6 . I V A N T H E
G R E A T B E L L
T O W E R
КРЕМЛЬ
The bell tower was built in 1505 - 1508 by the Italian
architect Bon Fryazin . A century later , she received
another ringing tier , and its height reached 81
meters . This is reminiscent of the inscription under
the dome , containing the date - 1600 , as well as the
names of Tsar Boris Godunov and his son Fedor . In
1532 - 1552 , a church was built next to the bell tower
according to the design of the Italian architect
Petrok Maloi , which was converted into a belfry at
the end of the 17th century , called the Assumption .
In 1624 , Bazhen Ogurtsov set up a belfry with a tent -
top , the Filaret extension , close to it .
In 1812 , Napoleon ’ s retreating troops from Moscow
blew up the bell tower ensemble , but the pillar of
Ivan the Great stood . The belfry and the Filaret
extension were demolished to the ground , but in
1814 - 1815 they were restored to their former
volumes . Today , the bell tower and the belfry are 24
bells XVI - XVII centuries .
The exhibition hall of the Moscow Kremlin Museums
is located on the first floor of the Assumption
Belfry , where works of art from both the Kremlin
collection and other Russian and foreign museums
are exhibited , and a museum dedicated to the
history of the Moscow Kremlin architectural
ensemble is opened in a unique monument of old
Russian architecture . The exposition of the bell
tower presents authentic fragments of white - stone
decor of ancient buildings of the Kremlin , known
only from the chronicle mentions . Examination of
the museum is accompanied by individual audio
guides . At the end of the audio excursion , visitors
leave to the bypass gallery , from where a beautiful
view of the Kremlin and the surrounding area from
a bird ' s eye view opens up .