Golden Tsaritsyna Chamber

Currently, the chamber is built up on all sides, and only its eastern facade, which faces the passage between the Faceted Chamber and the Church of the Deposition of the Roof, is accessible for viewing. The remains of the cornice, hidden by an arch supporting the bypass gallery of the Verkhospassky Cathedral, as well as the window platbands, it is clearly seen that the original appearance of the chamber had the features of a renaissance . The window trims of the southern facade, which previously overlooked the Bed Porch , are decorated with intricate carvings in the same style. It is noteworthy that one of these windows is double.

The so-called Zhiletsky Chamber, which served as the canopy of Tsaritsyna, has survived to this day. In the old days, a palace guard was on duty in these hallways. They preserved an elegant Renaissance portal , which formalizes the main entrance to the main room of the female half of the royal palace.

On days of great holidays, as well as on the occasion of the name day , the tsarina here received congratulations from the tsar, princes, boyars, other court officials and townspeople, and granted them in the presence of the tsar with birthday cakes and allowed them to hand.

Here were people of all ranks and estates with congratulations on the occasion of the birth of princes and princesses. According to the old tradition, a newborn prince or princess was brought a “gift” by the tooth. It could be an icon or another shrine, a silver goblet, sable, expensive fabrics: velvet, satin, and a uniform . ^[one]

Here the queen received the patriarch and other ministers of the church.

According to the recollection of Archbishop Arseny of Elasson , who visited the chamber in 1589, it was very richly and elegantly decorated. The walls and arches were covered with pure gold and surprisingly reflected the pronounced sounds. On the walls were depicted vegetable patterns, trees, grape brushes, as well as various birds. In the middle of the vault was a lion holding a snake in its teeth, from the middle of which there were many candlesticks adorned with precious stones and pearls and artfully woven like baskets. Arseny especially notes the numerous mosaics that delighted him with the depiction of events and persons of sacred history. All these images were covered with graceful salaries, crowns and decorated with precious stones. ^[2]

The acoustics that surprised Arseny are explained by the well-known ancient Russian masters of the building technique. When examining a chamber in the 20th century, well-preserved pots close to each other were found on its arch, fastened together with brick chips to lime. ^[3]

In 1681, the Verkhospassky Cathedral located above the Golden Tsarina’s Chamber was rebuilt, and in 1683 its vault was strengthened by two cross-set arched-tangle arches with gilded iron ties, as a result of which the interior of the chamber acquired such a peculiar look.

During the reign of Peter I, the Golden Tsaritsyna Chamber was turned into a pantry. They resumed it only to the coronation of Paul I in 1796, as evidenced by the inscription on the vault.

In 1838-1849, during the construction of the Grand Kremlin Palace, the chamber was restored and incorporated into a new historical and architectural complex.

Mural restoration was carried out in the 1920s and 1947.

Currently, the Golden Tsaritsyna Chamber is one of the premises of the president’s residence.

• Bartenev S.P. Grand Kremlin Palace. A pointer to his review. M .: Synodal printing house, 1909. S. 74-79.
• Zabelin I.E. Home life of Russian tsars in the 16th and 17th centuries. M .: Transitbook, 2005. ISBN 5-9578-2773-8