The architect was Pietro Antonio Solari, as evidenced by the white stone slabs with commemorative inscriptions installed on the tower itself.
When built, the tower was approximately half as tall. In 1624-1625, the English architect Christopher Galovey, with the participation of the Russian master Bazhen Ogurtsov, erected a multi-tiered top over the tower in the Gothic style (there are flying buttresses in the fifth tier) with elements of mannerism (unpreserved naked statues - “boobs”), the figurative design of which goes back to the town hall tower in Brussels (finished in 1455), ending with a stone tent. Fantastic figurines - an element of decor - under Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, their nakedness was bashfully covered with specially sewn clothes. In the middle of the 17th century, the first double-headed eagle, which was the coat of arms of the Russian state, was installed on the main tower of the Kremlin. Subsequently, double-headed eagles appeared on the Nikolskaya, Trinity and Borovitskaya towers.
In exchange, an exact copy of the icon was sent to Khlynov; a second list was installed above the gate through which the image was brought to the Kremlin. The gates were named Spassky, and the entire tower inherited this name. It was believed that when the Bolsheviks came to power, the icon was lost. It was not possible to save the list sent to Vyatka (Khlynov). A copy of the miraculous image has been preserved in the Novospassky Monastery, which occupies the place of the original in the iconostasis of the Transfiguration Cathedral.
The original name of the tower - Frolovskaya - comes from the Church of Frol and Lavra on Myasnitskaya Street, where the road from the Kremlin led through this gate. The church also has not survived to this day.
Restoration of the gate icon
The last time the gate image was seen was in 1934. Probably, when the double-headed eagles were removed from the towers, the icons were also covered, and in 1937 they were walled up with plaster. For a long time, the list above the gate was considered lost (not a single document about it was preserved), until a sounding of the gate icon case of the Spasskaya Tower, carried out at the end of April 2010, showed the presence of an image of Christ under the plaster. The chairman of the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation, Vladimir Yakunin, announced at a press conference that the image of the Savior will be restored by August.
At the end of June 2010, the first stage of restoring the ancient image began. After June 12, restoration scaffolding was installed over the Spassky Gate. Now workers are cleaning off the plaster and then dismantling the mesh that protected the icon of the Savior from the external environment. Then the experts, after conducting an analysis, will determine the condition and how exactly to restore the gate icon of the Spasskaya Tower.
Kremlin chimes
Near the tower is the famous chiming clock. They have existed since the 16th century, constantly changing. The new clock was made in 1625 at Spasskaya Tower under the direction of the English mechanic and watchmaker Christopher Galovey. Using special mechanisms, they “played music” and also measured the time of day and night, indicated by letters and numbers. The numbers were indicated in Slavic letters; there were no hands on the dial.
Height Spasskaya Tower to the star - 67.3 m, with the star - 71 m. The first Spasskaya star, unlike other semi-precious stars, has been preserved and now crowns the spire of the Northern River Station of Moscow.
Memorial plaques
Above the Spassky Gate hangs a memorial plaque (a copy, the damaged original is in the collections of the Kremlin Museum) with the inscription in Latin: IOANNES VASILII DEI GRATIA MAGNUS DUX VOLODIMERIAE, MOSCOVIAE, NOVOGARDIAE, TFERIAE, PLESCOVIAE, VETICIAE, ONGARIAE, BUOLGARIAE, ET ALIAS TOTIUSQ(UE ) RAXIE D(OMI)NUS, A(N)NO 30 IMPERII SUI HAS TURRES CO(N)DERE F(ECIT) ET STATUIT PETRUS ANTONIUS SOLARIUS MEDIOLANENSIS A(N)NO N(ATIVIT) A-(TIS) D(OM )INI 1491 K(ALENDIS) M(ARTIIS) I(USSIT)P(ONE-RE)
On the inside of the wall there is an inscription in Russian, preserved from the time of construction:
IN THE SUMMER OF 6999 JULIA, BY THE GRACE OF GOD, SIA STRELNITSA WAS MADE BY THE COMMAND OF JOHN VASILIEVICH GDR AND THE SELF-PRIEST OF ALL RUSSIA. AND THE GREAT PRINCE OF VOLODIMERSKY. AND MOSCOW AND NOVOGORODSKY. AND PSKOVSKY. AND TVERSKY. AND YUGORSKY AND VYATSKY. AND PERM. AND BULGARIAN. AND OTHERS IN THE 30TH SUMMER OF THE CITY OF HIS A DID PETER ANTHONY FROM THE CITY OF MEDIOLAN
Beklemishevskaya (Moskvoretskaya), Konstantino-Eleninskaya (Timofeevskaya), Nabatnaya and Spasskaya (Frolovskaya) towers of the Moscow Kremlin.
