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The Kazan Kremlin
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6
The Kazan Kremlin is not only unique on account of its distinctive fortifications, buildings and temples. It is also without parallel because, historically and architecturally, the complex bears witness to the continuity of its history, to the lasting result of the centuries-long synthesis and matchless interchange of values between different cultures and civilizations.
Although the Kremlin is not the only ancient urban citadel on the banks of the Volga river, it is only in Kazan that one is able to find such a unique monument to the all but lost culture of the Kazan Khanate - the only surviving Tatar fortress which clearly bears all the hallmarks of its original urban function.
Once it became the spiritual and governmental nucleus of the Tatar capital, the Kremlin never lost its rationale, forming and influencing all adjacent urban development through the ages of its existence.
The Kremlin's location and its key monuments offer an outstanding example of the synthesis of Tatar and Russian architecture, combining various styles and echoing the influences of the continuous historical epochs. Casting an eye around the Kremlin complex one is able to distinguish clearly the epochal cultural influences of Volga Bulgaria, the Golden Horde and the Kazan Khanate respectively. Today, the Kremlin remains an outstanding example of the all-embracing fusion of Tatar, Italian and Russian architectural ideas.
Occupying a special place in history as the northernmost point of the spread of Islamic culture in the world, the Kremlin has acted as a hub of Kazan and absorbed the spiritual influences of two of the world's great religions - Christianity and Islam - and is a product of the simultaneous interaction of the ideas of the Muslim and European Renaissance.
The fixed geographical and historical location of the Kremlin is reflected in the written testimony of the Russian Prince Andrei Kurbsky with almost photographic precision. In his Narrative of the Great Duke of Muscovy, Kurbsky wrote:
"And then we neared the city of Kazan, which is located in the most inaccessible terrain: to the east of it, flows the Kazan river and, to the west, the river of Bulak, very swamped and impassable. It runs right beneath the city and, by the Corner Tower, flows into the Kazan river. It flows out of the suitably large lake called Kaban, which lies a mile and a half from the city. And if you succeed in crossing this river, which is a very difficult task, then between the city and the lake from the direction of the Arsk field you see a very steep and unassailable mountain. And around the city from that river to the little lake called Unclean, a very deep moat is dug. And from the Kazan river, the hill is so high that it is barely possible to encompass it with your sight. Upon the hill, there are the fortress and the Tsar's palace, and the tall stone mosques, where their deceased kings are buried. As I recall, they are five in number. ... And the Tsar of Kazan has barricaded himself in the citadel with thirty thousand of his best troops, with all his nobles and his court." <<back next>> Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6
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