The Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin is a majestic medieval fortress, one of the best preserved in Russia. It is the second largest after the Moscow Kremlin, located in the historic center of Nizhny Novgorod and is its oldest part. It stands on the high right bank at the confluence of the Volga and Oka rivers.

According to chronicles, in 1221 the great prince of Vladimir, Yuri Vsevolodovich, founded Nizhny Novgorod, which was protected by wooden-earth fortifications. The first attempt to replace the wooden fortress with a stone kremlin dates back to 1374. At that time, Prince Dmitry Konstantinovich laid the foundation of a white-stone kremlin. However, due to financial and political problems, only one tower—the Dmitrievskaya Tower—was built, which has not survived to this day. The current Dmitrievskaya Tower was constructed one and a half centuries later along with the entire Kremlin.

The Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin is unlike any other kremlin in Russia. Built on a steep slope, it has a record height difference of 82 meters between its highest and lowest points. Erected in the early 16th century on the site of an old, dilapidated wooden kremlin, it was designed from the start for the use of artillery. The towers protrude beyond the line of the walls—a construction technique that helps shield the fortress defenders from enemy fire. At the same time, the towers themselves can fire upon attackers even when they are right up against the walls.

This marvel of engineering and architectural thought is the result of a collaboration between Italian architects sent by Ivan III from Moscow and Russian stonemasons. Construction proceeded at a rapid pace—the enormous structure was completed in just 15 years. During this time, all surrounding villages were subjected to a special "egg" tax: a huge number of fresh eggs were required to mix the mortar, which gave the masonry its particular strength.

The work was excellently done—during the Kazan wars and the Time of Troubles, the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin was never captured by the enemy. But Nizhny Novgorod almost lost its main attraction in peacetime.

Under Ivan III, Nizhny Novgorod served as a border city with a permanent army and was a military assembly point for Moscow’s campaigns against Kazan. To strengthen the city’s defenses, work on the fortress walls resumed. The construction of the stone Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin began with the laying of the Tverskaya (now Kladovaya) Tower in the upper part of the city in 1508–1509. Work was interrupted by a raid of Khan Muhammad-Amin’s horde in 1505. Construction resumed in 1508. Meanwhile, the old oak kremlin was destroyed in a severe fire in 1513. Construction was completed, presumably, sometime after 1516. The main construction was overseen by architect Pietro Francesco (Pyotr Fryazin), sent from Moscow.

The involvement of Italian architect Pietro Francesco in building the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin gave rise to one of the most incredible legends associated with the fortress on the Volga’s bank. It is said that Leonardo da Vinci himself designed it! The first to suggest that our kremlin resembles Italian fortresses, some of which were designed by the great Leonardo, was architect Svyatoslav Agafonov during the Kremlin’s restoration. This claim was based on similarities in design: towers protruding beyond the walls, and the presence of through passages.

Later, local historians discovered that the mathematical principle of the "golden ratio" or "divine proportion" was used in the design and construction of the kremlin. This principle was also employed by da Vinci in his works. Most researchers agree that Leonardo never visited Nizhny Novgorod and knew nothing about the kremlin’s construction here. However, someone from his students might have participated. Little is known about Pietro Francesco, or Pyotr Fryazin. It is known only that he arrived in Russia in 1494 and from 1509 to 1511 was one of the leaders of the kremlin’s construction. Incidentally, two other Italian architects working in Russia in the 15th–16th centuries were also called Pyotr Fryazin. One is known for his work in the Moscow Kremlin, the other for building the Kitay-gorod walls. "Fryazins" was an old Russian term for people from Southern Europe of Romance origin, usually Italians.

Another legend related to the "golden ratio" principle concerns the kremlin. There is a version that as long as the kremlin’s perimeter remains closed, Nizhny Novgorod will prosper. Perhaps for this reason, in 2012 the Zachatyevskaya Tower was restored from ruins after having collapsed due to landslides almost 300 years earlier.

According to one legend, the legendary Liberia, or library of Ivan the Terrible, is stored in the dungeons of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin. This collection of books is called Russia’s "enchanted treasure" and has been sought for several centuries.

Written sources say the library originally belonged to Byzantine emperors and was collected over many centuries. Later, the books became the dowry of the Greek princess Sophia Palaiologina, who married Grand Prince Ivan III of Moscow. Upon arriving in Moscow in 1472, Palaiologina realized that the city was often devastated by fires and that the priceless books could be destroyed in one of them. Sophia ordered the books to be stored in the basement under the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin in the Moscow Kremlin.

Apparently, the Liberian passed by inheritance into the hands of Ivan the Terrible—Sophia Palaiologina’s grandson. After the tsar’s death, the library disappeared without a trace.

