Smolensk Kremlin Wall

The Smolensk Kremlin is not a kremlin in the usual sense of a fortified inner citadel — it is the defensive outer wall of the entire old city, a massive red-brick fortification running for nearly seven kilometres in a loop around the city centre. Of the original 38 towers, 17 survive. Walking sections of the wall and climbing the surviving towers gives the most visceral sense of the city's military character.

The wall is the most impressive fortification of its period in Russia, built just before the Time of Troubles shook the country and proved the wall's necessity almost immediately. Several sections are now incorporated into parks and public spaces, making it easy to combine wall-walking with an exploration of the city. The Frolov Tower near the city centre is the most accessible entry point and has an exhibition on the wall's history. The view from the towers over the Dnieper and the surrounding city is excellent.

things to do sight
A story
The wall was built between 1596 and 1602 on the orders of Tsar Boris Godunov, who feared a Polish attack — justified, as it turned out: the Poles besieged and took Smolensk in 1611 after a 20-month siege. The architect, Fyodor Kon, built it to be genuinely formidable: up to 6 metres thick and 13-17 metres high in places. It worked well enough that Smolensk changed hands repeatedly in the 17th century, each assault involving enormous losses.

Other places in Things to Do