A Feast of Architecture - The Beauty of European Architecture Through the Eyes of Architects

Author: None
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: The Kremlin covers an area of 27.5 hectares and is surrounded by red brick walls ranging from 8 to 19 meters high. The total length of the walls is 2,235 meters, featuring a patrol walkway and 1,045 guard bastions. There are four main gates and 19 towers. The Spassky Tower facing Red Square is one of the clock towers often seen in photographs. This Gothic and Renaissance-style building was completed in 1491 under the leadership of the Italian architect Pietro Solari. It was further expanded between 1624 and 1625, with the Great Bell measuring 6.12 meters in diameter. Since then, the bell's chimes have served as the national time signal. Today, the entrance to this tower is used as the official entrance for national leaders and VIPs. There is also a folk legend that one must not wear a hat when entering this gate, or else they will encounter bad luck. Legend has it that Napoleon, when wearing a tricorne hat, entered the Kremlin through this gate during his invasion of Moscow, which led to his disastrous retreat. In addition to the Spassky Tower, there is another entrance to the Kremlin in the northeast direction of Red Square (the Nikolsky Tower), one along the south side of the Moscow River (the Tarnitsky Tower), and two on the west side of the Alexander Garden (the Polovitsky and Troitsky Towers). The towers at the corners of the walls are round, and their are adorned with five gleaming red stars. The Kremlin began to open to the public in 1955. The current tour route enters from the western gate, with the churches and palace complex in the southwest part of the Kremlin open to visitors. The buildings in the northeast and northern parts are the Presidential Palace and the Federal Assembly, with clear signs indicating restricted areas. The Presidential Palace was built between 1776 and 1787 and was originally used by the Senate. Later, it served as the seat of the Soviet Council of Ministers. Designed by M. Kazakov in the Russian classical style, it has a basic isosceles triangular plan with the main entrance on the longer side, featuring three inner courtyards. The large circular hall at the apex of the triangle is aligned with the Lenin Mausoleum on Red Square, and the top of the hall rises with the presidential flag. Lenin once lived in the third floor of this building. P8-9