Vasilievsky descent. , Alarm tower, Spasskaya (Frolovskaya) tower, Upper shopping arcade (GUM building), St. Basil's Cathedral.
Konstantino-Eleninskaya (Timofeevskaya) Tower, Alarm Tower and Spasskaya (Frolovskaya) tower.
Konstantino-Eleninskaya (Timofeevskaya) Tower, Alarm Tower and Spasskaya (Frolovskaya) tower.
Konstantino-Eleninskaya (Timofeevskaya) Tower, Alarm Tower and Spasskaya (Frolovskaya) tower.
Konstantino-Eleninskaya (Timofeevskaya) Tower, Alarm Tower and Spasskaya (Frolovskaya) tower.
Konstantino-Eleninskaya (Timofeevskaya) Tower, Alarm Tower and Spasskaya (Frolovskaya) tower and GUM (Upper Trading Rows).
Alarm tower and Spasskaya (Frolovskaya) tower.
Tsar's Tower and Spasskaya (Frolovskaya) tower.
Spasskaya (Frolovskaya) tower Moscow Kremlin.
Spasskaya (Frolovskaya) tower Moscow Kremlin.
Red Square. From right to left: Spasskaya (Frolovskaya) tower,
In contact with
Spasskaya Tower - overlooking one of the 20 towers of the Moscow Kremlin
The main gate - Spassky - is located in the tower; the famous clock - chimes - is installed in the tower's tent
Story
The tower was built in 1491 during the reign of Ivan III by the architect Pietro Antonio Solari, as evidenced by the white stone slabs with memorial inscriptions installed on the tower itself.
Sergius, GNU 1.2When built, the tower was approximately half as tall. In 1624–25, the English architect Christopher Galovey, with the participation of the Russian master Bazhen Ogurtsov, erected a multi-tiered top over the tower in the Gothic style (there are flying buttresses in the fifth tier) with elements of mannerism (unpreserved nude “boobies” statues), the figurative design of which goes back to the town hall tower in Brussels (finished in 1455), ending with a stone tent. Fantastic figurines - an element of decor - under Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, their nakedness was bashfully covered with specially sewn clothes.
In the middle of the 17th century. The first double-headed eagle, which was the coat of arms of the Russian state, was installed on the main tower of the Kremlin. Subsequently, double-headed eagles appeared on and towers.
unknown, Public Domain The Spassky Gate was the most important of all the Kremlin Gates and was always revered as saints. It was forbidden to pass through them on horseback, and men passing through them had to remove their headdresses in front of the image of the Savior, painted on the outside of the tower, illuminated by an unquenchable lamp; this custom survived until the 19th century: according to Juan Valera,
“When passing under them, everyone is obliged to bare their heads and bow, and neither foreigners nor those who profess a faith other than the Orthodox faith are in any way exempt from the obligation to give such honors.”
Anyone who disobeyed the holy rule had to make 50 prostrations.
The Spassky Gate was the main entrance to the Kremlin. Regiments left for battle from the sacred gates, and foreign ambassadors were also met here. All religious processions from the Kremlin went through these gates, all the rulers of Russia, starting with Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, solemnly passed through them before his coronation.
There is a legend that when Napoleon was passing through the Spassky Gate in captured Moscow, a gust of wind pulled off his famous cocked hat. During the retreat of the French army from Moscow, the Spasskaya Tower was ordered to be blown up, but the Don Cossacks arrived in time and extinguished the already lit wicks.
Chapels
There were always chapels to the left and right of the Spassky Gate. On the left stood the chapel of the Great Council Revelation (Smolenskaya), on the right - the Great Council Angel (Spasskaya).
The chapels were built of stone in 1802. In 1812 they were destroyed and restored according to a new design. In 1868, during the restoration of the Spasskaya Tower according to the design of the architect P. A. Gerasimov, the chapels were dismantled and rebuilt.
