The Ryazan Kremlin

14 points5 km4.5 hours

The Ryazan Kremlin is the best place to start getting to know Ryazan. On the “Kremlin route” you can see one of the largest Orthodox churches in Russia; find out where, legend has it, the great Prince Oleg of Ryazan hid his sword, which square in the city was called “Red,” and how the Diveevo convent is connected with the Ryazan Kremlin; take a photo at the city's most “iconic” selfie spot; and sip fragrant cardamom coffee like the one served on the biblical Via Dolorosa in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Route author

Susanin Team

Things to do

📜 Learn the city's history
🏛️🕰️ Compare the eras

Route points (14)

Cathedral Bell Tower in Ryazan

Point on route “The Ryazan Kremlin”

Point 6

Cathedral Bell Tower

🏟️ Architectural landmark • 📜 Historic site

A Bell Tower by Four Architects

The Cathedral Bell Tower of the Ryazan Kremlin is a unique building. Four architects had a hand in its construction, each adding his own tier, and the work dragged on for a full half century. It was begun in 1789 by the Kostroma architect Stepan Vorotilov. The work was continued by Ivan Ruska, heir to a famous family of architects. The third tier was designed in 1832 by Konstantin Thon, architect of Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and the fourth, made of metal, was completed by 1840 by the governorate architect Nikolai Voronikhin, nephew of the creator of St. Petersburg's Kazan Cathedral.

Architecture

There's no single way to define the bell tower's style: each architect gave “his” tier an architectural style different from his predecessors'. As a result, the Cathedral Bell Tower is a blend of Russian Classicism, Baroque, and Empire style, crowned with a 25-meter (82-foot) “golden” spire.

Ryazan's Landmark

For a long time the Cathedral Bell Tower of the Ryazan Kremlin remained one of the tallest historic buildings in Russia. Its total height is 83.2 meters (273 feet).