Царь-пушка

The Tsar Cannon, located between the Church of the Twelve Apostles and the Ivan the Great Church and Bell Tower, on the western side of Ivanovskaya Square, is one of the visiting cards of the Kremlin and the whole of Moscow. This unique landmark is rightly considered the most outstanding creation of the national art of arms.

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Video: Tsar Cannon

Contents

Highlights

‘ History of the Tsar Cannon
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What does the Tsar Cannon look like?

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Whether the Tsar Cannon could have been used for the defense of the Kremlin or whether it has a 100% “decorative” purpose, it had and has a ceremonial and majestic appearance. Cast from bronze, the beautiful cannon solemnly, even somewhat proudly rises on a cast-iron carriage, which is almost two centuries old. Next to it there are cannonballs made of the same material cast in 1834, each of which weighs 1.97 tons. To shoot such cannonballs, of course, the gun can not.

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Once on the right side of the Tsar Cannon, you will see the image of the sovereign-emperor Feodor I Ioannovich, also known by the name of Feodor the Blessed, sitting on a horse. He has a crown on his head and a scepter in his hands. Who is not very familiar with history, will be able to read next to who exactly is depicted here.

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‘ The Tsar Cannon in the photo

It is believed, and we said this at the very beginning, that the gun got its name – Tsar Cannon – thanks to this image. After all, Fyodor Ivanovich was not only the Grand Duke of Moscow, but also the Tsar of all Russia. However, on this account, as well as on other moments related to the history of the landmark, there is an alternative opinion: the name of the gun received thanks to the dimensions, which really make it “tsar” among all the usual cannons.

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Now moved to the opposite side of the barrel, which faces another famous landmark – the Tsar Bell. On it we can see the inscription that the cannon was cast in “preimenitom royal city of Moscow in the summer of 7094 in the third summer of his state”, and that the cannon was cast by “cannon molder Ondrey Chokhov”. But why is such a year indicated, which evokes associations with the Byzantine chronology, which in turn goes back to the Old Testament? The fact is that in the XVI century chronology in Russia, as in Byzantium, was conducted from the “creation of the world”. Counting years from the Nativity of Christ, as we are used to today, in Russia began in the late XVII century, at the behest of Peter the Great.

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And, of course, we will not ignore the barrel of the gun, decorated with the most beautiful ornamentation. About the carriage, which was cast according to the drawings of Peter Jan de Withe, we will say separately. The foundry workers covered this 15-ton construction with a very original interlacing of plants, among which there is an image of a lion fighting a snake, which has a symbolic meaning. By all accounts, the king of beasts was placed here not by chance, but in order to emphasize the special status of the Tsar Cannon. “Plant” theme is continued on the spokes of large wheels, which are executed in the form of intertwined leaves.

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Interesting facts

A legend has come down to our days, according to which the Tsar-gun did shoot. And it happened only once, under False Dmitry I. When this self-appointed ruler was exposed, he tried to leave the capital in a hurry. On the way he was overtaken by an armed detachment. The soldiers brutally killed the impostor, but after the body was buried, the next day … he was found near the almshouse. The surprise of Muscovites was not limited, but not to leave the corpse unburied. It was buried again in another place, to an even greater depth. But when the body of False Dmitry appeared again, people were seriously worried. There was a rumor that the impostor even the earth does not accept. And it was decided to burn the body, after which the ashes mixed gunpowder and shot from the Tsar-gun in the direction of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, from where, in fact, and came False Dmitry. Of course, this is only a legend, but who knows – suddenly something like this did happen? After all, not for nothing they say in the people that smoke without fire does not happen.

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And another interesting fact. It turns out that in the place where the Tsar Cannon majestically “poses” in front of visitors, there used to be an ordinary pub, which liked to pass a drink or two of the most diverse people.

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Tsar Cannon and its copies

One of the most famous copies of the legendary gun is in Donetsk. For the capital of Donbass it was cast specially by order of the Moscow government at the enterprise JSC “Izhstal” (Udmurtia). In terms of weight, the “clone” even exceeds the original, it weighs 42 tons, of which a total of 3 tons is accounted for both wheels. The weight of the core is 1.2 tons, and the diameter of the barrel is 89 cm.

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‘ class=”fancybox” >Donetsk Tsar Cannon – copy of Tsar Cannon in Moscow

Donetsk Tsar Cannon, cast, unlike the Moscow one, from cast iron, was installed in front of the City Hall in May 2001. In order to bring the appearance closer to the original, the barrel was covered with a special paint imitating medieval bronze. Making the duplicate took almost three months, being divided into two stages. First, a mold for casting was made, and then it was cast in cast iron. All the artistic elements, and there are 24 of them (lion’s head, patterns on the barrel, the image of Tsar Fedor and many others) are made by Donetsk cabinetmakers Vitaly Antonenko and Mikhail Berezovsky.

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Another famous copy of the Tsar Cannon is located in Yoshkar-Ola, the capital of the Mari El Republic. It is installed at the entrance to the National Art Gallery, which is on Obolensky-Nogotkov Square. The Mari copy was specially cast at the S. N. Butyakov shipbuilding and ship repair plant.

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The Perm model of the Tsar Cannon is no less famous. It is also the youngest of all, it was made in the Motovilikhinsky iron cannon factory back in 1868, and in full size. Unlike its “big sister” in Moscow, the Perm 20-inch model successfully passed what is called the battle test. It fired 314 shots, and not only with ordinary cannonballs, but also with bombs of different systems.

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During the World Exhibition of 1873 in Vienna, the Perm cannon was installed in front of the Russian pavilion. After the exhibition it was to be transported to Kronstadt, a special carriage was even made for it. It was planned that the gun would serve for the defense of St. Petersburg from the sea. However, this giant was brought back to Perm. The fact is that by that time it was technically obsolete. It was replaced by lighter guns made of high-strength cannon steel, the technology for producing which was developed by the Zlatoust engineer-inventor Pavel Matveevich Obukhov, who opened a factory in the city on the Neva. The Perm Tsar Cannon, like the Moscow cannon, was preserved as a monument.

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How to get there

The Tsar Cannon is among Moscow’s most famous landmarks, located in the heart of the city, so it is very easy to find.

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Using the subway, you reach the station “Alexandrovsky Sad” and get off directly into this park, located on the northwest side of the Kremlin walls. Here, at the subway station, there are ticket offices to the Kremlin. After buying a ticket, go up to the Kutafya Tower and, after walking across the bridge and passing the Trinity Tower, you will find yourself directly on the territory of the Kremlin.

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Then go in the direction of Senate Square and turn right, after which you reach the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great, next to which there is a unique, silent in its grandeur ancient gun – its majesty Tsar Cannon.

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