The legend of Queen Syuyumbike. External features of the structure
We started our acquaintance with Kazan with a tour of the Kazan Kremlin. You can get to this place by metro, get off at Kremlyovskaya station and walk a little. It becomes visible immediately after exiting the metro, so don’t get lost. Kremlin in Kazan- this is a unique complex of historical and archaeological sites, which is on the world list cultural heritage UNESCO. The Kremlin territory is large and there are many beautiful and interesting places. I'll tell you about one thing- "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 only knew about one leaning tower, which is considered the most famous- Pisa, poetI was a little surprised to learn that we also have similar objects.
The Syuyumbike Tower in Kazan is essentially a watchtower. It is inclined towards the north-east. Now the deviation of the tower spire from the vertical is about 2 meters, so it is visible even to the naked eye. Tower consists of 7 tiers. Its total height is 58 meters. The upper tier is decorated with a crescent (until 1918, in its place there was a double-headed eagle).
As for the date of construction of the tower, this question is still open: according to some data, the tower was built in the 17th century.-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, the existence of which our guide told us about. 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 invited Queen Syuyumbika to marry him. But when the wedding celebrations began, the queen wanted to go to the top of the tower to explore the city for the last time. There she did not find the strength to part with her hometown 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 for Kazan.
The Syuyumbike Tower was restored many times and its foundation was strengthened. I cannot help but notice that for many generations local residents the tower is a sacred symbol and 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. Many archaeological excavations were carried out near the tower; 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 tower gate, if you make a wish, it must come true.
The tower is a passageway; in its lower tier there is a through passage, which is blocked by swinging forged gates with images of the crescent, the sun and all the signs of the zodiac.
Unfortunately, you cannot 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, and souvenirs.
In the evening, the tower is illuminated.
Looking at the Syuyumbike tower and the Kremlin as a whole, I couldn’t help but imagine what the city was like in the distant past, how some khan’s guards walked across the square to bow to their ruler Syuyumbike.
Its popularity is explained interesting story 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're talking about not 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 lookout 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 construction took place in the 17th century. At the same time, some facts indicate its construction in the 11th – 15th 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 tilts.
Most historians are still of the opinion that the attraction was built in the 17th century.
Architecture of the Syuyumbike tower
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 of Syuyumbike was not strengthened until the deviation from the vertical was 1.5 meters.
The structure has seven tiers:
- The first is the widest; it is a passage tier with an arch in the middle
- The second tier has, like the first, a quadrangular shape, but is 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 a watchtower.
At the top of the structure there is a green spire with a crescent.
- The name Syuyumbike is compound - 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 beauty and a 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 Tsar Ivan the Terrible, after the capture of Kazan, wanted Queen Syuyumbike to marry him. If she refused, the tsar could punish the entire Tatar people. To save her people from troubles, the queen accepted Ivan the Terrible's proposal, but put forward the condition that a seven-tier tower would be built in seven days. When her wish was fulfilled, she climbed up 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, research has shown that the ball is empty, although there were holes in it, which indicates the 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.
Address: Kazan Kremlin
Slender silhouette of red brick Syuyumbike towers has long become an architectural emblem and business card Kazan. Located in the northern part of the Kremlin territory, it is its most mysterious and legendary structure.
Its silhouette directed upward is clearly visible from everywhere - from the Kirov and Lenin dams, from the territory of the Embankment, and from Zarechye. And the noticeable tilt of the “leaning” tower to the northeast makes it the most unique and original landmark of Kazan. The tower looks especially impressive when illuminated at night.
Origin of the tower
No written sources indicating the time of construction of the tower and its original purpose have been found. Tentatively, its construction is associated with the late 17th - early 18th centuries. In any case, on the city plan dating back to the 18th century, the tower is already indicated as entrance gate the commandant's courtyard, where the former khan's palace was previously located.
Built from large red baked bricks, the Syuyumbike tower is considered by many historians lookout. Its similarity with the Borovikovskaya Tower, located in the Moscow Kremlin, indicates, as some researchers believe, the Moscow authorship of this structure. However, other historians recognize the tower's Tatar origin, relying mainly on Muslim traditions. Even at the beginning of the 20th century, Muslims could often be seen kneeling to pray at the foot of the tower. It is unlikely that they would pray near a structure of Russian origin.
