SREDNYAYA ARSENALNAYA TOWER

The Srednyaya Arsenalnaya (Middle Arsenal) Tower was built in 1493-1495 on the northwest side of the Kremlin wall, stretching along the Alexander Garden, in place of the corner tower of the time of Dmitry Donskoy. The outer edge of its strongly elongated rectangular volume, crowned by machicolations and parapet with decorative brickwork, preserved its original partitioning by two flat vertical niches. In the 15th-16th centuries there were dams near the tower on the Neglinnaya River. In 1680s it was completed with an open quadrangle with a four-sided hipped roof, finished with a through watchtower with a small marquee.

The main volume of the tower is divided into three tiers covered by cylindrical vaults and connected by wall staircases. The hipped roof is divided into tiers by flat ceilings.

The tower received its present name when the Arsenal building was erected in the early 18th century. Earlier it was called Faceted because of its façade, which was split into facets. According to the project of O.I. Bove, an entertaining grotto was created at the foot of the tower in 1821, when the Alexander Garden was laid out.

The height of the tower is 38.9 metres.