Kutafya tower of the Moscow Kremlin

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

The Moscow Kremlin is the center of the Russian capital and its main historical and architectural landmark. Today, anyone can easily enter the territory of the modern Kremlin through the famous Trinity Gate.

But before you climb the bridge leading to the high Trinity Tower, you need to go through a squat, powerful architectural structure called the Kutafya Tower. That's what this article will be about.

The history of the construction of the tower

Building fortress walls and siege towers of the Moscow Kremlin, the ancient architects were guided primarily by fortification purposes. The entrances to the fortress had to be securely covered by bridgeheads. The Kutafya Tower of the Kremlin is the only one of these buildings that has survived to this day.

It was erected in 1516 under the guidance of the Italian architect Aleviz Fryazin, who specializes in fortificationconstruction. The purpose of the tower was to protect the entrance to the Trinity Bridge. To strengthen the impregnability in front of the Kutafya tower, they dug a deep ditch and filled it with water. On the other side of the tower, the Neglinnaya River flowed.

Origin of the name

Why was the building given such an unusual name - Kutafya Tower? And look at her carefully, whom does she remind you of with her breadth and massiveness - on the one hand, and with her original intricate beauty - on the other? Perhaps a dressed-up portly woman, clumsy and ungainly? In any case, this tower apparently evoked precisely such associations among Moscow residents of the 16th century. So she was nicknamed "kutafya" - like a fat and clumsy woman.

True, there is another interpretation of the name of this fortification. Some researchers write that the root of the word "kutafya" is "kut", i.e. corner or cover. Considering that it was the fortification that was called that, the latest version sounds more plausible.

The Purpose of the Kutafya Tower

Now it is hard for us to imagine that once the present center of Moscow was a very dangerous place: foreign conquering enemies could flood at any moment. That is why in the Middle Ages it was so important to build defensive fortresses with thick high walls and huge towers, which housed entrances and loopholes at the same time.

Kutafya Tower was the only gate that opened the passage to the highest tower of the Kremlin - Troitskaya. The two towers were connected by a bridge under which a river flowed. Neglinnaya. Later in the 19th century, the river was enclosed in an underground pipe (now it cannot be seen), but the bridge still stands in place. From the outside, the tower was equipped with another bridge - a drawbridge. At the first sign of danger, he rose and the enemy could no longer get close to Kutafya, because. right in front of her was a deep ditch.

This amazing structure was surrounded on all sides by water. The Kutafya tower was originally planned as a separate island fortress, inside which guards were constantly on duty below. At the top there were loopholes through which it was possible to fire at the enemy.

Kutafya Kremlin tower on the map

If you look at the map of the Moscow Kremlin, you can see that the Kutafya Tower is located on the western side, and its main entrance is turned towards the Alexander Garden.

The nearest metro stations are "Aleksandrovsky Sad" and "Library named after Lenin". It is difficult to pass by the tower and not notice it - it has such an impressive and powerful appearance. Around it is constantly crowded with many tourists. To enter the Kremlin, you must first purchase tickets that are sold in the Alexander Garden, and then proceed through the Kutafya Tower, Trinity Bridge and Trinity Tower to the Kremlin.