Tsar Bell

Moscow

Beside (not inside) the Ivan the Great Bell Tower stands the world’s biggest bell, a 202-tonne monster that has never rung. Bas-reliefs of Empress Anna and Tsar Alexey, as well as some icons, are etched on its sides.

An earlier version, weighing 130 tonnes, fell from its belfry during a fire in 1701 and shattered. Using these remains, the current Tsar Bell was cast in the 1730s for Empress Anna Ivanovna. The bell was cooling off in the foundry casting pit in 1737 when it came into contact with water, causing an 11-tonne chunk to break off. One hundred years later, the architect Montferrand took the damaged bell out of the pit and put it on a pedestal.

Suggest an edit to this attraction

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Armoury
0.21 MILES
The Armoury dates to 1511, when it was founded under Vasily III to manufacture and store weapons, imperial arms and regalia for the royal court. Later it…
Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts
0.54 MILES
This is Moscow’s premier foreign-art museum, split over three branches and showing off a broad selection of European works, including masterpieces from…
St Basil's Cathedral
0.22 MILES
At the southern end of Red Square stands the icon of Russia: St Basil’s Cathedral. This crazy confusion of colours, patterns and shapes is the culmination…
Moscow Kremlin
0.16 MILES
The apex of Russian political power and once the centre of the Orthodox Church, the Kremlin is the kernel of not only Moscow, but of the whole country…
Lenin's Mausoleum
0.21 MILES
Although Vladimir Ilych requested that he be buried beside his mum in St Petersburg, he still lies in state at the foot of the Kremlin wall, receiving…
Gorky Park
1.45 MILES
Moscow's main city escape isn't your conventional expanse of nature preserved inside an urban jungle. It's not a fun fair either, though it used to be one…
Red Square
0.22 MILES
Immediately outside the Kremlin’s northeastern wall is the celebrated Red Square, the 400m-by-150m area of cobblestones that is at the very heart of…
State Tretyakov Gallery Main Branch
0.69 MILES
The exotic boyar (high-ranking noble) castle on a little lane in Zamoskvorechie contains the main branch of the State Tretyakov Gallery, housing the world…

View more attractions

Nearby Moscow attractions

1. Ivan the Great Bell Tower

0.02 MILES

With its two golden domes rising above the eastern side of Sobornaya pl, the Ivan the Great Bell Tower is the Kremlin's tallest structure – a landmark…

2. Archangel Cathedral

0.04 MILES

The Archangel Cathedral at the southeastern corner of Sobornaya pl was for centuries the coronation, wedding and burial church of tsars. It was built by…

3. Tsar Cannon

0.05 MILES

The 40-tonne Tsar Cannon was cast in 1586 by the blacksmith Ivan Chokhov for Fyodor I, whose portrait is on the barrel. Shot has never sullied its 89cm…

4. Assumption Cathedral

0.05 MILES

On the northern side of Sobornaya pl, with five golden helmet domes and four semicircular gables, the Assumption Cathedral is the focal church of pre…

5. Patriarch’s Palace

0.06 MILES

Built for Patriarch Nikon mostly in the mid-17th century, the highlight of the Patriarch’s Palace is perhaps the ceremonial Cross Hall (Крестовая палата),…

6. Hall of Facets

0.06 MILES

Named for its Italian Renaissance stone facing, the Hall of Facets was designed and built by Marco Ruffo and Pietro Solario between 1487 and 1491, during…

7. Church of the Deposition of the Robe

0.07 MILES

This delicate single-domed church was built between 1484 and 1486 in exclusively Russian style. It was the private chapel of the heads of the Church, who…

8. Annunciation Cathedral

0.07 MILES

The Annunciation Cathedral, at the southwest corner of Sobornaya pl, contains impressive murals in the gallery and an archaeology exhibit in the basement…

View more attractions