DAY 2, JULY 28,
2012 :
Kremlin:
We visited the famous Kremlin on this day.
This 28-hectare (69-acre) fortress, called kreml in Russian,
emerged in the 12th century as a wooden encampment, and survived many an
invader.
Kremlin is still a citadel, surrounded by unscalable
red-brick walls and tightly guarded gates, though the river and moat that once
protected its north and east sides were filled in nearly 200 years ago.
These defenses make it all the more magical once we get
inside, a world away from the din and modernity beyond.
has a map and when you click on each structure, you get to
know what they are and the history
We took the metro to Teatralnaya station, should have taken
the Revolutski Ploshchad exit like the previous day. instead took the Teatralnaya
Ploshchad exit, landed on the other side of Bolshoi theatre. Took us an hour to
cross and reach the Borivitsky gate. Made a second mistake and stood there in
the queue for 1/2 hour thinking we can get the tickets for Armoury there. Turned
out to be the queue for entering the armoury and the tickets had to be bought
at the main Troitsky tower gate. We ran there only to be told all tickets for
the day to Armoury have been sold out. We bought tickets for Kremlin grounds
and chapels and entered Kremlin thru this Troitsky gate at 11 AM . ... we had to return the next day to see Armoury
and our program of Sergiev Posad had to be scrapped as well.
We had read so much about harassment by the Russian police
especially at Kremlin... we did not see any such behavior… the police consisted
of nice young men who patrolled and minded their business.
This is the Troitsky Gate entrance into Kremlin.
A ticket for visiting the architectural complex of the Cathedral
Square costing 350 rubles allows free access to the
five museums—Cathedrals, the Patriarch's Palace, exhibitions in the
Assumption Belfry and One-Pillar Chamber of the Patriarch's Palace.
Our tickets were checked at each place because quite a few
people buy only the ticket for entry into grounds.
A nice Russian official at the bell tower entrance told us, “See
the exhibition here as well as the Patriarch
Palace
One more example of friendly Russians we encountered thru
out our trip..
With the ticket they give us nice color pamphlets with
illustrations and loads of info on what we get to see at the Patriarch palace,
Assumption cathedral and Annunciation cathedrals.
This is the Arsenal – home of the Kremlin Guard, the Arsenal
was constructed on Peter the Great’s orders as a massive weapons depot.
Around its exterior are 800 French cannons, captured by the
Russians during Napoleon’s disastrous retreat from Moscow
The Senate is an example of neo-classical design, these
mustard yellow walls were created by Catherine the Great. It was the location
of Lenin's office after the October Revolution, today the Senate is the
official Presidential residence.
This building adjacent to the senate houses various
administrative departments of the Russian President’s Office
Renovation in progress but the painted facade prevents it
being an eyesore!!
Ivan Square:
On Ivan Square
we can admire the Tsar Bell and the Tsar Cannon, famous masterpieces of the
Russian casting.
The huge Tsar Cannon and Tsar Bell are two striking and
bizarre features of the Kremlin and indeed of Russian history
The cannon, with a 40-ton barrel, was designed in 1586 to
defend the Kremlin's Savior Gate, but it has never been fired. The chassis and
the cannonballs alongside were built 3 centuries later and give a sense of the
enormity of the weapon (though it was designed to fire stones and not
cannonballs).
Assumption Cathedral just behind the cannon; Annunciation Cathedral in our left corner
At the back of Assumption Cathedral is The Patriarch’s
Palace and the Twelve Apostles’ Church (1653) – as name says, The head of the
church lived there.
Now it has an exposition – we saw some gilded icons carved
in wood, houseware, jewelry, tsars’ hunting equipment, ancient furniture and
items of ecclesiastical embroidery
Sobornaya Ploshchad (Cathedral Square):
This is the Sobornaya Ploshchad (Cathedral Square). It has 5 Cathedrals.
Church
of Annunciation can be seen in the pic below with its gold domes. The white building to the left is
The Cathedral of the Annunciation (Russian: Благовещенский собор, or Blagoveschensky Sobor):
It is located on the southwest side of Cathedral Square, where it connects directly to the main building of the complex of the Grand Kremlin Palace, adjacent to the Palace of Facets.
It was originally the personal chapel for the Muscovite Tsars.The Cathedral was built in 1482, and was where the Tsars were christened
and married. Its tiers of tented gables and kokoshniki (pointed arches) are
reflective of early Moscow
architecture. The most characteristic feature of the building is its nine
golden domes, and roof with rich kokoshnik ornamentation
Faded frescoes line the stone walls and columns from marbled
floor to painted ceiling. fragments of murals include various biblical themes,
heroic figures among other Russian princes and grand dukes. Also striking is
the altar area of the floor, consisting of sheets of agate yellow-red jasper
Annunciation means Announcement of Incarnation – March 25th – 9 months before birth of Jesus
The Cathedral of the Annunciation was built as the domestic
church of the Grand Dukes and tsars and was connected (along with the Cathedral
of the Archangel ) by passages to the private quarters of
the royal family.
