The Kazan Kremlin

We stand on the square, the white stone Kremlin is before us. Before we enter it, it is necessary to learn the history of this ancient fortress. More than thousand years ago a small fortress Kazan was situated on this place, smaller than the today's Kremlin almost twice. There are lots of different legends about the origin of Kazan. But scientists claim that the root «kaz» in Bulgar language means the border, limit. So the frontier city appeared in the neighborhood with Russian Moscow princedoms. While the Mongol invasion, not Russia, but Volga Bulgaria faced an attack of east conquerors and battled with them during 7 years before its cities have fallen. Mongols couldn’t take Kazan. Ancient Bulgars found the protection under the walls of Kazan fortress in the end of the 14th century. Almost all population of Bulgaria arrived to Kazan when Tamerlan definitively destroyed Bulgar. Then Kazan became cultural, political and trade centre.

At that time the Golden Horde disintegrated and Khan Ulu Mohammed came to Kazan. He made Kazan the capital of his empire. Then hundred years of Kazan blossoming began. In the 16th century campaigns of Ivan the IV began. The campaign to Kazan was the first attempt of widening of Russian state. It was successful. In 1552 Russian armies conquered Kazan. The fortress was wooden, it was fully destructed. Ivan Grozny decided to build the stone Kremlin. The best Pskov and Nizhniy Novgorod masters arrived to Kazan to build a fortress of white Volga stone. Ivan Shiryay and Postnik Yakovlev, unique architects of the 16th century, ruled the construction. They constructed the fortress functionally, as the fortress of khan. Pay attention, there is a UNESCO sign above the entrance to the Kremlin. This sign means, that the Kazan Kremlin is in the list of objects which have cultural and architectural value for all humanity as the unique khan fortress on Volga river.

Tour round the Kazan Kremlin traditionally begins with visiting of the Spasskaya tower.

It is the main tower of the Kremlin, the most significant in the sizes and interesting for the architectural treatment. The square in front of the Spasskaya tower is the witness of past and present populous meetings and demonstrations.

The street which begins from Spasskaya tower and goes to the Kremlin is Sheynkman street. Sheynkman was the chairman of the Kazan Council in 1917. The length of the street is 550 m. Earlier it was called Bolshaya (big) street, and was the main street of the Kremlin. There were lots of wooden constructions in the Kremlin that shooters could run on roofs to get urgently from one side of the Kremlin to another.

When Catherine the Great arrived to Kazan, she brought the first state architect Kaftyrev with herself. He relieved the Kremlin from wooden constructions. Only churches were stone.
There is a three-storeyed building on the right in the beginning of the street. It is the building of the former guardroom building, where Bolsheviks spent last hours before the execution. Further there is a building which was the most extended – Provincial offices. It brings in itself the last traces of Kaftyrevsky late baroque of the 18th century. You can better see it from a court yard. There is a wall – curtain wall, which adjoins a southern tower. It have a powerful stone wall with the thickness - 7 meters, height - 12 meters and with gable roof, which preserved shooters from bad weather, loopholes …

Embrasure wall with loopholes in the cogs was constructed here; arrested people were kept in niches. In 1713 there was Yemelyan Pugachov in one of such niches; he was arrested by the authorities for instigation of Yaitsky Cossacks to disobedience. Pugachov was brought to Kazan and kept under arrest till June, 1772. Kazan was one of 4 most powerful fortresses of Russia, and only Pugachov stormed it. When hussar troops fended Pugachov, he receded by the bank of Kazanka river, through nowadays Novosavinovsky district.

At the left there is a building of riding-school, and further there is a building of the former Junkersky school. It was ordered in the beginning of the 20th century, and it was constructed in the style of Russian classicism. Now it is our pride – the building is completely relieved for museums. And the name of art gallery «Khazine» means «treasure».

On the second floor there is a museum of Great Patriotic War, on the right there is a picture gallery, at the left there is a constantly operating exposition of the Hermitage. It is our pride too, because there are only three cities in Europe, which have a constant exposition of the Hermitage – Amsterdam, London and Kazan.

Here we go downwards and walk round the court yard. There is one of mosques of Kazan in front of us. It was constructed in 2005 as the main mosque. It is the Kul Sharif mosque.

It has the same height as the Suyumbike tower. And on the left side from the mosque we see the traces of the Pushechny Dvor (cannon yard).

Leaving the mosque we see the cathedral domes. Blagoveschensky Cathedral is one of the oldest architectural monuments of Kazan, constructed in 1552-1562.

Temples of different religions are situated opposite to each other. Such position of temples there are only in two cities of the world – Jerusalem and Kazan. If we come to the Blagoveschensky cathedral from the east side, we can see the powerful Volga stone. It is a high, extended upwards building. In the 16th century the domes were in the form of helmets of Russian soldiers. Only in the 18th century the domes changed for pear-shaped. In the prayer hall everything is made according to description and photos of travelers. The temple was described both by Alexander Pushkin and Alexander Dyuma … The antechurch often burnt and last painting was made by the well-known Vladimir icon painter Safronov in the second half of the 19th century. It is still exist.

To the right of the Blagoveschensky Cathedral there is a three-storeyed white building – the former Arkhiyereysky house. Now there is a Chief of Staff of the Republic of Tatarstan here. The Arhiyereysky house was constructed at once after Kazan capture by Ivan Grozny.

A Suyumbike tower is situated on the rapid descent of a hill. It is a monumental monument of ancient Muslim Kazan.

It is possible to pass to the Presidential Palace from it. You can go down to the Taynitsky tower by descent which is called Taynitsky.

Going down to the tower, we see a palace of the Pushechny Dvor (cannon yard) at the left. Today the President hosts foreign delegations here.