Its popularity is explained interesting history and legends, as well as the fact that it is falling. The Syuyumbike Tower attracts the attention of not only Russian, but also foreign tourists.

Syuyumbike Tower - from history

Historians still argue about the time of its construction and we are not talking about the exact date, but about the historical era:

• According to one version, its construction dates back to the heyday of the Kazan Khanate, to the 12th-15th centuries, when it was a sentinel and was called the Kazan Minaret. If you follow this version, then it is the only surviving monument of Tatar architecture of those times in Kazan
• There is also an opinion that it was built after the capture of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible, who gave the order to build the structure in seven days. It was because of the haste that the foundation was made shallow, which explains the continuing slope.
• The results of recent excavations show that the construction was carried out in the XVII century. At the same time, some facts testify to its construction in the XI-XV centuries. Therefore, some scientists have suggested that a wooden tower was originally built on this site, and later it was rebuilt into a stone one. In the place where the old foundation is missing, the structure slopes.

Most historians are still of the opinion that the landmark was built in the 17th century.

Syuyumbike tower architecture

The height of the structure is 58 meters, and the slope is almost two meters. And although it leaned less than the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa, it is two meters taller than it. In contrast to it, the foundation of Syuyumbike was not strengthened until the deviation from the vertical was 1.5 meters.

The building has seven tiers:

• The first is the widest, it is a travel tier with an arch in the middle
• The second tier has, like the first, a quadrangular shape, but smaller in height and width.
• The third tier is built similarly to the second, but has small windows.
• The fourth and fifth tiers are octagonal
• The sixth and seventh tiers are the sentinel tower.

At the top of the structure is a green spire with a crescent.

• The name Syuyumbike is a composite name - Syuyum in the old Tatar means beloved, and bike - mistress. The name Syuyumbike is translated as "beloved queen" of the Kazan people in the 16th century. Indeed, Syuyumbike was a beautiful and noble educated woman, the widow of a khan who was killed in the struggle for the throne.
• There are several legends about the name:
  • The most popular of them says that after the capture of Kazan, Tsar Ivan the Terrible wanted Tsarina Syuyumbike to marry him. In case of her refusal, the tsar could punish the entire Tatar people. To save her people from trouble, the tsarina accepted Ivan the Terrible's proposal, but put forward the condition that a seven-tiered tower would be built in seven days. When her wish was granted, she went upstairs and threw herself on the ground. Since then, the tower has been named after her.
  • The second legend is more prosaic. It is believed that the tower was built under the leadership of the queen herself in honor of the deceased second husband Safa Giray
• A gilded ball was previously installed at the top of the tower. According to legend, it contained the chronicles of the Kazan Khanate, written by its khans. At the same time, studies have shown that the ball is empty, although there were holes in it, which indicates a possible theft of historical documents.

The Syuyumbike Tower, along with the Kul Sharif Mosque and the Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin, is a symbol of Kazan, known not only in Russia, but also in foreign countries.

We started our acquaintance with Kazan with a tour of the Kazan Kremlin. You can get to this place by metro, you need to get off at the Kremlevskaya station and walk a little. It becomes visible immediately after exiting the subway, so do not get lost. Kremlin in Kazan- is a unique complex of historical and archaeological sites, which is on the list of the world cultural heritage UNESCO. The territory of the Kremlin is large and there are many beautiful and interesting places. I'll tell you about one- "falling" Syuyumbike tower, which is considered one of the main architectural symbols of the city and is known far beyond the borders of Tatarstan. To be honest, before I knew about only one leaning tower, which is considered the most famous- Pisa, poety was a little surprised to learn that we have similar facilities.

The Syuyumbike Tower in Kazan is essentially a sentinel (watchtower). It is tilted towards the northeast. Now the deviation of the spire of the tower from the vertical is about 2 meters so it can be seen even with the naked eye. Tower consists of 7 tiers. Her general height is 58 meters. The upper tier is decorated with a crescent (until 1918 there was a double-headed eagle in its place).

As for the date of construction of the tower, this question is still open: according to some sources, the tower was built in the 17th-XVIIIcenturies, according to others- at the end of the 16th century, and some even attribute the construction of the tower to the period of the Kazan Khanate, that is, to 1552. The history of the tower is shrouded in several interesting legends, about the existence of which our guide told us. According to one of them, the Syuyumbike Tower was built by order of the ruler of the Kazan Khanate, Syuyumbike, in honor of her husband Safa-Girey, who died in 1549. According to another legend, the tower was built in just 7 days by order of Ivan the Terrible. The fact is that the Russian tsar offered the queen Syuyumbika to marry him. But when the wedding celebration began, the queen wanted to climb to the top of the tower to take a last look at the city. There she did not find the strength to part with her native city and jumped down. In fact, such legends, although they include several real historical facts, but they are completely far from reality. They are based on romantic tales of the 19th century, which were written in guidebooks of that time around Kazan.

