The chimes on the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin are known not only in Russia, but all over the world. In its current state, the Kremlin appeared at the end of the 15th century. Before that, wooden and later white stone buildings were located on Borovitsky Hill.

In the 21st century The Kremlin is the largest functioning castle in Europe. But no less famous are its unique towers, among which Spasskaya stands out due to its majestic appearance and dials installed on its walls.

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Image taken during the USSR period

Located on east wall Kremlin, in height it is almost the highest, second only to Troitskaya by 9 meters. Together with the star, the size of the building reaches 71 meters; it was built under Ivan III.

Its architect is the Italian Antonio Solari. At first, the building was called Frolovskaya, because of the church of the same name, past which the only road to the main passage passed. The current name appeared later, almost a hundred years later.

The name was transferred to the gate from two icons of the Savior (Not Made by Hands and Smolensk), hung on top of the passage on both sides. However, the entire structure was later renamed. Important: only the icon of the Savior of Smolensk has been preserved, the second was lost during the USSR.

Less than a quarter of a century after the construction, a wooden bridge was stretched across the moat. After that, the Englishman Galoway completed the upper floors and the hipped roof, which significantly "stretched" the appearance. Nude sculptures were installed as decorative elements - however, they were covered almost immediately by sewing special caftans. A few years later, they were badly damaged in a fire, they had to be completely removed.

In the next century, the tent was crowned with the image of a double-headed eagle - it survived until the period of the USSR, periodically updated. It was replaced by a Soviet star with five rays.

View inside

Quite quickly, the star had to be changed: the first version became very dim due to precipitation, and the dimensions turned out to be too large. Instead, the so-called "ruby" stars appeared, the size of which does not even reach 4 meters.

They have a frame made of stainless steel, flat edges are made of two-layer glass. Inside them, lamps with autonomous action work, and there is a ventilation system. The stars standing on the “crown” are not the first: they have already been changed before.

This design has always occupied a special place in the life of Muscovites, being the main one among its “sisters”. Horses did not enter through its gates, and men on foot took off (later it was fixed by decree) their hats and bowed. This was done by all those passing by, regardless of religion, otherwise they would be punished.

Local legend confirms the sanctity of the main gate: when Emperor Bonaparte rode through the passage on horseback, an unexpected wind tore off his cocked hat. During the retreat, the French wanted to blow up the tower, a miracle happened - the wicks were extinguished, no harm was caused to the structure.

Criminals were led through the described building to the Execution Ground for execution, who prayed before the icons of the Savior. Also, kings and emperors followed through it on the way to the place of coronation, followed religious processions. Russians are accustomed to seeing the Spasskaya Tower during the president's speech, and they also give a countdown.

Appearance

The chimes are located on the eighth, ninth and tenth floors - the latter is located directly under the upper tent.

The discs are over 6 meters high. The size of the numbers is 72 cm, the hand has a length of 2.97 meters, the minute hand is 3.3 m. The whole structure has a rather impressive weight - 25 tons.

The principle of operation is the same as that of ordinary walkers: winding occurs by lifting three weights, the move is carried out by the movement of the pendulum. Inside it consists of 4 shafts, it is located on the ninth floor.

The shaft responsible for minutes descends to the eighth floor, the musical component - to the tenth. The latter consists of a hammer and a dozen bells: the largest is responsible for beating when the arrow points to 12, the rest - when the arrow points to 3, 6 and 9.

It is important to know: one of the main features is that the device is completely mechanical.

Melodies are played using a copper cylinder with a diameter of 2 meters and a weight of 2 centners. The action is similar to music boxes: notches and bulges are applied to the surface of the cylinder. During rotation, they press the keys, from which the cables stretch to the bells and the applied melody is played.

However, due to a significant lag behind the desired tempo, the melodies are not always recognizable. Now the anthem of Russia is played there (it beats every 6 hours, starting at 12 o'clock) and "Glory" from Glinka's opera A Life for the Tsar (played every 6 hours, starting at 3 o'clock).

It is curious to note that the onset of a new calendar period in the life of people and the country does not occur with last fight chimes, but with the first chime. By the time the ringing ends, a whole minute has passed.

Story

Surprisingly, the chimes were installed back in the 16th century. Even then, the watchmaker's position existed in the Kremlin: their service took place at the Spassky, Troitsky and Tainitsky gates, later Nikolsky gates were added to them.

At the beginning of the 17th century, after less than 40 years of service, the first device from the Frolovsky (at that time) gate was sold to the monastery in Yaroslavl. Already 24 months later, a new device for determining the time appeared in their place. The Englishman Galloway (Galovey) and the family of Russian blacksmiths Zhdanov and Shumilov worked on it. The first ones were equipped with 13 bells made by Samoilov.

However, the structures were not destined to stand for a long time: having worked a little, they died in a fire, but were quickly remade by the same master Galoway.

In the 70s of the same century, the device underwent a major overhaul. Now he could play music, the disk was covered with blue azure, images were applied to it heavenly bodies. Instead of the usual movable arrow at the very top of the dial, they attached an image of the sun, from which a long beam descended. The disk itself was divided into 17 compartments to make it convenient to designate a long summer day.

The main feature was the mechanism: it was not the hands that moved, showing the exact time, but the dial: sunrise was the first daytime phenomenon, sunset was the last. Thus, the disk either moved in the direction of the arrow, or against it. To ensure that the readings did not lag behind the movement of the sun, the device was corrected every 2 weeks.

Note: on this occasion, an English doctor who worked in the capital described Moscow to his friend and wrote that the actions of the Russians are completely incomprehensible - even in their watches, the arrow does not run after the numbers, but vice versa.

We owe the appearance of new watches to Peter the Great

At the beginning of the 18th century, Peter I decided to transform the tower in a European way and purchased a new instrument in Holland. It already had the usual dial with 12 digits. The watchmaker Garnov (Garno) was engaged in the installation. But this mechanism turned out to be extremely unreliable and constantly broke down until, after a fire in 1737, it completely failed.

