The Borisoglebskaya Tower is one of the 13 towers of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, built in 1500–1511 on the Volga. The tower is one of the fortress's ordinary (non-gateway) towers and forms part of a monument of history and architecture of federal significance. The tower is situated in the northwestern part of the Kremlin perimeter, between Northern Tower of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, on the slope of Chasovaya Gora (Clock Hill), and is circular (semicircular) in plan, belonging to the type of intermediate towers — that is, towers without passageway gates. The tower's name is connected with the holy martyr-princes Boris and Gleb, to whom a nearby church was dedicated; such a practice of naming towers after neighboring churches was characteristic of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin in general.[1][2]

Place within the Kremlin ensemble

The Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin has the shape of an irregular polygon; the total length of the walls together with the towers exceeds 2,000 metres. The walls reach heights of between 12 and 22 metres, with a thickness of up to 4.5 metres. The Borisoglebskaya Tower forms part of this fortified perimeter alongside Dmitrievskaya Tower of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin and the other structures of the ensemble.[1][2]

History of the fortress

Stone construction of the Kremlin began in the late fifteenth century; Kladovaya Tower of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin marked the start of intensive work, which was completed by 1511. The fortress served a defensive function until 1697, after which it lost its military significance and became an administrative center. In the eighteenth century, under Catherine II, a large-scale reconstruction was carried out: the moat was filled in and the roof sections of several towers were demolished; this led to the flooding of the lower tiers by groundwater. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the Borisoglebskaya Tower, like a number of other Kremlin towers, fell into disrepair: the roof was lost, the interior tiers were filled with rubble and soil, and the walls partially collapsed; restoration of the tower became possible only during the large-scale restoration of the Kremlin led by architect S. L. Agafonov, carried out in the second half of the twentieth century.[1] During The Great Patriotic War, anti-aircraft installations were stationed on the Kremlin grounds.[1]

The Kremlin includes 15 monuments of history and culture, of which 8 are of federal significance: Cathedral of the Archangel Michael, The Governor's Palace, the Vice-Governor's house, the House of Soviets, the Arsenal, the Corpus of Presential Chambers, The Obelisk in Honor of Minin and Pozharsky, and a number of other sites.[2]

Sources

  1. nsportal.ru — Creative work "The Borisoglebskaya Tower of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin" — Educational Social Network — The Borisoglebskaya Tower is located in the northwestern part of the Kremlin perimeter…
  2. opentextnn.ru — Kucherova T. The Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin. — OPEN TEXT (archive)
  3. bolshayastrana.com — The Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin: history, description, location, interesting facts — Bolshaya Strana (archive)