Address: Moscow Kremlin, between the Srednaya Arsenalnaya and Nikolskaya towers
Build date: 1492 year
Tower height: 60 m.
There is an eternal flame near the tower.
Coordinates: 55 ° 45'18.3 "N 37 ° 36'59.6" E
Content:
Short story
The appearance of the Corner Arsenal Tower as an integral part of the Moscow Kremlin dates back to 1492 - at that time, a talented architect with Italian roots named Pietro Antonio Solari, one after another, developed and implemented projects of all Kremlin defensive structures.
Various functions were assigned to the structure of the Corner Arsenal Tower, the main of which was defensive. But a well was provided in it, which in the event of a siege of the fortress was supposed to provide water for its entire garrison. In addition, the tower had another secret - a secret passage leading to the Neglinnaya River (it flows through the territory of Moscow).
View of the tower from the Alexander Garden
Starting from the moment of its construction and up to the 18th century, the Angular Arsenalnaya Tower was known to Muscovites as the Sobakin Tower, since the courtyard of the boyars with the name Sobakin was located not far from it.... But as soon as another solid building appeared on the territory of Russia - the Arsenal building, the Sobakin Tower was renamed into the Corner Arsenalnaya. However, regardless of its name, the beautiful tower was always considered the most powerful of all its neighbors, because it completed the chain of the Moscow Kremlin's defense line from Red Square and with its help controlled the approaches intended for crossing the Neglinnaya River.
You can find the 60-meter Corner Arsenal Tower (the exact height is 60.2 m) between the Nikolskaya and Srednyaya Arsenalnaya towers, if you approach them from the side of the Historical Museum, located on Red Square.
Description of the construction of the Corner Arsenal Tower, changes in its architecture
The thickness of the walls of the Corner Arsenal Tower is 4 m... To make it more stable, the craftsmen built it so that its base turned out to be widened downwards. The top of the base was occupied by hinged loopholes. Later, already in the 15th - 16th centuries, a wall was erected around the tower, making it an impregnable fortress.
Towards the end of the 17th century, the Corner Arsenal Tower, like all other buildings of the Moscow Kremlin, underwent some changes in its architecture. An octagonal tent, carved out of stone, appeared over its base. On it flaunted an openwork octagon, an upper small tent and a weather vane.
The beginning of the 18th century was marked for Russia by the threat of an offensive by the Swedes (1707). Therefore, Tsar Peter I issued a decree on expanding narrow mashicules to such a size that they could fit powerful overall guns.
View of the tower from the side of Kremlin passage
In 1812, during the retreat of Napoleonic troops, the Corner Arsenal Tower was only partially damaged, and then from the explosion of the neighboring Nikolskaya tower and the Arsenal building. In general, the structure of the Corner Arsenal Tower survived, but numerous cracks appeared on its walls, and from the blast wave its top was left without a tent. Subsequently, the work on its restoration was carried out by the architect Bove, who put in order the entire ensemble of the Moscow Kremlin. The Corner Arsenal Tower was last affected by global restoration work in the period from 1946 to 1950 of the last century.
