The rattle tower was part of the defense system of the Okolny city of the Pskov fortress , on the right bank of the Pskov River. Six-tier tower, diameter at the base approx. 15 m, height approx. 29 m.
| Sight | |||
| Rattle tower | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Cosmodemian Tower | |||
| |||
| A country |  Russia | ||
| City | Pskov , Gremyachaya, st., 7B | ||
| Type of building | six-tier tower | ||
| Builder | Ivan Fryazin | ||
| Founder | Vasily III | ||
| Established | |||
| Status | protected by the state | ||
| Height | |||
| Material | |||
| condition | protected by the state | ||
 World Heritage Site | |||
| Churches of the Pskov School of Architecture. Complex of fortress buildings of the Outer Town: Gremyachaya Tower, 16th century (Temples of the Pskov architectural school. The complex of fortifications of the Okolny city: Gremyachaya tower) | |||
| Link | No. 1523-002 in the list of World Heritage Sites | ||
| Criteria | (iv) | ||
| Region | Europe and North America | ||
| Turning on | 2019 ( 43rd session ) | ||
Content
History
The rattle tower is the highest stone tower in Pskov, the exact date of its construction is known: “In the summer of 7033 (1525) Prince Vasily Ivanovich led his clerk Misyury Munekhin to put a stone arrow on Gremyachaya Gora, making a hiding place over the Pskov River and that summer”.
At first the rattlesnake tower was called Kosmodemyanskaya - after the Kosmodamiansky monastery that existed here, from which a stone church was preserved on the mountain in 1540. The real Gremyachka tower was nearby, above the Gremyachy gate, and when it was destroyed, the name passed to Kosmodemyanskaya.
Original View
The rattlesnake tower had a stone underground "crawl", it descended from the tower to the water level to provide water for the defenders of the Upper Grates in combat. Opposite the Gremyachey tower, on the left bank of Pskov , stood the Nikolskaya tower of the 16th century. In the fortress wall between the Gremyachy and Nikolskaya towers there were openings of water-running gates through which Pskov flowed through the city - the so-called Upper grilles. The gates were blocked by lowered wooden, subsequently iron bars, thus blocking access to the fortress along the river. No residues, at least the foundations of the Upper Grilles, have yet been found.
Upper grilles. Drawing by the architect-restorer Spegalsky Yu. P.
Pskov at the Upper Grates. Drawing by the architect-restorer Spegalsky Yu. P.
Architectural Features
The rattle tower stands on a leveled limestone rock, which serves directly as the floor of the first tier and the basis for the laying of walls. The tower is divided in height into six tiers or floors, before each tier, like other Pskov towers, was separated by a wooden platform on which were placed cannons aimed at embrasures . In addition to the system of underground passages, the tower has a stone “crawl” from the side of the city - a stone corridor descending from the tower to the Pskov River, which during the siege could be used to provide water for the city’s defenders. Large well-hewn blocks of Pskov limestone, a dome arch and a complex entrance system, as well as loopholes of an unusual shape for fortifications of North-Western Russia (with a narrowing inner chamber, a narrow middle part with parallel cheeks and an external bell), suggest that over the structure the tower was worked by Italian architect Ivan Fryazin .
Legends
There is a legend that during the Teutonic raids, knights captured Pskov and captured the prince. The prince did not wish to submit to the invaders. The Teutons built an impregnable tower and imprisoned it there, and then killed it. The Pskovites, learning about this, rebelled against the knights. The bloody battle began. The forces were unequal. But then on the wall of the tower appeared the shadow of the prince. The terrified Teutons were at a loss, and the Pskovs easily recaptured the city.
Another legend associated with the tower says that the prince's daughter sleeps in it without a sound sleep. Allegedly, the mother cursed the beauty, after which the princess fell into an endless slap. Only a good young man can spell her, who is not afraid to spend 12 days in a row near her bed, reading the hymnal. They say that, besides the princess, the brave man will receive huge barrels of gold, the sound of which the Pskovites seem to hear at night.
They also say that a long time ago he lived in the artisan of Pskov. It was so long ago that no one remembers his name. Once, he visited John the Theologian with his relatives. Stayed and returned home after midnight. It seemed to him that fellow countrymen were coming towards. Say hello, decided to go to the nearest tavern. There was wine and a lot of food on the table. Countrymen drink and treat the craftsman. He took off his hat, took a glass with one hand, and crossed himself with the other. As soon as he did this, his fellow countrymen immediately disappeared, and he ended up at the very top of the Gremyachey tower. They removed it from there only in the morning when people went to work. Since then, he no longer went to John the Evangelist as a artisan.
Sources
- Evlentiev K. G., “On an archaeological expedition for the study of the Pskov dungeons”, - Pskov, 1873
- Okulich-Kazarin N.F., “Satellite along Ancient Pskov”, - Pskov, 1913. S.190-192
- Spegalsky Yu. P., "Architectural and Artistic Monuments", - Pskov, 1978. S.205-206
- Stepanov Yu. “Legends and Traditions of the Pskov Region”, - Pskov, Information Agency “Pskov-infopress”, 1993. P. 53
- Sedov Vl. Vl., "Pskov Temples of the 16th Century", - M., 1996. S.40-46
- Shulakova T. V., “Temples of Pskov. Architectural Guide ", - Pskov, 2003
- Vlasov A.S., Elkin G.N., “Old Russian Fortresses of the North-West”, - St. Petersburg, 2011. S. 215–217
- Pskov fortress walls (State TV and Radio Company "Pskov", 1997)