With what strike of the chimes does the New Year begin? "When the Kremlin chimes strike" Clock on the Kremlin tower.
The chimes on the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin are famous not only in Russia, but throughout the world. The Kremlin appeared in its current state at the end of the 15th century; before that, there were wooden and later white stone buildings on Borovitsky Hill.
In the 21st century The Kremlin is the largest functioning castle in Europe. But its unique towers are no less famous, among which Spasskaya stands out because of its majestic appearance and the dials installed on its walls.
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Reference from the past
Image taken during the USSR period
Located on the eastern wall of the Kremlin, it is almost the highest in height, second only to Trinity 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, later the entire structure was renamed. Important: only the icon of the Savior of Smolensk has survived, the second was lost during the USSR.
Less than a quarter of a century after its construction, a wooden bridge was stretched across the moat. Afterwards, the Englishman Galloway completed the upper floors and the hipped roof, which significantly “stretched” the appearance. Nude sculptures were installed as decorative elements - however, they were almost immediately covered up by sewing special caftans. A few years later they were badly damaged in a fire and had to be completely removed.
In the next century, the tent was crowned with an image of a double-headed eagle - it survived until the period of the USSR, being periodically updated. It was replaced by a Soviet star with five rays.
View inside
Quite quickly the star had to be changed: the first option became very dim due to precipitation, and the size turned out to be too large. Instead, so-called “ruby” stars appeared, the size of which does not even reach 4 meters.
They have a frame made of stainless metal, flat edges are made of double-layer glass. Inside they work lamps with autonomous action, and there is a ventilation system. The stars standing on the “top of the head” 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 were not allowed to ride through its gates, but men on foot took off their hats (this was later fixed by decree) and bowed. Everyone passing by did this, 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 damage was caused to the structure.
Through the described structure, criminals were led to the Place of Execution for execution, who prayed before the icons of the Savior. Also, kings and emperors followed through it on the way to the coronation site, and religious processions followed. Russians are used 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 height of the discs is more than 6 meters. 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 entire structure has a rather impressive weight - 25 tons.
The principle of operation is the same as that of conventional walkers: winding occurs by lifting three weights, the stroke is carried out by the movement of a pendulum. The interior consists of 4 shafts and is located on the ninth floor.
The shaft responsible for minutes goes down to the eighth floor, the musical component - to the tenth. The latter consists of a hammer and a dozen bells: the largest one 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 quintals. The action is similar to music boxes: the surface of the cylinder has grooves and bulges. As they rotate, they press keys, from which cables stretch to the bells and the applied melody is played.
However, due to a significant lag from the desired tempo, the melodies are not always recognizable. Now the Russian anthem is played there (it plays 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 interesting to note that the onset of a new calendar period in the life of people and the country does not occur with the last chime, but with the first chime. By the time the ringing ends, a full minute has passed.
Story
Surprisingly, the chimes were installed back in the 16th century. Even then, the position of watchmaker existed in the Kremlin: their service took place on the Spassky, Trinity and Tainitsky gates, and later Nikolsky 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 a monastery in Yaroslavl. Just 24 months later, a new device for telling time appeared in their place. The Englishman Galloway (Galoway) 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 last long: having worked for a short time, they died in a fire, but were quickly remade by the same master Galovey.
In the 70s of the same century, the device underwent serious repairs. Now he could play music, the disc was covered with blue azure, and images of celestial bodies were applied to it. Instead of the usual moving hand, at the very top of the dial they attached an image of the sun, from which a long ray descended. The disk itself was divided into 17 compartments to make it convenient to mark 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 the last. Thus, the disk either moved with the movement of the arrow, or against it. To ensure that the readings did not lag behind the movement of the sun, the device was adjusted 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 it is not the hand that runs 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 manner and purchased a new device in Holland. It already had the familiar dial with 12 digits. The installation was carried out by watchmaker Garnov (Garno). 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. We had to wait more than a quarter of a century until a clock made in England was discovered in the Chamber of Facets; the German Fatz installed it 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 entire existence. A few days later the melody was changed to the usual one.
