Preobrazhenskaya Tower of the Kazan Kremlin

The Preobrazhenskaya Tower (Transfiguration Tower) is a gate tower of the Kazan Kremlin in the historic centre of Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan. This massive rectangular 16th-century tower stands in the western wall of the fortress and once served as its western entrance. Today it is one of the most recognisable towers of the Kazan Kremlin and an observation deck overlooking the Volga and the Kazanka.

History

The tower was built in the second half of the 16th century, after the capture of Kazan, on the site of the Temenskiye Gate (Temenskaya Tower) of the Khan's fortress. The work was led by Pskov masters Postnik Yakovlev and Ivan (Ivashka) Shiryai, who also built other stone walls and towers of the Kremlin.

According to some sources, the tower was first called Sergiyevskaya, after the nearby Trinity-Sergius Monastery. It took its present name from the Saviour-Transfiguration Monastery that stood inside the Kremlin.

Originally the tower was a white-stone truncated pyramid with a wooden tent roof, a watchtower and loopholes. In 1774, after Yemelyan Pugachev's rebellion, its passage was walled up. In the 18th and 19th centuries the tower was rebuilt: the loopholes were removed, the walls were plastered, and it lost its defensive look.

A restoration in the 1970s brought back the loopholes, the tent roof and the watchtower, returning the tower to the appearance it had in the days of the Pskov builders.

Architecture of the Preobrazhenskaya Tower

The tower has two tiers. The lower tier is supported by massive buttresses and holds iron-clad gates with an icon niche above them. The upper tier is separated by a stone moulding and pierced by two arched openings. Above it sits the guardhouse with its tent roof, crowned by a metal pennant showing Zilant, the winged serpent of Tatar legends and a symbol of Kazan.

Observation deck

The restored guardhouse above the second tier is used as an observation deck. From the Kremlin courtyard 48 steps lead up to it; the staircase is decorated in the spirit of old Tatar legends. From the top you can see the Kremlin grounds, old Kazan and the confluence of the Kazanka and the Volga.

Getting there

The Preobrazhenskaya Tower is part of the Kazan Kremlin museum reserve, a few minutes' walk from Bauman Street. The Kremlin can be entered through the Spasskaya Tower (around the clock) or the Taynitskaya Tower (6:00 to 21:00). According to the museum reserve, the tower's observation deck is open in the summer season, from 1 May to 1 October, 8:30 to 19:30; check the current hours on the Kremlin's website before visiting.