Moscow Kremlin Museums

The Armoury Chamber is part of the Grand Kremlin Palace's complex. It is in the building contracted by architect Konstantin Ton in 1851. The Armoury stores the bases of the museum collections. It preserves ancient state regalia, ceremonial royal clothes and coronation dresses, vestments of Russian Orthodox Church hierarchs, gold and silverware made by Russian craftsman, West European artistic silver, ceremonial arms and armor, carriages and horse ceremonial harnesses.

The Assumption Cathedral is in Cathedral Square where it is surrounded by Old Russian architecture: cathedrals and churches, the Ivan the Great Bell-Tower, the Facets Palace and the Patriarch's Palace. The cathedral is dedicated to the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary and was built as the principal church of the Russian state. In 1326, the first Moscow Metropolitan Peter ordered the quarters to be relocated from Vladimir to Moscow. A new building was constructed in 1479 by decree of Grand Prince of Russia Ivan III.

For six centuries, the Assumption Cathedral has been the national and religious center of Russia. The Assumption Cathedral walls are filled with murals by painters from around the world and eventually it was filled with a collection of Russian medieval art monuments. After the Revolution of 1917, the Assumption church became a museum. Divine services were resumed in the cathedral in 1990.

The Archangel Cathedral was constructed from 1505 to 1508 by Italian Architect Aloisio Novyi. The cathedral was built to signify the end of Mongol rule and the strength of the grand princes of Russia.

The Annunciation Cathedral was built in 1484-1489 during the reign of the Sovereign of All Russia Ivan III. The cathedral was consecrated in honor of the Annunciation Day devoted to the announcement by the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she was going to give birth to the son of God. In 1508, on decree of Great Prince Vasily Ivanovich, the domes were gilded. The Annunciation Cathedral served as the private chapel of the Moscow great princes and tsars for centuries. After the 1917 Revolution, the cathedral was closed, and the Kremlin Museum took over the care of the cathedral.

In 1450, Metropolitan Jonah built the Church of Deposition of the Virgin's Robe, however a fire in 1473 destroyed the entire residence. Pskov architects built a new Church of Deposition of the Virgin's Robe from 1484 to 1485. Another fire in 1626 damaged the Patriarchal Court and restorations began in 1643 at the times of Patriarch Joseph. When the patriarchates and the institutions of the Holy Synod, the Moscow Synodal Office was located there in the 18th – 19th centuries. It was not until 1918 that the Patriarch's Palace was transferred to the jurisdiction of the museum.

The Church of the Deposition of the Virgin's Robe is between the Assumption Cathedral and the Faceted Chamber. For centuries, the church was part of the metropolitan household and a private chapel for Russian Metropolitans and Patriarchs.

The Bell Tower took over three hundred years to complete and consists of the ‘Ivan the Great’ Bell Tower, the Assumption Belfry and the Filaret's Annex. It was built from 1505 to 1508. In his retreat from Moscow, Napoleon's Army blew up the bell tower, however it survived and only the Belfry and the Filaret's Annex were destroyed. These were rebuilt to their original dimensions in 1814–1815.