The Syuyumbike Tower was restored many times and its foundation was strengthened. I can't help but notice that for many generations local residents the tower is a sacred symbol and a place of worship. Since 1991, Syuyumbike has been performing the functions minaret, where memorial prayers are read for all those who died in 1552, when the city was taken by Tsar Ivan IV of Kazan. Near the tower, many archaeological excavations were carried out, as a result of one of them, coins from the reign of tsars Alexei Mikhailovich and Mikhail Fedorovich were found at the very base of the tower.

By the way, they say that when you climb the stairs to the gates of the tower, if you make a wish, then it must come true.

The tower is a passage, in its lower tier there is a through passage, which is blocked by hinged forged gates with images of the crescent, the sun and all the signs of the zodiac.

Unfortunately, you can’t go inside the tower, so you can only look at it from the outside. I repeat that now the Syuyumbike tower is one of the symbols of the city, so its images can be seen on postcards, badges, souvenirs.

In the evening, the tower is illuminated.

Looking at the Syuyumbike tower and the Kremlin as a whole, I involuntarily imagined what the city was like in the distant past, how some khan's guards walked along the square to bow to their ruler Syuyumbike.

Tower Syuyumbike located on the territory of the Kazan Kremlin complex and is one of the main attractions of Kazan. Its popularity is due to its interesting history and legends, as well as the fact that it is falling. Interesting Facts about the history of the creation of the Syuyumbike tower in Kazan.

Syuyumbike Tower (Kazan): history of creation

Historians still argue about the time of its construction and this is not about the exact date, but about the historical era. According to one version, it was built during the heyday of the Kazan Khanate, by the 12th-15th centuries, when it was sentinel and was called the Kazan Minaret.

If you follow this version, then it is the only surviving monument of Tatar architecture of those times in Kazan.

There is also an opinion that it was built after the capture of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible, who gave the order to build the structure in seven days. It was because of the haste that the foundation was made shallow, which explains the continuing slope.
The results of recent excavations show that the construction was carried out in the XVII century. At the same time, some facts testify to its construction in the XI-XV centuries. Therefore, some scientists have suggested that a wooden tower was originally built on this site, and later it was rebuilt into a stone one. In the place where the old foundation is missing, the structure slopes.

Most historians are of the opinion that Tower Syuyumbike was built in the 17th century.

Suyumbike Tower: architecture

The height of the structure is 58 meters, and the slope is almost two meters. And although it leaned less than the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa, it is two meters taller than it. In contrast, the foundation Syuyumbike did not strengthen until the deviation from the vertical was 1.5 meters.

Syuyumbike Tower (Kazan) has seven tiers:

• The first is the widest, it is a travel tier with an arch in the middle.
• The second tier has, like the first one, a quadrangular shape, but smaller in height and width.
• The third tier is built similarly to the second, but has small windows.
• The fourth and fifth tiers are octagonal.
• The sixth and seventh tiers are the sentinel tower.

At the top of the structure is a green spire with a crescent.

Suyumbike Tower: a legend

The name Syuyumbike is a composite name - Syuyum in Old Tatar means beloved, and bike means mistress. The name Syuyumbike is translated as "beloved queen" of the Kazan people in the 16th century. Indeed, Syuyumbike was a beautiful and noble educated woman, the widow of a khan who was killed in the struggle for the throne.

There are several legends about the name:
The most popular legend "Syuyumbike tower" says that after the capture of Kazan, Tsar Ivan the Terrible wanted Tsarina Syuyumbike to marry him. In case of her refusal, the tsar could punish the entire Tatar people. To save her people from trouble, the tsarina accepted Ivan the Terrible's proposal, but put forward the condition that a seven-tiered tower would be built in seven days. When her wish was granted, she went upstairs and threw herself on the ground. Since then, the tower has been named after her.

The architecture of the Syuyumbike tower intertwined the traditions of Tatar and Russian architecture. The question of the time of construction and the purpose of the tower occupied historians as early as the 19th century. The answer to it could be given by the documents of the Kazan order, which existed in Moscow. However, a fire in 1701 destroyed his archives. There is no mention of the construction of the tower in the surviving Tatar sources. Her image is also missing from the famous historical sketches of Kazan, made by the Saxon scholar and traveler Adam Olearius in 1638 and the Dutch cartographer Nikolaas Witsen in 1692.

Some researchers attributed the tower to the times of the Kazan Khanate, others dated it to the second half of the 16th century. Today, scientists suggest that the Syuyumbike tower was built at the end of the 17th - beginning of the 18th century.