The cathedral was used to celebrate name-days, weddings,
baptisms. It was badly damaged during the Revolution. In 1918, the cathedral
was closed as a place of worship and now it operates as a museum.
The building behind is the Grans Kremlin palace – AWESOME pics of the interior on the website.
Also saw the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael, built in 1505 by Italian architect Alevisio Novi . The cathedral holds the tombs ofRussia 's rulers from Ivan I (1328-41) to Tsar Ivan V (1682-96), Peter the Great's predecessor.
Cathedral of the Archangel Michael:
Also saw the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael, built in 1505 by Italian architect Alevisio Novi . The cathedral holds the tombs of
The interior of the church is fittingly somber, its hall of coffins surrounded by small shrines.
Assumption Cathedral –the Cathedral of the Dormition (peaceful and painless death of Mary) (Russian: Успенский Собор, or Uspensky sobor):
This is the Cathedral of the Assumption (Assumption means Reception of Mary into Heaven)
It’s a white limestone building with scalloped arches topped
by chunky golden domes.
Assumption Cathedral, The Cathedral of the Dormition is a Russian Orthodox church dedicated to the Dormition (death)
of the Theotokos (Theotokos is the Greek for god-bearer and is used in
reference to Mary the mother of God.).
It is located on the north side of Cathedral
Square of the Moscow Kremlin,
where a narrow alley separates the north from the Patriarch's Palace with the Twelve
Apostles Church Great Bell
Tower
The design of this church, with its five domes, symbolic of
Jesus Christ and the Four Evangelists) proved immensely popular, and was taken
as a template for numerous other churches throughout Russia
Started in 1475 by Italian architect Aristotle Fiorovanti,
this church is the most tourist-friendly of the cathedrals on the square, with
detailed English labels on icons and architectural details, and plenty of room
for groups.
The church is light and spacious, unlike any of the other
churches on the square — or indeed of this period.
Tsars were crowned here, and Patriarchs of the Russian
Orthodox Church were inaugurated and buried here — the Patriarch's Seat is
built into one of the pillars.
Napoleon's cavalry stabled horses here during their brief
occupation of Moscow in 1812.
There is a legend that in the winter of 1941, when the Nazis
had already reached the threshold of Moscow ,
Stalin secretly ordered a service to be held in the Dormition Cathedral to pray
for the country's salvation from the invading Germans
 |
| Soldiers marching in to assemble in the square prior to the parade.... |
We were fortunate to witness a grand show of parade and
music which happens on the last Saturday of each month at 12 noon --we caught it all on video.. we had a great
vantage point right in the front, though we joined the crowd only when the
parade started...people had been reserving nice spots sitting there, when the
parade started they stood up and we squeezed into the gap!!
It was a cool, cloudy day —thankfully rain held off, there were just a few drops before the parade. Here's a picture from the net giving an idea of the parade and the whole square: extreme left is the church of Archangel Michael, Church of Annunciation next with the Kremlin Palace at its back, Palace of facets with Assumption cathedral to the right. Ivan the bell tower is not in the pic, it's at the back of the people facing the parade
It was a cool, cloudy day —thankfully rain held off, there were just a few drops before the parade. Here's a picture from the net giving an idea of the parade and the whole square: extreme left is the church of Archangel Michael, Church of Annunciation next with the Kremlin Palace at its back, Palace of facets with Assumption cathedral to the right. Ivan the bell tower is not in the pic, it's at the back of the people facing the parade
Tucked in the corner is the small Church of the Deposition
of the Robe, built in a more traditional style of the late 15th century, with
narrow windows and stained glass, the latter a rarity in Russian churches. It's
now a museum of wooden figures and church relics
This white building is the Palace
of Facets
Ivan the Great Bell Tower:
Ivan the Great Bell
Tower
Its heaviest and lowest bell is 64 tons (compared to Big Ben's 13.5 tons)
For centuries Ivan the Great Bell Tower Russia . Constructed of bright white stone and soaring to a height of over eighty meters, the bell tower was completed in 1600.
In 1812, while retreating from Moscow , Napoleon’s Army blew up the Ivan the Great Bell-Tower ensemble. However, the pillar of the bell-tower survived. The Belfry was completely destroyed and restored in original dimensions in 1814-1815.
Its heaviest and lowest bell is 64 tons (compared to Big Ben's 13.5 tons)
At present, 24 bells of XVI-XVII centuries are located on
the bell-tower and belfry.
The Tsar Bell, a masterpiece of the Russian casting of the
XVIII century, stands on the stone base to the east of the Ivan-the-Great Bell -Tower.
It was cast in 1733-1735 on the order of Empress Anne Ioannovna . In 1735, the
Tsar Bell was finally cast. However, it still remained in the molding pit.
In May, 1737, a terrible Troitskiy (Trinity) fire broke out
in Moscow and spread to the Kremlin
buildings. When the flames on the scarffolding around the bell were being
extinguished, cold water fell on the bell itself. The difference in temperature
caused it to crack, and a huge piece of 11.5 ton broke off.
