Menshikov Tower ( Russian : Меншикова башня ), also known as the Church of Archangel Gabriel , is a Baroque Russian Orthodox Church in Basmanny District of Moscow , within the Boulevard Ring . The church was initially built in 1707 to order of Alexander Menshikov by Ivan Zarudny assisted by Domenico Trezzini , a team of Italian-Swiss craftsmen from Ticino and Fribourg cantons and Russian stonemasons from Kostroma and Yaroslavl . The earliest extant Petrine Baroque building in Moscow, Menshikov Tower was substantially altered in the 1770s. The church traditionally functioned in summer only; in winter the congregation assembled in nearby Church of Theodor Stratelates, built in 1782–1806. Church of Saint Theodore also provides the bells for ritual ringing: despite its height, Menshikov Tower does not have bells.
12-403: The first church in the name of Archangel Gabriel on this site was first mentioned in 1551 census records. By 1657 it was rebuilt in stone, and was extended in 1679. Twenty years later the influential statesman Alexander Menshikov consolidated parcels of land south from present-day Clean Ponds . The church of Archangel Gabriel became a house church of his estate which stood one block to the west, on
24-582: A KGB Officer: The True Story of the Man Who Recruited Robert Hanssen and Aldrich Ames , the adjoining 'Chistyi Prudy (Clean Ponds)' is also part of "an old, prestigious neighborhood." On page 177 of his book, Victor Cherkashin spells the area as 'Chistyi' as opposed to 'Chistye.' The ponds were formed by a dam on the Rachka River which used to flow underneath the walls of the White City in
36-642: Is a large pond in Moscow , Russia , located in Basmanny District , on the Boulevard Ring . The pond gives its name to Chistoprudny Boulevard , which runs from Turgenevskaya Square and Sretensky Boulevard towards Pokrovka Street , where it adjoins Pokrovsky Boulevard , and to Chistyye Prudy station on the Moscow Metro. According to retired KGB colonel Victor Cherkashin , author of Spy Handler: Memoir of
48-480: Is mostly concrete replica). Menshikov tower had no reliable heating facilities and was closed for the winters. Instead, the congregation built a smaller neoclassical church of St. Theodore Stratelates (completed 1806), which also doubled as the bell tower. In 1821–1850s the tower was a house church of the Central Post Office. The postmasters entertained the plans to reopen the upper level windows and install
60-554: The 17th century. Nowadays the river is underground, as are all the ponds but one. The Clean Ponds are fed by a system of water pipes. During the 17th century, people threw garbage and waste in the river and the ponds, getting them their former name of Dirty Ponds. In 1703, the ponds were acquired by Prince Menshikov , who built the Menshikov Tower in the vicinity. He had the ponds cleaned of garbage and rechristened to their current name. The ponds have since stayed clean. Nowadays
72-605: The bells, but they did not materialize. The church was repaired externally, and the only significant addition was the pineapple -shaped spire which remains extant. The church was looted in 1922 and lost its iconostasis ; existing iconostasis comes from a church in Preobrazhenskoye that was demolished in the 1960s. 55°45′47″N 37°38′20″E / 55.76306°N 37.63889°E / 55.76306; 37.63889 Clean Ponds The Clean Ponds ( Russian : Чистые пруды , romanized : Chistye prudy )
84-405: The fire completely destroyed the upper wooden structure with the clockwork. The bells fell down, crushing the wooden ceilings and destroying nave interiors (still incomplete). The side altars, however, survived and continued operation while the main tower stood decapitated until 1773. In 1773–1779 the tower was restored and acquired its current shape: instead of recreating the destroyed upper octagon,
96-453: The new architects replaced it with a compact but complex baroque dome. Vases on the corners of the first octagon, installed in the 1770s, replaced the statues lost in 1723 (the vases were later regularly replaced and are now made of concrete ). Window arches of the octagons were filled up with brick, rendering installation of bells impossible. Otherwise, sculptural finishes of this period were close to lost originals (present-day sculpture, again,
108-542: The only pond remaining is home to some ducks . In the winter it is used as a skating rink . 55°45′39″N 37°38′41″E / 55.7608333433°N 37.6447222322°E / 55.7608333433; 37.6447222322 Pokrovsky Boulevard Pokrovsky Boulevard ( Russian : Покровский Бульвар ) is a major boulevard in the central part of Moscow running from Clean Ponds to Vorontsovo Pole Street , including Yauzsky Boulevard . With other boulevards like; Tverskoy Boulevard and Chistoprudny Boulevard , this
120-421: The site of present-day Central Post Office. In 1701 Menshikov repaired the old church, but in 1704 ordered it to be demolished. Menshikov assigned overall construction management to Ivan Zarudny . Domenico Trezzini , subordinate to Zarudny, was placed in charge of European craftsmen (of Fontana, Rusco, Ferrara and other Ticino families) but after half a year was dispatched to Saint Petersburg . The new church
132-422: Was Moscow's first building richly adorned with figurative sculpture, but most of it was lost in the 18th century. In 1710 Menshikov was appointed governor of Saint Petersburg and abandoned his Moscow projects, taking most of the craftsmen with him. Work on the tower interiors slowed down; Menshikov's private box inside the church was rebuilt in an ordinary side altar . In 1723 the tower was struck by lightning;
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#1732854531993144-483: Was structurally complete by 1707; its height, 81 meters, equaled that of Ivan the Great Bell Tower . The building initially had five structural stone levels (the nave , a square lower tower and three octagonal levels; the top two octagons were built of wood). By 1708 the tower acquired 50 bells and an English chiming clock. It was crowned with a 30-meter spire with a gilded angel-shaped weather vane . Menshikov tower
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