However, this upset few people: the capital moved to St. Petersburg, and the arrangement was delayed. I had to wait more than a quarter of a century until a clock of English work was found in the Faceted Chamber - it was the German Fatz who installed them on the tower. The installation lasted about 3 years, and in 1770, over Red Square, the chimes played the words of the German song “Ah, my dear Augustine” - for the first time in its existence. A few days later, the melody was changed to the usual one.

The described device was not destined to stand for a long time. During the famous Moscow fire that happened during the offensive of Napoleon, he suffered. When the watchmaker Lebedev checked them, he spent a long time restoring them. After graduation repair work he was awarded.

Modern version

However, they again did not live long. When a specialist examined them in the middle of the 19th century, he came to a deplorable conclusion: the condition of the Kremlin chimes leaves much to be desired.

Iron parts are worn out, wooden stairs, floors and foundations will soon crumble. The creation of a new mechanism immediately began: the Danish firm of the Butenopov brothers, whose factory was located in Russia, took up the drawing. They already had experience in creating watch "giants": a couple of years ago they installed a clock mechanism in the Kremlin's palace dome.

Completely updated with a special durable alloy, they look like a modern version, a pendulum was installed inside. The craftsmen replaced the dial, numbers, divisions, covered them with copper and gilded them. At the same time, the tower building was reconstructed. The work was supervised by the architect Ton.

At the same time, the clock melody was changed. By decree of Nicholas I, the clock performed the "March of the Preobrazhensky Regiment" and the prayer "How glorious is our Lord in Zion." Curiously, the emperor himself rejected the proposal to choose the national anthem.

In honor of the tercentenary of the ruling house, the mechanism was restored. All this time he was followed by the masters of the firm of the Butenop brothers.

Watch repair and cleaning

In 1917, during the revolution, the Kremlin suffered from an attack by revolutionaries, a shell hit the clock. He damaged the arrows and the "insides" of the tower. Repairs were not able to start immediately, but only after Lenin's personal instructions.

The cost of repairs, put forward by specialists from the firm, amounted to 240 thousand gold. It was too much money, and it was decided to turn to the carpenter, the son of one of the Butenop Brothers specialists, who had previously participated in the repair.

The musician Cheremnykh was responsible for the music: they performed the "Internationale" once and twice - the funeral march. The latter was the memory of all the revolutionaries buried in front of the Kremlin on Red Square. Later, one performance was "taken away" from the funeral march.

A few years later, the authorities were able to carry out cosmetic repairs externally: the dial, hands, and numbers were updated. The funeral march was removed altogether: now only the "Internationale" sounded. A few years after the repair, a special commission decided that the music was badly recorded and needed to be rewritten. In 1938, the mechanism lost its "voice" - only the chime remained.

The first reports of serious wear date back to the middle of the 19th century: the wires stretching from the cylinder to the bells were constantly shortened due to frost, which did not reflect well on the sound.

Interesting fact: surprisingly, the Kremlin clock mechanism survived the war quite well: together with all the walls and outbuildings, they were disguised as residential buildings, trying to deceive the bombers. There is no evidence of any damage, which suggests that the structure was not damaged at all.

Setting the clock on the Spasskaya Tower

After almost 30 years, the mechanism was stopped again - already for quite a considerable period. It was dismantled, reassembled, replacing all worn pieces, and installed an automatic lubrication system. But the machine was still silent.

In 91 of the twentieth century, it was decided to return the “voice” to the clock, but it turned out that this was impossible: several bells were lost. They were replaced by a bila in 1995.

The melody played again in 97 of the 20th century: this time they performed the Patriotic Song and Glory from the opera A Life for the Tsar twice each. By this time, the silence had lasted for almost 60 years.

The last global restoration took place in 1999: the external gilding was renewed, the upper tiers were restored to their historical appearance, and the work of the chimes was carefully adjusted. A new melody also appeared - the anthem of Russia, approved at the same time.

Spassky chimes are considered one of the main attractions of Moscow and all of Russia. Having lived for more than 4 centuries and frequent renovations, they still work great. They are easy to find in many photos with the sights of the capital and souvenirs, read brief information can be on Wikipedia.

How the chimes on the Spasskaya Tower are arranged, see interesting information in the following video:

RIA News"

310 years ago, the Kremlin chimes struck the new hour for the first time. Since then, the capitals have been changed and renamed, but the clock on the Spasskaya Tower still remained the main chronometer of the country. However, there are no less interesting exhibits in Moscow: Gazeta.Ru talks about the most remarkable of them.

Clock-chimes on the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin

The first clock on the Spassky Tower of the Kremlin appeared in the 16th century, at least, this is evidenced by the mention of watchmakers who are in the service at the Spassky Gates. For their work, they were entitled to a good annual salary: 4 rubles and 2 hryvnias in money, as well as four arshins for a caftan. However, the first watch was sold to the Spassky Monastery in Yaroslavl by weight, so the Englishman Christopher Galloway made new ones.

The dial showed day and night hours, depending on the time of year and the length of the day, their ratio changed. At the same time, it was not the arrow, made in the form of a golden ray of the sun, that rotated, but the dial itself.

Galloway, either jokingly or seriously, explained this by saying that “since the Russians do not act like all other people, then what they produce should be arranged accordingly.”

These chimes burned down in 1656. During the interrogation after the fire, the watchmaker said that he “wound the clock without fire and from what the tower caught fire, he does not know about it.” Contemporaries said that when Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, returning from the Lithuanian campaign, saw the charred Spasskaya Tower, he wept bitterly. It was decided to restore the clock only after 13 years. All metal parts were “washed in a large trough”, and then boiled for two days in a huge beer cauldron. After a thorough cleaning of all metal parts, for which a whole cartload of fine river sand went, they were wiped with rags and abundantly “smeared with pickled lard”. However, by 1702 they were in complete disrepair.

Peter I ordered to deliver to Moscow a new clock "with a bell game with dances, in the manner that they are in Amsterdam." The mechanism, bought for 42,000 silver thalers, was brought from Holland on 30 wagons. The ringing of 33 bells installed on the Kremlin's Spasskaya Tower was heard, according to the recollections of foreigners, "in the surrounding villages for more than ten miles." Also, additional alarm bells were installed there, announcing fires in the city. The dial on Peter's watch has finally become familiar, with 12-hour divisions.

