The Oruzheynaya Tower was given its present name in the 19th century after the construction of the Armory. The Borovitskaya Tower is a corner tower with a through-passage on the west side of the Kremlin.
Historical information
The Oruzheynaya Tower was built in 1495. It was given its present name in the 19th century after the construction of the Armory. Before then, it was known as the Konyushennaya Tower, a reference to the royal stables that stood behind it.
The Borovitskaya Tower is a corner tower with a through-passage on the west side of the Kremlin. It is named after Borovitsky Hill, one of the seven hills Moscow is standing on.
The tower was constructed in 1490 on the spot of an old Kremlin gate by Italian architect Pietro Antonio Solari (Petr Fryazin, from fryaz or fryag as Italians were called at that time) by order of Vasili III of Russia. In 1658 by orders of tzar Aleksey I of Russia the tower was renamed to Predtechenskaya (from the Russian word "предтеча" — predtecha, the forerunner) after the Church of John the Forerunner, which was later destroyed during the construction of the Kremlin Armoury (Oruzheynaya Palata).
The new name, however, never became popular. In 1812, the tower was damaged by an explosion staged by the retreating French army. In 1817–19, the tower was restored by architect Osip Bove. In 1935, the Soviets installed a red star on top of the tower.
Following the closure of the Spassky Gate on red square to all traffic at the end of the 90's, the Borovitsky gate became the main vehicle passage way. Together with the star, its height is 54.05 m.
