Ivan the Great Bell Tower Ensemble

About museum

The Ivan the Great Bell Tower ensemble, located between Cathedral and Ivanovskaya Squares in the Kremlin, was created over three centuries — from 1505 to 1815. It consists of three differently tiered structures: the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, the Assumption Belfry, and the Filaret annex. The bell tower was built by the Italian architect Bon Fryazin in 1505–1508. Later another ringing tier was added, bringing its height to 81 meters. In 1532–1552 a church was built next to the bell tower, later converted into the Assumption Belfry, and in 1624 Bazhen Ogurtsov erected a belfry with a tented roof beside it — the Filaret annex. In 1812 the ensemble was blown up by Napoleon’s troops retreating from Moscow, but the main tower of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower remained intact. The belfry and the Filaret annex were restored in 1814–1815. Today 24 bells dating from the 16th–17th centuries are located in the bell tower and belfry. The first floor of the Assumption Belfry houses an exhibition hall of the Museums of the Moscow Kremlin. A museum has opened in the Ivan the Great Bell Tower.