Fortress walls and towers of the Alexander Kremlin

The Alexander Kremlin is the oldest pearl of the city of Alexandrov, the second largest, beauty and wealth after the Kremlin of Moscow.

The Kremlin was built in the XVI century by decree of Vasily III - the father of Ivan the Terrible. The architectural ensemble is a unique medieval palace complex created by Italian and Moscow masters.

The entire territory of the Kremlin is surrounded by a high stone fence with towers, built at the end of the XVII century. The shape of the fence is an irregular quadrangle with a U-shaped ledge at the southern entrance. At the corners there are four round towers with spires connected by a high wall.

Construction of the complex began in the 1670s. The walls were first erected on the north side, and by the 1680s all work had been completed, except for the eastern part of the monastery. The last, eastern section of the wall was completed in the XVIII century.

The walls are made in compliance with all the rules of fortification, but most of the loopholes are already decorative. For example, mashikuli - holes for mounted combat - only imitation. On the outside of the walls there is a decorative arcature-column belt. Inside all the walls are arranged niches with grooves-pechures.

Despite its impressive appearance, the walls never served defensive purposes. But these powerful fortifications preserved for descendants in their original form many monuments of the XVI-XVIII centuries.

And to this day on the territory of the Kremlin is the Museum-Reserve "Alexander Sloboda", as well as the restored Holy Dormition convent.