Dictionary:
Krem·lin (krĕm'lĭn)  |
[Obsolete German Kremelin, from Old Russian *kremlĭnŭ, separate, from kremlĭ, a separate place, citadel.]
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: kremlin |
For more information on kremlin, visit Britannica.com.
| Architecture: kremlin |
1. In Russia, the citadel of a town or city, serving as an administrative and religious center
2. (initial cap.) The citadel of Moscow, a 90 acre (36 hectares) area surrounded by 15th-century crenelated walls, entered by five steepled gate towers.
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| Archaeology Dictionary: kremlin |
The fortified citadel of medieval Russian and Slav towns. The best known is the Moscow Kremlin which dates to the 14th century ad. Within it lies a range of palaces and cathedrals, and state buildings in a range of architectural styles spanning the 14th to the 18th centuries. More modern buildings were added in Soviet times to house the country's administration.
| Russian History Encyclopedia: Kremlin |
Few architectural forms have acquired greater resonance than the Moscow Kremlin. In actuality many medieval Russian towns had a "kremlin," or fortified citadel, yet no other kremlin acquired the fame of Moscow's. The Kremlin structure, a potent symbol of Russian power and inscrutability, owes much of its appearance to the Russian imagination - especially the tower spires added in the seventeenth century by local architects. Yet the main towers and walls are the product of Italian fortification engineering of the quattrocento, already long outdated in Italy by the time of their construction in Moscow. Nonetheless, the walls proved adequate against Moscow's traditional enemies from the steppes, whose cavalry was capable of inflicting great damage on unwalled settlements, but had little or no heavy siege equipment.
In the 1460s the Kremlin's limestone walls, by then almost a century old, had reached a dangerous state of disrepair. Local contractors were hired for patchwork; as for reconstruction, Ivan III turned to Italy for specialists in fortification. Between 1485 and 1516 the old fortress was replaced with brick walls and towers extending 2,235 meters and ranging in thickness from 3.5 to 6.5 meters. The height of the walls varied from eight to nineteen meters, with the distinctive Italian "swallowtail" crenelation. Of the twenty towers, the most elaborate were placed on the corners or at the main entrances to the citadel. Among the most imposing is the Frolov (later Spassky, or Savior, Tower), built between 1464 and 1466 by Vasily Ermolin and rebuilt in 1491 by Pietro Antonio Solari, who arrived in Moscow from Milan in 1490. The decorative crown was added in 1624 and 1625 by Bazhen Ogurtsov and the Englishman Christopher Halloway. At the southeast corner of the walls, the Beklemishev Tower (1487 - 1488, with an octagonal spire from 1680) was constructed by Marco Friazin, who frequently worked with Solari. This and similar Kremlin towers suggest comparisons with the fortress at Milan. The distinctive spires were added by local architects in the latter part of the seventeenth century.
Although he built no cathedrals, Pietro Antonio Solari played a major role in the renovation of the Kremlin. He is known not only for his four entrance towers - the Borovitsky, the Constantine and Helen, the Frolov, and the Nikolsky (all 1490 - 1493) - as well as the magnificent corner Arsenal Tower and the Kremlin wall facing the Red Square, but also for his role in the completion of the Faceted Chambers (Granovitaya palata), its name due to the diamond-pointed rustication of its limestone main facade. Used for banquets and state receptions within the Kremlin palace complex, the building was begun in 1487 by Marco Friazin, who designed the three-storied structure with a great hall whose vaulting was supported by a central pier. Much of the ornamental detail, however, was modified or effaced during a rebuilding of the Chambers by Osip Startsev in 1682.
The rebuilding of the primary cathedral of Moscow, the Dormition of the Virgin, began in the early 1470s with the support of Grand Prince Ivan III and Metropolitan Philip, leader of the Russian Or thodox Church. Local builders proved incapable of so large and complex a task. Thus when a portion of the walls collapsed, Ivan obtained the services of an Italian architect and engineer, Aristotle Fioravanti, who arrived in Moscow in 1475. He was instructed to model his structure on the Cathedral of the Dormition in Vladimir; and while his design incorporates certain features of the Russo-Byzantine style, the architect also introduced a number of technical innovations. The interior - with round columns instead of massive piers - is lighter and more spacious than any previous Muscovite church. The same period also saw the construction of smaller churches in traditional Russian styles, such as the Church of the Deposition of the Robe (1484 - 1488) and the Annunciation Cathedral (1484 - 1489).