The device described was not destined to last long. During the famous Moscow fire that occurred during Napoleon's offensive, he suffered. When watchmaker Lebedev checked them, he spent a long time restoring them. After the completion of the repair work he was awarded.
Modern version
However, they did not live long again. When a specialist examined them in the middle of the 19th century, he came to a deplorable conclusion: the condition of the Kremlin chimes left much to be desired.
The iron parts are worn out, the wooden stairs, floors and foundations will soon crumble. The creation of a new mechanism began immediately: the Danish company of the Butenop brothers, whose plant 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 palace dome of the Kremlin.
They were completely updated using a special resistant alloy, and they began to look like a modern version; a pendulum was installed inside. The craftsmen replaced the dial, numbers, divisions were marked, covered them with copper and gilded them. At the same time, reconstruction of the tower building was carried out. The work was led 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 proposal to choose the national anthem was rejected by the emperor himself.
In honor of the tercentenary of the ruling house, the mechanism was restored. All this time he was watched by the masters of the Butenop brothers company.
Watch repair and cleaning
In 1917, during the revolution, the Kremlin suffered from an attack by revolutionaries; a shell hit the clock. It damaged the arrows and the “insides” of the tower. Repairs were not able to begin immediately, but only after Lenin’s personal instructions.
The cost of repairs, put forward by specialists from the company, amounted to 240 thousand gold. This was too much money, and it was decided to turn to a carpenter, the son of one of the Butenop Brothers specialists, who had participated in the renovation earlier.
The musician Cheremnykh was responsible for the music: they performed “The Internationale” once and the funeral march twice. 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 renovation, a special commission decided that the music was poorly recorded and needed to be rewritten. In 1938, the mechanism lost its “voice” - only the chime remained.
The first news of serious wear and tear 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 have the best effect on the sound.
Interesting fact: Surprisingly, the Kremlin clock mechanism survived the war quite well: along 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, as pictures from that time show.
Setting the clock on the Spasskaya Tower
Almost 30 years later, the mechanism was stopped again - this time for quite a significant period. It was disassembled, reassembled, replacing all the worn parts, and an automatic lubrication system was installed. But the mechanism 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 with beaters in 95.
The melody began to play again in 97 of the 20th century: this time the “Patriotic Song” and “Glory” from the opera “A Life for the Tsar” were performed twice. By this time the silence had lasted almost 60 years.
The last global restoration took place in 1999: where the external gilding was renewed, the upper tiers were returned to their historical appearance, and the operation of the chimes was carefully adjusted. A new melody has also appeared, played by the chimes - the Russian anthem, approved at the same time.
Spassky chimes are considered one of the main attractions of Moscow and all of Russia. After over 4 centuries and frequent renovations, they still work great. They are easy to find in many photos of the capital’s sights and souvenirs; you can read brief information on Wikipedia.
How the chimes on the Spasskaya Tower are arranged, how many clock faces there are on the chimes, see interesting information in the following video:
Kremlin chimes Kremlin chimes
striking clock on the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin. In 1621, the English master X. Golovey made a clock, for which a stone top was built on the tower in 1625. In 1706, a new clock was installed, purchased by Peter I in Holland. Modern Kremlin chimes were made in 1851 by the Butenop brothers in Moscow. The diameter of the dial of the Kremlin chimes is 6.12 m, the height of the Roman numerals on the clock is 0.72 m, the length of the hour hand is 2.97 m, the length of the minute hand is 3.27 m.
KREMLIN CHIMESKREMLIN CHIMS, striking clock on the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin (cm. KREMLIN Moscow).
The first Kremlin clock
The clock in Moscow first appeared in 1404 (three years later than on the tower of the cathedral in Seville). They were located not on the Kremlin tower, but in the courtyard of Grand Duke Vasily Dmitrievich (cm. VASILY I Dmitrievich), not far from the Annunciation Cathedral. About the master who made the clock, it is written in the chronicle: “The prince himself conceived the clockmaker, and the clock was installed by a Serb monk named Lazar.”
