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The Tsar Cannon and the Tsar Bell are displayed in
Ivan’s Square. They are fine examples of monumental
artistic casting.
The
Tsar Cannon shows the high level of the Russian casting
art in the 16th century. It was cast of bronze
by Andrei Chokhov at Moscow’s Cannon Yard in 1586,
during the rule of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, Ivan the
Great’s son. The Cannon weighs 40 tons and is 5m 34cm
long, its caliber is 890mm. It is the world’s biggest
cannon as regards its caliber. Hence it got its name:”
The Tsar Cannon”. It was meant to be used for defending
the Moscow Kremlin and was positioned near the Spassky
Gate. However, it has never been fired. There are ornament
and relief inscriptions on the barrel, which tell its
history, and there is also a cast relief image of Tsar
Fyodor Ivanovich on horse holding scepter in his hand.
An
iron decorative gun carriage designed for the Tsar Cannon
by the architect A.P.Bryullov was cast in 1835 at Berd’s
work in St. Petersburg. The cannon balls, which are beside
it, are purely decorative, and each weighs one ton.
The
famous Tsar Bell is a unique monument of the casting art
of the 18th century. It is at the root of the
Belfry of Ivan the Great. It was cast by the Moscow
founder Ivan Motorin and his son Mikhail in the Kremlin in
1733-1735. The Russian craftsmen V.Kobelev, N.Galkin,
N.Kokhtev and N.Serebryakov adorned the bell with relief
ornament, images and inscriptions. The figures of Empress
Anna Ivanovna and Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich are in the
foreground. Inscriptions telling the bell’s history are
in decorative cartouches with baroque volutes and angels.
During the fire of 1737 the Tsar Bell was in the foundry
pit. The red-hot metal cracked because of uneven cooling
when they extinguished the fire. A piece weighing 11.5
tons broke off the bell. The bell remained in the pit for
about 100 years after that. It was not until 1836 that it
was raised and placed on a pedestal after a plan specially
designed by the architect A.A.Montferrand. The Tsar Bell
is the largest in the world; it weighs over 200 tons, is
6.14m tall and is 6.6m in diameter.
The Bell was restored in 1980. The paint and
drying oil layers were removed and the pedestal was
strengthened.
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