The ensemble of Kremlin cathedrals commissioned by Ivan III concludes with the Cathedral of the Archangel Mikhail, built in 1505 - 1508 by Aleviz Novy. The building displays the most extravagantly Italianate features of the Kremlin's Italian Period, such as the scallop motif, a Venetian feature soon to enter the repertoire of Moscovy's architects. The wall paintings on the interior date from the mid-seventeenth century and contain, in addition to religious subjects, the portraits of Russian rulers, including those buried in the cathedral from the sixteenth to the end of the seventeenth centuries.
The culminating monument in the rebuilding of the Kremlin is the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great, begun in 1505, like the Archangel Cathedral, and completed in 1508. Virtually nothing is known of its architect, Bon Friazin, who had no other recorded structure in Moscow. Yet he was clearly a brilliant engineer, for his bell tower - 60 meters high, in two tiers - withstood the fires and other disasters that periodically devastated much of the Kremlin. The tower, whose height was increased by an additional 21 meters during the reign of Boris Godunov, rests on solid brick walls that are 5 meters thick at the base and 2.5 meters on the second tier.
The most significant seventeenth-century addition to the Kremlin was the Church of the Twelve Apostles, commissioned by Patriarch Nikon as part of the Patriarchal Palace in the Kremlin. This large church was originally dedicated to the Apostle Philip, in implicit homage to the Metropolitan Philip, who had achieved martyrdom for his opposition to the terror of Ivan IV.
During the first part of the eighteenth century, Russia's rulers were preoccupied with the building of St. Petersburg. But in the reign of Catherine the Great, the Kremlin once again became the object of autocratic attention. Although little came of Catherine's desire to rebuild the Kremlin in a neoclassical style, she commissioned Matvei Kazakov to design one of the most important state buildings of her reign: the Senate, or high court, in the Kremlin. To create a triangular four-storied building, Kazakov masterfully exploited a large but awkward lot wedged in the northeast corner of the Kremlin. The great rotunda in its center provided the main assembly space for the deliberations of the Senate. To this day the rotunda is visible over the center of the east Kremlin wall.
During the nineteenth century, Nicholas I initiated the rebuilding of the Great Kremlin Palace (1839 - 1849), which had been severely damaged in the 1812 occupation. In his design the architect Konstantin Ton created an imposing facade for the Kremlin above the Moscow River and provided a stylistic link with the Terem Palace, the Faceted Chambers, and the Annunciation Cathedral within the Kremlin. Ton also designed the adjacent building of the Armory (1844 - 1851), whose historicist style reflected its function as a museum for some of Russia's most sacred historical relics.
With the transfer of the Soviet capital to Moscow in 1918, the Kremlin once again became the seat of power in Russia. That proved a mixed blessing, however, as some of its venerable monuments, such as the Church of the Savior in the Woods, the Ascension Convent, and the Chudov Monastery, were destroyed in order to clear space for government buildings. Only after the death of Josef Stalin was the Kremlin opened once again to tourists. The most noticeable Soviet addition to the ensemble was the Kremlin Palace of Congresses (1959 - 1961, designed by Mikhail Posokhin and others). It has the appearance of a modern concert hall (one of its uses), whose marble-clad rectangular outline is marked by narrow pylons and multistoried shafts of plate glass. The one virtue of its bland appearance is the lack of conflict with the historic buildings of the Kremlin, which remain the most important cultural shrine in Russia.
Bibliography
Brumfield, William Craft. (1993). A History of Russian Architecture. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Hamilton, George Heard. (1983). The Art and Architecture of Russia. New York: Penguin Books.
—WILLIAM CRAFT BRUMFIELD
| Columbia Encyclopedia: kremlin |
The Moscow Kremlin
The kremlin in the city of Moscow is known simply as the Kremlin. Triangular and surrounded by crenellated walls, it occupies 90 acres (36.4 hectares) in the historic core of Moscow. It is bounded on the south by the Moscow River and Kremlin quay, on the east by Red Square with Lenin's tomb, the Moscow Historical Museum, and St. Basil's Cathedral, and on the west and south by the old Alexander Gardens. The Kremlin's walls, built in the 15th cent., are topped on each side by seven towers (20 towers altogether); among these is the Spasskaya [of the Savior], with famous chimes, above the main gate.
