Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/877

 MOSCOW tersburg ; lat. of observatory, 55 45' 19" N Ion 37 34' 4" E.; pop. in 1871, 611,970. It is sur- rounded by an earthen rampart more than 23 m. long. The enclosed space is an irregular trape- zium, with an undulating surface, divided into unequal parts by the Moskva, which enters the circumvallatiori near the middle of the W. side and leaves it at the S. E. corner, finally joining the Oka, an affluent of the Volga. The little river Yausa, flowing from the northeast, joins the Moskva' within the wall. About three fourths of the city lies on the N. bank of the Moskva, and one fourth on the S. bank. On the latter are the Sparrow hills, extending E. and W., which include nearly the whole S. part of the city. On the N. side the Kremlin (Russ. Kreml) occupies the principal elevation, directly on the bank of the river and very near the centre of the old city. From it radiate al- 859 most all the streets, like the spokes of a wheel but with no regularity either of size or direc- tion. Around the Kremlin, at a radial distance ol 1 and l m. respectively, are two wide and well planted boulevards, laid out after the con- flagration of 1812, each forming an irregular circle, the inner one terminating on the N bank of the river, the outer one crossing the river and enclosing a portion of the city on the b. bank Some of the principal streets were widened at the same time, but most of the smaller ones, as well as many of the buildings, were rebuilt on the old sites, so that many of the ancient characteristics have been preserved farrow lanes open into imposing squares, and the most stately buildings stand side by side with rows of humble cottages. The city which has been fitly described as at once' "beautiful and rich, grotesque and absurd The Kremlin, Moscow. magnificent and mean," is unequalled in pic- turesqueness. Its thousands of spires, domes, and minarets, diverse in form and color; its Kremlin with high walls and fantastic towers ; its gardens, boulevards, and squares; the strange intermingling of pagodas, temples, and churches, of Chinese tea houses and French cafes, of Turkish bazaars and Russian market places, present a strange yet attractive pano- rama, combining the most striking European and Asiatic characteristics. There are five principal quarters, the Kremlin, Kitai-Gorod, Bieloi Gorod, Zemlianoi Gorod, and the Slo- bodi or suburbs. The Kremlin, the ancient citadel, is a nearly triangular enclosure sur- rounded with walls from 28 to 50 ft. in height and about 1 m. in circuit, with massive towers at each angle, and battlements, em- brasures, and numerous smaller towers be- tween. It is entered by five gates, to each of which is attached a religious or a historical importance. The principal one, the Spasski or Redeemer gate, is reverenced by all Russians, and no person, not even the emperor, passes it without uncovering the head and making obei- sance to the faded picture of the Saviour above it. The Nikolski or Nicholas gate has an im- age of that saint over it, and is only second in sacred associations to that of the Redeemer. By the Troitzki or Trinity gate the troops of Napoleon entered and left the Kremlin. With- in the walls are cathedrals, churches, palaces, monasteries, and some of the finest public buildings and monuments of Moscow, with no symmetry of design, and of various styles and periods. The tower of Ivan Veliki (the Great), which looks down on all the surrounding spires, is an octagonal structure of five stories, its gild-