The Portland daily press., 1896-06-06
WHAT THE KREMLlN WAS AND IS.
Within Its Huge Walls Are Churches Pal.
aces, and Forts.

| aces, and Forts.
The Kremlin of Moscow, writes the
correspondent of the London Stsndar d.
in a letter preliminary to the coronation.
is to Russia what the Aoropolis of Atb.
ems was to Greece or ths Capitol to the
Roman Empire. The word itself more
properly ''Kreml," Is literal Russian
equivalent in use and derivation to "arx
the defended citadel, the stronghold of @
town. 1t is not name peculiarly be-
longing to Moscow. The ancient town
of Noygorod has also its Kremlin: SO.
too, has Nijni-Novgorod, the site of the
great Russian fair every year, and there
are Others.
But the Kremlin of Moscow is the cit.
adel of the empire, and in all the life
struggles of ancient Muscovy and modern
Russia down to the early days of the
present centuryt has had t part as the
nerve centre of the ever-widen ing empire
of all the Russias
| When Napoleon, foiled in his hopes of
bringing Alexander T. to his knees by
occupying the ancient palaces of the
Gar, retired from Moscow and the
Kremlin like tiger that had missed his
spring, Marshal Mortier, in command OF
the rear guard, received orders to blow
up the entire structure. The pastions,
the palaces, evan tho sacred edifcss
themselves, were undermined; but con.
sidering the extent of the preparations
made, the damage actually done was
rain damped the powder, or, mora prob
ably, perhaps, Mortier was not such q
vandal as his master and purposely
spared the most important monument of
| ancient Russia. while destroying
| sufficient to escape a charge of disobed1-
ence to orders.
The holy places within the Kremlin
walls were then closed entirely, for the
| first time in their history while cunning
artists made good the ravages Of the de-
stroyer. For about thirty years subse-
| quent to the retreat from Moscow build
| ing operations were going on. and the
Kremlin now is to some extent restora-
ton and reproduction of its ancient form.
! The Krenlin is an irreg ular triangle
of high brick walls, crenellsted, with
battlements of an original pattern, ter
minatlng at the SUNNI t in a slightly
forked shape, like a fish tail. 1t is puilt
around one of the proverbial seven hills
and commands wide view of the coun-
try on all sides. The south wall was an
| GENTLY washed By the Moscow river; the
longest side faces northwest by stream
which has long since disappeared, and
Grand Square, along which the Imperial
procession passes on the day of the tri-
umphal entry into the Russian capital,
preceding the coronation. The entire
circuit of the walls is about mile and a
half, and within that space is enclosed
in the history of Russia. To use a COM
parison, it is Westminster Abbey and the
Tower in one.
Almost in the middle of the space in
! closed by the walls rises the lofty tower
known as Ivan Vel1kly, the belfry COM
H.
1t WAS built nearly four centuries ago
and has STOOD through siege and fire, even
through that awful night in the autumn
of 1912, when it was cracked by the concus
sion Of neighboring mines from top to
bottom. Built originally to serve the
double purpose of belfry and watch
tower, whence to give warning of the
approach of au enemy, and afterward
used as fire signal tower, Ivan Velikly
is now the fayorite place of observation
for all visitors to ancient Moscow, and
the view, from height of about 800 feet,
over the entire city and for twenty miles
round, is not one to be forgotten by the
most jaded sightsear.
The tower is polygonal in the lower
stages and circular above, eliminating in
the usual gilded bulb, surmounted by a
huge Cross the successor to that which
was pulled down by Napoleon's soldiers
ander the impression that it was of solid
gold. just below the dome are three col
| lara or bands of black. bearing a legend,
in large gold letters. which tells of the
building of this bell tower by Borits
Govunov in 1900
At the foot OF this huge steeple, and
much dwarfed by such proximity,
stands, on a granite pedestal, the broken
"Great Bell of Moscow"-a costly Won
der which has no rival from here to and
Malay. The huge BELL weighing sixty
four tons, which rings on Easter Eve
and on state and solemn occasions.
hangs in an upper story over the Church
of st. John, built much later, against
the Ivan Velikly Tower. The broken
bell, which was never hung, is of more
than three times the oalibre, and, per.
haps, affords more pleasure TO the eye in
its present state, than it ever could have
given to the ear-even at distance of half
a mile. The sixty-four ton bell covers
with it's boom the din of all the bells OF
all the churches of Moscow when ringing
at one time. as will be the case during
the remainder of the coronation day, after
the service is over.
q <Are0kS72