Russia - Table of Contents
............... Architecture Around the
World
Red Square
Moscow, Russia
St. Basil's Historical Museum GUM Kazan Cathedral Kremlin Wall - Coming soon Lenin Mausoleum - Coming soon Resurrection Gate and the Iberian Chapel - Coming soon |
Red Square
is a city square in Moscow. The square separates the Kremlin, the
former royal citadel and currently the official residence of the
President of Russia, from a historic merchant quarter known as
Kitai-gorod. As major streets of Moscow radiate from here in all directions, being promoted to major highways outside the city, Red Square is often considered the central square of Moscow and all of Russia. ... the name came about because the Russian word красная (krasnaya) can mean either "red" or "beautiful" (the latter being rather archaic). This word, with the meaning "beautiful", was originally applied to Saint Basil's Cathedral and was subsequently transferred to the nearby square. - Wikipedia (April
|
An enormous 400 by 150 metres, Red Square lies in the heart of Moscow and on its four sides stand the Kremlin, GUM Department Store, State Historical Museum and St. Basil's Cathedral
- centers of government, commerce, history and religion. The square is
also home to Lenin’s tomb, a gleaming granite mausoleum to the revered
founder of Socialism - a system that, like Lenin himself, is dead but
not forgotten. Towards the end of the 15th century, Ivan
III gave orders for houses in front of the Kremlin to be cleared to
make way for this square In the 16th century, a number of boyers (noblemen), including Russia's future rulers, the Romanovs, built their estates nearby, while the presence of merchants from Novgood and as far away as England, was actively encouraged. The current names dates from the 17th century. Red Square was also the setting for public
announcements and executions and also a stage for pageants and
processions. Before the Revolution, the patriarch (head of the
Russian Orthodox Church) would ride an ass through Savior's gate to
St.Basil's each palm Sunday to commemorate Christ's entry into
Jerusalem. |