Famous Russian historian N.P.Zagoskin suggested at one time that the first three quadrangular tiers are of Tatar origin, and were probably the entrance gate to the khan's courtyard, and the upper octahedrons could have been completed much later.
Queen Syuyumbike
Who is she - this famous Syuyumbike, whose name is the most mysterious tower Kazan? The famous ruler of the Kazan Khanate dates back to Edigei, creator Nogai Horde- She was his great-great-granddaughter. Syuyumbika was destined to be the wife of several successive Kazan khans, thus finding herself at the epicenter of the political struggle between opponents and supporters of ties with Moscow, which intensified in last years existence of the Kazan Khanate.
A 12-year-old girl, daughter of the Nogai biy - Syuyumbike becomes his wife for the first time Jan-Ali. This was the Kazan Khan, a protege of Moscow, instead of the previously ruled Safa-Girey, who was overthrown from the throne. This political marriage did not bring happiness to the young spouses. Moreover, Jan-Ali did not please the majority of the Kazan government. And in 1535, a political coup occurred, as a result of which Jan-Ali was killed. Returns to the vacated throne Safa-Girey, who received as a challenge prize the young queen Syuyumbike, who becomes the fifth wife of the ruler. This marriage was more successful and harmonious, marked by the birth of a son, Utyamysh.
But the unexpected death of Safa-Girey in 1549 turns Syuyumbike into the regent of their minor son. So she becomes queen of the Kazan Khanate. Her reign did not last long; already in 1551 she and her son were forcibly taken from Kazan. These events are described in the Kazan chronicle.
Arrived in Kazan by order of Ivan the Terrible Prince Silver announced to the queen that she was henceforth a captive of the Moscow sovereign. Everything is the will of Allah, said Syuyumbike and fell unconscious. After remaining in custody for 10 days, Syuyumbike, her son and the Khan’s treasury were transferred to Moscow.
On the eve of her departure, she visited the grave of Safa-Girey, her untimely deceased husband. About desperate crying Syuyumbike, who brought tears even to her guards, there were legends about her appeals to her deceased husband and protector. The whole city came to see her off to the pier. The queen bowed low to the people and the city, regretting the former greatness and power of Muslim Kazan.
A protege from Moscow again became the Tsar of Kazan Sheikh Ali, but he left the throne at the beginning of 1552, even before the siege of the city by the troops of Ivan the Terrible. It was to Sheikh-Ali that Queen Syuyumbike was forcibly given away for the third time in 1553. They lived in Kasimov- Sheikh Ali estate. The former queen did not live long with her unloved husband. She died in 1557 and her burial place is unknown. But Sheikh Ali lived until 1566 and was buried in the mausoleum he had built in advance.
Son of Queen Syuyumbike Utyamysh was taken to be raised at the royal court. He was baptized at the Chudov Monastery and named Alexander. He took part in the campaign against Polotsk in 1563. In the chronicles he was called Tsar Alexander. At the age of 20, he died and was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin with worthy honors.
Tower architecture
The five-tiered (or seven-tiered) Kazan tower soars upward, distinguished by its exquisite proportions and impeccable architectural completeness of strict forms. It is compositionally built from three different heights tetrahedrons, which rise in ledges. Two confidently rest on them octagon. And the composition is completed by a slender faceted tent with a watchtower topped with a spire.
The spire in turn ends golden apple. For a long time it was believed that the apple contained unknown documents dating back to the Khan period. In the 30s of the 19th century, the apple was removed and studied, but there were no documents in it. Brick tent And watchtower often considered the sixth and seventh tiers of the tower. And the entire height of the structure is about 60 meters. From the windows of a small watch room there is a magnificent panorama of Kazan, its environs, Kazanka and the Volga.
Most likely, the tower was built after all as travel card. Its lower tier has a passage arch, decorated with beautiful swing gates, decorated with a half-sun and a half-moon.
The lower tier is decorated with columns on both sides of the arch. The side facades are equipped with small doors, one on each. These doors lead to the internal stairs. Gulbishcha, formed by a step-tier construction of tetrahedrons, are decorated with parapets, which are decorated with simple, but also non-repeating details in each tier.