Tower during the Russian Empire

At the beginning of the 18th century, Russia experienced several wars and uprisings. Especially powerful were the popular unrest that swept across the Volga region and the South of the Russian state: the uprising of the Cossacks in Astrakhan, the Bulavinsky revolt on the Don, the Bashkir uprising. Under these conditions, the threat of losing Kazan, and behind it part of the southern territories, became quite real. The defensive structures of Kazan were in urgent need of strengthening. To prepare the city for possible hostilities, the walls of the Kremlin were repaired, new ditches were dug along the fortress walls and bastions were erected. Probably at the same time a watchtower was built, known today as the Syuyumbike tower. She provided an excellent overview - from her guardhouse, the Volga is visible for almost 50 km. This allowed the city to learn in advance about the danger threatening it and prepare to repel the enemy.

On the plans of Kazan at the beginning of the 18th century, the Syuyumbike tower is referred to as " travel tower commandant's house with Spitz. The modern name of the tower appeared only in the second half of the 19th century, when legends about the history of its construction appeared in the press and then migrated to guidebooks. At the beginning of the 20th century, the tower needed restoration. The ground under the foundation sank, and the tower deviated from the vertical axis by almost two meters. To prevent its fall, the lower tier was reinforced with an iron belt.

In 1918, by a decree of the Council of People's Commissars, the Syuyumbike Tower was transferred to the "perpetual use of working Muslims." The double-headed eagles, which stood on its spire for about 200 years, were replaced with a silver-plated crescent. True, at the height of the anti-religious campaign in the 1930s, it was also removed.

V Soviet time Syuyumbike tower was repeatedly restored, its foundation was strengthened. In 1960, she received the status architectural monument republican significance.

During the construction of the building of the Kazansky railway station in Moscow, the architect Alexei Vasilyevich Shchusev reproduced the silhouette of the Syuyumbike tower. While working on the project, he sent his assistants to Kazan for measurements and sketches.

Syuyumbike Tower today

Many generations of Kazanians perceive the Syuyumbike tower as a sacred symbol and a place of worship for the Tatar people. Since 1991, the tower has been a minaret, from which the azan (in Islam - the call to obligatory prayer) is read during a memorial prayer for all those who died in 1552 during the capture of Kazan by Tsar Ivan IV. And in 1994, the entire territory of the Kazan Kremlin was declared a historical, cultural and art museum-reserve.

Archaeological excavations at the Syuyumbike Tower

During excavations near the tower, archaeologists found valuable items from the history of the city. Back in the 19th century, during construction work, coins from the reigns of Tsars Mikhail Fedorovich and Alexei Mikhailovich were found at its base. During the expedition of 1976-1977, archaeologists found several valuable items: the remains of a mosque, a minaret and khan's tombs, as well as fragments of tombstones with fragments of inscriptions. In the 1990s, the study of the remains showed that archaeologists discovered the burial places of one of the first Kazan khans, Mahmud and Khan Muhammad-Emin, who died in 1518. To date archaeological excavations continue.

Syuyumbike Tower (Russia) - description, history, location. The exact address, phone, website. Reviews of tourists, photos and videos.

• Tours for May to Russia
• Hot tours to Russia

Previous photo Next photo

The pearl of the Kazan Kremlin is poetically called the architectural symbol of Kazan - the Syuyumbike tower, which, in addition to its historical significance, is also known as an object of urban mythology. This is one of the so-called leaning towers, because it has a strong vertical slope to the northeast.

The height of the Syuyumbike tower is 58 m, and its location inside the Kremlin on a hill, away from the fortress walls, determined its purpose as a guard or watch tower. A panoramic view of the Volga and Kazanka, as well as the surroundings of the Kremlin, was the best suited for defensive purposes.

The question of the time of construction of the Syuyumbike tower is one of its mysteries. For neither the archive of documents from the times of the Kazan Khanate, nor the urban planning plans of Kazan of the 16-17th centuries have been preserved (they burned down in the Moscow fire of 1701). Therefore, there are several versions of the building: 17-18 centuries, the second half of the 16 century, or even the period of the Kazan Khanate, before the capture of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible in 1552.

How is the Syuyumbike Tower connected with Queen Syuyumbike - one of the legendary women in the history of the Islamic world, the wife of the Kazan khans Jan-Ali and Safa-Girey, the great-great-great-granddaughter of the head of the Nogai Horde dynasty - Edigei, who for several years was the ruler of the Kazan Khanate?

According to one of the mythological versions, the queen built a tower in honor of her beloved husband Safa Giray, who died in 1549. According to another, the tower was built in 7 days by order of Ivan the Terrible, who wished to take Syuyumbike as his wife, but she rushed from the seventh tier out of grief towers.

In reality, recorded in the documents, Queen Syuyumbike, together with her son Utyamysh-Girey, was betrayed by her murzas and handed over to Ivan the Terrible along with the Kazan treasury. A year and a half later, against her will, Syuyumbike was married to Khan Shah-Ali, and her son was left to be raised at the royal court.

As you can see, fairy tales are fairy tales, but the life of the queen was no less tragic. Perhaps this was the reason why at the beginning of the 19th century the current name was assigned to the tower, as a memory of the Khan's time, the symbol of which was Syuyumbike.

Address: Kazan, Sheikman Ave.