The Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin: cathedrals, towers, history

Nizhny Novgorod is a city with almost eight hundred years of history rich in various events. Located at the confluence of the Volga and the Oka, it has always been one of the largest cultural, economic and transport centers in Russia. Not once the city served as a bulwark of statehood, defending the country from external enemies. All this contributed to the fact that nowadays Nizhny Novgorod is rich in interesting places of memory and sights. One of them is the famous ancient Kremlin.

History

The Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin began to be built around 1500. It was finally erected in 1515. The structure was a two-kilometer wall, which was supported by thirteen towers. One of them, Zachatskaya, has not survived to the present day.

Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, which was also called a stone city, had its own permanent garrison, as well as impressive artillery weapons. The Volga fortress created the Moscow state as the main stronghold, designed to withstand the Kazan Khanate. For its military service, the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin has withstood numerous attacks and sieges.

The last page in the combat record of the Volga fortress was written in the early 17th century. This was a period of foreign intervention and the great feats of the Nizhny Novgorod militia, which was led by Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky.

Description

The Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin is a defensive medieval structure. It is located partly on the flat top of Sentry Mountain, as well as on its slopes (from the north-western part).

The Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin (photo you can see below) is located on an area of 22.7 hectares. The so-called stone city has quite impressive dimensions. Its perimeter is 2045 meters. Unapproachable in the past for the enemies of the wall have a height of twelve to fifteen meters. Moreover, they are also very broad.

The thickness of the walls is from three and a half to four and a half meters. On the perimeter of the stone city, defensive towers were erected. How many towers in the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin? At first there were thirteen. At present, there are twelve preserved. The names for the towers were chosen according to their use and purpose or by the names of nearby buildings.

Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin (Nizhny Novgorod) from the day of its foundation had on its territory cathedrals, which were the main in the city. Among them, the Michael-Archangel, as well as the Holy Transfiguration. In the "stone city" there are several parish churches. There are here the episcopal and grand-ducal palaces, as well as several monasteries.

Location of defensive towers

If you familiarize yourself with the plan of the chain of fortifications, it is clear that it represents an irregular polygon with towers located in the corners. They were in the old days and played the role of defensive towers. The scheme of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin acquaints us with the names of the towers. If you look clockwise, the first one is Dmitrievskaya (Dmitrovskaya). This is the main tower. It is named after the great Nizhny Novgorod prince Dmitry Konstantinovich, who ruled in the 14th century.

Next on the scheme is a tower called Pantry. It was used as a storage space. In the vicinity of the now defunct Nikolskaya church, Nikolskaya Tower was erected.

The next tower - Koromyslov - is represented to us by a scheme on which the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin is designated. The history of this building tells of the allegedly buried in this place the legendary young woman with a yoke. The fifth tower - Taynitskaya. The tower received its name because of the secret way in it, leading to the river Pochaye. The northernmost tower is Ilinskaya.

Not far from it is the church of Elijah the Prophet. Another tower is also called according to geographical location - North. On the Watch Tower in the 16th century. The clock was set.

The Ivanovo Tower was adjacent to the now-destroyed church of St. John the Forerunner. White called the defensive tower because of its white-stone facing, which was surrounded by an external façade at the bottom. The St. George's Tower was erected near the now defunct St. George Church, and gunpowder and various ammunition were stored in Porokhovaya.

Destination of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin

After the fall of Kazan, the Volga fortress lost its military significance. Later it became an administrative center for a large district. On its territory was an orderly hut. It was located in the stone town of the governorate, and also the provincial government.

And today the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin is the cultural and administrative center of the city. On its territory there are buildings of the regional and city administration, as well as the representation of the Russian president in the Volga Federal District. Visitors to the former fortress offer tours to the Art Museum, as well as to the museum of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin. It is located on the territory of this ancient stone city and the Center for Contemporary Arts.

Dmitrievskaya Tower

The main defensive tower of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin was erected in the central part of the upland area. Its facade overlooks the semi-circular part of the square, named after Minin and Pozharsky.

Dmitrievskaya tower of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin from the moment of its construction played the role of the main entrance to the fortress. It was also the central point of defense of the entire mountainous area. The leading role of the tower is confirmed by the radial concentric planning of the city. The fact is that from the very entrance to the Dmitrievskaya tower, in different directions, the streets diverge. Among them are Ulyanov, Alekseevskaya, Barvarskaya and Bolshaya Pokrovskaya.

The Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, whose history is contained in the earliest chronicles, began its existence with the erection of this particular tower. This is confirmed by the documentary sources that have survived to this day.

In the 17th century. Dmitrievskaya Tower possessed considerable armament. In its number it exceeded all other defensive towers. The combat equipment existed until 1705. Later in the late 18th - early 19th centuries, Dmitrievskaya Tower served as a room for the garrison school. Then it housed the provincial archive, and from 1896 to 1919 - a museum with artistic and historical artifacts. During the Soviet period in the tower, a shop that produced scenery for ballet, theater and opera worked for a considerable time.

In 1965 there was a significant event. On the roof of the tower, the gilded coat of arms of the city depicting a walking deer was erected.