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The melody of the clock, which Muscovites heard at 9 am on December 9, 1706, unfortunately, has not been preserved in history. The chimes served until 1737 and died in another fire. They were in no hurry to repair them - by that time the capital had been moved to St. Petersburg. Almost 30 years later, a large English chiming clock was found in the Faceted Chamber, who knows how it got there. A German master was invited to install them, who tuned them so that they played the melody “Ah, my dear Augustine”.

This is the only case in the history of the country when the chimes played a foreign melody.

By 1851, from fires (including the one that engulfed the entire city in 1812) and repairs, the chimes came, according to the characteristics of the Butenop Brothers company, “in a state close to perfect disorder.” The same brothers made a new mechanism and carried out the restoration of the watch room. New iron dials were installed on all four sides. Nicholas I ordered that two of the 16 melodies most familiar to Muscovites be left for ringing: quiet step, and in the evening - the prayer "How glorious is our Lord in Zion," usually played by musicians, if both pieces can be adapted to the clockwork mechanism. At the same time, the emperor refused to perform “God Save the Tsar” with bells, writing that “the chimes can play any song except the anthem.”

On November 2, 1917, during the storming of the Kremlin by the Bolsheviks, a shell hit the clock, breaking one of the hands and damaging the mechanism for rotating the hands. The clock stopped for almost a year, until Lenin decided: "It is necessary that this clock speak our language." Thus, the restored clock from August 18, 1918 began to play “The Internationale” at 6 am, and at 9 am and 3 pm - “You fell a victim ...”. Subsequently, the "Internationale" was left at noon, and the "victims" - at midnight, but from 1932 only the "Internationale" remained. However, he did not have to rule over the ears of the townspeople for long: since the device of the chimes was subjected to deformation from time and frost, the melody became unrecognizable. So in 1938, the clock fell silent - for as much as 58 years! During Yeltsin's inauguration, chimes with added bells played Glinka's "Patriotic Song". Later, the choir “Glory” from the opera “Life for the Tsar” was added to this melody.

Now the chimes beat the National Anthem of the Russian Federation at noon, midnight, 6 am and 6 pm, and at 3 and 9 am, 3 pm and 9 pm “Glory” is performed. Interestingly, many believe that the bell strikes (first or last) at midnight on December 31st herald the onset of the new year.

However, in reality new hour, day and year begin with the beginning of the chiming of the chimes, that is, 20 seconds before the first strike of the bell.

Clock on the building of the Central Telegraph

Inside the clock mechanism of the "Central Telegraph". Photo: TASS

The first telegraph station was located in the building of the Nikolaevsky railway station on Kalanchevskaya square (now - the Leningradsky railway station on Komsomolskaya square). Four years later, in order to make it easier to use the telegraph during the emperor's stay in Moscow, the Assumption was adopted for the construction of a telegraph station in the Kremlin Palace in Moscow. This document prescribes: “It was appointed to arrange a telegraph station with an institution on it to receive dispatches as private.” In 1859, in connection with the development of the telegraph network, the Moscow Telegraph Station was opened in Gazetny Lane.

From the side of Nikitsky Lane, you can see a huge clock, and attentive observers will notice that the number “four” on the dial is made in the old manner - IIII, while on the same Spasskaya Tower it is traditionally indicated - IV.

The clockwork itself, which must be wound every week, is manufactured by Siemens-Halske. At that time it was the most practical and high-tech time control system. And the most accurate - it was with these watches that the ministries and Moscow University checked. Even in the Regulations on the reception and transmission of telegraphic dispatches by electromagnetic telegraph, approved by Alexander II in 1855, there was a special paragraph “... on checking the clocks of all stations on all telegraphs of the empire”, so great attention was paid to the exact time.

The clock station, located in the "heart" of the telegraph, has been operating uninterruptedly for about 80 years, transmitting impulses to all the secondary clocks of the building. And the “outer chimes” are installed in the attic. It is noteworthy that all this time the clock is marked every half an hour and an hour by the sound of bells. True, residents of neighboring houses complained about the noise back in the 30s of the last century, and since then the clock has been quieter. And in our time, their ringing is not heard at all because of the noise of Tverskaya Street.

By the way, the telegraph bell, like the roof, is green. But this is not a copper patina, but paint applied to objects in wartime for the purpose of camouflage - after all, the telegraph has always been an important strategic object and the first target in air raids.

In addition to unusual clocks, one of the early drafts of the coat of arms can now be seen on the building of the Central Telegraph Soviet Union(1923): the globe is surrounded by ears of corn, at the top there is a red star, on the sides there is a sickle and a hammer.

Clock tower of the main building of Moscow State University

Clock on the Main Building of Moscow State University

The clock on the main building of Moscow State University may well be called “Russian Big Ben”. More precisely, four "big-bens", since each tower has two dials, looking at different directions of the world. Engineers call them that: East, North, South and West. The diameter of their dial is nine meters, like that of the London landmark. Previously, they were considered the largest in the world, but now they have moved to the end of the dozen and share a place with the clock railway station Swiss town of Aarau. The length of the minute hand is more than four meters, and once the watch almost lost it. The masters at the next lubrication loosened the gears a little more than they should, and the huge arrow literally had to be held by hand so that it did not collapse down.

The clock was installed in 1953, when the construction of the main building of Moscow State University was completed. Initially, the pendulum mechanism was set in motion by heavy weights that descended on cables into mines six stories deep. However, many people had to maintain the system, which was simply unprofitable. Therefore, in 1957, all the tower clocks of Moscow State University were transferred to work from an electric motor. In addition, the Soviet engineer Yevgeny Lapkin invented, designed, implemented and patented a unique development. Namely, a clock power station with a reverse control system that connected all 1,500 clocks located in the university buildings. If the course of at least one clock was broken, a signal about this was immediately received on the scoreboard, and the master at the station knew exactly the location of the malfunction.

In 1983, a funny thing happened.

Vigilant Soviet pensioners wrote a letter to the Pravda newspaper complaining that the clocks on different towers of Moscow State University showed different times.

Like, it's a mess. There was a fuss, a correspondent was urgently sent, who, having arrived at the place, to his own surprise, found out: it turns out that not only the clock was installed at the university, but also the world's largest barometer and thermometer, which “showed the time” out of order.

