The White Tower is one of the 13 towers The Kremlin, built in 1508–1515.[2] The tower is round in shape and stands in the northeastern part of the fortress.[3] It is part of the Architectural Monument of Federal Significance — the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin.[3]

Place in the Kremlin's defensive system

The Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin was built under the direction of the architect Pyotr Fryazin (Pietro Francesco), invited from Moscow by decree of Grand Prince Vasili III.[2] The fortress has the shape of an irregular polygon; the walls run 2,045 metres, are 12 to 22 metres high, and 3.5 to 4.5 metres thick.[2] The towers range from 18 to 30 metres in height.[2] Of the Kremlin's 13 towers, five are rectangular (square) and served as gate towers; the remaining eight, including the White Tower, are round and windowless.[2] The round towers provided flanking fire along the adjoining walls.

Origin of the name and history

During the reign of Catherine II, a large-scale reconstruction was carried out at the Kremlin: the roofed fortifications of a number of towers were dismantled, and the moat was filled in. As a result of this work, the lower tiers of the towers became flooded by groundwater. At the same time, the Kremlin walls were whitewashed — apparently the origin of the name "White Tower." With the establishment of Soviet Power were repainted red, and the roofs green.

Present-day condition

The Kremlin functions as an open-air museum. A Route along the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin Wall) runs along the fortress wall — the longest of any kremlin in Russia.[4] Four of the towers house present-day historical exhibitions.[4] The White Tower is marked on the Kremlin's official interactive map and is included in the summer museum route, which operates from April to November.[4]

Sources

  1. putevka.com — Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin: history, towers, what to see, tickets and how to get there (archive)
  2. bolshayastrana.com — Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin: history, description, location, interesting facts — Bolshaya Strana (archive)
  3. ngiamz.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin — Official museum website (archive)