Moscow. Kremlin. Dovzvodnaya tower

In the southwest corner, the Kremlin is guarded by the Vodovzvodnaya Tower. This is one of the most beautiful buildings in the entire ensemble. The tower was built in 1488 by the architect Antonio Gilardi. At first it was called Sviblova, after the name of the Sviblov boyars, whose courtyard adjoined the tower from the Kremlin side. The tower received its modern name in 1633 after the installation of a water-lifting machine in it and the installation of the first pressure water pipeline in Russia to supply water from the Moskva River to the Kremlin. As contemporaries testified, this machine, made under the guidance of the Englishman Christopher Golovey, cost several barrels of gold. At the end of the 17th century, a tent was erected over the tower. In 1812, French troops retreating from Moscow blew up the tower. Restored it in 1816-1819. O. I. Bove.