Treasures, History and Splendour.

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Geo: 55.75, 37.62

On Tuesday we were taken on a tour of the Kremlin and the Armory. This was part of the package for delegates so cost us zero. We had been to the Armory in 1980 and had memories of jewels and riches beyond our wildest dreams. This was to be confirmed again.

We first went through the Holy Trinity Gate, past the immovable guards and did a walking tour of the Kremlin grounds. We went past the administrative buildings, the relatively new Palace of Congress (built in the 1960s) and into Cathedral Square. This dates from the 14th Century when the Tsars lived here within the safety of the fortress and built wonderful Cathedrals for their use. There are at least 6 churches within this area.We saw the huge cannon, the biggest ever built whose size was enough to scare opposing armies though it has never been fired. We were then taken into the Cathedral of the Assumption. This is one of the largest here and though the outside is rather austere the inside is elaborate with the walls and ceiling completely covered in frescoes of both Old and New Testament stories. One of our friends likened it to a completely tattooed man!. This was where Tsars were crowned and the patriarchs of the Orthodox Church were buried. The iconostasis is magnificent.

We walked across the square admiring the bell tower with over 20 bells, all of different pitch, adorning it. Then we saw the largest bell ever cast, the Tsar's Bell which cracked as fire raged through the workshop and which was never rung! It is massive with the broken piece weighing 20 tons just itself. We were then led through the beautiful garden which borders the Kremlin Walls and could look down and see the Helipad which is used for Putin to get to and from the Kremlin. Our next visit was to the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael. This is the burial place of the early Tsars before the capital was moved to St Petersburg, with tombs lining the walls. It was built in the 16th century by an Italian architect and it is more European than the other churches. It is still very ornate with frescoes of the deeds of the Tsars depicted lining the walls.

We then went to the State Armory. This houses the artefacts and treasures of the Tsars and is breathtaking. No wonder the peasants resented the way the aristocracy spent money on jewels and clothes rather than the welfare of the people. The first room contained clothing and crowns. Dresses with silver and gold thread, elaborate robes, Peter the Great's enormous boots(he was 6 ft 7) and the sable lined Asiatic crowns with their topaz, ruby, sapphire and diamond decoration. The thrones of the kings are also there, studded with precious stones and made from silver and gold. The riches are unbelievable.

We then saw the carriages, elaborately carved wood with beautiful paintings and topped by bejewelled crowns. There was a whole room full, including Catherine the Great's sled. The highlight though was upstairs where one cabinet contained the eggs that Faberge made for the Tsars to give as Easter gifts. These were very elaborate and in all sizes and designs. The one I especially like is commemorating the completion of the Trans-Siberian Railway which has a map of its course on the front and contains a replica of the train made from platinum and silver. It can be wound up and runs along a special little track and inside if you look with a magnifying glass, there are the usual signs pointing to men's and women's toilets, dining car etc. Fantastic.

I cannot describe here the rest of the treasures in that gallery. Needless to say there are dinner sets made from gold, silver and hand painted porcelain, silver jugs and vases, Bible covers embossed with precious jewels, etc, etc, etc. Overwhelming in scale!!!

The final stage of this visit was extra special. Because we were IAAF guests we were allowed to enter the Kremlin Palace, usually closed to the public. We were checked through security with our passports and a small group was only allowed in at a time. This palace was erected by Nicholas the 2nd to be the Royal home when they were in Moscow. It is now the Presidential Palace where ambassadors present credentials and medal ceremonies are conducted etc. The decoration within easily rivals Versailles with its richness and ornamentation. Each of the large halls are named after various medals and awards. There is the Hall of the order of St George, one for Alexander Nevsky and another for St Andrew. The Throne room is named after St Vladimir and is painted with biblical and historical scenes.Each hall became more and more impressive as we entered until we were all gasping in amazement at the scale and ornateness of them. Downstairs is the Dining room furnished in Renaissance style and we were then taken through the Empress' rooms including the red sitting room, the Boudoir with orange floral wallpaper and a small bathroom containing a carved stone bath and into the very blue bedroom.
These rooms contained amazing French clocks which would certainly delight the experts on Antiques Roadshow!

The entire tour took us 6 hours, two hours longer than expected, as we had to wait for ages to be admitted to the palace but it was certainly worth it. We returned to the hotel, foot sore and weary and rested for an hour before it was off to the track again for the night session. This was another fantastic night of competition headlined by the women's Pole Vault won by Elena Isinbaeva, the local favourite. The crowd went wild when she won. However, Zoe Buckman's run in the 1500m semifinal was sensational with a PB and a berth in the final. I am so much enjoying this whole trip even though we are so busy and I am struggling to keep up the pace. More in the next couple of days.

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