The first clock on the Frolovskaya tower (from 1658 Spasskaya; built according to the design of the Italian master Antonio Solari (cm. SOLARI Pietro Antonio) in 1491), according to documents, were established in the 16th century. In 1585 they were already working, for which watchmakers received 4 rubles and 2 hryvnias per year, and 4 arshins of cloth for clothes.
In the 17th century The towers of the Moscow Kremlin (except Nikolskaya) were built with tents, and the height of the ten-story Spasskaya Tower reached sixty meters. It is known that in 1614 the clockmaker of the Spasskaya Tower was Nikifor Nikitin, whose duties included supervising the operation of the clock, its timely winding, and repairs.
Christopher Golovey's watch
The structure of the clock with division into day and night hours was primitive, in addition, they constantly suffered from fires. The famous English mechanic and watchmaker Christopher Golovey was invited to Moscow to make a new clock for the Spasskaya Tower. The architect Bazhen Ogurtsov built a magnificent tent for them, which became the decoration of the entire Kremlin ensemble.
The Vologda peasants, the Virachevs, worked on the manufacture of clocks under the leadership of Golovey, and Kirill Samoilov rang the bells for the “re-hours”. The annual salary of an English master was 64 rubles “and daily feed for 13 altyn 2 money per day, and 2 carts of firewood per week, and feed for one horse.” The old watch was sold for 48 rubles. The diameter of the dial of the new watch, extending on both sides, was about 5 m and was painted blue. The central part of the circle was stationary, and the outer part, about a meter wide, was divided into 17 parts and rotated. Hours were marked with letters of the Slavic alphabet. The weight of the watch was 3400 kg. According to contemporaries, it was: “...a wonderful city iron clock, famous throughout the world for its beauty and structure and for the sound of its large bell, which was heard... for more than 10 miles.”
The first watchmakers were their creators - father and son Viracheva. Watchmakers enjoyed privileges in Moscow and were paid large salaries. The work of those who supervised the tower clock was especially valued. The special instructions said: “At the Spasskaya Tower, do not drink or drink in the chapels, do not play with grain or cards, and do not sell wine and tobacco.”
Dutch watches and subsequent ones
At the end of the 17th century. The watch made by Christopher Galovey fell into complete disrepair, and in 1704 new ones were brought from Holland by sea, bought by Peter I (cm. PETER I the Great). The watches were transported to Moscow from Arkhangelsk on 30 carts, the treasury paid more than 42 thousand efimki for them. Three years later, the clock was installed on the Spasskaya Tower. Nine Russian craftsmen worked for 20 days to adjust and operate the clock mechanism.
However, the new clock quickly became dilapidated, and after the great fire of 1737 it fell into complete disrepair. By this time, the capital had moved to St. Petersburg, and there was no hurry with repairs. Only in 1770 did the master Ivan Polyansky, under the supervision of the Berlin watchmaker Facius, replace the mechanism of the Kremlin clock with large chimes found in the Chamber of Facets.
After the French were expelled from Moscow, the clock was examined. In February 1813, watchmaker Yakov Lebedev reported the destruction of the mechanism and proposed to restore it “with his own cost, materials and working people.” They entrusted him with the work, however, taking a signature that he would not damage the mechanism. Two years later the watch was launched, and Yakov Lebedev received the title of “watchmaker of Spassky watches.”
Another attempt (several decades later) to clean the watch without stopping the movement was unsuccessful, and major repairs were entrusted to the well-known watch company of the Butenop brothers at that time. The dismantled clock mechanism was completely disassembled, worn parts were replaced with new ones, and a new frame weighing about 25 tons was cast from cast iron. The company received 12 thousand rubles for the work. In March 1852, all work was completed, and the chimes for the first time played two melodies: “Kol Glorious” and “Preobrazhensky March”.
25 years later, in 1878, watchmaker V. Freimut repaired the clock for 300 rubles and was appointed watchmaker of the Spasskaya Tower.