After the first and only major repair in 2000, the watch got a new "heart" - a modern motor. The clock station now automatically adjusts the time according to the signals of the radio broadcasting network. In addition, it manages bells announcing the beginning and end of classes, which is important for Moscow State University. If there is a temporary power outage, the watch “remembers” the time for up to 30 days and automatically sets all 1500 secondary hours. But once the clock was stopped and waited for the moment when the position of the hands coincided with the “correct” time.

Clock at the Obraztsov Central Puppet Theater

Clock on the building of the Obraztsov Puppet Theater

The famous clock, made from the same material as parts for jet aircraft, was installed on the building of the puppet theater in 1970 in parallel with the opening of the center itself. A clock on a dull, windowless concrete box draws attention unusual view: this is an ensemble of 12 houses with wrought iron closed doors. When the arrow points to the house, they swing open, a crowing is heard and, to the music of “In the garden, in the garden”, some kind of fairy tale character- animal or bird. In the "menagerie" there is a donkey, an owl, a cat, a hare, a fox and other characters that change depending on the time of day. At noon and midnight, all the animals come out of the houses at once, often gathering a large crowd of spectators.

Chimes of the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin - probably the most famous tower clock in Russia. Now, when every passer-by has wrist watch or a modern smartphone, they no longer play a special role in the purpose of determining the time, but remain a recognizable symbol of Moscow and Russia.

Modern Kremlin chimes were made in 1851-1852 at the factory of the brothers Johann and Nikolai Butenopov, well-known Moscow manufacturers of Danish origin.

To an outside observer, they are known in the form of 4 dials - one on each side, but in fact they are a complex and well-oiled mechanism. The dials have a concise and contrasting appearance: gold-plated numbers and hands are placed on a black circle in a gold frame. The details boast an impressive size: the diameter of the dials is 6.12 meters, the height of the numbers is 0.72 meters, the length of the hour hand is 2.97 meters, the length of the minute hand is 3.27 meters. The total weight of the chimes is 25 tons.

The clock on the Spasskaya Tower can strike time and play melodies (which is why they are called chimes). At 00:00, 06:00, 12:00 and 18:00, the chimes play the anthem of the Russian Federation, at 03:00, 09:00, 15:00 and 21:00 - the melody of the choir "Glory" from Mikhail Glinka's opera for the king." At the beginning of each hour, the chimes are called 4 times, after which a large bell strikes the clock. In addition, at 15, 30 and 45 minutes of every hour there is a chime - 1, 2 and 3 times, respectively.

The device of the chimes

The Kremlin clock is completely mechanical: the movement of the hands on all four dials is due to a single clockwork, which occupies 8-10 tiers of the Spasskaya Tower. The main mechanism is located on the 9th tier and includes 4 winding shafts: one - to guide the hands, the second - to strike the clock, the third - to call the quarters, the fourth - to play the chimes. The shaft of the minute hand passes through the floor to 8 tiers, where it is distributed into 4 dials, behind each of which there is a separate mechanism for transferring rotation from the minute hand to the hour hand. The mechanism is driven by 3 weights weighing from 160 to 224 kilograms, the accuracy of the movement is ensured by a 32-kilogram pendulum. Clock winding (lifting weights) is carried out twice a day with the help of electric motors.

The fight of the clock is carried out thanks to the musical node located under the tent of the tower. In the belfry there is 1 large bell that strikes the clock (2160 kilograms) and 9 quarter bells (320 kilograms); the fight takes place thanks to the blows of a hammer connected to a clockwork. The melodies of the chimes sound thanks to the musical mechanism: inside the tower there is a copper drum, dotted with holes and pins in accordance with the programmed melodies. When the drum rotates, the pins press the keys connected to the cables that go to the belfry; theoretically, any melody can be programmed on the drum, but the rhythm of the chimes will lag behind the original.

History of chimes

For the first time, a watch on the Spasskaya Tower could have appeared as early as the 16th century: there is documentary evidence that in 1585 watchmakers served at the Spassky, Tainitsky and Trinity Gates of the Kremlin. Little is known about the clock itself, except that in 1624 it was sold by weight to the Transfiguration Monastery in Yaroslavl; the weight of the watch was about 960 kilograms.

Instead of the sold clocks, already in 1625, the Spasskaya Tower was equipped with new ones, made according to the design of a mechanic and architect of Scottish origin. Christopher Galoway(Christopher Galloway). The clock was distinguished by a particularly perverted (at least by modern standards) structure: they counted separately day and night time, indicated by Slavic letters and Arabic numerals, while the arrow stylized under the Sun remained motionless - the dial itself rotated. The number of day and night hours varied depending on the season. Numbers and letters the size of arshins (~0.7 meters) were covered with gold, and the middle of the dial was covered with blue glaze; the blue field was filled with stylized gold and silver stars and contained images of the Moon and the Sun. There were 2 dials: one towards the Kremlin, the second - towards Kitay-gorod. With the help of a special mechanism and 13 bells, the clock was able to play music - in fact, these were the first chimes of the Kremlin.

A year after installation, Galoway's clock burned down in a fire, but the master restored it.

In 1705, by decree of Peter I, the watch was replaced with new ones bought in Amsterdam: this time the watch was made in the German way, with a regular dial at 12 o'clock. Unfortunately, Dutch clocks often broke down, and after the fire of 1737 they fell into disrepair. The capital was moved to St. Petersburg, and no one began to restore the clock.

In 1763, in the Palace of the Facets (SUDDENLY!) they discovered large English-made chimes, which they decided to install on the Spasskaya Tower, for which the German master Fatz was invited to Moscow in 1767. The installation, which took a total of 3 years, was also attended by the Russian master Ivan Polyansky. In 1770 the clock went and started to play; by the will of the German master, the chimes were programmed to play the German song "Ah, my dear Augustine." In 1812, the clock was damaged by fire and stopped, however, within 2 years it was restored by the watchmaker Yakov Lebedev and worked until 1851, when it had to be replaced due to extreme dilapidation.

