The first attempt to replace the wooden fort with a stone kremlin was recorded in 1374, but construction was limited to a single tower, known as the Dmitrovskaya Tower. Under the rule of Ivan III, Nizhny Novgorod played the role of a guard city, having a permanent garrison; it served as a place for gathering troops for Moscow’s actions against the Khanate of Kazan. In order to strengthen the defenses of the city, construction works on the walls began again. Construction of the stone Kremlin of Nizhny Novgorod began in 1500 with the building of the Ivanovskaya Tower; the main work commenced in 1508 and by 1515 a grandiose building was completed. The oak walls that formed the old fortifications were destroyed by a huge fire in 1513. The two kilometer wall was reinforced by 13 towers. This “Stone City” had a permanent garrison with solid artillery weapons. With the fall of Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin lost its military significance, and later it housed the city and provincial authorities. During the World War II, the roofs of the Taynitskaya, the Severnaya, and the Chasovaya Towers were dismantled and anti-aircraft machine guns were installed on the upper platforms. Thus, the fortress defended the airspace of the city from the Luftwaffe. The Luftwaffe bombed the Kanavinsky Bridge and the Fair, but the Kremlin's air defense defended these objects. The Council of Ministers of the RSFSR issued an order on January 30, 1949 for the restoration of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin. In October 2018, archaeologists discovered the remains of a medieval settlement and cemetery on the site of the destroyed church of St. Simeon Stylites. The finds belong to the 13th century, and the most ancient cultural layer - to 1221, when Nizhny Novgorod was founded. After all the excavations, the exhibits will be museified, and the church of St. Simeon the Stylite will be recreated at this place.
Towers
The following 13 towers survive. Counter clockwise:
The Kremlin contained many churches, but the only survivor is the Michael the Archangel Cathedral, built no later than the middle of the 16th century and rebuilt in 1628-1631. It is the oldest surviving building in the Kremlin. The cathedral contains the tomb of Kuzma Minin. In 1828, an obelisk in honor of Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky was constructed in front of the Archangel Cathedral. The house ofthe military governor was built in 1837-1841; it is now the Museum of Art. The Arsenal was built in 1840-1843 at the direction of Nicholas I. In 1931, the Transfiguration Cathedral was replaced by the House of Soviets; that building is now the City Council building. In 1965, a memorial complex in honor of Nizhny Novgorod citizens who died in World War II was created, near the obelisk of Minin and Pozharsky; this included an Eternal Flame.
