Bekhremyshevskaya Tower (also called Moskvoretskaya Tower, formerly
Svibrova or Svirlova Tower) is a tower on the Moscow Kremlin wall.
Located in the southeast corner of the Kremlin triangle, between the
Konstantin Ereninskaya and Petrovsky towers, it was built in 1488 by the
Italian architect Marco Fryazin.
The name is derived from Ivan
Belsen-Bekremyshev (executed in 1525), a boyar whose courtyard inside
the Kremlin at the end of the 15th century was adjacent to the new
tower; after a pumping system was built on the Sviblova tower in 1633
(renamed Vodovuzhvodnaya), from the mid-17th century Beklemyshevskaya
became known as Svibrova (Svirlova - in the 1667 inventory of the
Kremlin's devastation). Later, it was called Moskvoretskaya because of
its proximity to the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge. Today, maps and
pamphlets use the two names Bekhremyshevskaya and Moskvoretskaya.
The round tower has four levels. The third level is a vaulted room,
and the upper level preserves the battle platforms and the launchers
that were fired at the attackers during the siege. The cylinders have
narrow windows sparsely opened. The parapet of the battle platform is
decorated with a wide band. At the top of the tower is an octagon with
two rows of dormer windows and a high elongated tent on which a
decorative golden flag is hung. The base is made of white stone and
decorated with semicircular rollers. A passageway in the rampart of the
wall leads to the second floor, where a steep, narrow staircase leads to
the next level of the tower and to a higher part of the eastern wall of
the Kremlin. The lower part of the building has well-preserved 15th
century masonry, but the upper part is weathered and pitted.
Historian
S.P. Bartenev wrote:
The most elegant in proportion. With its beauty
in the overall impression of the Kremlin, in the symphony of its
architectural forms, the Beklemishev Tower gives a charming consonance
In 1467, during the reign of Ivan III, it was decided to build a new
defensive complex on the site of Dmitry Donskoy's white stone Kremlin.
Construction began on the south side overlooking the Moscow River, and
in March 1487 the Italian architect Mark Fryazin designed the
Bekhremyshevskaya, the second of the corner towers on the Kremlin's
south wall. It is assumed to have been completed by Pietro Antonio
Solari, who built the other six towers. It was built near the mouth of
the Negrinya River, on the site of a corner tower from the time of
Prince Dmitry Donskoi, and was completed in 1488.
This tower was
built in a circular shape because it could have been attacked from both
sides. It strengthened the defense of the southern wall, covered the
approach to the eastern wall and the Frolovsky (Spassky) Gate, and
protected the ford and the crossing of the Moscow River. To strengthen
flanking combat, almost the entire circumference of the circular base of
the tower was moved outside the city walls. This corner of the Kremlin
was considered very dangerous because the distance between Petrovsky's
and Moskvoretskaya's towers was shorter than between the other towers.
Its upper part was wider than the lower part and had a hinged
fighting loophole called a matikol. From there, it was possible to
penetrate to the foot of the tower and shoot the enemy. In addition to
the upper, middle, and foot fighting devices in the tower of
Beklemyshevskaya, Marko Fryazin installed an acoustic chamber in the
basement to hear if the enemy was digging in. Historian Ignatius
Steretsky believed that in addition to the well and acoustic chamber,
there was a secret underground passageway leading to the Moscow River.
Like the Kremlin walls, the tower ended in a sloping wooden roof.
According to architect Alexei Volovyov, the tower was originally
built 10 meters lower. It was built when the eastern wall was
approached. This is evidenced by the traces of old masonry on the main
body of the tower.
The tower was used not only for defense but also as a prison: in the
15th century, Venetian ambassadors who attempted unauthorized travel to
the Khan of the Golden Horde via Moscow were imprisoned here. State
criminals and rebellious boyars were also interrogated in this tower.
Boyar (nobleman) Beklemyshev himself was confined to the tower by Vasily
III for his "arrogance.
After Beklemyshev's execution in 1525,
the tower and its courtyard became the monarch's prison. It continued to
be used as a place of torture and confinement for prisoners until 1537,
when Prince Andrei Staritsky's wife and young son, Vladimir, were
imprisoned. The prince's boyars were also arrested and imprisoned "in
the coal-producing Bekhremyshevskaya Strelnitsa. According to
historians, the bodies of the tortured lay near the moat between the
Negrinka and Moscow rivers.
