The Savior Tower or Spasskaya Tower (1491) at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia
The tower is by right regarded as the most beautiful of all the Kremlin towers. It was built in 1491 under the supervision of the architect Pietro Antonio Solari, also known as Pyotr Fryazin. Originally it was called Frolovskaya and later renamed the Spasskaya - or Savior's - Tower in honor of the Icon of the Savior Not Made By Hands, which crowned the gateway. The gates of the Spasskaya Tower were the main entrance to the Kremlin, regarded as holy and awe-inspiring: men had to take off their hats when walking through the gates, and it was forbidden to ride through on horseback. It was here that soldiers went off to battle and foreign ambassadors were greeted. Originally the tower was half its present height. In 1624-1625 Russian architect Bazhen Ogurtsov and English master builder Christopher Halloway built a multi-tiered top with a stone tent roof. Czar Mikhail Fyodorovich ordered clothes to be made for the fantastical decorative statues to cover their nakedness. In the mid-17th century the first Kremlin double-headed eagle was mounted on the main Kremlin tower. Later, double-headed eagles appeared on the Nikolskaya, Troitskaya and Borovitskaya towers. The first clock was mounted in 1491, and the present Kremlin chimes were installed in 1851-1852 by the Butenop brothers. The diameter of the dial is meters, the height of the numerals is 72 centimeters and the length of the hour hand is meters, while that of the minute hand is meters. The tower is meters high (71 meters with the star mounted in 1935).
Size: 5616px × 3744px
Location: Savior Tower - Spasskaya Tower Kremlin, Red Square, Moscow, Russia, Eastern Europe
Photo credit: © DE ROCKER / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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