In 1730, the tower spire was decorated with the country's coat of arms - double headed eagle, which after the revolution was replaced by crescent. The fact is that in 1918 the Syuyumbike tower was officially given to Muslims as a national historical monument. But, in the 30s, at the height of the anti-religious struggle, the crescent was removed. Only in the late 80s was it returned to the spire.
The architectural form of the tower, which is a symbol of Kazan, was completely reproduced by the architect Shchusev during the construction of the Kazan station in Moscow.
Tower Legends
Many legends and tales tell about the Syuyumbik tower. One of them says that a pious Muslim is buried here, from whose skull flows Tainitsky spring, this legend attracts numerous pilgrims.
Another version says that in this place there was the grave of one of the last khans of the Kazan Khanate Safa-Gireya, who died in 1549. Queen Syuyumbike, his wife mourning him, ordered the construction of a grandiose mausoleum over her husband's grave. And when Russian troops besieged the city, she committed suicide by throwing herself down from the tower.
But the most famous legend, sung in verse, prose and fine arts, This legend of the Proud Queen. They say that Syuyumbike was famous for her amazing beauty, intelligence and pride. Hearing about her, Ivan the Terrible sent envoys to her with a marriage proposal. The proud beauty refused the offer of the Russian Tsar. And then Ivan went with a detachment to Kazan to take the city and the queen by force. Saving the city from ruin, the queen gave her consent to the Russian Tsar, but with one condition - that within seven days the most high tower in the city. The craftsmen worked day and night and met the time required by the queen. But in the midst of the wedding festivities, Syuyumbike wanted to admire her beloved city from above new tower and say goodbye to him. Rising to its highest platform, the proud queen threw herself down onto the stones.
But we know that the queen died in Kasimov much later than the indicated time. Where did such a legend come from? We are not destined to know this. Maybe, as one Tatar poet wrote, people invented the legend so that honor hometown save...
In any case, the Syuyumbike tower glorious symbol and the famous monumental landmark of Kazan.
Greetings, friends! Alexander blogger Kazanets is in touch. In today's article for tourists I will tell you about Syuyumbike tower, recognized as a symbol of Tatarstan. After reading, you will learn the history of the tower, the legend about Queen Syuyumbike, and most importantly - how to make a wish near the tower...
I've heard a couple of reviews from tourists who say that there is nothing surprising about this tower. But this is not true... the tower has many features and its own secrets that can make it unique.
Overview of the Syuyumbike tower in Kazan
1. Tower Syuyumbike- watch tower in the Kazan Kremlin .. refers to the “leaning” towers, as it has a noticeable slope to the northeast. The deviation of its spire from the vertical is 1.98 m.
The tower is approximately 58 meters high with seven tiers, each different from the other.
The first tier is so wide that it serves as a roadway through the arch, but most of the time it is inaccessible for travel. The second tier is a little less than the first. The fourth and fifth tiers are octagonal. Observation deck located on the sixth and seventh tier.
2. Now the entrance to the tower is inaccessible for tourists, and the first tier is decorated with gates - "Day and night".
The axis of the tower passage is directed towards the sunrise on the day of the winter solstice.
Since 1730, an eagle was installed at the top of the tower, but after 1917 it was replaced by the Muslim crescent. Later, it was ordered to be removed, and only in 1990 the government allowed the symbol to be returned to its place.
All eyewitnesses note that the peculiarity of the tower is its position. It is leaning, like the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. The foundation of the tower is not so strong, so it tilted. Although this fact is a danger, this is precisely why the Syuyumbike tower attracts many eyewitnesses.
I remember how, at the age of 11, I stood next to the tower for the first time and thought - if only it didn’t collapse now) This effect intensifies when you stand close and clouds are floating in the sky...
The mystery of the Syuyumbike tower
A huge question for historians is still when the tower was built. And discussions sometimes concern not just the year of construction, but the definition of the century when the structure was created.
3. Many experts not only speak out, but even provide reliable facts to support their opinion.
The peculiarity of the tower is that it includes elements that relate to the creation in different time. The chronicle of the construction has not been known since 1552, when Kazan was recaptured by the wrong hands.
The history of Kazan was kept for some time in the archives of the city of Moscow until the fire in 1701. And only information about the Syuyumbik tower is associated with 1777. However, at that time it was already in a form that can still be seen on the street today. Hence, there is no information about the moment of construction and transformation.
