Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/878

860 MOSCOW ed cross being nearly 325 ft. above the ground. In it are hung 34 bells, the largest of which weighs 64 tons. The Tzar Kolokol (see BELL) stands upon a granite pedestal near its foot. Sacred Gate of the Kremlin. The sacred buildings of the Kremlin are the cathedrals of the Assumption, in which all the Russian emperors since the days of Ivan the Terrible have been crowned ; of the Archangel Michael, the burial place of the imperial fam- ily up to the time of Peter the Great ; of the Annunciation, where the czars were former- ly baptized and married ; and the church of the Redeemer in the Wood, one of the oldest buildings in Moscow. Other ecclesiastical buildings within its walls are the Miracle mon- astery, the Ascension convent, and the sacristy or house of the holy synod, where are pre- served the robes and the sacred vessels used by the different patriarchs. The palace is most- ly modern, having been built chiefly by Czar Nicholas on the site of the old one burned in 1812. Within it are grand halls dedicated to the chief Russian orders of knighthood. The ri#ht wing, called the treasury, is devoted to the preservation of arms, armor, relics, regalia, and other treasures illustrative of the history of the reigning dynasty and of Russia. At the N. angle of the Kremlin is the arsenal, a mas- sive building in front of which are ranged long rows of captured cannon, among them 3G5 pieces taken from the French in the retreat from Moscow. Opposite the arsenal is the sen- ate house, where sits the high court of appeal. The Kitai-Gorod (Chinese town), E. of the Kremlin, is surrounded by a wall with 12 tow- ers and 5 gates. It was enclosed by Helena, mo- ther of Ivan the Terrible, when the Kremlin had become overcrowded. Within it the trade of Moscow has centred since 1596. The Gostinnoi Dvor, or great bazaar, is an immense building three stories high and covering three squares, in- tersected by numerous passages lined with shops. Each business tas its separate department or street. The shops are small, but the store rooms above contain large quantities of goods, more than 75,000,000 rubles being invested beneath its roof. The Riadi also, a large open square laid out in narrow streets of booths, is in this quarter. In the Krasnaya Ploshtchad (Red place) is the cathedral of Vasili Blazhen- noi (St. Basil the Beatified), sometimes called the cathedral of Kazan, because it was built by Ivan the Terrible over the remains of St. Basil, to commemorate the taking of Kazan. It is a building of two stories, with 11 domes and cupolas, each of different form, height, and color, and each surmounting a chapel dedicated to some saint. Other objects of in- terest in this quarter are the Romanoff house, where the founder of the present dynasty was born, the Strastni monastery, and the ex- changes. The Bieloi Gorod (white town) oc- cupies the zone between the inner boulevard and the Kremlin and Kitai-Gorod. It contains many of the principal buildings, including the governor's palace, a fine building on elevated ground; the assembly house of the nobility, the grand hall of which will hold 2,000 per- sons ; the university and the medical academy ; the military riding school (560 ft. long by 158 broad), -the roof of which is unsupported by any pillar, and which affords ample space for the simultaneous evolutions of 2,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry; the foundling asylum, an immense quadrangular edifice, four stories in height above the basement, and having some- times 25,000 children under its support, with- in and without its walls ; the post office, the theatres, many private palaces, several monas- teries and nunneries, and numerous churches. Among the last is the great temple of the Saviour, founded in 1812 to commemorate Russia's triumph over Napoleon, and not yet finished. It is a regular cross of four equal branches, surmounted by a central cupola 84 ft. in diameter, and having an exterior height above the pavement of 343 ft. -The interior walls are cased with polished labradorite and porphyry, and adorned with paintings, and the outside is ornamented with bass reliefs repre-