The territory of the modern Samara region during the XVI-XVIII centuries was regularly raided by militant neighbors. There used to be many castles and fortresses here. The only Syzran Kremlin in the region has survived to this day. What is the history of this building, are there tours for tourists today?
Construction of the Kremlin in Syzran
In 1683, at the confluence of the Volga, Krymza and Syzranka rivers, Tsar Peter Alekseevich (who later became famous as Peter the Great) ordered the construction of a defensive fortress to begin. Governor Grigory Kozlovsky became the head of the project. The Syzran Kremlin was built according to the standard plan for its time. If you look at the building from above, its walls formed a closed quadrangle of irregular shape. The fortress had five towers: four corner and one gate - the main entrance to the territory. The fortress walls were made of wood, as were the four corner towers. And only the gates of the main entrance (Spasskaya Tower) were made of stone. It was she who has survived to this day as a reminder of the once great fortificationfacility.
History of the Syzran fortress
At the turn of the 17th-18th centuries, Syzran was a strategically important military fortress. The nearby lands were regularly raided by detachments of warriors originating from neighboring nomadic peoples. The robbers plundered the fish and s alt industries that were developing here, as well as merchant ships on the Samarskaya Luka. The Syzran Kremlin participated in serious battles only once. The fortress was captured by the soldiers of Yemelyan Pugachev. Time passed, and Syzran began to develop as a merchant city. Gradually, the city went beyond the fortress and grew around its walls. At the same time, the Kremlin lost its strategic importance. In 1755, the main stone tower of the fortification was rebuilt into a church and consecrated in the name of the Image of Christ the Savior Not Made by Hands. About a hundred years later, an underground chapel was equipped in the dungeon under the temple. In 1875, the construction of a county prison began on the territory of the ancient fortress. In 1906 there was a major fire that destroyed a significant part of the wooden buildings of the city center. A stone tower-temple and an old church are all that remains on the site where the Syzran Kremlin once stood. Syzran at that time continued to develop as an industrial city. Old-timers say that warehouses were once equipped in the buildings of ancient temples. During the Great Patriotic War, an anti-aircraft battery stood on the territory of the Kremlin.
Syzran Kremlin: description and photos of our days
From the once great Syzran fortress, only the entrance tower, Spasskaya, has survived. Today it houses a historical museum that tells about the history of the Kremlin. The belfry is located on the top tier of the tower. The tower itself has several tiers and is a quadrangle in plan, on which stands an octagon. Nearby, on the territory where the Syzran Kremlin once stood, is the Church of the Nativity. The date of construction of this architectural monument is 1717. In memory of the events of the Great Patriotic War, a square was laid out near the Spasskaya Tower and the Eternal Flame memorial complex was erected.
How to get on the tour?
If you decide to visit the Syzran Kremlin, Syzran, try to arrive in this city early. At 11.00 the belfry of the Spasskaya Tower arranges a bell concert. If you believe the reviews of tourists, the ringing of bells is one of the most interesting points in the tourist program for this city. This place enchants with its tranquility. The surviving monuments of architecture are buried in a riot of greenery. Within walking distance from the Spasskaya Tower there is a well-maintained embankment with a picturesque view. The Syzran Kremlin conducts excursions for groups and single visitors. It will be no less interesting to just look at the ancient tower and the temple from the outside and take a walk around the surroundings. Finding this attraction will not be difficult at all, even if you are going to Syzran for the first time. The Spasskaya Tower can be seen from afar, its exact address is Kremlin Hill. Church of the Nativitytoday it is being actively restored, perhaps very soon it will reopen for parishioners.
