Moscow, Kremlin, Nikolskaya tower

This tower was built by the architect Pietro Antonio Solari in 1491. Its name is sometimes associated with the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, placed above the passage gate of the strelnitsa. Other sources associate this name with the Nikolsky Greek Monastery, which was once located on Nikolskaya Street. As in all passable towers, there was a drawbridge over the moat, and on the gates there were protective gratings. In the 17th century, the Nikolsky Gate served mainly as an entrance to the boyar and monastic farmsteads in the Kremlin. In 1612, during the struggle against the Polish-gentry interventionists, the people's militia, led by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin, burst into this gate with a fight and liberated the Kremlin. In 1812, the French, retreating from Moscow, blew up the tower. It was restored by architect O. Bove in 1816. In 1917, during the October battles, the tower was badly damaged by artillery fire. It was restored in 1918 by architect N. Markovnikov.