Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin
| Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin | ||
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 The Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin |
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| Alternative name (s): | Russian Нижегородский Кремль | |
| Conservation status: | Well | |
| Geographical location | 56 ° 19 '42 " N , 44 ° 0' 9" E | |
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The Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin ( Russian: Нижегородский кремль , scientific transliteration Nižegorodskij Kremlin ) is a former citadel in the city of Nizhny Novgorod in Russia at the mouth of the Oka River in the Volga . The fortress was built in the 16th and 17th centuries and is still largely preserved, especially the wall ring with all the towers. The Kremlin is located directly above the estuary on a hill not far from the old town of Nizhny Novgorod . The Kremlin is the official residence of the governor of Nizhny Novgorod.
history
Nizhny Novgorod, located at the confluence of the two rivers Volga and Oka, which are also very important as a trade route, enjoyed a special position long before the unification of Russian principalities to form Tsarist Russia due to its strategically favorable location . A fortified place is said to have existed there as early as the 13th century, and the Archangel Michael Cathedral (built around 1227) in the Kremlin of Nizhny Novgorod is one of the first stone-built sacred buildings in Russia. From 1365 to 1368 the first stone fortifications (no longer preserved) were built on the steep Kremlin hill, which today forms the core of the old town.
Today's Kremlin was built on the same site from 1500 to around 1515. Together with the most famous Russian citadel - the Moscow Kremlin - as well as the similarly structured Kremlin in Kolomna , Tula and other places on the borders of the Moscow principality , the citadel at the mouth of the Oka was supposed to protect the Moscow state from raids on its borders. The construction of part of the fortifications of Nizhny Novgorod is attributed to the Italian architect Pietro "Frjasin" , who previously worked in Moscow . After its completion, the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin consisted of mighty brick walls up to 12 meters high with 13 watchtowers built into them. Before the end of the construction work, Khan Möxämmädämin of Kazan failed in his attempt to take the fortress, and the Kremlin was also able to defy all subsequent attacks.
By the end of the 17th century, tsarist Russia had expanded so far east that the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, like the other citadels built in Russia up to that point, lost its defensive significance for good. This in turn had an extremely negative effect on the condition of the historical buildings, because many of them deteriorated due to lack of care, some were also destroyed in a conflagration. Notable building activities in the Kremlin did not resume until the end of the 18th century, when, among other things, the residence of the lieutenant governor was built in the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin. During the Soviet era in the 20th century, several administrative buildings were erected on the site of the Kremlin, which do not harmonize with the historical ensemble. During the Second World War , the roofs of the Taynitskaya, Severnaya and Chasovaya towers were dismantled and anti-aircraft machine guns were installed on the upper platforms. The fortress defended the city's airspace against attacks by the German air force . The German pilots tried to bomb the Kanavinsky Bridge and the Messe , but the Kremlin's air defenses defended these objects.
In October 2018, archaeologists discovered the remains of a medieval settlement and a cemetery on the site of the destroyed Church of St. Simeon Stylites . The finds belong to the 13th century and the oldest cultural layer - until 1221, when Nizhny Novgorod was founded. After all the excavations, the exhibits will be displayed and the Church of St. Simeon the Stylite will be recreated in this location.
architecture
Regardless of the destruction and improper renovations, the fortifications of the Kremlin, consisting of 13 towers with the connecting wall, have largely been preserved to this day. The towers are all multi-story and, depending on their location, have either a round or a square floor plan. The five towers with the square plan were supposed to protect the strategically important sections of the Kremlin wall, which is why heavy artillery pieces were once positioned in these towers. As in other Russian Kremlins, each tower has its own name. Of the round towers, for example, the clock tower (Russian Часовая башня ) and the Tragjochturm ( Коромыслова башня ) are known. The former owes its name to a wooden clock tower that adorned it in the 16th century, while the name of the Tragjochturm is based on a gloomy legend: It is said that a young woman who was sacrificed by the builders when she herself was buried under this tower at the time of the laying of the foundation stone made his way to the banks of the Volga with a yoke and buckets to fetch water. Of the rectangular towers, for example, the Dimitrios Tower ( Дмитровская башня ) on the high wall section is known, which possibly got its name from a church that was once nearby, which was dedicated to Demetrius of Thessaloniki .
The Archangel Michael Cathedral ( Архангельский собор ) from 1227 is the most famous and oldest church building in Nizhny Novgorod. In the course of its history, the cathedral was damaged several times in fires and rebuilt or expanded. Originally there was a tent-shaped bell tower next to the church. In the 1930s, the crypt with the remains of the Russian national hero Kusma Minin was transferred to the Archangel Michael Cathedral; previously it was in the Savior's Transfiguration Cathedral, which was demolished in the early Soviet times and which also stood in the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin.
Other well-known structures in the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin include:
- the Nizhny Novgorod Philharmonic
- the historic church square
- the governor's house with art museum
- War memorial with an eternal flame
- Minin and Poscharsky Obelisk
See also
literature
- Галина Вацлавна Длужневская, Владимир Александрович Калинин, Андрей Викторович Сужневская, Кремсандрович Калинин, Андрей Викторович Сукторович Субибовин : XV - XVII. Литера, Санкт-Петербург 2006, ISBN 5-94455-523-8 , pp. 152–157
Individual evidence
- ↑ Интересные факты о Нижегородском кремле . In: Интересные факты для детей и взрослых обо всем в картинках и фото . ( kartinkinaden.ru [accessed November 6, 2018]).
- ↑ В Нижегородском кремле археологи нашли неизвестный науке некрополь . In: Российская газета . October 30, 2018 ( rg.ru [accessed November 6, 2018]).
