Cathedral Square

Cathedral Square is the ceremonial heart of the Moscow Kremlin. From the 15th century the grand princes and later tsars built Moscow's three most important churches here, and all the streets of the Kremlin converged on this square. On the south side stands the Cathedral of the Dormition (Uspensky), where tsars were crowned; on the north the Archangel Cathedral, where they were buried; and on the west the Annunciation Cathedral, the rulers' private chapel. Architects from Bologna and Pskov worked together under Ivan III and produced a unique blend of Russian Orthodox form and Italian Renaissance precision. Visitors cross the square with a Kremlin ticket; the cathedrals are open as museums, and the bells of the Ivan the Great Belltower still ring on special occasions.