St. John the Baptist's Cloister in Sviyazhsk

Sviyazhsk is an ancient fortress, built in 1551 by famous Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible for the siege of Kazan. Building of Sviyazhsk is an outstanding event in the history of Russian town-planning. Cut in the forests of central Russia before one-thousands kms from this place, it was pulled down and delivered on rafts by Volga to the mouth of Sviyaga-river (25 kms far from Kazan) and assembled here in 4 weeks, only. Sviyazhsk-fortress became the first-class fortification construction of its time. Beginning from the second half of the XVI century and till the end of the XVII century Sviyazhsk was the administrative, trade and Christian center of Russians to the East of the State.

In 1552 Tsar Ivan IV (the Terrible) conquered Kazan and annexed Kazan Khanate to Russian State. Tatar population was ousted to the suburbs. The violent christianization began. (Presently along with Islam and Orthodoxy Christianity there are some other religious communities in Tatarstan: Catholic Church, Old-believers, Protestants, Adventists of the 7th day, Evangelic and Lutheran, Judaic, Krishna propagation Center, etc). Close to the end of the XVI century Tatar Settlement became the place where Tatar people lived.

Burnaev Mosque's Minaret (1895)

In 1556 under guidance of Russian church and city master Postnik Yakovlev the white stone parts of new Kazan Kremlin were built with Spasskaya Tower, Taynitskaya (Secret) Tower and Annunciation Cathedral. The remaining wooden walls were substituted by the brick one in the XVII century.

After annexation of Kazan Khanate the construction of Christian cathedrals began in Kazan. In 1556-1562 the Annunciation Cathedral was built in place of Kremlin Cathedral Mosque. Taynitskaya (Secret) Tower expresses the ancient spirit most of all. It was called so because of the underground secret passage to the drinking water fountain was here. During the siege of Kazan by the army of Tsar Ivan IV this tower was blown (but restored later).

Amulet holder (XVIII-XIX century)

In 1593 the Ukase (Decree) of Tsar Theodor Ioannovitch to destroy all mosques at the Kazan territory was edited. Tatar Nation lost the possibility to develop Great Arts and expressed their creative imagination in a jewelry, architectural and artistic forging of metal, creation of decorations and utensils.

In 1708 the multinational Kazan Government was formed with center in town Kazan according to Ukase of Peter I. In the first quarter of XVIII century an industry active developed here. In 1714 the cloth manufacture was built. In 1718 the Admiralty was formed. The sea and river ships were built in dockyards. The engineer school (college) functioned at Admiralty.

"Alexandrovsky" Passage (built in 1880-83)

In 1726 the Peter and Paul Ñathedral was built by Moscow and Florentine craftsmen (owing to financial support of the merchant Michlyaev) in order to commemorate the stay of Peter I in Kazan. It is a specimen of Russian Baroque style in the XVIII century.

Katherine II abolished the prohibition to build mosques, and the first stone Mosque arose in Kazan in 1766-70; it was named after Mardzhani - the outstanding scientist-orientalist, philosopher and educator.

On this Web-page we have used some materials from the books:

"Kazan. The Enchanted Capital" (Flint River Press Ltd, London, 1995);

"The Decorative Applied Art of the Kazan Tatars" (Sovietsky Khudozhnik Publishers, Moscow, 1990).