Sujumbike tower
The Sujumbike Tower ( Tatar Сөембикә манарасы / Söyembikä Manarası ; Russian башня Сююмбике / Baschnja Sjujumbike ) is a tower in the Kazan Kremlin and an important landmark of the city. It was built between the second half of the 17th and early 18th centuries and named after the last Kazan ruler, Sujumbike .
The tower is 58 m high and consists of seven floors. The first three are square, which corresponds to Russian traditions, the ones above are octagonal, which is typical of Tatar architecture. This is explained by the fact that the Russian tsars tried to reconcile the two Kazan ethnic groups (Russians and Tatars) and their religions. You can feel the influence of both cultures everywhere in Kazan. The wooden stairs from the 18th century have been preserved inside the tower. The railings are decorated with Arabic ornaments. During the tsarist empire there was a double-headed eagle on the spire , in Soviet times a red star and today a crescent moon is mounted there.
With a vertical deviation of 1.98 m, the Sujumbike Tower is counted among the Leaning Towers . This is because the western parts of the tower are on the foundations of a Tatar watchtower, while the eastern half stands on uncompacted soil. Stabilization work was carried out several times in the 20th century, and it was possible to stop further subsidence.
The sarcophagi of the Tatar khans were found under the tower in 1977 , behind the tower there is now a mausoleum . The place at the tower has always been a sacred place for the Kazan Muslims .
A legend has grown up around the tower that links it to the storming of Kazan by Russian troops in 1552 . She reports that Sujumbike, the last Kazan ruler, was so beautiful and clever that foreign travelers reported that there was hardly a wiser and more beautiful woman in Moscow. The legend also tells that Ivan IV wanted to conquer the Kazan Khanate only because of Sujumbike . He asked for her hand, but she gave him a basket. So Ivan IV stood with his troops at the Kremlin walls. Sujumbike said yes, but she made one condition: the Russian tsar should build the largest tower in the city in seven days. After seven days the tower was ready. Before the wedding, Sujumbike asked for permission to go upstairs to say goodbye to the city. But when she saw the city from above, she understood that it was beyond her power to leave the city, and she threw herself from the tower to her death. So much for the legend - in reality, Sujumbike was taken hostage with her underage son to Moscow and died there around 1554.
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 55 ° 47 ′ 47.4 " N , 49 ° 6 ′ 29" E