The Trinity (Troitskaya) Tower
(Epiphany, Our Lady’s Sacred Robe, Holy Sign, Carriage)

The Trinity (Troitskaya) pass-tower with a side-strelnitsa is the main tower at the west side of the Kremlin. It was built in 1495-1499 by Aleviz Fryazin. The erection of fortifications at the Neglinnaya River, later - the Alexandrov Gardens, was finished after its construction.

In 1516, a stone bridge was built over the Neglinnaya River, connected with a new watchtower - the Kutafiya Tower. In the XVIth to XVIIth centuries, the Troitskiye (Trinity) Gate was thought to be the Gate of second importance after the Spasskiye (Saviour) Gate. The Troitskiye Gate was used for passage to the Patriarch’s estate and the Tsarinas’ place in the Kremlin.

The tower was given its present-day name after the Kremlin’s Troitskiy hostelry in 1658. Earlier, it had been called the Bogoyavlenskaya (Epiphany), Rizpolozhenskaya (Our Lady’s Sacred Robe), Znamenskaya (Holy Sign), Kuretnaya (Carriage), after the Kremlin’s Churches and the Kuretniy (Carriage) Court.

It was topped with a marquee in the end of the XVIIth century. Its decoration was similar to the Spasskaya (Saviour) Tower. A clock and chimes was also installed on the tower’s top. It has never been restored after the fire of 1812.

On the Kremlin’s side the tower’s height without the star is 65,65 m and with the star is 69,3 m.