The Kutafiya Tower (1516), Trinity Tower (1495-1499) and State Kremlin Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia
The Kutafya Tower is an outlying barbican tower of the Moscow Kremlin, built in 1516 under the leadership of the Milanese architect Aloisio da Milano, to protect the bridge over the Neglinnaya River leading to the Troitskaya Tower. Initially, the tower was surrounded by a moat and was the only access to the city through its lift bridge. The tower had two combat tiers, the upper landing equipped with arrow slits and machicolations, which made it a formidable obstacle to the besieging of the fortress. Marking today the main public entrance to the Kremlin, the Kutafya tower was modified several times through the centuries. The Troitskaya Tower (Trinity Tower) is a tower with a through-passage in the center of the northwestern wall of the Moscow Kremlin, which overlooks the Alexander Garden. The Troitskaya Tower was built in 1495-1499 by an Italian architect Aloisio da Milano (known in Russia as Aleviz Fryazin Milanets). The tower has borne several names, including Rizopolozhenskaya, Znamenskaya, and Karetnaya. It received its current name in 1658 from the Troitskaya Coaching Inn (Троицкое подворье) in the Kremlin. The two-story basement of the tower housed a prison in the 16th-17th centuries. There is the Troitsky Bridge, which is protected by the Kutafia Tower and leads to the gates of the Troitskaya Tower. There was also a clock on top of the tower between 1585 and 1812. In 1707, due to a threat of Swedish invasion, the gun slots of the Troitskaya Tower were enlarged to fit heavy cannons. In 1935, the Soviets installed a red star on top of the Troitskaya Tower. Prior to Soviet rule the tower had an icon of the Holy Trinity atop its outward face. Because this tower was the formal entrance for huge Communist Party Congresses the icon was totally removed rather than just plastered over as were those on the Spasskaya and Nikolskaya Towers.
Size: 5242px × 3493px
Location: Kutafiya Tower, Alexander Garden, Kremlin, Moscow, Russia, Eastern Europe
Photo credit: © DE ROCKER / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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