Vologda Bell Tower

I was in Vologda twice and every time I climb to the Vologda bell tower. This time you can be with me.

Near the St. Sophia Cathedral is the Bell Tower - one of the tallest buildings in the city (78.5 m). Initially, the bell tower of the St. Sophia Cathedral, built in the early XVII century, was wooden with a hipped roof. In the middle of the century it was replaced by a stone, pillar-shaped, and also an octagonal bell tower, with a tented stone top crowned with a small cupola, and the building material used a stock of stone made by Ivan the Terrible for construction in the Vologda Kremlin.

In the 1860s, the Vologda archbishop Palladiy wished to see the bell tower of the main city church the highest in the diocese, and the ancient bell tower that survived for more than two hundred years underwent a radical change: its tent roof and ringing were removed, and the surviving lower tier served as the basis for a new, much more high, belfry, the construction of which was carried out in 1869 - 1870 according to the project of the provincial architect VN Shildknekht. This belfry has remained virtually unchanged to this day.

The pseudo-gothic forms of the modern bell tower of the St. Sophia Cathedral are connected with the Old Russian bulbous head. In the general appearance of the belfry, there is a distinct imitation of the architecture of ancient Russia. On the bell tower of the Sophia Cathedral there is a real museum of bells, mostly Dutch, Russian and German - XVII, XVIII and XIX centuries.

The belfry is a monument of the Butenop brothers in Moscow in 1871. Today they are the main clock of the city. From the observation deck there is a beautiful view of the city and the surrounding area.

A real museum of bells, mostly Dutch, Russian and German - XVII, XVIII and XIX centuries was preserved on the Sophia belfry. The most interesting are the bells of the XVII century with the characteristic names for that time: "Sentry" (1627), "Lenten" (1643), "Water" (1643), "Little Swan" (1656), " Large "weight of 400 poods (cast in Lübeck, 1687)," Big Swan "(1682)," Archangel "(1689) and others.

St. Sophia's bell tower in the modern form attracts attention of visitors to the Kremlin with its slender, tall, and gilded makowitz. From the bell tower there is a magnificent view of the city, an extensive panorama of urban areas is unfolding, and in the distance, beyond the city, the walls and towers of the Savior-Prilutsk Monastery can be seen.

The head of the bell tower is gilded. The last gilding was held in 1982, it took 1.2 kg of gold leaf.

The climb to the bell tower costs 200 rubles.

Inside the bell-tower along the inner perimeter of it is a comfortable wooden staircase. I made big vertical panoramic photo from interior of the bell. I like to see it now.

The climb is very easy. By itself, the staircase is old and shiny polished handrails by the hands of visitors turn the staircase into an art object.
The steps are very often, it is easy for physically weak people to climb. The first opportunity to see the city appears at the height of the bell-tier. There is a lower observation deck.

Access to the bells is limited, but they are perfectly visible.

Then the climb becomes not so convenient, but this site is not very big. One jerk and you are at the very top of the tower.

And, you're still indoors. You find yourself in a room with large windows. There is no wind.

All white walls are in records and drawings. This does not at all do honor to my countrymen. But, what to do.

Around this room there is a balcony, which you can go out to admire the surroundings.

And here we are at the highest point of ancient Vologda.

By the way, there is a terrible story associated with this bell tower. In 2013, there was a case when a suicide bobber jumped from the colossus. This is the only such episode.