In 1538, the walls of the Kitai Gorod
were added to the Kremlin's corner towers to prevent Crimean nogais from
attacking the city.
The Beklemyshevskaya tower is the only one of the Kremlin towers that
has not undergone extensive repairs: the 1646 inventory shows no damage,
and a similar document from 1667 records only the dilapidation of the
wooden parts: "Svilov's round wax tower, over coal. Above it is a vault
made of stone, the teeth of which are intact. From the upper vault to
the middle vault there is a round staircase made of stone, with many
bricks falling on the staircase. From the arch in the middle of the
third vault, the ladder is made of wood and the bridge is solid. The
fourth bridge leading from the cross, from Kitaygorod, has a wooden
railing up to the tower; the wooden bridge up to the tower has rotted
away. By the passage from the cross and the fact that the coming of the
state comes to that bridge, a new bridge is paved. And the roof of that
tower is intact.
In 1680, an octagon without an interior ceiling
was built over the main columns of the Bekhremyshevskaya tower, with a
narrow high tent, a gilt weathervane and two rows of dormer windows. The
reconstruction of the tower marked the growth of the power of the
Russian state and decorated Moscow. With the completion of the tent, the
tower took on a slender architectural form and lost its fortress-like
dignity. The tiled tents with watchtowers provided a good view of the
surroundings and timely warning of fires typical of Moscow, which was
still wooden.
In 1707, under Peter I, anticipating a Swedish
attack on Moscow, Bekhremyshevskaya and the other towers were modified
to defend against possible attacks. Earthworks were built at the foot of
the towers and a redoubt was constructed. In Moskvoretskaya, loopholes
were opened to install more powerful guns. However, after the capital
was moved to St. Petersburg in 1713 and Peter I's victory over the
Swedish army, the fortifications were no longer needed. However, the
earthwork remained. However, the earthwork remained, and it lasted for
more than 100 years, gradually collapsing.
According to historian Alexei Malinovsky, the tower was blown up and
destroyed during the Napoleonic invasion of 1812. However, many
researchers, including Bartenev S.P., believe that the French army
failed to destroy the original tower during their retreat. After the end
of World War II, restoration of the Kremlin walls and towers began. They
planned to demolish all the walls of Kitaygorod, but only a portion of
the wall adjacent to the Bekhremyshevskaya tower; in 1849, the
Moskvoretskaya tower was restored to its appearance before it was
rehabilitated by Peter I.
In 1858, the tower was partially
restored.
In the fall of 1917, during the October Revolution and
the bombardment of the Kremlin by heavy artillery, many monuments of the
Kremlin were damaged, including the cathedral, the temple, and several
towers, including Vekremyshevskaya. From the memoirs of a participant in
the Kremlin bombardment:
"From a machine gun on the tower of
Beklemyshevskaya, junk dealers fired on the workers' positions. I did
not know the name of that tower. The Bekhremyshevskaya tower was well
visible from our position, as was the entire Kremlin. I gave the order:
"Fire at the corner tower near the Moskvoretsky Bridge!" .
Soon,
under the direction of Vladimir Lenin, the restoration of the tower
began, and by 1920, under the leadership of architects Ivan Lilsky, Ilya
Bondarenko, and Nikolai Markovnikov, the collapsed tent was rebuilt. The
tiles for the restoration were based on ancient samples. Since exact
dimensions were not available, the tower was reconstructed from extant
photographs.
In January 1946, the USSR People's Committee
approved the "Resolution on the Restoration of the Towers and Walls of
the Moscow Kremlin"; as a result of the 1949 restoration, the brick
sections of the towers were redecorated, and the tile roof and iron
covering of the tent were cleaned. In 1973, the tent coverings were
covered with tiled copper sheets at the Bekhremyshev Tower.
In 2012, a bicycle parking was installed next to the Moskvoretskaya Tower. In 2013, the heliport of the Moscow Kremlin was located next to it. In 2016, as part of the reconstruction of the Kremlin Embankment, an additional pedestrian crossing with a traffic light was made near the tower.