There are a lot of interesting sights on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin. However, most tourists first of all recall two historical monuments - the Tsar Cannon and the Tsar Bell. Today we will learn the history of the Tsar's cannon and finally find out whether this weapon was used at least once by designation.

The Tsar Cannon was made by the master of foundry Andrei Chokhov by the order of Tsar Feodor Ivanovich in 1586. Initially, the gun was made for the defense of the Kremlin, so the Tsar Cannon was installed on Red Square next to the Execution Ground. Later it became an ornament of the territory of the Kremlin. In the 1960s, the Tsar Cannon moved to Ivanovskaya Square, closer to the Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles.

The size of the gun is impressive: length - 5, 34 meters, weight - almost 40 tons. It is worth noting and the beauty of the gun - it is decorated with reliefs and the image of Tsar Feodor Ivanovich on horseback. Scientists still do not know exactly why the gun was given such a name. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the gun depicts the sovereign. However, most historians believe that the name of the Tsar Cannon is associated with the impressive size of the gun.

It is interesting that the cast-iron cores, which today lie next to the Tsar Cannon, were cast much later. They were made in St. Petersburg in 1835. Each weight is about 2 tons. The cores are made exclusively for decoration, the cannon can not shoot them. By the way, in all its history the Tsar Cannon never took part in hostilities.

Nevertheless, gun shots were still produced , however, scientists are at a loss to say when and for what occasion. The fact of the shots was discovered by accident - during the repair of the gun in 1980. Then in Serpukhov, he was investigated by officers of the Artillery Academy. Dzerzhinsky. They came to the conclusion that the Tsar Cannon at least once, but shot. Historian Lev Gumilev mentioned that the very only shot was made by the ashes of Falsdmitry.

The Tsar Cannon has several copies. One of them was installed in 2001 in Donetsk near the City Hall. Such an unusual gift made the Moscow authorities a Ukrainian city. Six years later a copy of the capital's landmark was installed in Yoshkar-Ola. Also, the cannon-gun is in Perm, but it's an independent sight, not a copy.

Address: Kremlin.

Tsar Cannon

Back view, Tsar Cannon