On October 22, 1868, the new single-domed tent chapels were consecrated. Both chapels belonged to the Intercession Cathedral. The duties of the rectors of the chapels included caring for the unquenchable lamp at the gate icon of the Savior of Smolensk.
Both chapels were demolished in 1925.
Chimes
Near the tower is the famous chiming clock. They have existed since the 16th century, constantly changing. The new clock was made in 1625 at the Spasskaya Tower under the direction of the English mechanic and watchmaker Christopher Galovey. Using special mechanisms, they “played music” and also measured the time of day and night, indicated by letters and numbers. The numbers were indicated in Slavic letters; there were no hands on the dial.
In 1705, by decree of Peter I, the Spassky clock was converted into a German style with a dial at 12 o'clock. In 1770, the English clock found in the Chamber of Facets was installed. Since 1770, the clock has played the German melody “Ah, my dear Augustine” for some time.
A. Savin, CC BY-SA 3.0 Modern chimes were made by brothers Nikolai and Ivan Budenop in 1851-1852 and installed on 8-10 tiers of the Spasskaya Tower. From that time on, the chimes played the “March of the Preobrazhensky Regiment” at 12 and 6 o’clock, and at 3 and 9 o’clock the hymn “How Glorious is Our Lord in Zion” by Dmitry Bortnyansky, which sounded over Red Square until 1917. Initially, they wanted to play the Russian anthem “God Save the Tsar” on the playing shaft of the chimes, but Nicholas I did not allow this, stating that “the chimes can play any songs except the anthem.”
On November 2, 1917, during the storming of the Kremlin by the Bolsheviks, a shell hit the clock, breaking one of the hands and damaging the mechanism for rotating the hands. The clock stopped for almost a year. In August-September 1918, at the direction of V.I. Lenin, they were restored by watchmaker Nikolai Behrens. The clock began to play “Internationale” at 12 o’clock, and “You have fallen a victim...” at 24 o’clock. However, already in 1938, the chimes fell silent, only chiming the hours and quarters.
In 1996, during the inauguration of B. N. Yeltsin, the chimes began to play again after 58 years of silence. At 12 and 6 o'clock the chimes began to perform the "Patriotic Song", and at 3 and 9 - the melody of the choir "Glory" from the opera "A Life for the Tsar" (Ivan Susanin) also by M. I. Glinka. The last major restoration was carried out in 1999. The hands and numbers were again gilded. The historical appearance of the upper tiers was restored. By the end of the year, the final adjustment of the chimes was carried out. Instead of the “Patriotic Song,” the chimes began to play the national anthem of the Russian Federation, officially approved in 2000.
The chime dials, 6.12 m in diameter, extend onto four sides of the tower. The height of the Roman numerals is 0.72 m, the length of the hour hand is 2.97 m, the minute hand is 3.27 m. The clock strikes using a hammer connected to the mechanism and the bell. The watch was originally wound by hand, but since 1937 it has been wound using three electric motors.
Star of the Spasskaya Tower
Double headed eagle
From the 1600s until 1935, the tower was crowned with a gilded double-headed eagle. The eagle was replaced quite often. The first eagle may have been made entirely of wood.
Gem Star
In August 1935, it was decided to replace the eagles with five-pointed stars with a hammer and sickle. Sketches of the stars were developed by academician Fyodor Fedorovsky. The first stars were made of high-alloy stainless steel and red copper. In the middle of each star, a hammer and sickle covered with gold was lined with Ural gems. The star on the Spasskaya Tower was decorated with rays diverging from the center to its tops. Before the stars were installed on the Kremlin towers, they were shown in Gorky Park.
Unknown, Public Domain glowing star
However, the first stars quickly dimmed under the influence of precipitation. In addition, they looked rather awkward in the overall composition of the Kremlin, they were bulky and greatly disrupted the architectural ensemble.
In May 1937, it was decided to replace the stars with ruby and luminous ones. The new star started working on November 2, 1937. The star can rotate like a weather vane and has a frame in the form of a multifaceted pyramid. The star has double glazing. The inner layer is made of milk glass, the outer layer is made of ruby glass. The span of the rays of the star on the Spasskaya Tower is 3.75 meters. The frame of the star is made of special stainless steel, and special autonomous lamps burn inside. Thus, it is protected from precipitation and power outages. The power of the lamps in the star is 5000 watts. The operation of the lamps is checked twice a day. To protect the lamps from overheating, a special ventilation system was developed, which consists of an air purification filter and two fans. The height of the tower to the star is 67.3 m, with the star - 71 m. The first Spasskaya star, unlike other semi-precious stars, has been preserved and now crowns the spire of the Northern River Station of Moscow.