In 1851-1852, modern chimes were made at the factory of Russian Danish manufacturers Johann and Nikolai Butenopov. Using some of the old parts and applying the most advanced technologies at that time to them, the brothers created a new watch: instead of the old oak case, a new cast-iron case appeared, wheels and gears were made of specially selected alloys that can withstand temperature extremes and high humidity, new dials appeared and arrows. To play melodies by chimes, a musical mechanism was installed, including a drum with holes and pins; in order to play the melodies more accurately and richly, 24 additional bells from and the Borovitskaya towers were installed on the Spasskaya tower - the total number of bells on the tower reached 48. At the choice of Emperor Nicholas I, the chimes began to play the "March of the Preobrazhensky Regiment" and the anthem "Kol our Lord is glorious in Zion ".

The Soviet era for chimes began sadly: in November 1917, during the storming of the Kremlin by the Bolsheviks, the clock was badly damaged by a projectile that interrupted the rotation mechanism of the hands. The Spassky Clock stood for a year, until in 1918 Vladimir Lenin ordered that it be restored. For the reconstruction of the chimes, the Bolsheviks turned to the firm of Pavel Bure and Sergei Roginsky, but refused their services due to the high price, and entrusted the repair of the clock to the Kremlin locksmith Nikolai Berens, who was the son of a master from the Butenopov factory and understood their device. Behrens involved his sons Vladimir and Vasily in the work, and in the same year they were able to start the clock, however, they did not understand the musical device of the chimes. To work with the musical part, the artist and musician Mikhail Cheremnykh was invited, who understood the order of the bells and, at the request of Lenin, scored revolutionary hymns on the playing shaft of the chimes: now the Kremlin chimes played the "Internationale" and the funeral march "You fell a victim." In 1932, the watch was repaired, replacing the old dials, hands and numbers with new ones - in total, 28 kilograms of gold were spent on them; the changes also affected the repertoire of the chimes: of the melodies, only the "Internationale" was left. In 1938, the chimes fell silent due to the wear and tear of the musical mechanism, which now only struck the hours and quarters; in 1941, an electro-mechanical drive was mounted specifically for the performance of the "Internationale", which was subsequently dismantled, and the chimes were silent until the 1990s. In 1974, the clock was restored (it required a stop for 100 days), the mechanism was disassembled and updated, but its musical part remained untouched. In 1991, the Soviet government decided to resume the game of chimes, but it turned out that only 10 bells remained on the tower of 48 bells, and 3 bells were not enough to play the USSR anthem; a little later, the idea completely lost its relevance due to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The resumption of the work of the chimes occurred in 1995: after 58 years of silence, they began to play "Patriotic Song" by Mikhail Glinka and the melody of the choir "Glory" from the opera "Life for the Tsar" by the same author. The last major restoration of the chimes took place in 1999: the appearance of the watch was refreshed, and instead of the "Patriotic Song", the melody of the anthem of the Russian Federation, approved in 2000, was programmed.

Thus, modern chimes are already the fifth clock installed on the Spasskaya Tower.

And according to the Kremlin chimes in Russia, it is customary to celebrate the New Year: the striking of the clock symbolizes its onset. It is interesting that most Russians are sure that the New Year begins when the chimes make the first or last strike of the clock strike, but in fact this is not so: it comes , which precedes the hour-long fight.

Kremlin chimes located on the Moscow Kremlin. You can get to the tower on foot from the metro stations "Okhotny Ryad" Sokolnicheskaya line, "Theatrical" Zamoskvoretskaya and "Revolution square" Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya.

Moscow Kremlin, one of the oldest in the world. The first clock was installed in the 15th century, later it was repeatedly restored and replaced. Modern chimes appeared in 1852 and are currently the only fully mechanical ones. Every year, against the background of the Spasskaya Tower, the President of Russia delivers a congratulatory speech, and the ringing of bells announces the new year.

Story [ | ]

Kremlin clock mechanism late XIX century

Belfry of the Spasskaya Tower, late 19th century

Traditional chime of quarters and twelve strikes of the clock, signifying the onset of the New Year (2012)

Clock mechanism chimes

Musical drum chimes

Kremlin clock in 2012, 2012

Moscow Kremlin. Chimes, 2009

Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin. Moscow, Russia, 2005

Clock of the Spasskaya Tower, 2008

Original clock[ | ]

The first Kremlin clock without ringing was created in 1404 by the Serbian monk Lazar. They were installed in the Clock Chamber of the Cathedral Church of the Annunciation of the Grand Duke's Court. A wooden passage led from the church to the Kremlin.

In summer 6912, Indicata 12, the Great Prince planned a chapel and set it up in his yard behind the church for the Holy Annunciation. This private trader will be called clockwork, but at every hour he strikes the bell with a hammer, measuring and counting the hours of the night and day, not striking like a man, but human-like, self-resonant and self-moving, strangely, somehow created by human cunning, changed and exaggerated. The master and artist of this was a certain Chernets, who came from the Holy Mountains, by birth Serbin, named Lazar, the price of this was more than half a hundred rubles. complete collection Russian chronicles. Volume 18, p. 281

Old style clock[ | ]

XV-XVI centuries [ | ]

The Spasskaya Tower was erected in 1491 by Pietro Antonio Solari on the site of the Frolovskaya Strelnitsa of the white stone Kremlin, on the site of the former main gate to strengthen the northeastern part. Presumably, the original name of the tower - Frolovskaya - appeared after the name of the church in the name of the Holy Martyrs Frol and Laurus, patrons of livestock. This name lasted until the middle of the 17th century. Perhaps, in ancient times, this church stood not far from the gate, but there is no mention of it in written sources. It is more likely that the name comes from one of the three churches located relatively close to the Kremlin.

Evidence of the construction are slabs of white stone installed above the entrance gate of the tower. WITH inside plates are inscribed in Russian, and on the outside - in Latin:

In the summer of July 6999, by the grace of God, this archer was made by the command of John Vasilyevich, the sovereign and autocrat of all Rus' and the Grand Duke of Volodimir and Moscow and Novgorod and Pskov and Tver and Yugra and Vyatka and Perm and Bulgarian and others in the 30th summer of his states, and Peter Anthony did Solario from the city of Mediolana.