During the October battles of 1917, a shell hit the clock dial, severely damaging the mechanism, but only in the summer of 1918 (the government moved to Moscow in the spring) was there an order for the urgent restoration of the chimes. For a long time we looked for craftsmen who would not be afraid to take on such work. The watch companies of Pavel Bure and Roginsky requested amounts that the state could not allocate at that time. And the Kremlin mechanic N.V. Behrens undertook the repairs, and the artist Ya.M. Cheremnykh agreed to help him, who composed the score for the chimes to the music of the “Internationale” and “Funeral March”. With difficulty, they made a new pendulum (to replace the lost gold-plated lead one) about one and a half meters long and weighing 32 kg. The restoration was completed in September 1918, and Muscovites heard the new chimes for the first time.
In 1932, the watch was repaired again, a new dial was made, and the numbers, hands and dial rim were gilded (in total, 28 kg of gold was used for gilding).
Clock device
The clock occupies the 8th, 9th and 10th floors of the Spasskaya Tower. The main mechanism is located in a special room on the ninth floor. It is driven by weights weighing from 100 to 200 kg. The chimes consist of a set of bells tuned to a specific scale and connected to the clock mechanism. The musical chime mechanism has a so-called program cylinder with a diameter of about two meters, which rotates a weight weighing more than 200 kg. The pins on the cylinder are designed to engage the bells, of which the largest weighs 500 kg. All bells are located on the tenth floor (special additional beams were used to hang them). There are inscriptions on the bells, for example, on the bell cast in Holland: “... Claudius Fremy made me in Amsterdam in the summer of 1628.”
The main dimensions of the watch: dial diameter 6 m 12 cm, numeral height 72 cm, hour hand length 2 m 97 cm, minute hand length 3 m 28 cm.
The clock is wound twice a day by simply lifting weights using electric motors. For each shaft, weights weighing up to 200 kg are assembled from cast iron ingots, and in winter the weight of the weights is increased. A preventive inspection of the mechanism is carried out daily, and a detailed inspection is performed once a month. The progress of the watch is controlled by special instruments, as well as by a watchmaker on duty, who checks the progress using a chronometer. Lubricate the mechanism twice a week, using summer and winter lubricant.
The mechanism of the Kremlin clock has been working properly for almost a century and a half. On its cast-iron frame it is written: “The clock was remade in 1851 by the Butenop brothers in Moscow.”
encyclopedic Dictionary. 2009 .
See what “Kremlin chimes” are in other dictionaries:
The term can have several meanings: Kremlin Chimes (play) play by Nikolai Pogodin Kremlin Chimes (film) Kremlin Clocks ... Wikipedia
KREMLIN CHIMS, striking clock on the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin. In 1621 the English master X. Golovey made a clock, for which a stone top was built on the tower in 1625. In 1706, a new clock was installed, bought by Peter I in Holland.... ... Russian history
Kremlin chimes … Moscow (encyclopedia)
KREMLIN CHIMES- Clock on the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin*. The first clock on the Spasskaya Tower was installed between 1491 and 1585. In 1624–1625 The English master Golovey installed a new chiming clock with a mechanism and 13 bells (see bell*). Mechanism details... ... Linguistic and regional dictionary
A striking clock installed on the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin. The first information about the Kremlin clock dates back to 1404; This clock was installed not far from the Annunciation Cathedral. In 1621, the “Aglitsky” watchmaker Christopher Golovey... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia
This term has other meanings, see Kremlin chimes. Kremlin chimes Author: Nikolai Pogodin Original language: Russian Year of writing: 1939 (first edition) Kremlin chimes ... Wikipedia
This term has other meanings, see Kremlin chimes. Kremlin chimes Genre Historical drama Director Viktor Georgiev Scriptwriter Oleg Stukalov ... Wikipedia
Chimes of the Moscow Kremlin Kremlin clock clock chimes installed on the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin. Contents 1 ... Wikipedia
Kremlin chimes (clock on the Spasskaya Tower), which is installed on the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin, is probably the most famous tower clock in the Russian Federation (Russia).
