Stone necklace (walking tour of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin)

It is impossible without excitement to talk about one of the most beautiful fortresses of ancient Russia. It still amazes us with its majestic simplicity, the mighty sweep of the walls and the harsh inaccessible towers that have withstood seventeen enemy sieges in their lifetime. The enemy never set foot inside the Nizhny Novgorod fortress. Artist Ilya Glazunov perfectly described our Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin – ancient, majestic, impregnable.

This place is the heart of our city, from its foundation to this moment. Like everything ancient, it carries a lot of mysteries. When and how was the fortress built? Why is it often called a “stone necklace”? What do Italian masters have to do with it? What do Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow fortresses have in common? Why has the Kremlin never been captured? What's left in it? What role did the Kremlin play in different eras? We will start our tour at Minin and Pozharsky Square, learn how the square was formed, how it was called, and why there were 2 squares in pre-revolutionary times. Next, we will go through the Dmitrov Tower, compare it to other towers, and understand why it is a symbol of the Kremlin, although not official. Fast forward to the 20th century, learn about the exploits of Gorky people in the difficult time of the Great Patriotic War, and even see portraits of those who worked for the front, for the Victory. We will clearly see what the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin reflected the attitude of Emperor Paul I to Catherine II. Let’s go back to the beginning – the foundation of the city. Why is it called the Lower and the Earth the Nizov? We will learn about the difficult fate of the founder of the city and what Nizhny Novgorod owes him today. Let’s go to the oldest church of Nizhny Novgorod – Mikhailo-Arkhangelsk Cathedral and, following the example of Peter I, we will worship “the true savior of the Fatherland, the first citizen of the Russian state” – Kuzma Minin. We will admire the panorama of Strelka and Zavolzhsky Dalia. Let us recall the words of Ilya Repin, the personality of Melnikov-Pechersky. We will see the oldest obelisk in the city, remember the Troubled times of the XVII century. We will see the Arsenal, where military ammunition was stored by order of the emperor, and what became of it today. We will admire the house, similar to the palace, where members of the imperial family stayed. Here we will not bypass the romantic story of a nobleman who became a Decembrist and a poor Frenchwoman who became the wife of this Decembrist. And how this house is connected with the heroes who served as prototypes of the work of A. Dumas “The Teacher of Fencing”. And much more. We will finish our tour at the monument to V. P. Chkalov. Here we will learn the history of his victories, why the German pilots considered him “not only yours, but also our teacher”, what phrase Yuri Gagarin borrowed from Chkalov and why in Vancouver there is still a monument to our pilot and one of the squares is named after him.

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