In the center of the Kremlin is Cathedral Square, with the Uspenski [Assumption] Cathedral (late 15th cent. but containing rare icons of the 12th and 14th cent.), which was used for czarist state occasions, for the crowning of czars, and for the burial of church patriarchs; the Blagoveschenski [Annunciation] Cathedral (15th-16th cent.), which served as the private chapel for the czars' families; the Arkhangelski Cathedral (14th-17th cent.), which contains tombs of the czars; and the separate bell tower of Ivan the Great, c.266 ft (81 m) high, the golden cupola of which dominates the crosses, cupolas, and roofs of the other buildings.
On a pedestal adjoining the bell tower is the Czar Bell (cast in 1735), the world's largest bell, with a height of 20 ft (6.1 m) and a weight of 200 tons. The Czar Cannon, located nearby, was cast in 1586 and weighs 40 tons. Along the Kremlin walls are large palaces, including the 15th-century Granovitaya Palata (the throne and banquet hall of the czars); the 19th-century Oruzheinaya Palata (Armory), built as a museum for crowns, scepters, thrones, costumes, and armor; and the 19th-century Grand Palace (Rus. Bolshoi Dvorets), rebuilt under the Communist regime and now housing the Russian parliament.
The Kremlin's architectural history may be divided into the three periods: the wooden Kremlin (founded in the 13th cent.), the Italian Renaissance Kremlin, and the modern Kremlin begun by Catherine the Great in the 18th cent. The Kremlin is almost the only part of Moscow that has escaped all of the city's numerous fires, including that of 1812, when Napoleon's headquarters were in Moscow. It suffered minor damage during the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. The Kremlin was the residence of the czars until Peter the Great transferred the capital to St. Petersburg in 1712. After 1918, when the capital was moved back to Moscow, the Kremlin was the USSR's political and administrative center; the word "Kremlin" was often used as a synonym for that government. It is now the seat of the government of Russia.
| Politics: Kremlin |
A fortress in central Moscow that contains the central offices of the government of Russia and, formerly, the offices of the Soviet Union.
| Wikipedia: Kremlin |
Kremlin (Russian: Кремль, Kreml Russian pronunciation: [krʲɛmlʲ]) is the Russian word for "fortress", "citadel" or "castle" and refers to any major fortified central complex found in historic Russian cities. This word is often used to refer to the best-known one, the Moscow Kremlin, or metonymically to the government that is based there. Outside Russia, the name "Kremlin" is sometimes mistakenly thought of as being Saint Basil's Cathedral because of its distinctive environment, although this is not a part of the Moscow Kremlin.
The name Kremlin (or Kreml) has been allocated to various Soviet Navy vessels during construction. In each case, the name was changed prior to commissioning. Vessels which have briefly carried this name included Admiral Kuznetsov and Ulyanovsk.[1]
Russia's presidential administration is located in the Kremlin. During the Soviet era the government of the USSR was located in the Kremlin, but now the Russian government occupies a building outside it.
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Many Russian monasteries have been built in a fortress-like style similar to that of a kremlin. For a partial list, see Category:Monasteries in Russia.
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| Translations: Kremlin |
Nederlands (Dutch)
kremlin (burcht in Russische stad), Kremlin
Français (French)
n. - Kremlin
Deutsch (German)
n. - der Kreml, die russische Zentralregierung
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - το Κρεμλίνο, (ιστ.) η ανώτατη ηγεσία της Σοβιετικής 'Ενωσης
Português (Portuguese)
n. - kremlin (m)
Español (Spanish)
n. - Kremlin, sede del gobierno soviético en Moscú
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
克里姆林宫
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 克里姆林宮
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 러시아 정부, 러시아 봉건도시의 성채
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 城塞, クレムリン宮殿, ロシア政府, クレムリン
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) حصن مشرف على مدينه روسيه, الحكومه الروسيه
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - מצודה בעיר רוסית, קרמלין, מצודת מוסקבה המשמשת מקום-מושב השלטון ברוסיה
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Copyrights:
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Architecture. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Archaeology Dictionary. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. Copyright © 2002, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Russian History Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia of Russian History. Copyright © 2004 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more |
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| Politics. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Kremlin". Read more |
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