Great Minaret

The northern wall of the Cathedral Mosque adjoins a projection — this is the foundation of the Great Minaret, the image of which has been preserved in old drawings and plans. A valuable description of the monument was made by Pallas in 1769: “The noblest of these towers, or mizgir, is made of hewn stones and is a little over 12 sazhen high. One ascends it by a steep staircase with 72 steps, each a Paris foot in height. This staircase was repaired and the tower was covered with a wooden roof.”

The Great Minaret was a 24-meter column consisting of an upper small and a lower large cylinder. The lower cylinder transitions through an octagonal tier into a square base measuring 5 by 5 meters. Inside, a spiral staircase led upward, illuminated by six small windows. At mid-height, there was an Arabic inscription — a saying from the Quran.

By decree of Peter I, the Great Minaret was repaired, but it has not survived to this day. Shortly before its collapse, it was observed by the English scholar Turnerelli.

It was reconstructed in 2000 because the original collapsed in 1841 due to voids formed beneath it; treasure hunters dug tunnels searching for buried treasures. As eyewitnesses recalled, the minaret fell at night, waking the local residents with a terrible crash.

Today’s reconstructed Great Minaret is open to visitors. Climbing its steps to a height of 32 meters, one can admire the beautiful surroundings of Bolgar.

Source:

https://yanarysh.tatarstan.ru/bigminaret.htm