Supporting the theory that the library is hidden in the dungeons of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin is the fact that the tsar took part of the collection on his campaign to Kazan. The route to Kazan passed through Nizhny Novgorod.

In the 16th century, the kremlin was repeatedly besieged and attacked by Kazan Tatars (in 1521 and 1536), yet it was never surrendered to the besieging army. By 1697, the kremlin had lost its military significance.

The two-kilometer wall had 13 towers: 5 rectangular in plan, which served as gates, and 8 round, blind towers. In front of the Dmitrovskaya Tower there was an advanced fortification—a stone bridge with a detached tower, which was a novelty in Russian fortress architecture.

On the uphill side, the kremlin was surrounded by a so-called "dry moat" 2.5 to 4 meters deep and about 25–30 meters wide. It is assumed that the moat had separate deepened sections filled with groundwater, particularly near the Dmitrovskaya Tower. However, the 1622 Pistsovaya Book mentions digging a moat 1 sazhen (about 2.5 meters) deep and about 4 sazhen (10 meters) wide along the entire upper wall line. This could have been a ditch within the moat (a cuvette), as the dry moat alone was insufficient. Groundwater could have been present in this new moat. The dry moat itself could not contain water because the towers were immersed in it by a whole tier. The embrasures at this level, together with those in additional side casemates of the wall sections, formed the lower or base firing line. In the 17th century, a moat also appeared on the lower side—in a small section in front of the Ivanovskaya Tower. There are reports of underground galleries found deeper than the base firing line, connecting some towers, but this has not been studied.

The "Stone City" had a permanent garrison. Nothing is known about the kremlin’s artillery in the 16th century. Although the fortress’s design allowed for a significant increase in artillery if necessary, in the 17th century the artillery armament of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin was relatively small, as its military-defensive importance diminished significantly after Russia’s capture of Kazan in 1552. In 1621, the kremlin had 22 cannons; in 1663, 20; in 1619, 19. Most of its guns were small-caliber fortress "pishchali" of small caliber—volkoni—and there were far fewer medium and large caliber pishchali. There were also a few tyufyaki firing shot. Most cannons were made of copper, only a few of iron. Some guns were mounted on stands called "dogs," others on wheeled carriages. Besides artillery, handheld firearms such as pishchali-hakovnitsy (fortress rifles) were used in defense, and the towers’ basements stored various cold weapons along with gunpowder supplies.

In January 1714, Peter I established the Nizhny Novgorod Governorate. From then on, the Kremlin became the administrative center of the governorate and the center of Nizhny Novgorod. Under Catherine II, between 1785 and 1790, the kremlin was repaired, during which the roofing on the wall battlements was dismantled. As a result, exposure to atmospheric precipitation caused the wall masonry to gradually deteriorate. The battlements themselves were shortened by more than half, not for aesthetic reasons but to obtain material for the kremlin’s repair. The advanced fortifications of the main tower were dismantled, and between 1834 and 1837 the moat was filled in, lowering the kremlin’s height by about 4 meters. Consequently, the lower tiers of the towers ended up underground, leading to flooding by groundwater and gradual destruction. At that time, the entire kremlin was whitewashed, and its roofs were painted red.

For a long time, the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin received inadequate care. When the Patriotic War of 1812 began, the Nizhny Novgorod militia departed from its walls. At that time, the kremlin was no longer a defensive structure, but in 1894 reconstruction of the Dmitrievskaya Tower began. The project author and reconstruction leader was architect Nikolai Sultanov. He was tasked with converting it into an art-historical museum, which required restoring the tower’s leading position in the kremlin. The museum opened in 1896. The Dmitrievskaya Tower was significantly transformed, acquiring an appearance uncharacteristic of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin. A double-headed eagle—the emblem of the Russian Empire—was placed atop the roof. The entire kremlin was whitewashed again.

To enter the kremlin from Rozhdestvenskaya Street, a funicular was built in 1896. It helped visitors ascend from Skoba to the fortress grounds. However, it operated for a relatively short time. In 1926, the funicular was closed after a tram line was built along Zeleny Descent, connecting Rozhdestvenskaya Street and Bolshaya Pokrovskaya.

With the Bolsheviks’ rise to power, significant changes occurred in the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin. It was repainted red, and the tower roofs became green. The double-headed eagle was removed from the Dmitrievskaya Tower and replaced with the USSR flag. The Cathedral of the Transfiguration was demolished, and the House of Soviets was built on its site (other surviving kremlin churches suffered similar fates, except for the Archangel Cathedral).

Between 1935 and 1937, a new threat loomed over the Kremlin. Authorities decided to expand Soviet Square, which required demolishing part of the wall, including the Dmitrievskaya Tower. According to a project by the Leningrad institute "Giprogor," the square was to extend through the kremlin grounds to the House of Soviets. At that time, the kremlin was seen as a "monument to greedy feudalism and tsarist autocracy, a witness to the terrible pages of a bloody past."