The gate was built without now existing tower. The wall-like building was covered at four corners with a hipped roof, above which a large double-headed eagle was installed. In the middle of the tower hung a bell for an hour-long battle. Exact time the appearance of tower clocks in the Kremlin is unknown, but watchmakers in the service of the tsar appeared already in the 15th century.

The installation of the clock was dictated by the needs of the citizens of the growing capital. Most likely, the first clock was installed on the Frolovsky Gate - in the most prominent place for merchants and servants of the vast royal court. By 1585, the Frolovskaya (Spasskaya), Taynitskaya and Troitskaya towers had clocks. Each of them had special watchmen in their service.

17th century [ | ]

The clock was repaired in 1614, 1619, 1621, some parts were replaced in them. In 1624, the watch was sold by weight to the Spassky Monastery in Yaroslavl.

On October 5, 1654, the Frolovskaya Tower burned down again. During the night fire, the clock was damaged, and the bell fell, broke through the vaults and broke. It was impossible to put out the fire. During interrogation, the watchmaker stated that he “wound the clock without fire and from what the tower caught fire, he does not know about it.” According to contemporaries, when Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich saw the charred Spasskaya Tower, he wept bitterly. It was decided to restore the clock only 13 years later. On April 26, 1658, Alexei Mikhailovich issued a decree renaming the Frolovskaya Tower into Spasskaya - in honor of the icon of the Savior of Smolensk placed from the side of Red Square and from the side of the Kremlin of the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands:

In 1661, Baron Meyerberg, the ambassador of the Austrian emperor, sketched an image of the Frolov's clock. In 1668 the clock was repaired and cleaned of rust. The metal parts were “washed in a large trough” and boiled for two days in a beer cauldron, then carefully cleaned with fine river sand, then they were rubbed with rags and abundantly “smeared with pickled lard”. The repaired clock served until the beginning of the 18th century and burned down during a fire in 1701.

Clocks of the modern type[ | ]

18th century [ | ]

In 1704, Peter I decided to install a new classic-looking watch with a "German dial" divided into 12 hours. The watch was ordered in Amsterdam and delivered to Moscow via Arkhangelsk on 30 wagons. The installation in the Spasskaya Tower was handled by watchmaker Yakim Garnel. Work began in 1707 and completed in 1709. New chimes played bell music. For the first time, they struck the beginning of a new hour at 9 am on December 9, 1706. According to the memoirs of foreigners, the ringing of 33 bells was heard "in the surrounding villages for more than ten miles." Also, additional alarm bells were installed on the clock to warn of fires in the city. But the chimes turned out to be unreliable and often broke.

Since the capital was moved to St. Petersburg, after the death of Peter I, the clock was not repaired, and it gradually fell into disrepair. In 1732, watchman Gavril Panikadilshchikov wrote to his superiors about the need to repair the dilapidated clock. He re-applied two years later.

In 1737, after another Moscow fire, the clocks on the Spasskaya and Troitskaya towers were seriously damaged. New bells were installed only in 1767 by order of Empress Catherine II, when a large English chiming clock was found in the Faceted Chamber. The work was carried out by the German watchmaker Faciy under the leadership of the vice-president of the Manufacture-Collegium Sukin. The installation took three years and was completed at the end of 1770. Facius tuned the melody “Ah, my dear Augustine” on the chimes, it sounded for about a year. This is the only time in the history of the country when the chimes played a foreign tune.

19th century [ | ]

On October 27, 1850, a student of watchmaking, Karchagin, reported on the deplorable state of the mechanism, which had been working for almost a hundred years since the time of Catherine II:

The architect Ton and the watchmakers, the Butenop brothers, the owners of the largest machine factory, examined the clock and came to the conclusion that “The Spassky tower clock is currently in a state close to complete disorder: the iron wheels and gears have worn out so much from long-term use that they will soon become completely unusable, the dials fell into great disrepair. We, Moscow merchants, honorary citizens, brothers Butenops, undertake the alteration of the large tower clock on the Spasskaya Tower in the Kremlin, so that the aforementioned clocks fully fulfill their purpose, showing with true accuracy the passage of time in hours, minutes, quarters and full hours. » . Butenopy carried out a major overhaul and complete reconstruction of the chimes. Craftsmen empirically created new durable watch alloys and replaced all the old gears with new ones. They installed new dials on all four sides of the tower, painted them black, and covered the copper numbers with pure gold, the iron hands were covered with gilded copper. For the hourly musical device, 35 bells were used, taken from the Kremlin towers and specially selected according to tones. The new chimes corresponded to the latest achievements of science and technology of that era. An inscription has been preserved on the frame of the clock: “The clock was remade in 1851 by the Betenop Brothers in Moscow”.

In memory of the work on the chimes, Ivan Butenop created a grandfather clock - a reduced model of the Spassky Clock. They are currently kept in the Moscow Polytechnic Museum.

20th century [ | ]

After 1851, the chimes stopped only once, during the 1917 revolution. The Spasskaya Tower was damaged during the storming of the Kremlin from the Sparrow Hills, when the Red Guard tried to take it. The shelling was carried out with a battery of 6-inch guns. The shell hit the masonry of the tower directly above the dial and damaged the pendulum system and several gears. In September 1918, by decree of Vladimir Lenin, the clock was restored by master Nikolai Berens. From August 18, 1918, the chimes played "Internationale (anthem)" and "You fell a victim ...", and since 1932 - only "Internationale".

In 1938, the chimes needed a large-scale reconfiguration: due to the deformation of the mechanism from time and frost, the melody became unrecognizable, so the chimes stopped playing it for 58 years, but continued to strike the hours and quarters. The next major restoration was carried out in 1974.

The melody on the clock appeared only at the end of the century: they played again in 1996 during the inauguration of Boris Yeltsin. At 12 and 6 o'clock sounded " Patriotic song", And at 3 and 9 o'clock - "Glory" from the opera "Ivan Susanin".

During the restoration of 1999, the hands and numbers of the clock were gilded, the historical appearance of the upper tiers of the chimes was restored, and instead of the "Patriotic Song", the Russian anthem sounded.

