Söyembikä Tower

Frame the tower beside a straight vertical edge on another building. The lean of the upper tiers becomes much easier to see.

Getting there

Annunciation Cathedral › Lookout behind the cathedral › Sheynkmana Passage › Söyembikä Tower

Go around the cathedral to the lookout by the wall. Return to Sheynkmana Passage and walk towards the tall brick tower beside the palace gates.

Look for the great Kazan Bowl across the river and the Palace of Farmers below the Kremlin hill. The palace is a stop later today.

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History

Söyembikä ruled Kazan from 1549 to 1551. The museum tentatively dates the watchtower bearing her name to the 17th or 18th century. Its upper platform commanded the lands around both the Kazanka and the Volga. Follow the changes in its seven tiers: the lower three are square, and the brickwork above them turns octagonal. The tip of the 58-metre tower leans almost two metres to the northeast. An iron band was fitted around the base in the early 20th century. Engineers later reinforced the foundations several times, driving piles directly beneath the historic masonry.

Sources

55.80041, 49.10498

Go to stop · Taynitskaya Tower