Kremlin

President of Russia

| A WORD TO VISITORS |
| SEND A LETTER |
| PHOTO ALBUM |
| DISCOVERING THE KREMLIN |
| SUBSCRIPTION |
| RUSSIAN |

National Priorities:
| Against New Threats
| Tax Reform
| Pension Reform

DISCOVERING THE KREMLIN |

The Kremlin in the 13th Century

Yury Dolgoruky may have been the founder of the Kremlin, but it was Daniil Alexandrovich (1261-1303), the son of the legendary Alexander Nevsky, who had the first buildings built there. Daniil Alexandrovich was the first prince of Muscovy. After Yury Dolgoruky and throughout the 13th century, Moscow continued its rise, even though this was a tragic period in Russian history.

Unlike his predecessors who only visited Moscow now and then, Daniil Alexandrovich made it his residence and began building it up.

It was at this time that the first princely chambers appeared on the high Borovitsky Hill. They were located near the spot where the Borovitsky Gates stand today. From the outside they were modest and simple, but inside, they fulfilled the function more of a palace than simply a residence, with not just living quarters but also chambers for receptions and even ceremonial chambers.

As well as building the palace, Daniil Alexandrovich also built the Church of the Archangel Michael, a wooden church in which members of the prince’s family were buried. The first to be buried in the church was Yury Danilovich, Daniil Alexandrovich’s son.

Daniil Alexandrovich laid the foundations for the future royal residence in the Kremlin, and later rulers -- Ivan Kalita, Dmitry Donskoi and Ivan III -- continued the construction. The idea of making the Kremlin the residence of Moscow’s rulers arose from the fact that, as a fortress, it was the place where holy objects and churches were concentrated and where the ruler chose to stay.

Daniil Alexandrovich’s rule marked the beginning of Moscow’s rise as the center of the whole of northeastern Russia.

[Next... A Residence Fit for Princes]

| The Histiry of the Kremlin |  | The Era of Peter the Great
| The Origin of the Kremlin |  | The Second Half of the 18th Century
| The “Small Wooden Town” on Borovitsky Hill |  | 1812 and the Restoration of the Kremlin
| The Kremlin in the 13th Century |  | Construction Work in the Kremlin in the 19th Century
| A Residence Fit for Princes |  | The 20th Century: the Kremlin’s Losses
| The White Stone Kremlin of Dmitry Donskoi |  | The Most Recent History of the Ancient Kremlin
| The Kremlin in the 15th - 17th Centuries |  |

|  | TITLE | SITE MAP | ABOUT THE SITE | RUS | | |