Modernity [ | ]

In October 2014, the planned restoration of the Kremlin walls and the clock on the Spasskaya Tower began. The mechanism itself was stopped only for a short time during the restoration - because of which the Kremlin commandant's office received many calls from those who wanted to report an incident with the chimes. For the duration of the repair, the Spasskaya Tower and the Kremlin chimes were covered with scaffolding. The tower was covered with dense and sound-absorbing fabric to preserve thermal regime and microclimate. The restorers carried out work with the outer parts of the clock and with its mechanism. At this time, the bell ringing was transmitted by recording through speakers specially installed on the tenth tier of the tower. IN new year's eve 2015, its view from the side of the Execution Ground and the mausoleum was projected onto the building structures of the Spasskaya Tower.

Technical data[ | ]

Currently, the Kremlin chimes are the only fully mechanical clocks in the world, and have been operating in the same mode for more than 150 years, being the oldest in Europe. The weight of the mechanism without bells is 25 tons. It consists of several thousand parts. The accuracy of the movement is achieved thanks to the pendulum weighing 32 kg. The height of the clock mechanism is about 3 m, the diameter of the large gears is up to 1.5 m. The mechanism of the hands is driven by three weights weighing from 160 to 224 kg and goes almost 20 meters deep into the wall. The main bell of the Spasskaya Tower weighs 2160 kg. The musical mechanism looks like a software copper cylinder, which is rotated by a 200-kilogram weight. The drum causes the pins to press the keys connected by cables to the bells on the belfry.

It is believed that the bell strikes at midnight on December 31 herald the start of the new year. In fact, the new hour, day and year begin with the beginning of the chiming of the chimes, that is, 20 seconds before the first strike of the bell.

see also [ | ]

Notes [ | ]

1. Alexander Gamov. How correspondents of "Komsomolskaya Pravda" in the Spasskaya Tower studied the main clock of Russia (indefinite) . TVNZ(December 9, 2016). Retrieved December 1, 2017.
2. New Year's address of President Vladimir Putin (indefinite) . RIA Novosti (January 1, 2017). Retrieved 22 December 2017.
3. , With. 107.
4. Marina Lystseva. FSO promised to show the Spasskaya Tower to Muscovites on New Year's Eve, despite the restoration (indefinite) . TASS (December 26, 2014). Retrieved December 1, 2017.

The world-famous clock on the Spasskaya Tower of the capital of the Russian Federation appeared a very long time ago, according to historians, in 1404. However, they were installed for the first time not on the Kremlin tower, but were located near the Annunciation Cathedral, right in the royal court near Vasily Dmitrievich himself. The name of the craftsman who made them is forever imprinted in the annals of those years: “The watchmaker was conceived by the prince himself, the clock was set by the Serb monk Lazar.”

Clock on the Spasskaya Tower: history

The word "chimes" is translated from French as "current". Since childhood, we all know the Kremlin chimes, under the sound of which we meet New Year, have amazing story. They are tower clocks, which, thanks to a set of tuned bells, emit a certain melodious musical battle. This clock tower overlooks Red Square and has a passage front gate, which at all times, except for the revolutionary ones, was considered holy.

Only in 1658 did the Spasskaya Tower receive such a name, before that it was called Florovskaya and was one of the 20 towers of the Kremlin, but it was built in 1491 by the Italian master and architect Antonio Solari. According to historical documents, the clock on the Spasskaya Tower was installed in the 16th century by master watchmakers, who received a good salary for a year and four arshins of cloth for clothes.

The clock was fully operational in 1585. Another piece of evidence points to the fact that they existed earlier: it turns out that at the three gates of the Kremlin's tower structures - Spassky (Florovsky), Troitsky and Taynitsky - "watchmen" were in the service. At the beginning of the 17th century, tents appeared above the Kremlin towers (except Nikolskaya), and thanks to this, the ten-story Spasskaya Tower began to reach a height of 60 meters. Nikifor Nikitin became a watchmaker in 1614, his duties included maintenance, repair and timely winding of the mechanism. It is also known that the combat clock, which fell into complete disrepair, was sold in 1624 to the Spassky Yaroslavl Monastery by weight.

Mechanism of Christopher Gallway

The clock of the Spassky Tower of the Moscow Kremlin at that time was the most primitive, in addition, it suffered greatly from frequent fires, and then the famous English watchmaker Christopher Gallway was invited to Moscow. Russian blacksmiths helped him - Zhdan, his son Shumila and grandson Alexei. In 1626, the clock on the Spasskaya Tower burned down and was rebuilt by Galloway.

The Russian artist Bazhen Ogurtsov in 1636 created a magnificent tent for them, which became an adornment of the entire architectural ensemble of the Kremlin. Vologda peasants, father and son Virachev, worked on the production of watches, and Galloway led this process. 13 bells were cast by the foundry worker Kirill Samoilov for the "crossover".

At that time, the salary of the English master for the year was 64 rubles. The old clock mechanism was sold for 48 rubles. This indicated that watchmakers in Moscow enjoyed great respect and privileges, they were paid a large salary, those who watched the tower clock were especially valued. Even a special instruction was created for the workers, in which it was written that it was impossible to drink, play cards, sell tobacco, wine, etc. in the Spasskaya Tower.

Watch Description

According to contemporaries of that time, it was a wonderful city clock made of iron. Due to their beauty and design, they were famous all over the world, and their noble sound was heard more than 10 miles away. The dial was painted blue. The main and central parts of his circle remained motionless, while the outer side, which reached a width of 1 meter, rotated. The clock had letters from the Slavic alphabet, the weight of the clock was 3,400 kg.

The clock on the Spasskaya Tower measured day and night time, indicated by letters (copper, covered with gilding), and played music. Instead of hands, there was a sun with a long beam, attached at the top of the most basic large dial. The disk was divided into 17 equal parts, which was due to the maximum day length in summer. The middle of the disk was covered with blue enamel, and silver and gold stars and images of the sun and moon were scattered across it. There were two dials (5 meters in diameter). One was turned towards the Kremlin, the other overlooked Kitai-Gorod.

Peter I

By the end of the 17th century, the clock on the Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin, once made by Christopher Gallway, became completely unusable, and then in 1704 Peter I brought new ones from Holland by sea. They were transported from Arkhangelsk on thirty carts, more than 42,000 efimki (a Western European silver coin) were allocated from the treasury for this business. The whole country at this time switches to a single daily countdown. Three years later, this huge clock with a 12-hour dial was installed on the Spasskaya Tower. Ekim Garnov and several other apprentices took up the job, and they adjusted and launched the mechanism in 20 days.