History of the Kremlin chimes
History of the tower clock in the city of Moscow takes us back to the distant year 1404, when they were first installed on the territory of the estate of the son of Prince Dmitry Donskoy - Vasily. The Grand Duke's courtyard itself was located near the Kremlin's Annunciation Cathedral.
These chimes were made by a Serbian clergyman - monk Lazar. A mechanical device in the shape of a human figure struck the bell every hour.
It is not known exactly when the clock with chimes appeared on the Spasskaya Tower. The tower itself was built by 1491 under the direction of the architect Piero Solari. This happened during the reign of Emperor Ivan III.
First documentary evidence the presence of a clock on the tower dates back to 1585: it mentioned certain watchmakers who, in addition to the Spassky clock, serviced the same mechanisms on the Tainitskaya and Trinity towers.
There are no descriptions of the chronometers, but the weight of the clock from the Spasskaya Tower was about 960 kilograms, as follows from the bill of sale, dated already 1624 (it indicates the sale of the clock to the Spassky Monastery from the Yaroslavl lands for 48 rubles).
A watchmaker, English mechanic Christopher Galovey, was invited to produce a new clock mechanism. Local blacksmiths were appointed as his assistants - master Zhdan with his son and grandson, whose names were Shumilo Zhdanov and Alexey Shumilov. 13 bells for the chimes were cast by Kirill Samoilov, a foundry master.
The new watch had no hands, the role of which was assigned to a rotating dial, which was divided into 17 parts.
The dial itself, weighing over 400 kilograms, was made of wooden boards and painted sky blue. There were hour divisions on it, which were designated in Slavic letters. For decoration, light-colored tin stars were added around the field.
Above the dial are the moon and sun painted in gold. The motionless arrow seemed to emanate from the ray of the last luminary.
The actual ringing of the chimes on the Spasskaya Tower was located even higher - in the figure of eight.
How did the chimes show the time and chime?
Such a strange dial, it turns out, indicated the course of day and night time, i.e. on the days of the summer solstice it was wound up for seventeen daytime and seven night hours. How did this happen?
The first sharp blow sounded at the moment when the first ray of sunlight fell on the walls of the Spasskaya Tower. Exactly the same blow announced the end of the day. Every hour a special bell sounded: the first hour - one strike, the second - two, and so on until the maximum possible number of 17. After that, the watchmaker climbed the tower and set the dial to 7 night hours. Thus, the timekeeper had to climb to the height twice.
Every 16 days, a correction was made to the number of day and night hours, which in total amounted to the figure we are used to - 24.
The clock on the Kremlin's Spasskaya Tower delighted not only Russians, but even foreigners arriving in Moscow. Contemporaries wrote about this diva:
... a wonderful city iron clock, famous throughout the world for its beauty and design and for the sound of its large bell, which was heard ... more than 10 miles away.
In 1626, the clock on the tower burned down, but two years later it was restored by the same Galovey to serve until the end of the seventeenth century.
New chronometer appeared under Peter the Great, who ordered the old-fashioned single-hand clocks to be destroyed and new ones with a 12-hour dial installed instead. The mechanism with a clock and music, which the sovereign himself bought for 42 thousand efimki in Dutch Amsterdam, was delivered to Moscow in thirty carts.
Yakim Gornel, a foreign watchmaker, was invited to install the chimes. He, together with nine Russian artisans, assembled and debugged the clock mechanism for 20 days. And finally, at 9 o’clock in the morning on December 9, 1706, people gathered at the tower heard the first ringing.
The chimes on the Spasskaya Tower chimed both the hours and the quarters. At a certain time, a melody was played, which was played by 33 musical bells. Unfortunately, the motive for that bell loss is not known.
Peter's watch served until 1737 until they burned in the fire. The capital was already in St. Petersburg at that time, and there was simply no hurry to repair the Moscow chimes.
