The North Tower is a round tower of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, built in the 16th century. It is located in the Upper Part section of the fortress, between the Tainitskaya and Chasovaya towers. It is a federally listed cultural heritage site of Russia (reg. no. 521410066380036).[1]

Location and name

Despite its modern name, the tower is not the northernmost structure of the Kremlin. The name is explained by the fact that the fortress wall stretching from the Tainitskaya Tower toward this tower runs in the direction of north.[1]

At various times the tower has borne several names. In 17th-century historical documents it was called the Naugolnaya (Corner Tower) — because it occupies the corner of the fortress wall, which turns sharply from the Pochainsky Ravine toward the slope of Chasovaya Hill. Later the tower was known as the Ilyinskaya — after the nearby Church of the Holy Prophet Elijah, which stood on the opposite side of the ravine. The name Zelenskaya also appears in historical sources.[1]

The legend of the gunner Fedya Litvich

A historical legend is associated with the tower. According to tradition, in 1505 Kazan Khan Makhmed-Amin, having assembled an army of Tatars and Nogais, marched on Nizhny Novgorod. A gunner named Fedya Litvich volunteered to fire a cannon at the enemy from the Kremlin walls — and the further details of the legend are connected specifically with this corner tower.[1]

The tower as part of the Kremlin route

The Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin features Walking Route Along the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin Wall. The Kremlin towers form part of a museum complex: the round towers are equipped with observation decks, while the rectangular ones house museum exhibitions. The North Tower, as part of the wall, is accessible to visitors along the general route. Over the years the tower served as a storage space for so-called "police property"; in the mid-19th century Emperor Nicholas I planned to establish his residence there. During the 19th and early 20th centuries the tower was under the control of military units, and during the Great Patriotic War its roof was removed and anti-aircraft guns were installed on it. In the early 2000s the historical reenactment club Khort took up residence in the tower, collaborating with the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin branch museum for more than 15 years. In March 2024 the North Tower opened to visitors as a museumified space — the fifth such space within the Kremlin. During the restoration and repair works, lighting and heating were installed, floor coverings, window and door openings were replaced, and new furniture was put in place. The opening of the tower formed part of the implementation of the "Arrow of Time" concept, which envisages the full museumification of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin: the wall-walk route is organized in chronological order, and permanent exhibitions tracing the history of the city through the history of the Kremlin are displayed in the towers and along the walls. As part of interactive programs run jointly with the Khort club, visitors can examine armor and weapons from different eras, try them on, and have their photographs taken; one of the tower's levels houses a corresponding exhibition.[2][3]

Sources

  1. Wikipedia (ru) — North Tower (Nizhny Novgorod) (archive)
  2. minkult.nobl.ru — The North Tower of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin opened to visitors / Ministry of Culture of Nizhny Novgorod Region — Over the years the tower served as a storage space for so-called…
  3. travel.yandex.ru — Are you a robot?
  4. ngiamz.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin — Official museum website (archive)
  5. gorbilet.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin: history and tours in 2026 (archive)