Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin

The Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin (Russian: Нижегородский кремль, romanized: Nizhegorodskiy kreml') is a fortress (kremlin) in the historic city center of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.

The first attempt to replace the wooden fort with a stone kremlin was recorded in 1374, but construction was limited to a single tower, known as the Dmitrovskaya Tower (this has not survived). Under the rule of Ivan III, Nizhny Novgorod played the role of a guard city, having a permanent garrison; it served as a place for gathering troops for Moscow’s actions against the Khanate of Kazan. In order to strengthen the defenses of the city, construction works on the walls began again.

Construction of the stone Kremlin of Nizhny Novgorod began in 1500 with the building of the Ivanovskaya Tower; the main work commenced in 1508 and by 1515 a building was completed. The oak walls that formed the old fortifications were destroyed by a huge fire in 1513. The two kilometer wall was reinforced by 13 towers (one of them – Zachatskaya – was on the shore of the Volga; not preserved, but was rebuilt in 2012). This “Stone City” had a permanent garrison with solid artillery weapons. With the fall of Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin lost its military significance, and later it housed the city and provincial authorities.

During the World War II, the roofs of the Taynitskaya, the Severnaya, and the Chasovaya Towers were dismantled and anti-aircraft machine guns were installed on the upper platforms. Thus, the fortress defended the airspace of the city from the Luftwaffe. The Luftwaffe bombed the Kanavino bridge and the Fair, but the Kremlin's air defense defended these objects.

The Council of Ministers of the RSFSR issued an order on January 30, 1949 for the restoration of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin.

In October 2018, archaeologists discovered the remains of a medieval settlement and cemetery on the site of the destroyed church of St. Simeon Stylites. The finds belong to the 13th century, and the most ancient cultural layer - to 1221, when Nizhny Novgorod was founded.

In 2021, before the 800th anniversary of Nizhny Novgorod, a major restoration was carried out. Under its terms, the most important thing was the restoration of the historic "battle road" inside the Kremlin wall. The city had been waiting for this event for 230 years.

Text adapted from “Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin ranks #426 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #20 of the 141 mapped in Russia. Founded 1508, it is older than 44% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 718 atlas entries founded in the 16th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 11,289 times in the last 60 days, more than 94% of the atlas. See how Russia compares in the castle statistics.

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