In 1763, in one of the rooms of the Chamber of Facets, a large chiming clock made in England was found. They began to be mounted on the Spasskaya Tower only in 1767, for which master watchmaker Fatz (Fats) was sent from Germany. Together with the Russian artisan Ivan Polyansky, he launched them only three years later - in 1770. The music of the chimes was somewhat frivolous and was an excerpt from the German song “Ah, my dear Augustine.”
A fire in 1812 disabled the clock. The inspection of the mechanism was entrusted to Yakov Lebedev, who in February 1813 reported its significant damage and offered his services for restoration. Permission was obtained, but first they took a signature from the watchmaker that he would not permanently damage the device.
Two years passed and the chimes on the Spasskaya Tower sounded again, for which Lebedev was awarded the honorary and high title of “Master of the Spassky Clock.”
The current Kremlin chimes were installed in the period from 1851 to 1852. The mechanism was made by the Dutch - the Butenop brothers, whose workshops were located on Myasnitskaya Street, 43. For the euphony of the ringing and more accurate reproduction of the melody, 24 bells were added to the existing belfry, which were dismantled from the Trinity and Borovitskaya Kremlin towers.
The first melody of the new clock“God Save the Tsar!” was supposed to become the anthem of the Russian Empire, but Emperor Nicholas I did not give his permission for this, saying that “the chimes can play any songs except the anthem.” I had to record two melodies on the playing shaft - “March of the Preobrazhensky Regiment” (sounded at 6 and 12 o’clock) and “How Glorious is Our Lord in Zion” (3 and 9 o’clock), which did not change until 1917.
The installation of the Butenop brothers' clock mechanism required some restoration and repair work, which was led by the architect Pyotr Aleksandrovich Gerasimov. The pedestal for the clock, ceilings and stairs were made according to the drawings of the architect Konstantin Ton.
Clock on the Spasskaya Tower after the October Revolution
November 2, 1917 During the shelling of the Moscow Kremlin from artillery guns, a shell hit the dial directly, breaking one of the hands and destroying their rotation mechanism. The clock has started!
Restoration work began only in August 1918 on the personal instructions of Lenin. At first we turned to the watch companies of Roginsky and Bure, but refused their services due to the unaffordable price. Nikolai Behrens, who worked as a mechanic in the Kremlin, decided to take on the job. He knew this mechanism, since his father worked as a master for the Butenop brothers and passed on his knowledge to his son.
Behrens began work together with the artist Mikhail Mikhailovich Cheremnykh, who began working on a new score for the chimes. With great difficulty, a one and a half meter pendulum weighing 32 kilograms was made to replace the damaged one, made of lead with gold plating.
In September 1918, the clock on the Spasskaya Tower relaunched. The chimes sounded “Internationale” (at noon) and “You fell a victim in the fatal struggle” (at midnight).
In 1932, another reconstruction was carried out: the clock was repaired; replaced the dial; The numbers, rim, and hands were covered with gold, using a total of 28 kilograms of the precious metal. Only a fragment of “The Internationale” was left as the ringing, which sounded both 12 and 24 hours.
Since 1938, the melody of the chimes stopped sounding, leaving only hourly and quarterly short chimes. This decision was made by a special commission, which recognized the sound as unsatisfactory due to the wear of the mechanism.
In 1941, “The Internationale” was again played on the Spasskaya Tower using a special electro-mechanical drive. True, it did not last long.
In 1944, Stalin ordered the chimes to be set and the music of the new anthem of the Soviet Union, authored by Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov, to be set as a chime. The work did not go well, and the chimes of the Kremlin’s Spasskaya Tower fell silent for many years.
In 1974 they held major restoration with the clock stopped for 100 days. Then they dismantled and restored the entire clock mechanism, replaced worn parts, installed an auto-lubrication system, but the chimes never sounded - hands simply didn’t get around to them.
In 1991, a decision was made at the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee to restore the Kremlin chimes, but the issue arose due to the lack of 3 bells necessary to play the USSR anthem.
The issue was returned to in 1995, but the Union had already collapsed, and the anthem of the new Russia became “Patriotic Song” by Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka.
