The Tsar Bell, Moscow

The Tsar Bell in Moscow is one of the attractions of the Moscow Kremlin. Never tolled, it amazes tourists with its gigantic size. It is located on the Ivanovo Square and is a monument of foundry art of the 18th century. The Tsar Bell was cast by Ivan Motorin and his son Michael. Famous foundry masters cast a dozen of cannons, and bells made by them tolled not only in Moscow but also in St. Petersburg, Kiev and other Russian cities. In 1730, Empress Anna ordered to recast the broken bell by Grigoriev with addition of metal and bring the weight of the bell to 10,000 poods. After all approvals the bell was cast in 1733-1735 at the Cannon Yard. Height of the bell is 6.24 m, diameter — 6.6 m, weight — about 200 tons. The bell was cast by November 25, 1735, after eighteen months of preparatory work. Ivan Motorin died before he could finish casting, and the casting was completed by his son Michael. May 20, 1737 during the fire in Moscow a wooden structure above the pit, where was the bell, caught fire. The flaming logs were falling down into the pit. People started pouring the scorching metal with cold water not to let the bell fuse. Because of the rapid and uneven cooling, the bell had 11 cracks and a significant chunk weighing about 700 poods (11.5 tons) was broken off. Therefore, the bell was left in the casting pit, where it had been located for about 100 years. August 17, 1836 the Tsar Bell was raised out of the casting pit and set up in the Kremlin on a pedestal, designed by Auguste Montferrand. Jewelry, portraits and inscriptions on the bell were made by V. Kobelev, P. Galkin, P. Kohtev, P. Serebryakov and P. Lukovnikov. The Tsar Bell in Moscow does not have any analogues in the world. It remains the largest and most admired bell for its giant size and weight of visitors of the Moscow Kremlin.