Ivan the Great Belltower

Ivan the Great Bell Tower
Колокольня Ивана Великого
Ivan the Great Bell Tower, with Assumption Belfry on the left
Coordinates: 55°45′3″N 37°37′5″E / 55.75083°N 37.61806°E / 55.75083; 37.61806
Location	Moscow
Country	Russia
Denomination	Russian Orthodox
Website	www.kreml.ru
Architecture
Style	Russian
Completed	1508

The Ivan the Great Bell Tower (Russian: Колокольня Ивана Великого, Kolokol'nya Ivana Velikogo) is a church tower inside the Moscow Kremlin complex. With a total height of 81 metres (266 ft), it is the tallest tower and structure of Kremlin. It was built in 1508 on Cathedral Square for the 3 Russian Orthodox cathedrals, namely the Assumption (closest to the tower), the Archangel and the Annunciation, which do not have their own belfries.

From 1329, Moscow's first stone bell tower stood on this site, affiliated with the Church of St. Ivan of the Ladder-under-the Bell, hence the name "Ivan" in the title. This church was erected by Grand Duke Ivan Kalita, and was one of the first to be built in Moscow out of stone, rather than wood. During Grand Duke Ivan III’s major renovation of the Kremlin, he hired an Italian architect to replace this church. Construction was begun in 1505, the year of Ivan’s death, and was completed three years later under his son Vasily III. Vasilly also ordered that a new and unprecedentedly large tower be erected on the foundations of the old tower as a monument to honour his father.

The new bell tower, completed in 1508, originally had two belfries on different levels and a height of around 60 meters. Because of its height, the tower also served as an observation point against fires and the approach of enemies.

A new church, the Church of the Resurrection, was built next to the tower from 1531 to 1543, but already by the end of the 17th century it was used as bell choir stalls to supplement the hanging bells, rather than as a place of worship.

In 1600 on the orders of Boris Godunov the tower was raised to its present height. Until the building of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in 1883, it was the tallest building in old Moscow, and it was forbidden to put up any building in Moscow which was taller than the Bell Tower.