In 1996, on the day of the inauguration of Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin, after 58 years of silence, the chimes sounded again. The missing bells for tone were replaced by metal beaters. Now at midnight and noon the anthem was performed, and every quarter - a fragment of the opera “A Life for the Tsar” by the same composer Glinka.
The last restoration to date took place in 1999. In addition to the restoration work, the ringing of the previous anthem was changed to a new one, approved on December 8, 2000.
Interesting facts about the Kremlin chimes
And finally, a few words about the structure of the clock and chime mechanism on the Kremlin’s Spasskaya Tower.
- Total weight - 25 tons.
- The clock mechanism drive uses three weights weighing from 160 to 224 kilograms.
- A 32-kilogram pendulum with a length of 1.5 meters ensures the accuracy of the watch.
- The diameter of the four dials located on the four sides of the tower is 6.12 meters.
- The length of the minute and hour hands is 3.27 and 2.97 meters, respectively.
- The height of the numbers is 72 centimeters.
The movement, quarter strike and clock strike mechanisms are located on separate levels from the 7th to 9th floors. Above them, in an open area protected by a high tent, there are 9 bells for striking the quarter and a large bell for striking the hours. By the way, the watch was cast back in the mid-eighteenth century by master Semyon Mozhzhukhin.
Bells, due to the difference in size, can produce sounds ranging from low bass to treble. Weight - from 320 to 2160 kilograms. The ensemble of chimes contains bells dating back to both 1702 and 1628, cast in Amsterdam.
Clock on the Spasskaya Tower (Kremlin chimes) start twice a day - at noon and midnight. For these purposes, three electric motors are used - separately for each of the mechanisms (the system was introduced back in 1937). Translation of arrows is done only manually.
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The Spasskaya Tower is one of the most recognizable buildings in the post-Soviet space, because it is on it that the symbol of Russia is installed - the Kremlin chimes, the chime of which counts down the last seconds of each passing year for all Russians
Spasskaya Tower was erected in 1491 and initially bore the name Frolovskaya, in honor of the nearby church of Frol and Lavra, but was later renamed Spasskaya after the installation of the “Savior Not Made by Hands” icon over the gate, which was later lost during the October Revolution
At first, the tower was approximately half as low, but later, in 1624-1625, a multi-tiered top was erected above it, ending with a stone tent. In the middle of the 17th century, the first double-headed eagle, which was the coat of arms of the Russian Empire, was hoisted on Spasskaya, after which double-headed eagles also appeared on the Nikolskaya, Trinity and Borovitskaya towers of the Kremlin
For a long time Spassky Gate were considered holy - that's why it was impossible to ride through them on horseback, and men had to take off their hats when passing through the gates. If someone disobeyed these rules, he had to atone for his guilt with fifty prostrations to the ground. There is also an interesting legend according to which, at the moment when Napoleon was passing through the Spassky Gate in captured Moscow, a gust of wind pulled off his famous cocked hat)
Previously, on both sides of the Spasskaya Tower there were chapels that belonged to the Intercession Cathedral and were demolished in 1925
Chimes
It is on the Spasskaya Tower that the famous chimes, which existed already in the 16th century, are located. The first clock was installed in 1625, 13 bells were cast especially for them, but then there were no hands on its dial and it was divided into 24 parts, indicated by copper, gilded letters - the time was shown by turning the dial itself
The familiar 12-hour dial was installed on the Kremlin chimes in 1705, by decree of Peter I, and from 1706 to 1709 the old clocks were replaced with Dutch chimes, which served until the mid-19th century
Chimes that we see today were created in 1851-1852. During the storming of the Kremlin by the Bolsheviks, a shell hit the clock, which is why it was necessary to re-make a new 32-kilogram pendulum, restore one hand and the clock mechanism. In 1932, a new dial was installed on the chimes, on which 28 kilograms of gold were spent. A complete restoration of the watch was carried out in 1974 - at the same time a special automatic lubrication system for the mechanism parts was installed. The last major restoration was carried out in 1999. In the photo - part of the Moscow chimes mechanism
