collected many Kremlin treasures and just very ancient things. The height of the Armory Tower is 32.65 m.

5. Kutafya and Trinity Towers

If we go a little further along the walls of the Kremlin, we will see the Trinity Bridge. It was thrown across the Neglinnaya River many centuries ago, even before it was hidden under the ground. Troitsky Bridge leads to the gates of one of the highest Kremlin towers - Troitskaya.

6. Kutafya Tower.

In the old days, this was the name for an awkwardly dressed woman. The tower was decorated already in the seventeenth century. Before that, Kutafya was very austere, with drawbridges at the side gates and hinged loopholes. She guarded the entrance to the Troitsky Bridge. The height of the Trinity Tower with a star is 80 m. This is the tallest tower in the Moscow Kremlin. The Kutafya Tower is only 13.5 m high. It is the lowest tower in the Kremlin.

7. Corner Arsenal Tower

From a distance, it seems round, but if you get closer, it turns out to be not at all like that, because it has 16 sides. This is the corner Arsenal tower. Once she was called Sobakina, by the name of a person who lived nearby. But in the 18th century, the Arsenal building was erected next to it, and the tower was renamed. There is a well in the dungeon of the corner Arsenal Tower. It is over 500 years old. It is filled from an ancient source and therefore it always has clean and fresh water. Previously, there was an underground passage from the Arsenal Tower to the Neglinnaya River. The height of the tower is 60.2 m.

8. Medium Arsenal Tower

It was built in 1493-1495. After the construction of the Arsenal building, the tower got its name. A grotto was erected near the tower in 1812 - one of the attractions of the Alexander Garden. The height of the tower is 38.9 m.

9. Alarm tower

Once upon a time, sentinels were constantly on duty here. From a height, they vigilantly watched - whether the enemy army was marching towards the city. And if danger was approaching, the sentinels had to warn everyone, ring the alarm bell. Because of him, the tower was named Nabatnaya. The height of the Nabatnaya Tower is 38 m.

10. Tsar's tower

It is not at all like other Kremlin towers. There are 4 columns right on the wall, with a peaked roof on them. There are no strong walls or narrow loopholes. But she doesn't need them. Because the tower was not built for defense. According to legend, Tsar Ivan the Terrible loved to look at his city from this place. Later, the smallest tower of the Kremlin was built here and named it Tsarskaya. Its height is 16.7 m.

11. Konstantino-Eleninskaya tower

It was built in 1490 and was used for the passage of the population and troops to the Kremlin. Earlier, when the Kremlin was white-stone, another tower stood on this place. It was through her that Dmitry Donskoy traveled with an army to the Kulikovo field. The new tower was built for the reason that there were no natural barriers on its side, not near the Kremlin. It was equipped with a drawbridge, a powerful diverter arrow and a passage gate, which after, in the 18th and early 19th centuries. were disassembled. The tower got its name from the church of Constantine and Helena, which stood in the Kremlin. The height of the tower is 36.8 m.

12. Senate Tower

At first, the Senate Tower did not have a name, and received it only after the construction of the Senate building. After which they began to call her the Senate. The tower was built in 1491, its height is 34.3 m.

13. Nikolskaya tower

It was built in 1491. architect Pietro Antonio Solari to strengthen the north-eastern part of the Kremlin, not protected by natural barriers. There was a gate in it, it had a diverter arrow with a drawbridge. The name of the Nikolskaya Tower comes from the name of the icon of St. Nicholas, installed above the gates of her barbican. The height of the tower with a star is 70.4 m.

14. Petrovskaya tower

The Petrovskaya Tower was built to reinforce the southern wall, which was the most frequently attacked. She received her name from the church of Metropolitan Peter at the Ugreshsky courtyard in the Kremlin. The height of the tower is 27.15 m.

15. Commandant tower

It was built in 1495. Its first name - Kolymazhna - received from the Kremlin's Kolymazhny yard. In the 19th century, when the commandant of Moscow began to live in the Kremlin, not far from it, they began to call it the Commandant. The height of the tower is 41.25m.

16. Annunciation tower.

According to legend, this tower previously housed the miraculous icon "Annunciation", as well as 1731. the Church of the Annunciation was added to this tower. Most likely, the name of the tower is associated with one of these facts. In the 17th century. for the passage of laundresses to the Moskva River, a gate was made near the tower, called Portomoyny. In 1831. they were laid, and in Soviet times the Church of the Annunciation was dismantled. The height of the Annunciation tower with a weather vane is 32.45 m.

17. Spasskaya Tower (Frolovskaya)

It was erected on the site where the main gates of the Kremlin were located in ancient times. It, like Nikolskaya, was built to protect the northeastern part of the Kremlin, which had no natural water barriers. The travel gate of the Spasskaya Tower, at that time still Frolovskaya, was popularly considered "saints". They were not passed through on horseback and did not pass with their heads covered. The regiments that went on the campaign passed through these gates, here they met kings and ambassadors. In 1658. the Kremlin towers were renamed. Frolovskaya became Spasskaya. It was named so in honor of the icon of the Savior of Smolensk, located above the gate of the tower from the side of Red Square, and in honor of the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands, located above the gate from the side of the Kremlin. In 1851-52. a clock was installed on the Spasskaya Tower, which we still see. Kremlin chimes. A chime is a large clock that has a musical mechanism. Bells play music at the Kremlin chimes. There are eleven of them. One large, he marks the hours, and ten smaller ones, their melodious chime is heard every 15 minutes. There is a special device in the chimes. It sets in motion a hammer, it strikes the surface of the bells and the chiming of the Kremlin chimes sounds. The mechanism of the Kremlin chimes occupies three floors. Previously, the chimes were wound manually, but now they do it with the help of electricity. The Spasskaya Tower occupies 10 floors. Its height with a star is 71 m.