Spasskaya Tower

Stay in the open part of the square. A little distance reveals how the clock, tall tent roof and star rise from the fortified gate.

The Moscow Kremlin’s Spasskaya Tower and its dark clock face

Getting there

State Historical Museum façade › Red Square › GUM frontage › View of Spasskaya Gate

Walk towards Saint Basil’s on the GUM side, keeping the Kremlin to your right. When the clock tower is nearly opposite, find an open viewpoint outside the barriers. If this part of the square is closed, return when access resumes.

For a break, enter GUM. Cafés and galleries line the upper level of its first arcade. Return to the square through the same exit.

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History

Pietro Antonio Solari built this gate for Ivan III in 1491. It was known as the Frolovskaya Tower. Its distinctive upper profile came later. In 1624–1625 Bazhen Ogurtsov and the Scottish craftsman Christopher Galloway added new tiers and a tent roof. Look at the proportions. At ground level the structure is a stern gateway, while above the clocks it becomes remarkably delicate.

Sources

55.75280, 37.62210

© Valeriy1960 · CC BY-SA 4.0

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