Bely Gorod (, , ) is the central core area of

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

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 ...

beyond the

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 (fortification), Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Mosco ...

and

Kitay-gorod Kitay-gorod (, ), also referred to as the Great Possad () in the 16th and 17th centuries, is a cultural and historical area within the central part of Moscow in Russia, defined by the remnants of now almost entirely razed fortifications, narro ...

. The name comes from the color of its defensive wall, which was erected in 1585–1593 at the behest of tsar Feodor I and

Boris Godunov Boris Feodorovich Godunov (; ; ) was the ''de facto'' regent of Russia from 1585 to 1598 and then tsar from 1598 to 1605 following the death of Feodor I, the last of the Rurik dynasty. After the end of Feodor's reign, Russia descended into t ...

by architect Fyodor Kon. The wall is in length, and its width ranges up to at its widest. Bely Gorod had 28 towers and 11 gates, the names of some of which are still preserved in the names of squares, namely: Trehsvyatsky, Chertolsky (Prechistensky), Arbatsky, Nikitsky, Tversky, Petrovsky, Sretensky, Myasnitsky, Pokrovsky, Yauzskiy, Vasilievsky. The walls were cogged, like the Kremlin walls, with loopholes that allowed keeping a continuous fire. During the reign of

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

and her grandson

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon from 495 to 454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Alexander I Theopator Euergetes, surnamed Balas, ruler of the Seleucid Empire 150-145 BC * Pope Alex ...

the wall was demolished and replaced by a chain of boulevards, known as the

Boulevard Ring The Boulevard Ring (; transliteration: ''Bulvarnoye Koltso'') is Moscow's second innermost ring road (the first is formed by the Central Squares of Moscow running along the former walls of Kitai-gorod). Boulevards form a semicircular chain along ...

. File:Bely gorod.jpg, Semiverhaja tower, Vsehsvjatsky and Chertolsky (Prechistensky) gate on the plan of 1610 File:Vasnetsov Semiverhaya bashnya Belogo goroda.jpg, Semiverhaya (Seven-tops) angular tower. By

Apollinary Vasnetsov Apollinary Mikhaylovich Vasnetsov (; – 23 January 1933) was a Russian painter and graphic artist. He specialised in scenes from the medieval history of Moscow. Vasnetsov did not receive a formal artistic education. He had studied under his ...

File:Vasnetsov u Myasnitskih vorot Belogo goroda 1926.jpg, Myasnitsky Gate. By

File:Vasnetsov Lubyanoy torg na Trube.jpg, "Truba" ("Tube") at the river Neglinnaya. By

File:Khokhlovskaya_Square_Moscow_asv2018-01.jpg, The remaining foundation of the wall at the Khokhlovskaya square

External links

Pile-Driving in the White City (Белый город)

Белый Царев город

Храмы Белого города
Geography of Moscow 16th century in Moscow Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Moscow {{Moscow-geo-stub