Tobolsk Kremlin

The Tobolsk Kremlin stands on Troitsky Cape in Tobolsk, Tyumen Region, about 250 kilometers from Tyumen. It is the only stone kremlin in Siberia, and today it is part of the Tobolsk State Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve.

History

A wooden fort once stood on this site and was rebuilt several times before the kremlin took its present shape at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, thanks to the work of the architect Semyon Remezov. The oldest stone building in Siberia, the Sofia-Assumption Cathedral, is part of the ensemble; it was built in 1683–1686 by the masters Gerasim Sharypin and Gavrila Tyutin. In the early 18th century, stone walls and towers were raised around the complex. In 1702–1706, the Gostiny Dvor (merchants' arcade) was built in the kremlin's northwestern corner, and in 1748 the Holy Gates were cut through the northern wall. The Renterya, also known as the Swedish Chamber, was built in 1713–1716 and remains one of only two fully preserved buildings designed by Remezov. The tallest structure in the city became the cathedral bell tower, erected in 1799.

Legends and stories

A legend is tied to the kremlin involving the Uglich alarm bell: according to tradition, in 1592 the bell was exiled to Siberia as "guilty" of inciting a city uprising, and for a time it hung here. According to local accounts, Decembrists and other political exiles of the 19th century served their time in the prison castle next to the kremlin.

What is there today

The kremlin grounds form a museum complex open to visitors. The former consistory building now houses a theological seminary. The Governor's House — a former merchant mansion that belonged to I. Kuklin, which served as the residence of the Tobolsk governor from 1828 to 1917 — today holds a museum dedicated to the family of Emperor Nicholas II. Entry to the kremlin grounds is free; it is open daily from 10:00 to 18:00, on Tuesdays until 17:00, with Monday as a day off.

Getting there

Tobolsk lies 250 kilometers from Tyumen. The kremlin stands on Troitsky Cape, in the historical center of the city, and is easy to find as Tobolsk's main landmark.