Alex Zelenko, GNU 1.2 Current situation
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, there were calls for the restoration of the double-headed eagle over Spasskaya and other Kremlin towers. This initiative is supported by the Russian Orthodox Church and a number of movements, such as the “People's Council”, “Return”, etc. There have been no official statements on this matter from the authorities.
On September 10, 2010, members of the Return Foundation, in connection with the opening of the gate icon, appealed to the President of Russia with a request to remove the five-pointed star from the Kremlin’s Spasskaya Tower and erect a double-headed eagle on it.
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Helpful information
Spasskaya Tower
formerly - Frolovskaya Tower
Cost of visit
for free
Opening hours
- 24/7, external inspection
Address and contacts
Moscow Kremlin
Location
Located between the Tsarskaya and Senate towers of the Kremlin wall on Red Square.
Etymology
The original name of the tower - Frolovskaya - comes from the Church of Frol and Lavra on Myasnitskaya Street, where the road from the Kremlin led through this gate. The church has not survived to this day.
In 1658, by royal decree of Alexei Mikhailovich, the Frolovsky Gate was renamed Spassky in honor of the icon of the Savior of Smolensk, painted above the passage gate from the Red Square, and in honor of the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands, located above the gate from the Kremlin. The whole tower inherited this name after them.
Memorial plaques
Above the Spassky Gate hangs a memorial plaque (a copy; the damaged original is in the collections of the Kremlin Museum) with the inscription in Latin:
IOANNES VASILII DEI GRATIA MAGNUS DUX VOLODIMERIAE, MOSCOVIAE, NOVOGARDIAE, TFERIAE, PLESCOVIAE, VETICIAE, ONGARIAE, PERMIAE, BUOLGARIAE ET ALIAS TOTIUSQ(UE) RAXIE D(OMI)NUS, A(N)NO 30 IMPERII SUI HAS TURRES CO( N) DERE F(ECIT) ET STATUIT PETRUS ANTONIUS SOLARIUS MEDIOLANENSIS A(N)NO N(ATIVIT) A-(TIS) D(OM)INI 1491 K(ALENDIS) M(ARTIIS) I(USSIT)P(ONE-RE)
On the inside of the wall there is an inscription in Russian, preserved from the time of construction:
IN THE SUMMER OF 1491, BY THE GRACE OF JULIA, SIA STRELNITSA WAS MADE BY THE COMMAND OF JOHN VASILIEVICH GDR AND THE SELF-PRIEST OF ALL RUSSIA. AND THE GREAT PRINCE OF VOLODIMERSKY. AND MOSCOW AND NOVOGORODSKY. AND PSKOVSKY. AND TVERSKY. AND YUGORSKY AND VYATSKY. AND PERM. AND BULGARIAN. AND OTHERS IN THE 30TH SUMMER OF THE CITY OF HIS A DID PETER ANTHONY FROM THE CITY OF MEDIOLAN
- In the courtyard of one of the residential complexes in the south-west of Moscow there is a small copy of the Spasskaya Tower. Previously, military units were located nearby and organized morning formations near the tower.
Built in 1491 by the architect Pietro Antonio Solari. Its construction marked the beginning of the construction of the eastern line of the Kremlin fortifications. The tower is located on the site of the Frolovskaya strelnitsa of 1367-1368. Its gates, facing Red Square, have always been the main main entrance to the Kremlin. They were especially revered by the people and were considered saints. The gate served for the tsar's trips, the ceremonial exits of the patriarch, and meetings of foreign ambassadors.
The tower has a tetrahedral shape and a powerful diversion arrow closely adjacent to it, which served to protect the passage gate. They were closed with special lowering iron gratings - gers. If the enemy penetrated inside the archery, the gers were lowered, and the enemy found himself locked in a kind of stone bag. He was fired at from the upper gallery of the archery. On the façade of the tower you can still see the holes through which chains were passed to raise and lower the special wooden deck of the bridge, and in the passage of the gate there are grooves along which a metal lattice ran. Drawbridges descended from the archery gates.
