The Orthodox Annunciation Cathedral on the Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin is one of the oldest churches in Russia. For several centuries it was the home church of the great princes and tsars, and its rector was the monarch’s confessor. Ancient books, revered icons, relics, and jewels of the royal family were kept here.
I’ll tell you what else to pay attention to when visiting a historical site.
History of the Cathedral
The Annunciation Cathedral, founded in 1489 by order of Ivan III, was erected on the site of a wooden church from the 14th century, possibly built by the son of Alexander Nevsky in 1291. The architecture of the cathedral combines elements of the Pskov and Moscow schools: Pskov decorative niches and curbs are adjacent to Moscow church architecture – kokoshniks, high slit windows in friezes under domes and zakomaras (figuratively laid out external walls repeating the shape of the roof in the upper part).
In the 16th century, the domes were gilded, the iconostasis decorated, and the galleries painted. After a fire that destroyed the paintings, the cathedral was rebuilt with nine domes, preserving the domed-cross structure. During the October Revolution, the cathedral was partially damaged, and in 1918 it became a museum before services resumed in 1993.
Interesting facts
Compared to other Kremlin cathedrals, the Annunciation Cathedral looks small. This is not surprising, because it was considered the home church of Russian tsars and their families, close princes and boyars. Here, royal persons were baptized and married, and the priests of the cathedral were their confessors. As a rule, the rector of the Annunciation Cathedral was not only the confessor of the Grand Duke, but also the keeper of the sovereign’s seal.
What to look for when visiting
The Royal Safe
The cathedral housed the grand ducal and later the royal treasury. In the old days, the phrase “at the royal treasury” was added to the name “Annunciation Church”. Unfortunately, the storehouse of royal valuables was plundered by the Poles during the Time of Troubles, and Napoleon took the rest.
All that remained of the royal riches were ancient Chinese porcelain dishes found a hundred years ago. The invaders did not dare to take the fragile sets home.
Porch
During the reign of Ivan the Terrible, a small porch was added to the Annunciation Cathedral.
Tsar Ivan was married six times. Such inconstancy in marriage was severely frowned upon in Rus’. A legend arose that after his fourth marriage, the Tsar was forbidden to enter the church. Then he ordered a porch to be built so that he could listen to the service standing on it. Although it is unlikely that anyone could forbid the Tsar to visit the church, this story shows what a contradictory person Ivan the Terrible was. But there is also a real fact: from this porch, he saw a comet in the form of a cross. Ivan the Terrible took this as a sign of imminent death, and, indeed, the Tsar died a few days later. Since then, the porch has been called the “Terrible” porch.
Byzantine floor
The entire room is covered with tiles of different sizes and shades with the addition of silicon, jasper and agate. Legend has it that the Tsar ordered a Byzantine work of art from Rostov the Great to be transported here.
Relics
The Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary holds many relics, ancient frescoes, and miraculous icons. The cathedral has an impressive arched entrance portal with white stucco on a blue background and a tall ancient iconostasis in a bronze frame. There are more than a hundred icons in six rows, dating back to the 14th–18th centuries. In two of its rows, the Festive and Deisis, there are two-meter wooden icons by A. Rublev, F. the Greek, and Prokhor of Gorodets.
The temple houses the miraculous Pimenovskaya Icon of the Mother of God from Constantinople, presented to the Russian prince in 1381. Another miraculous icon is a copy of the Donskoy Icon of the Mother of God. Another Christian relic of the temple is the cross of Tsar Constantine, created with parts of the Tree on which Jesus was crucified and a stone from the Holy Sepulcher. The rarity was presented to V. Monomakh by the Emperor of Byzantium in the 12th century, so the artifact is older than the cathedral.
Unique finish
The cathedral has preserved internal portals decorated with stone carving patterns and painted with enamel and gilding. The carving is fine and relief. The forged iron doors have an unusual and impressive pattern in the “golden guidance” technique. This is an ancient Russian gilding technique: copper plates are treated with smoked varnish, a pattern is scraped out on it, washed and etched. Then an amalgam of gold and mercury is applied, the plates are heated, and the gold is soldered to the pattern. The result is a soft, glowing image.
The unusual lamps came here from different places. They are recognized cultural monuments. In front of the iconostasis hangs a multi-tiered 17th-century chandelier with a top in the form of a double-headed eagle. 24 candles were installed on it. In the southern gallery is a silver lamp, donated to the temple by the first tsar from the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Fyodorovich. Silver-plated copper censers in the form of shells and a bunch of grapes under a curved leaf can be seen under the choir. Many lamps have memorial inscriptions.
Permanent exhibition “Treasures and Antiquities of the Moscow Kremlin”
There is a museum under the cathedral, on the ground floor. This is a permanent exhibition. Entrance is possible with a separate ticket, which can be purchased at the box office in the Alexander Garden, together with an entrance ticket for visiting the architectural ensemble of the Cathedral Square. The exhibition contains archaeological finds discovered during excavations in the Kremlin. They date back to the 12th–17th centuries.
Opening hours and ticket prices
Entrance to the cathedral is available with a Single Ticket for visiting the architectural ensemble of Cathedral Square: the Assumption, Archangel, Annunciation Cathedrals, the Church of the Deposition of the Robe, the Patriarch’s Chambers with the Church of the Twelve Apostles. The ticket price for adults is 1,100 rubles, for students and pensioners – 600 rubles, with an audio guide – 1,500 and 1,000 rubles, respectively. Visiting temporary exhibitions is paid separately. You can buy a ticket on the website or in the Alexander Garden.
Opening hours : from 09:30 to 18:00 from May 15 to September 30, from 10:00 to 17:00 from October 1 to May 14. Closed on Thursday.
How to get there
The temple and museum are located on the territory of Cathedral Square, so to visit you need to buy an entrance ticket to the Kremlin. You need to enter through the Kutafya Tower. The nearest metro stations are Borovitskaya, Biblioteka imeni Lenina, and Aleksandrovsky Sad.
What is the best time to visit?
You can visit the Annunciation Cathedral at any time of the year. In late autumn, winter and early spring there are not so many tourists, so you can calmly see the sights. In the summer, the Kremlin enters the high tourist season. There are noticeably more visitors, but at this time all the cathedrals, exhibitions, and the park are open, and on Saturdays, a ceremonial mounting of the mounted guard with the military takes place on Cathedral Square.
Services are held in the cathedral only a few times a year. The largest and most festive one is held on the day of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary – April 7. Traditionally, it is performed by the patriarch himself, and after it is finished, he goes out onto the porch and releases white doves. Services are also held on Palm Sunday, on the days of remembrance of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and Alexander Nevsky.
Tips for tourists
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Your visit to the cathedral will be more interesting if you purchase a ticket with an audio guide.
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All tickets to the Kremlin are sold for a strictly defined time. In this way, the organizers try to evenly distribute the number of tourists among the cathedrals and exhibitions.
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It is better to arrive for the excursion in advance to have time to get to the cathedral at the time indicated on the ticket. During the high tourist season, there may be queues at the entrance.
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When entering through the glass pavilion near the Kutafya Tower, you need to go through a security checkpoint and leave large items and strollers in a free storage room.
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It is forbidden to enter the territory of the Kremlin fortress in T-shirts, short shorts and dresses, flip-flops, or dirty clothes.
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Inside the Kremlin, you must follow the road markings and not go beyond the fences. This is the working residence of the President of the Russian Federation, and some areas of the territory are not intended for tourists.