Storage tower

At the very beginning of the Zelensky Congress there is a round tower of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin. They call her the Pantry. Previously it was used as a storage bin. In the 17-18 centuries. The tower bore the name of Alekseevskaya, as well as the church located nearby.

At present, the tower is a four-tier structure. In its lower part there are underground rooms, in which there are side battle rooms with embrasures. Restoration work, which was carried out in 1953, allowed to restore the semicircular extension of the Pantry of the Tower. This structure, erected in the 19th century, is designed to create air ventilation in the storehouses of the lower tier, where the garlic oil used to illuminate the streets of the city was stored.

In the second tier of the tower there are similar cameras in the side walls. The third level is a "stone tent" without overlapping. The fourth tier represents a running platform around the tower. Its wall is a parapet with prongs.

St. Nicholas's Tower

After the pantry of the tower on the scheme of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin is located Nikolskaya. Its name was taken from the nearby church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.
In ancient times, this tower played the role of the second most important defense unit. In its significance, it was inferior to the tower of Dmitriev. At present, with the help of restoration work, the original appearance of the structure with the passing gates has been restored.

During the 17-19 centuries. The tower was used as a warehouse, significantly changing its internal layout. Restoration works, carried out in 1959-62, were not only restored to internal rooms. The facade of the tower also assumed its original historical appearance. In the same period, the roof of the tower was restored, having the form of a tent with a sentinel tower.

Rockwheel tower

In the chain of walls located on the mountainous area, the corner is a round tower bearing a peculiar name. The story of the name of the rocker tower is connected with two versions of legends about the woman who is buried in this place. According to some information, she was killed to give the walls strength, as required by the popular belief. The second legend speaks of the courage of a woman who killed several invaders with her yoke and was buried near the tower.

A distinctive feature of the rocker tower is its facing with a white stone. In the 18-19 centuries. In the tower there was an archive, and since 1886 various warehouses were arranged in it.

Taynitskaya tower

This round tower is located above the very slope of the steep bank of the Pochainsky ravine with the river Pochaynaya running along the bottom. By its name, this structure is due to a hiding place - an underground passage. This way led from the tower down the slope of the ravine to the river itself. The trench had wooden ceilings and walls, and the upper part of the foreign eyes hid the turf. In the 1980s, the remains of the cache were destroyed.

Historical documents dating back to the 17th century introduce us to another name for the tower, Mironositskaya, originating from the gully of the same name on the opposite bank.

Northern derrick

The facade of the Pochainsky ravine is the tower, located in the north-western corner of the upland part of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin. This is the Northern tower, which got its name from its geographical position. However, this happened at a later time. Documents of the same 17th century. Call it Il'inskoy, like the church of the same name, which was on the opposite side of the ravine. In some documents, the tower was listed as Nagolnaya (angular).

The structure of this tower was no different from the layout of Tainitskaya and Koromyslova. Only in some details there are insignificant differences. In the 19th and early 20th centuries. The tower was used by military units as a warehouse.

Watch tower

This structure is located near the slope of the Volga River at the very top of the fortress hill. It is the only tower of the Kremlin, located in a ledge inward. In former times, she did not play a fighting role. Its main purpose is to create an artistic and aesthetic composition. The ensemble of the Northern and Sentry towers was decided by the architects exceptionally well. At the same time, the most beautiful place in the Kremlin is the giant steps, which descend from a high steep from the tower wall. At the top of the tower there is a special wooden room - "hour hut". Hence the name of the building.

The Ivanovskaya tower

The building received its name from a nearby church, called John the Baptist. The Ivanovskaya Tower of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, on its inner side, had a staircase extension along which the defenders of the stone city rose to the walls. There was also a cell for criminals and prisoners. Ivanovskaya tower was equipped with a gate and was the main one in the foothill zone of the Kremlin.

White tower

This structure is located opposite the turn of the congress called Kremlevsky. This is the only round tower that was preserved on the foothill territory of the fortress. From the field side the facade of the tower is faced with a white stone. Hence its name also took place. The tower was used in peacetime as a warehouse, and before the fire, which occurred here in 1924, archival documents were stored in the tower premises.

St. George's Tower

The construction of a rectangular shape, which was previously passable. St. George's Tower of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin is located above the very edge of the Volga shore. Not far from it there is a monument to V.P. Chkalov. There are two versions of the origin of the name of the structure. According to one of them, the church of the same name was nearby. On the second, in this place was the St. George's Tower - a palace built by the city's founder, Yuri Vsevolodovich.

In its appearance and layout of the interior, the modern rectangular tower differs significantly from similar structures of the Kremlin.

Powder tower

The round tower of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin is named according to the nature of its application. It contained ammunition. By the same name of the 17th-century documents located near the cathedral. Call this tower Spassky. In the annals of the 18th century. It is referred to as Streletskaya, because near it was located streletskaya settlement.

At present the Powder Tower was covered with a roof and partially restored. The structure of the tower is similar to the Pantry. These two towers differ from the others in the form of a lack of frontal loopholes in the lower tiers.