The Kremlin Arsenal () is a former armory built within the grounds of the

Moscow Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall along with the K ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. Initially constructed in 1736, it has been rebuilt several times. It remains in military use to date, unlike the

Kremlin Armoury The Kremlin ArmouryOfficially called the "Armoury Chamber" but also known as the cannon yard, the "Armoury Palace", the "Moscow Armoury", the "Armoury Museum", and the "Moscow Armoury Museum" but different from the Kremlin Arsenal. () is one of ...

, another arsenal within the walls of the Moscow Kremlin, which is now a museum. The building is off-limits to tourists.

Building

The Kremlin Arsenal is a large elongated trapezoid two-storey building with a large courtyard. It occupies most of the northern corner of the Moscow Kremlin.

History

In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, the spot was occupied by granaries. After they burnt down in the last years of the 17th century,

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

engaged a team of Russian and German architects to construct the Kremlin Arsenal, designed to be one of the largest buildings in Moscow at the time. Construction started in 1702, but was interrupted due to lack of funds during the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

with

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, and was only completed in 1736, under supervision of Field-Marshal

Burkhard Christoph von Münnich Burkhard Christoph Graf von Münnich (; – ) was a German-born army officer who became a field marshal and political figure in the Russian Empire. He carried out major reforms in the Russian Army and founded several elite military forma ...

. The new building was gutted by a fire in 1737, and only restored from 1786-1796. During

Napoleon's invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign (), the Second Polish War, and in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 (), was initiated by Napoleon with the aim of compelling the Russian Empire to comply with the continent ...

, the retreating French soldiers had the central part of the building blown up. It was restored between 1816 and 1828 to a Neoclassical design in order to house a museum dedicated to the Russian victory over

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

References

*Klein, Mina. ''The Kremlin: Citadel of History''. MacMillan Publishing Company (1973). *Tropkin, Alexander. ''The Moscow Kremlin: history of Russia's unique monument''. Publishing House "Russkaya Zhizn" (1980). ASIN: B0010XM7BQ

External links

Official webpageThe Armory and other sights of Moscow
{{Kremlin Arsenals Moscow Kremlin Government buildings completed in 1828 Military installations established in the 1820s Museums in Moscow Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Moscow Federal Protective Service