Most experts are of the opinion that the tower was erected in the 17th century, namely the period from 1645 to 1650, however, there is no mention of the tower in the city plan created in 1692.
Of course, the building itself is difficult to compare with the 17th century, however, according to information that has reached our times, a wooden building previously stood on the site of the tower, but over time it was replaced with stone, which is more reliable than wood.
The legend of Queen Syuyumbike
I heard this legend from one guide when I was filming a video tour of the program for tourists... :)
After the capture of Kazan, Tsar Ivan the Terrible wanted to marry Queen Syuyumbike... and take her to Moscow.
4. The queen had to agree, but on the condition that the king build a tall and slender (like herself) tower... as a sign of his love.
The conditions were accepted, and every day the tower rose in height by one tier... and by the end of the 7th day the tower was completely ready. Then the queen said that she wanted to go to the top of the tower to look at her possessions and her beloved city for the last time.
Having risen to the very top, the queen threw herself out of the window, because she did not want to be the wife of the hated king. In memory of the beloved queen of the city, the tower was named after her.
In fact, it's just a legend... :)
Make a wish
The mystery of the tower and its unusual appearance make it not only the object of cool photos, but also make you believe in miracles.
5. There is a belief that in order for a wish to come true - you need to touch the tower, close your eyes... and vividly imagine the picture of your dream as if it has already come true. Then it will definitely come true.
I checked it - it works. * ;)
*provided you're working on your dream and not rubbing your lower back on the couch.
6. By the way, at night the tower is illuminated from all sides, so it can even be seen from other districts of Kazan.
7. But the most beautiful photos can be done at summer sunset...
That's all, friends. Shanti everyone.
P.S. Write in the comments - did you make a wish at the tower... and did it come true? :)
The Syuyumbike Tower in Kazan is one of the “leaning” towers existing in the world, 2 meters higher than the Pisa Tower (58 m). It is as much a symbol of the city as the Kremlin itself and the recently built Kul Sharif Mosque.
The peculiarity of the tower is in its architecture. It consists of three rectangular tiers with galleries and parapets and four octagonal tiers. Once upon a time, its spire was crowned with an “apple” - a golden ball, as it was believed, where ancient Muslim documents were kept. To check this legend, in 1830 the ball was removed, and it turned out that it was made of brass and empty inside - this is how the most popular myth was debunked.
The history of the Syuyumbike tower still causes heated debate among experts. Most often, the year of construction is called 1645-1650. Professor S. Shpilevsky, one of the authoritative local historians and archaeologists of the 19th century, believed that it was of Tatar origin, while his contemporary Tatar ethnographer Kayum Nasyri was sure that it was erected after the conquest of Kazan. In the 70s In the 20th century, under the leadership of archaeologist Alfred Khalikov, excavations were carried out near the foundation of Syuyumbike, as a result of which the scientist came to the conclusion that it appeared no earlier than the last quarter of the 17th century. Nearby they discovered an older foundation dating back to a watchtower of the 12th-15th centuries, on which a new one was partially erected, which is why the tilt occurred. A special set of measures made it possible to prevent further “fall”.
The decorative appearance of the tower corresponds to the spirit of the Moscow school, but its facade and silhouette corresponds to the traditions of Kazan-Tatar art - stalactite capitals, minaret-like completion, decorative three-quarter columns.
The Legend of the Syuyumbik Tower
Every resident of Kazan knows the legend about the Tatar queen Syuyumbika. Ivan the Terrible, seeing the portrait of the beautiful Khansha, fell in love with her and decided to make her his queen. To which he received a refusal, which became the reason for the campaign against Kazan. After a long siege, Russian troops took the city, and the Tsar demanded consent to the marriage. The cunning Syuyumbike set one condition: that in seven days he build a tower as beautiful and slender as the Khansha herself. On the same day, the craftsmen erected one tier at a time and completed it on time. Syuyumbike rose to the very top, looked around at her native expanses and rushed down. After this, the tower received the name of the brave Khansha.
But this, of course, is just a beautiful legend. In fact, after two marriages, Syuyumbike married for the third time to Shah Ali, the brother of her first husband, who ascended the khan’s throne, and went with him to Kasimov, where she died in old age. According to sources, all this happened before the conquest of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible.