How does this tower stand alone? It is Moscow’s only surviving tower of the Kitay-gorod wall. The Ptichya Tower stands. It is unique. Its name is enigmatic. Most of its history lacks a definite naming. “Ptichya” is a later name. It possibly relates to the nearby Muse of Poetry.
Kitay-gorod walls differ from the Kremlin walls. The Ptichya Tower stands lower and appears more squat. Its shape resembles a chess piece a rook. The Ptichya Tower’s walls slope inward. This design aids defense. Its round shape served a purpose. We discussed it at the Arsenal Tower.
The Ptichya Tower shares kinship with the Kremlin. It features swallowtail battlements. However this addition came later during a 19th-century wall reconstruction. The Ptichya Tower helps to widen Moscow streets.
You can enter the Ptichya Tower. Pass through an arch in the Tretyakovsky Proyezd’s western building. This is possible if construction does not block the way.
The exact origin is unknown. Maybe birds nested here. Perhaps a trader of birds lived nearby. One theory suggests the tower stored pigeons.
The Ptichya Tower saw many changes. It was strengthened added to and repaired. During an 1822 renovation swallowtail battlements appeared. These battlements resemble the Kremlin wall.
The tower is about 8.5 meters tall. Its diameter spans about 9.6 meters. The upper tier’s wall is roughly 1.37 meters thick. The top tier has a fighting platform linked to the wall. Once it had a roof. Now it is gone.
The Ptichya Tower appeared in 1538. This was when the entire Kitay-gorod wall went up. Italian architect Petrok Maly directed.
In the 1870s a wall section between the Ptichya and Troitskaya Towers came down. Tretyakovsky Gates arose there. The Ptichya Tower was part of a new structure.