Master Fats

However, after some time, this watch also fell into disrepair, and after the great fire of 1737, it completely fell into disrepair. True, by this time Petersburg had already become the capital, and therefore no one was in a hurry to repair them.

When Catherine II ascended the throne, she became interested in the Kremlin chimes. Later, the Berlin watchmaker Fatz (Fats) will replace the clock with large English chimes, discovered in the course of three years, under his leadership, Ivan Polyansky, a Russian master, will install them, in 1770 the work will be completed. Since the chief master was discharged from abroad, according to his will, the song O du lieber Augustin (“Ah, my dear Augustine”) sounded over the Kremlin. This is the only time they played a foreign tune.

Napoleonic times

When Napoleon's troops were expelled from Moscow, the clock on the Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin was subjected to a thorough examination, and it was found that its clockwork was not working. Then the master Yakov Lebedev in February-month of 1813 offered to repair it for his own money. He was entrusted with this business, but before that they took a subscription that he would not completely disable the mechanism. And after 2 years, the watch was started again, and Lebedev was awarded the title of watchmaker of the Spassky Clock.

After several decades, another attempt was made to clean the mechanism without stopping the chimes, but this could not be done. Then for overhaul the firm of the Butenop brothers was hired. In 1850, the clock was dismantled, the mechanism was sorted out, and the worn out parts were replaced. By this time, a new bed was cast, its weight was 25 tons. For the performance of this work, the company received money in the amount of 12,000 rubles. As a result, in March 1852, all the work was completed, and for the first time the chimes on the tower began to play the melodies "Transfiguration March" and "How glorious is our Lord."

The updated clock worked for 25 years, and in 1878 master V. Freimut undertook to repair it for 300 rubles, who became the next watchmaker of the Kremlin Tower. Initially, it was necessary for the chimes to play the melody “God save the Tsar!”, But Tsar Nicholas I did not allow this, wishing that any musical compositions, except for the anthem, sounded. In 1913, for the anniversary of the Romanovs' house, a full-scale restoration was carried out. The company of brothers Butenop continued to service the mechanism.

Revolution

Bad times have come October revolution, and in 1917 a live shell hit the dial and badly damaged the legendary watch. In the summer of 1918, when Moscow again became the capital, V. I. Lenin instructed the government to urgently repair the chimes.

They were looking for masters for a long time, everyone was afraid to take on this work. Eminent watch brands (the firms of Bure and Roginsky) requested huge sums, which at that time the newly created state could not allocate. And then the then Kremlin locksmith N. I. Berens undertook to repair them. He knew how the complex mechanism works, since his father once worked for a company that previously served chimes. And the artist Ya. M. Cheremnykh agreed to help him in this matter, he also composed the score to the music “You fell a victim” and “The Internationale” at the request of the leader of the proletariat.

And then, at great expense, a new pendulum was created, about one and a half meters long and weighing 32 kg. The restoration work was completed in September 1918. That was the first time Muscovites heard the clock on the Spasskaya Tower strike. Some time later, in 1932, the chimes will again require repairs. The craftsmen made a new dial (an exact copy of the old one) and re-gilded the rims, numbers and hands, which took about 28 kg of gold.

Stalin

At the direction of Stalin, they tried to tune the clock to the melody of the new anthem of the USSR by Aleksandrov, but to no avail. In 1991, they again wanted to complete this task, but, as it turned out, three bells were not enough for this. In 1996, after 58 years of silence, the Kremlin chimes played a melody at the inauguration of Russian President B. N. Yeltsin (“Patriotic Song” and “Glory” by M. I. Glinka).

The last restoration took place in 1999, it lasted six months. The hands were gilded again, the entire appearance was restored, and instead of the “Patriotic Song”, the watch finally played the anthem of the Russian Federation.

Clock on the Spasskaya Tower: photos and dimensions

The clock occupies special floors on the Spasskaya Tower: from the 8th to the 10th. Their main mechanism is located in a special room on the 9th floor. It is powered by three kettlebells weighing approximately 160 to 224 kg. The musical mechanism consists of a set of bells (all of which are tuned to a certain scale) and a so-called program cylinder, the diameter of which reaches two meters, and it is this that is rotated by a giant weight weighing 200 kilograms.

Cylinder pins drive the bells, each weighing 500 kg. The bells are on the tenth floor. By the way, one of them says that it was made by Claudius Fremy in Amsterdam in the summer of 1628.

It is hard to imagine the dimensions of this entire device, because only the dial has a diameter of 6.12 m. How long is the minute hand of the clock on the Spasskaya Tower? And what are the dimensions of the watch? Let's think. Based on the fact that the value of any of these elements should not exceed half the diameter of the dial, it can be assumed that the large hand will be approximately 3 meters. And a small one, respectively, will be a little smaller. And now let's turn to the official data. So, the minute hand of the clock on the Spasskaya Tower is 30 cm shorter than the hour hand - 2.97 m. The clock is wound up twice a day. With the help of an electric motor, weights are lifted, each shaft picks up weights from cast iron ingots weighing up to 200 kg, in winter their weight is increased.

Control and maintenance

Every day, the clockwork is subjected to preventive inspection and once a month - for details. The course of the clock on Spasskaya is checked by a watchmaker on duty using a chronometer and controlled by special devices. The entire mechanism is lubricated twice a week, with summer and winter lubrication applied.

The mechanism of the Kremlin clock on the Spasskaya Tower has been working properly for almost a century and a half. On the cast-iron side of them it is written that the clock was remade by the Butenop brothers in Moscow in 1851. At noon and midnight they beat the anthem of the Russian Federation, and in between - "Glory".

Conclusion

Many are interested in the question: "On which tower, besides Spasskaya, is there a clock?" In the Moscow Kremlin, in addition to the chimes, clocks are also installed on the Grand Kremlin Palace, Troitskaya and

The legendary chimes still measure the history of the great country, they have become the main symbol of the great and mighty Russia.