Ivanovskaya Square (russian: Ивановская площадь) is the largest
Kremlin
The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (Ru ...
square. Its name comes from the
Ivan the Great Bell Tower
The Ivan the Great Bell Tower (russian: Колокольня Иван Великий, ''Kolokol'nya Ivan Velikiy'') is a church tower inside the Moscow Kremlin complex. With a total height of , it is the tallest tower and structure of the Kreml ...
.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, many government bodies were situated in the Ivanovskaya Square. It was the site of the
Prikazy, the equivalent of today's Ministries. Yamskoi Prikaz, one of the offices, handled the delivery of private letters. Thus, it became the first postal address in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
. Court services and chanceries of various departments were also situated here.
At the end of the 1920s and early 1930s, the square was enlarged after the demolition of the
Lesser Nicholas Palace and the
Ascension Convent
Ascension Convent, known as the Starodevichy Convent or Old Maidens' Convent until 1817 (russian: Вознесенский монастырь, ''Voznesensky monastyr''), was an Orthodox nunnery in the Moscow Kremlin which contained the burials of ...
.
Today, the square is cobbled like most of the territory of the Kremlin. It offers a view of one of the three corners of the
Kremlin Senate
The Kremlin Senate (The Senate Palace, russian: Сенатский дворец) is a building within the grounds of the Moscow Kremlin in Russia. Initially constructed from 1776 to 1787, it originally housed the Moscow branch of the Governing S ...
.
Gallery
Image:Moscow Panorama 1901.jpg, Ivanovskaya Square on a 1901 photo
Image:Moscow Kremlin map - Ivanovskaya Square.png, Location of the Square
File:Ивановская площадь Московского Кремля (Moscow clad in snow).jpg, Ivanovskaya Square in 1908
References
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{{coord, 55.7516, N, 37.6188, E, source:ruwiki_region:RU, format=dms, display=title
Squares in Moscow
Moscow Kremlin