Cathedral Square, Moscow

Central square of the Moscow Kremlin

Cathedral Square in Moscow, a veduta by Quarenghi, 1797.

Cathedral Square or Sobornaya Square (Russian: Соборная площадь, romanized: Sobornaya ploshchad) is the central square of the Moscow Kremlin where all of its streets used to converge in the 15th century.[1]

The square owes its name to the three cathedrals facing it – Cathedral of the Dormition, Cathedral of the Archangel, and Cathedral of the Annunciation. Apart from these, the Palace of Facets, the Church of the Deposition of the Robe and the Church of the Twelve Apostles are placed there. The tallest structure on the square (and formerly in all of Russia) is Ivan the Great Bell Tower,[2] which also separates Sobornaya Square from Ivanovskaya Square.

Cathedral Square is famous as the site of solemn coronation and funeral processions of all the Russian tsars, patriarchs, and Grand Dukes of Moscow. Even today, the square is used in the inauguration ceremony of the President of Russia.[3]

## Archaeological excavations

[edit]

View from the Ivan the Great Bell Tower

The Moscow Kremlin, where the square is located, is a closed object for archaeologists because the state authorities are located there. The Kremlin cannot be called a sufficiently studied monument: before the revolution, no one was engaged in archaeological excavations because the territory was built up and monasteries were in operation. After the Revolution, the Kremlin continued to be a closed territory. The main source of archaeological materials was not excavations with the full opening of ancient structures, but observations and fixation of the cultural layer during economic and engineering works.[4]

Nevertheless, archaeologists have managed to discover the first settlements on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin belonging to the Bronze Age (II millennium BC). A Finno-Ugric settlement of the early Iron Age (second half of the first millennium B.C.) was found near the modern Archangel Cathedral. At that time the population occupied the area of the modern Sobornaya Square.[4]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "History of Moscow". Retrieved 2012-03-24.
2. ^ "Ivan the Great Bell Tower". Archived from the original on 2012-01-20. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
3. ^ "Medvedev sworn in as Russian president". China Daily. Xinhua. 2008-05-07. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
4. ^ a b Колесниченко, Александр (2015-11-25). "Раскопки в Кремле. Какие сюрпризы ждут исследователей в сердце Москвы?". aif.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-09-30.

* v
* t
* e

Kremlin and Red Square

Kremlin Wall
and Towers|

* Borovitskaya
* Vodovzvodnaya
* Blagoveshenskaya
* Tainitskaya
* Pervaya Bezymyannaya
* Vtoraya Bezymyannaya
* Petrovskaya
* Beklemishevskaya
* Konstantino-Eleninskaya
* Nabatnaya
* Tsarskaya
* Spasskaya
* Senatskaya
* Nikolskaya
* Uglovaya Arsenalnaya
* Srednyaya Arsenalnaya
* Troitskaya
* Kutafya
* Komendantskaya
* Oruzheynaya

Administrative
buildings|

* Kremlin Senate
* Kremlin Arsenal
* Amusement Palace
* State Kremlin Palace
* Grand Kremlin Palace
* Terem Palace
* The Armory
* Palace of Facets
* Tsarina's Golden Chamber
* State Historical Museum

Churches|

* Cathedral of the Assumption
* Cathedral of the Annunciation
* Cathedral of the Archangel
* Ivan the Great Bell Tower
* Church of the Deposition of the Robe
* Nativity Church
* Patriarch's Palace and the Church of the Twelve Apostles
* Verkhospassky Cathedral and the Terem Churches
* Saint Basil's Cathedral
* Kazan Cathedral

Squares
and gardens|

* Red Square
* Ivanovskaya Square
* Cathedral Square
* Taynitsky Garden
* Grand Kremlin Public Garden
* Alexander Garden
* Manezhnaya Square

Monuments|

* Kremlin Wall Necropolis
* Monument to Minin and Pozharsky
* Monument to Grand Duke Sergey Alexandrovich
* Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
* Lobnoye Mesto
* Tsar Cannon
* Tsar Bell
* Alexander Garden Obelisk
* Red Porch
* Iberian Gate and Chapel
* Lenin's Mausoleum

Former|

* Ascension Convent
* Chudov Monastery
* Armorial Gate
* Robespierre Monument
* Kremlin Presidium (Building 14)

55°45′02″N 37°37′03″E﻿ / ﻿55.7505555656°N 37.61750001°E﻿ / 55.7505555656; 37.61750001
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template