Above the gates of the diversion strelnitsa and the gates of the Spasskaya Tower from the Kremlin side, inscriptions in Russian and Latin are carved on white stone boards, telling about the time of its construction: “In the summer of July 6999 (1491 - ed.), by the grace of God, this strelnitsa was made by order of Ivan Vasilyevich the sovereign and autocrat of all Rus' and the Grand Duke of Volodymyr and Moscow and Novgorod and Pskov and Tver and Yugorsk and Vyatka and Perm and Bulgaria and others in the 30th year of his state, and Peter Anthony Solario did from the city of Mediolan (Milan - ed.).”
Initially, the tower was called Frolovskaya, due to the fact that the Church of Frol and Lavra was located nearby in the Kremlin. In 1516, a wooden bridge was built from the tower across the moat. Already at the end of the 16th century, there was a tent top above the tower, crowned with a double-headed eagle. By decree of April 16, 1658, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ordered to call it Spasskaya. The new name was associated with the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands, placed above the gate on the Red Square side. The icon itself has not survived, but the place where it hung is clearly visible.
In 1624-1625, the Russian architect Bazhen Ogurtsov and the English master Christopher Galovey erected a multi-tiered top over the tower, ending with a stone tent. This was the first tent-roofed completion of the Kremlin towers. The lower part of the building was decorated with a white stone lace arched belt, turrets, and pyramids. Fantastic figures (“boobs”) appeared, whose nakedness, by order of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, was bashfully covered with specially tailored clothes. The tower rightfully began to be considered the most beautiful and slender tower of the Kremlin. Unfortunately, during the superstructure of the tower, the white stone reliefs by V.D. Ermolin, made for the Frolov Gate of the time of Dmitry Donskoy, were removed from its facades. They depicted the patrons of the Moscow princes - Saints George the Victorious and Dmitry of Thessalonica. (A fragment of the relief of St. George is kept today in the Tretyakov Gallery).
In the 17th century, a stone bridge on arches was thrown across the moat to the Spassky Gate, on which lively trade took place. In the 50s of the 17th century, the coat of arms of the Russian state - a double-headed eagle - was erected on top of the tent of the main tower of the Kremlin. Later, similar coats of arms were installed on the highest towers - Nikolskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya.
The first clock on the Spasskaya Tower was installed according to the design of Christopher Galovey. In 1707 they were replaced by Dutch chimes with music. In 1763, the clock was replaced again, and in 1851, these last 18th-century chimes were overhauled by the brothers N. and P. Butenop. In 1920, during the repair of the Spasskaya Tower, musician M.M. Cheremnykh and mechanic N.V. Berens, having repaired the clock, picked up the melody of the Internationale on the chimes.
The star on the Spasskaya Tower was first installed in 1935. In 1937, it was replaced by a new one with a wingspan of 3.75 m. Inside the star, a 5,000-watt lamp burns around the clock. The star rotates in the wind, like a weather vane.
The Spasskaya Tower has 10 floors.
The height of the tower - up to the star - 67.3 m, with the star - 71 m.
The Spasskaya Tower is an integral part of Red Square and the Moscow Kremlin. The tower is the main entrance to the Kremlin, due to which it has gained great popularity among Russians and tourists from different countries. Almost everyone who has visited Red Square has a photo in their archive with the tower in the background. This majestic structure attracts the attention of everyone passing by. And it makes you raise your head and admire the majestic building.
The Spasskaya Tower was founded and subsequently built in 1491 according to a design commissioned from the Italian architect Pietro Antonio Solari. The tower became the first and main defensive structure of the eastern wall. Initially, the tower was called Frolovska because of its proximity to the Church of St. Frol. Subsequently, in 1658, it was renamed Spasskaya by order of the sovereign. The reason for the renaming was the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands. Which was installed on the towers. Unfortunately, the icon has not survived to this day, but the place where it stood remains visible to this day.
