In the very center of Moscow, on a picturesque hill above the Moskva River, the Kremlin rises – the historical and compositional center of the city. Here, on Borovitsky Hill, the history of the capital of Russia began. Excavations carried out during the construction of the Palace of Congresses and during the restoration of cathedrals, as well as archaeological finds in the southwestern part of the Kremlin, showed that the first settlements on the territory of Borovitsky Hill arose at the beginning of the Iron Age (about 500 BC). The first annalistic mention of Moscow dates back to 1147. Already at the turn of the 11th – 12th centuries, scientists believe, there was a large urban-type settlement here, and in the western part of the hill, on a steep cape above the Neglinnaya River, there was the first oval-shaped fortress, with an earthen rampart and an artificial moat. In 1156, Yuri Dolgoruky built a new fortress, expanding its boundaries.

At the end of the XV century. the process of unification of Russian lands into a single centralized state headed by Moscow was completed. During this period, the Kremlin ensemble was formed. The existing towers and walls of the Kremlin were built starting from 1485 under the guidance of Italian masters, so it is not surprising that the fortifications of the Moscow Kremlin and, for example, the Sforza castle in Milan.

According to ANYCOUNTYPRIVATESCHOOLS, the construction of the Kremlin was carried out for at least 9 centuries. In 1475 – 1479. on the highest point of the Kremlin hill, on the site of the first temple stone building of the city, under the leadership of the Italian architect Aristotle Fiorovanti, the Assumption Cathedral is being built, which has become the main temple of the centralized Moscow state. In 1484 – 1489. craftsmen from Pskov built the Cathedral of the Annunciation, which became the family church of the Moscow princes, and the Church of the Deposition of the Robe, which was the home church of Russian metropolitans and patriarchs. Frescoes by Theophanes the Greek and Andrei Rublev have been preserved in the Cathedral of the Annunciation. In 1505 – 1508. Italian master Aleviz Novy builds the Archangel Cathedral, which from 1540 to 1700. served as the tomb of kings and grand dukes. In 1505 – 1508. under the guidance of the architect Bon Fryazin, the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, 81 meters high, is being built. The bell tower is rightly considered one of the greatest architectural buildings.

On the territory of the Kremlin there are architectural structures of various eras: the Palace of Facets (1487 – 1491), the Terem Palace (1635 – 1637), the Arsenal (1702 – 1736), the Senate building (1776 – 1787), the Grand Kremlin Palace (1838 – 1850), Armory (1844 – 1851) and others.

The most beautiful and slender tower of the Kremlin is the Spasskaya Tower, built in 1491 by Pietro Solari, which has become a symbol of the Kremlin. Its gates – the main ones in the Kremlin – were especially elegantly decorated, a clock was installed on the tower. This tower overlooks Red Square – the main representative square of Moscow and the country. The area began to take shape from the end of the 15th century, as a protective strip between the Kremlin and the settlement, preventing the spread of fire and the imperceptible penetration of the enemy to the walls of the fortress. On the square in 1555 – 1561. in memory of the victorious campaign against Kazan, the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin on the moat is being built. The cathedral got its popular name – St. Basil’s – in honor of the famous holy fool, buried in one of the aisles. After the add-on in 1625, the decorative completion of the Spasskaya Tower, the square began to be called “Red”, that is, beautiful. In 1818, a monument to Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky, who led the people’s militia and liberated Moscow from Polish invaders in 1612, was erected on the square. On Red Square is the mausoleum of V.I. Lenin.

From Red Square you can go to the territory of Kitay-Gorod. This part of Moscow, especially its coastal part, was inhabited as early as the 12th – 13th centuries. Gradually, to the east of the Kremlin, a settlement grew, first inhabited by merchants and artisans, and later by boyars and clergy. Fragments of the Kitay-Gorod wall have been preserved near the Metropol Hotel and on Kitaisky Proyezd. Interesting monuments of history and culture have been preserved on the territory of Kitay-Gorod – this is the Mint (1697, reconstructed in 1732 – 1740), the Cathedral of the Zaikonospassky Monastery (1660 – 1661), chambers of the 17th – 18th centuries. , the former Sovereign Printing Yard, from which the Correct (i.e. editorial) and Book Preservation Chambers, built in 1679 – 1680, have survived to this day.

Between the streets of Nikolskaya and Varvarka in the XVI – XVII centuries. a trading center of the medieval city was formed, which was named Zaryadye. Velikaya Street ran along Zaryadye, connecting the Kremlin with the pier. At the end of Velikaya Street at the beginning of the 16th century, on the site of a wooden church, the Church of the Conception of Anna was built, which is in the corner of the Kitai-city wall. On Varvarka Street there is an elegant Church of Barbara (the end of the 18th century) and a laconic-strict Church of St. Maxim the Blessed (XVII century), between which the English Compound is located – one of the few civil buildings of the 16th century that have survived to our time. The central place in this chain is the ensemble of the Znamensky Monastery, founded in 1629 – 1631.

Along the northwestern wall of the Kremlin, above the Neglinnaya River taken into the collector, there is the Alexander Garden, laid out in 1820-1821. The Trinity Bridge was built across the Neglinnaya River in the 16th century. The nine-arch bridge, which was repeatedly rebuilt, has survived to our time. The tomb of the Unknown Soldier is located in the Alexander Garden.
In parallel with the Alexander Garden, squares are formed, on which buildings overlook, which are interesting architectural structures. On the steep bank of the Neglinnaya River, the urban estate of Pashkov was effectively built. Next is the State Russian Library; the buildings following it are the buildings Old Moscow University. One of them was built in the style of Russian classicism by an architect in 1782-1783. and was rebuilt after a fire in 1817-1819. in the spirit of the Empire. In front of them is the building of the Manezh (1817 – 1825), built on the site of a moss swamp for conducting reviews of troops. In recent years, it was used as an exhibition hall, burned down in 2004 and was rebuilt in 2005. Next is Theater Square, where the world-famous Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater (1821 – 1825) and the Maly Drama Theater are located. The hotel “Metropol” (1899 – 1905), built in the Art Nouveau style, overlooks the same square.

The most famous boulevard Moscow – Tverskoy Boulevard – is also the oldest (broken in 1796). And now you can see a huge two-hundred-year-old oak tree on it, in the shade of which, according to legend, the great Russian poet A. S. Pushkin liked to relax. On Pushkin Square there is a monument to the poet, created with the people’s money by the sculptor Opekushin.

The streets and alleys, radiating from the Boulevard Ring in a dense network, largely retained the layout of the 16th century. There are a lot of architectural monuments and memorable places.