In 1836, the Tsar Bell was lifted up from the moulding pit
and placed on a stone pedestal by French architect Auguste Montferrant (who
built the famous Isaac’s Cathedral in St. Petersburg ).
The Tsar Bell is decorated with portraits of Tsar Alexey
Mikhailovich and empress Anna Ioannovna,
The Tsar bell is the largest in the world, at 200 tons, 6.1m
(20 ft.) high, and 6.6m (22 ft.) in diameter. The bell and cannon remain
monuments to Russian ambition and royal excess.
For a weekend in peak tourist season, the crowd was
thankfully sparse...
This is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a solemn spot where
veterans and newlyweds often pay tribute. The cities listed around the tomb are
those honored for their valiance and suffering during World War II.
This is Alexander Gardens
After we emerged from the Kremlin, we wandered through the
greenery of Alexander Gardens
Had our lunch, went to the Basil's
cathedral, heard the lovely Gregorian chants. The Cathderal has dark narrow passages leading to 9 beautiful altars. Our camera video setting was accidentally at low resolution through out our Russian trip and so the grabs are of very poor quality as seen below... such a pity!
Here are some pics found online of Basil's cathedral interior:
Here are some pics found online of Basil's cathedral interior:
We should have just walked but went to Biblioteca Lenina
metro station for our next target.
Posing with a statue of ...who else.. Lenin. name spelled out in Ruski on the pedestal..
Posing with a statue of ...who else.. Lenin. name spelled out in Ruski on the pedestal..
Novodevichy Cemetery:
From the Biblioteca metro station we took the red line and got down at Sportinova. turned right as pointed by an arrow on the exit pillar and walked a a few blocks. Did not see the monastery --a Russian lady asked us what we were looking for ... in Russian....and when we said Novodevichy pointed ahead with a smile. (another example of friendly Russians). Instead of coming to the entrance first, we followed a bus load of Japanese tourists and visited the cemetery (it was awesome, but we felt it was disrespectful to take still pictures there). So again we've only poor quality video grabs of the lovely cemetery...
Clearer pic from the net...
Boris Yeltsin's Memorial...
Here's a T-Shirt buddy... ha, ha! Collecting the fruits fallen on the ground...
Here's a pic from the web to give an idea of what the site is really like...
On our way back, saw this entrance but were too late for entering the monastery
The monastery closes at 6 PM ...
we came back here on the last day of our trip and managed to visit all the
lovely chapels inside after paying the entry of 150 rubles and a camera fee as
well
We bought a mineral water bottle and an ice cream at a
nearby 'prodiukti' продукты –convenience food store and traced our way back to
the metro station
We got on the same direction red line and got down at the next station University…
we wanted to go to the Sparrow Hills (Vorobyovy gory) for the views… the route
was not too clear but this being the University area—no dearth of students with
fluent English. Following their direction, we walked along the tree laden
avenue flanking the tall University building with a spire and a star(which is
one of Stalin’s 7 buildings)..
This is the University building. Stalin had made higher education free and available for everyone and thousands had become highly qualified Engineers.
We reached the area where a chair lift car was plying. Bought a single ticket and went down the hill on the chair lift enjoying the views. … youngsters were zipping along on skates and families were relaxing at the Moskva river embankment and on the opposite side the stadium and other landmarks were spread out... lovely sight!
Sparrow Hills (Vorobyovy Gory):
We bought the souvenir photo the chair lift guys had taken and with their guidance, went to the nearby station in the red line…Took the red line upto Park Kukri and from there transferred to central line and reached Kievskaya. Our research had told us this was the starting point for the river tram which winds down the Moskva river – we bought our tickets (450 rubles) from the pier and boarded the boat for a 90-minute cruise on the Moskva river
Moskva river cruise:
It was past 8 PM but
the sun sets only after 9. The ride was awesome, covering all the sights as the sun went down and the landmarks lit up like a fairy land. There were even fireworks lighting up the sky… the beautiful Novodevichy Convent, the “wedding cake” Stalinist skyscraper Moscow State University, the Gorky Park, Peter the Great statue, Christ the Saviour Cathedral, Kremlin, St. Basil's Cathedral all floated by—other fancy cruise boats were also on the same route with their boisterous occupants waving at us. We caught the sights in several videos (so again grainy grabs but it was so magical)... we had a
great time.
mmm... a local Sharapova lookalike as co passenger...
Moskva written in cyrillic alphabet on this boat...
To add to the charm, a big moon rose up in the sky...
There were some lovely fireworks going off in the sky...
Got out at the last stop Novospassky right across the river
from our hotel. We walked along the bridge and ran helterskelter to cross the
busy road and returned to our hotel after 10 PM.... ending an awesome day 2 in Moscow
The next post covers the visit to the awesome Diamond Fund and Armoury:
http://adventuretrav.blogspot.com/2016/12/russia-trip-report-day-3-armory-diamond.html