Kremlin tower
Description of the structure
Reconstruction of the tower
Throughout its history, the Spasskaya Tower has been rebuilt and completed (reconstructed) more than once. In the seventeenth century, the tower received a new look. Due to the built-on stone tent. The superstructure was designed and built under the supervision of architects Galoev and Ogurtsov. At the top of the tower there was a high spire with two main eagle. Symbol of the Russian Empire. In 1935, the eagle was removed from the spire and replaced with a red five-pointed star. In 1937, the star was replaced again by another larger star. The star also gained the ability to rotate from wind currents.
An interesting incident from the history of “Napoleon and the Tower”
When Napoleon ruled Moscow. It destroyed many historical and significant buildings. And when he began to destroy the Kremlin, the defenders managed to recapture the Spasskaya Tower and preserve it in its original form.
The Spasskaya Tower is the Kremlin Tower and is located between the Senate and Tsarskaya towers. If you are in Moscow, be sure to visit the famous tower. Also, if you liked the article, be sure to leave your review in the comments or subscribe to one of our channels. And receive the latest articles and photos for them.
I also admired the famous Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin.
From the history of the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin
In 1491, under Prince Ivan III, the Spasskaya Tower was built to strengthen the northeastern part of the city. The construction was carried out by the architect Pietro Antonio Solari. At first it was called Frolovskaya, after the church in the name of the Holy Martyrs Frol and Laurus, located nearby. The structure was two times lower than it is now. The multi-tiered roof and the stone dome in the Gothic style were erected much later - in 1624-1625. English architect Christopher Galovey and Russian master Bazhen Ogurtsov. By decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich on April 16, 1658, the tower was renamed Spasskaya. It received this name because the road to the Spaso-Smolensk Church went through it. There is an opinion that it received its name in honor of the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands, placed above the gate on the side of Red Square.
Spassky Gate is the most important of the Kremlin gates. Men took off their hats in front of the image of the Savior from Red Square. It was impossible to ride through them on horseback. According to legend, when Napoleon passed through these gates, the wind tore off his cocked hat. All kings passed through this gate before their coronation. The warriors left here for decisive battles. For many years, the Spassky Gate was opened very rarely, only in exceptional cases, for example, for the passage of the presidential motorcade. Since August 2014, through the gate you can exit to Red Square. You can still get to the Kremlin only through the Kutafya Tower.
The Spasskaya Tower is square at the base and has 10 floors. Its height is 71 meters. In the mid-17th century, a figure of a double-headed eagle, the coat of arms of Russia, was placed on it. Experts believed that the image of the Savior above its gates was irretrievably lost. Presumably in 1937, the year of the anniversary of the revolution, the icon of the Savior, like other gate images, was walled up. But recently she was found. On June 29, 2010, at the initiative of the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation, specialists began its restoration. The icon is well preserved. Its plot is dedicated to the deliverance of Moscow from the invasion of Khan Mehmet Giray. Then, in 1521, the Monks Sergius and Varlaam asked the Mother of God for intercession before God. And Mehmet Giray retreated. The icon suffered both from fire and during the war with Napoleon. After restoration, its restoration will be carried out.
Clock and chimes on the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin
The first clock on the Spasskaya Tower was installed in 1491. Subsequently, they were repeatedly changed and restored. So, in 1625, under the leadership of the English master Christopher Galovey, new ones were made that played music. In 1705, on the instructions of Peter I, the clock was remade according to the German model with a dial at 12 o'clock. In 1851-1852 On the 8-10 tiers, chimes were installed, alternately performing “March of the Preobrazhensky Regiment” and the hymn “How Glorious is Our Lord in Zion” by Dmitry Bortnyansky. These melodies were played until 1917. In 1920, the melody of the International was selected on the chimes.
In 1999, the hands and numbers were gilded. The chimes began to play the Russian national anthem. The height of the Roman numerals of the clock is 0.72 meters. The length of the hour hand is 2.97 m, the minute hand is 3.27 m. The watch is wound using three electric motors. The clock strikes using a hammer connected to a mechanism and a bell. The dials have a diameter of 6.12 m and extend on four sides.
Star on the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin
In 1935, the Tsar's eagle on the Spasskaya Tower was replaced by the first five-pointed star - a symbol of the Soviet era. It was copper, covered with gold and Ural gems. After 2 years it was replaced by a ruby star. The first star now crowns the spire of the Northern River Station. The wingspan of the new star is 3.75 meters. This is slightly less than the first one. Inside the star, a 5,000-watt lamp burns around the clock.