The Tsar Bell. Where is the Tsar Bell?

One of the unique attractions of the Moscow Kremlin is the famous Tsar Bell. This exhibit is considered a unique piece of Russian art of the eighteenth century and the highest achievement of foundry in Russia. In addition, the Tsar Bell is a majestic historical monument.

The idea of creating

The Empress Anna Ivanovna signed in 1730 a decree, in which she ordered to cast a bell weighing up to ten thousand poods. To do this, it was necessary to take a broken copy, adding metal to it. With the release of this document, the story of the Tsar Bell began.

Who cast the famous giant?

Originally, the master craftsman wanted to be found in Paris. However, the royal mechanic Germain, who was offered this case, refused to work. He accepted this requirement for a joke.

I contracted to pour the bell of Grigoriev, who crashed in the fire of 1701, an outstanding master of his time Ivan Fedorovich Motorin. The case was started in 1730. For his successful conduct of the Moscow Artillery Office, Motorin was assigned a master, ten students and two officers.

Preparatory stage

Before the work began, the artillery office prepared drawings. And in advance, Motorini was cast a small model of the future giant. She weighed twelve poods. All the drawings, the compiled estimate, and also two developed models of the lifting mechanism were sent for approval to St. Petersburg. All the preparation and approval of the created project took place within two years. In this regard, the very work on the production of the planned bell shape, as well as the construction of furnaces began only in January 1733.

Creating a giant

In order to get the shape of the biggest bell in the world according to the drawings of Russian masters, two templates were made. One of them was intended for the internal profile of the product, and the second for the external profile.

Forming a giant bell was made on Ivanovskaya Square. For this, a ten-meter pit was dug. Oak beams, connected together by metal rims, its sides were strengthened. In addition, the pit was encased in brick. For the bottom base of the form, an iron grid was laid on the oak piles driven into the bottom. Only after that began the process of producing a blank bell. After its manufacture, a second template was installed, which repeated the external outlines of the giant. At the end of the work, the form was picked up by hooks. Special devices were used for this.

At the next stage, the blank was finally finished. For the tongue of the bell in the vault was attached an iron loop. The last operation of the technological process is the installation of so-called ears into special nests on the top of the casing.

All works on the creation of the Tsar Bell were completed on November 25, 1735. A certificate was compiled about this event. The weight of the biggest bell in the world was two hundred and one tonne nine hundred twenty four kilograms. Its height is 6.14 m, and the diameter is 6.60 m. Unfortunately, Ivan Motorin could not complete the casting of the giant, he died. His father's case was continued by his son Mikhail, who had previously been actively involved in the work.

Production details

In order for the Tsar Bell to have a good casting by Ivan Motorin, a special design of the sprue system was taken. The form, which was filled with liquid metal, did not get slag and other contaminants. This was made possible by a special tank, which was constantly filled to the brim. At the same time, pure metal from the bowl came into shape, and the slag, which had a lighter weight, remained on the surface.

When casting a giant, it was required to create certain conditions for the mold to withstand the pressure of the hot metal. For this purpose, the earth was covered with all the space that was located between the walls of the foundry pit and the casing.

Breakaway piece

He knows the story of the Tsar Bell and an unprecedented fire. After casting for more than a year, inscriptions were made on this amazing piece of foundry art.

Decorations were made on it as well. Work was already coming to an end when a strong fire broke out in the Kremlin. It happened in May 1737. The fire destroyed the wooden structures and the tent, which was erected above the foundry pit. The hot bell began to water with water. From the temperature difference in the body of the giant, cracks formed, which led to the fact that a significant piece broke from it, the weight of which was eleven and a half tons.

Lifting from the casting pit

The Tsar Bell, whose history began so unsuccessfully, for a long time could not get it. Until 1836, he was in a foundry pit, which was cleared, surrounded by handrails and made a ladder. On it, visitors went down and admired the great work of art.

July 23, 1836 saw a brilliant rise of the bell. On specially prepared skating rinks it was moved and placed on a stone pedestal, which has an octagonal shape. Soon on the giant was installed four brackets supporting the ball, on top of which is a bronze cross. Where is the Tsar Bell now? On the same pedestal in the Kremlin.

Restoration work

The king-bell was planned several times to be soldered. However, the work was never carried out. The high cost of spikes prevented this. In addition, there were fears that even if the bell was restored, it would be impossible to achieve its normal sound. That is why, if you visit the Kremlin, the Tsar Bell will meet you in the form in which it was once extracted from the foundry pit. This unique monument has a huge historical significance. That's why it's simply unacceptable to experiment with it. The Tsar Bell for children and for the adult generation is the history of the Fatherland.

The study of the unique monument was conducted in 1979. At the same time, its restoration was carried out. The work consisted of flaw detection of the giant's body and drawing up of a special map on which the dimensions, position, and the number of cracks formed were recorded.

During the restoration, the surface of the bell was cleared from numerous layers of paintwork that distorted the appearance of the giant. In parallel, a small repair of the pedestal. A fragment of the bell was raised to the surface of the earth, which was buried in the cultural layer for forty centimeters.

All the works were performed by specialists, as well as by scientists of the Military Academy named after F.E. Dzerzhinsky. At the same time, constant consultations were held with the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Restoration. It should be noted that the work on the creation of technology and methods for the restoration of a historical monument of this type was made for the first time.

A unique example of foundry art

Those who visit the Kremlin today, the Tsar Bell will meet in its original form. The giant once again acquired a silvery-gray color, giving off a green patina. Specific flicker and natural tone returned to bronze. On the cross, which crowns the head, glitters gilded. It was restored using gold leaf. Clearly you can see the elegant ornament and skilful images, which are the decoration of the bell. The beauty of sculptural ornaments pleases the eye. The lower and upper body of the giant is decorated with a frieze, the pattern of which is a palm branch. To my great regret, while filling the form with metal, flushes occurred in some parts of the bell. This can be clearly seen in the images of some figures. Despite this, thousands of people visiting the Kremlin every day now appreciate the beauty of the historical monument.

The Tsar Bell in Moscow was created almost two and a half centuries ago. However, the popularity of the giant is increasing every year. An amazing monument of Russian casting art fits into the architectural composition of the Kremlin. The Tsar Bell, as well as the Tsar Cannon, located nearby, can not be separated from the artistic image, which has worldwide fame.

Historical facts

For the casting of the bell, Master Motorin received a meager fee. It was only one thousand rubles.

On the bell there is an inscription that he was cast by Ivan Motorin and his son Mikhail. The famous master of foundry business, in order to capture his name, applied to the Senate. Empress Anna Ioanovna it was approved.

The proposal to create a giant bell was received by sculptor Carlo Rastrelli. However, the son of the world-famous architect Francesco Rastrelli asked for his work very high payment. As a result, his services were refused.

The images of Tsar-bells, General Denikin, used to issue thousand-ruble white Guards bills. This money in the people was called "bells".