Architect Nikolai Ushakov of "Giprogor" wrote:

"The wall facing Soviet Square has lost its value and charm due to later restorations. The towers, especially Dmitrievskaya, have been significantly altered. At the same time, here the kremlin walls shield the square from the uniquely beautiful expanses of Zavolzhye and the greenery inside the kremlin. Therefore, from the House of Soviets to the Georgievskaya Tower on the embankment wall, demolition is planned. Some buildings inside the kremlin will also be demolished. A large round square will be created. In its center, on the site of Dmitrievskaya Tower, a monument to Comrade Sverdlov will be erected, surrounded by a ring-shaped park. Opposite the agricultural institute building, on the site of the old arsenal, a large building for the regional party committee and regional executive committee will be erected as an addition to their old buildings. The heavily landscaped kremlin interior will surround the House of the Red Army, located on the site of the former Cadet Corps. Sverdlov Street will be widened to 40 meters on the left side. All buildings on this side will gradually be demolished and replaced with new ones."

However, the outbreak of war prevented this plan from being realized. On June 22, 1941, a meeting of the Gorky regional committee was held in the Kremlin. On Soviet Square that day, a massive rally took place, where the secretary of the Gorky regional committee of the VKP(b), I. M. Guryev, called on the people of Gorky to defend the Motherland against the Nazi invaders. Later, the Gorky division gathered at the Kremlin walls and went to the front.

The kremlin played a significant role in the defense of Gorky during the war. The roofs of the Taynitskaya, Severnaya, and Chasovaya towers were dismantled, and anti-aircraft machine guns were installed on their upper platforms. Thus, the fortress protected the city’s airspace from German aviation. Nazi pilots tried to bomb the Kanavinsky Bridge but met with kremlin anti-aircraft fire as they approached.

For 200 years, the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, having lost its defensive significance, slowly deteriorated. The fortress walls and towers, exposed without roofing, suffered repeated freezing, causing the masonry to delaminate and collapse. Embankment soil accumulated inside the walls in volumes of tens of thousands of cubic meters, creating layers up to 12 meters thick in places; a 250-meter section of the lower kremlin was completely destroyed, and nothing remained of the Borisoglebskaya and Zachatyevskaya towers (their foundations were found during excavations). Deformation of many surviving sections reached catastrophic levels, threatening the monument’s further existence and requiring urgent restoration work.

The issue of restoring the kremlin was first raised in 1938 in the newspaper "Gorky Worker" by architect Svyatoslav Leonidovich Agafonov, who was working on the general plan of the city of Gorky, and Mikhail Petrovich Zvantsev, an employee of the Gorky Art Museum. However, as with the Soviet Square expansion project, the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War delayed this large-scale project.

On January 30, 1949, the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR issued an order for the restoration of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin as part of the general improvement plan for the city of Gorky.

Restoration and reconstruction work began in autumn 1949 and was carried out by the Republican Special Scientific Restoration Workshop under the leadership of architect Ignaty Trofimov, involving historians, geologists, and construction engineers. Geodetic surveys were conducted by the "Giprokkommunstroy" institute. From 1951, scientific supervision and project authorship were taken over by Svyatoslav Agafonov. The first stage involved a general survey of the site and experimental restoration of a small section of the wall. Preparatory work and project development continued for several years, with the restoration project completed in 1961.

Restoration proceeded in three phases and was mostly completed by 1965. The fourth phase began the restoration of completely destroyed sections, lasting until 1981. Thus, all surviving walls and towers were repaired or restored (except for the Zachatyevskaya Tower, restored in the post-Soviet period), wooden spires on towers and roofs on walls were recreated, and engineering protection was arranged. Later restoration was limited to partial re-facing of masonry.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, restoration work ceased. Around 2005, the Kremlin wall developed dangerous cracks in several places. Moreover, in many areas, the brickwork was crumbling and covered with moss and lichens. Restoration resumed in 2005, but not everything was done properly—there are examples of intensive alterations that significantly distorted the fortress’s appearance. This is a consequence of neglect and improper use of the sites. For example, the small gate in the wall section between the Taynitskaya and Severnaya towers was bricked up from the inside without a trace and locked from the outside. Entire towers were occupied by outside organizations. In 2012, the Zachatyevskaya Tower was reconstructed, after which the kremlin wall ring became closed.

Sources:

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nizhny_Novgorod_Kremlin

https://nn.aif.ru/society/details/legendy_staroy_kreposti_kakie_tayny_hranyat_steny_nizhegorodskogo_kremlya