Erected in 1490 by Pietro Antonio Solari on the place of the white-stone Kremlin’s (1366-1368) Timofeyevskiye Gate.

The tower was named after the Sts. Constantine and Helen’s Church that stood nearby in the Kremlin. Initially, it was a pass-tower, which protected ancient roads that connected the Kremlin with the Great Posad (Kitay-Gorod) – the approaches from the nearest Moskva River pier – Velikaya (Great) and Varskaya streets.

The tower had a mighty side-strelnitsa connected with its body by a drawbridge across the deep moat.

In 1670-1680, the tower was overbuilt with a four-faceted stone marquee.

In 1707, on the order of Peter the Great, the loopholes were widened, so that cannons could have been installed inside. In the early XIXth century, the drawbridge and the side-strelnitsa were dismantled, the gate was filled.

Its height is 36,8 m.