The Kremlin

The Kremlin (from the Russian word krema, fortress) is situated near the centre of the city of Moscow. It is triangular in form, and about two miles in perimeter.

The Kremlin contains palaces, cathedrals, monuments, etc.; and it is enclosed by a high wall, having eighteen strong towers and five gates.

The principal gate of the Kremlin is called the "Redeemer's Gate:" it has a picture of the Saviour over it, and even the emperor must take off his hat when he passes through the gate.

Among the buildings of the Kremlin are the great Imperial Palace; the Cathedral of the Assumption (founded in 1326), in which the Russian emperors have been crowned for three hundred years; the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael (in which the Russian emperors were buried, down to the time of Peter of Great); and the Cathedral of the Annunciation, in which many of them were baptized and married; the floor of this cathedral is paved with jasper, agate, and cornelian.

The Ivan Veliki, or Great Tower, contains thirty-four bells; and near it (unmounted) is the Tzar Kolokol, or Great Bell, the largest in the world.

The principal streets in Moscow lead from the Kremlin like the spokes of a wheel; and around them run handsome boulevards forming circles, one a mile, the other a mile and a half, from the Kremlin.

Inside the inner boulevard is the Kitan Gorod, or Chinese Quarter, containing 121 acres.

The city of Moscow is said to have been founded about A.D. 1150: from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century it was the capital, and it is still the richest city, of Russia.