Tsar Cannon & Bell

Lonely Planet review

North of the bell tower is the 40-tonne Tsar Cannon. It was cast in 1586 by the blacksmith Ivan Chokhov for Fyodor I, whose portrait is on the barrel. Shot has never sullied its 89cm bore - certainly not the cannonballs beside it, which are too big even for this elephantine firearm.

Beside (not inside) the bell tower stands the world's biggest bell, a 202-tonne monster that has never rung. An earlier version, weighing 130 tonnes, fell from its belfry during a fire in 1701 and shattered. Using these remains, the current Tsar Bell was cast in the 1730s for Empress Anna Ivanovna. The bell was cooling off in the foundry casting pit in 1737 when it came into contact with water, causing an 11-tonne chunk to chip off. After 100 years, the architect Monferrand took the damaged bell out of the pit and put it on a pedestal. The bas-reliefs of Empress Anna and Tsar Alexey, as well as some icons, were etched on its sides.

The pleasant park of Ivanovskaya ploshchad offers spectacular views south over Moscow.