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Tours to the Moscow KremlinCitadel of the Tsars, headquarters of the Soviet Union and now the residence of the Russian president, the Kremlin has always been a symbol of the power of the State. The fist wooden Kremlin was found in 1156 by Prince Yuri the Long Armed at the confluence of the Moskva and Neglinnaya rivers. The world “Kremlin” means “fortress”. Late in the 15th century, Tsar Ivan III invited Italian architects to build a new complex. They designed the Cathedral of the Assumption and the Archangel, the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great, the Faceted Palace. In the 1930s the Kremlin was closed and a lot of its churches and palaces were destroyed on the order by Stalin. The Kremlin was reopened to the public only in 1956. The oldest part of the Kremlin is Cathedral square. It is appeared at the beginning of the 14th century and is now the oldest square of Moscow. The Annunciation cathedral was built at the end of the 15th century by builders of Pskov. Children of Russian tsars were baptized here and every day the family of the tsar prayed in it as it was their home church. The Assumption cathedral completed in 1479 by an Italian architect Aristotle Fioravanti, invited to Moscow by the Grand Prince Ivan III saw coronation ceremonies of all the Russian tsars and the metropolitans and patriarchs of the Orthodox Church were buried. In1812 French troops used the cathedral as a stable; they stole 295kg of gold and over five tones of silver from here, but much of it was recovered. The church closed in 1918. The cathedral was officially returned to the Church in 1989, but it operates as a museum. When the tsars died they were buried in the Archangel cathedral. The oldest tomb is the tomb of Prince Ivan I (Ivan the Money Bag) who died in 1340. Also here are the tombs of Ivan the Terrible and his sons. From Peter the Great emperors and empresses were buried in St Petersburg; the exception being Peter II, who died in Moscow and is here. The highest building in the Kremlin is the Bell tower of Ivan the Great. For a long time it was used as a watch-tower. Exhibitions are shown on the ground level. In the Kremlin you can see the biggest cannon in the world – the Tsar-cannon and the biggest bell in the world – the Tsar-bell which never been used. The Grand Kremlin Palace was erected as the residence of the emperor’s family. The palace was completed in1849 by architect Thon. It is now an official residence of the Russian president, used for state visits and receptions. However the president doesn’t have living quarters here. To save the trouble, the Great Kremlin Palace is closed to tourists, except those on an official state visit. Next to the Palace is the building of the Armory Chamber, also finished in the mid-nineteenth century. It is one of the richest museums in our country. On display here are unique specimens of Russian and foreign applied art, ambassadors gifts, collection of old arms, collection of clothing of the 14th-19th centuries, some very fine articles by goldsmiths of the 12th century and Faberge Easter eggs. The State Diamond Fund, a separate museum, is also housed in the State Armory building.
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Telephone: +7 916-170-62-14 - Svetlana |
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