Red Square in Moscow, Russia, which is locally known as Krasnaya Ploshchad is a landmark that’s popular for being a political representation. Having existed since the 1400s, the place is a major Russian architectural heritage, and has even made it into UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. Indeed, it is one of the most captivating attractions across the country. To know more about this site, discover several fascinating and interesting facts in the following. here’s Interesting Facts about the Red Square You Might Yet to Know
Heart of Russia
Being known as Moscow’s city square, The Red Square is located at the major streets of the city. It connects the major highways of the country, situated in the heart of Moscow, and separates the current official President of Russia’s residence, Kremlin, from Kitai-gorod, which is a historic merchant area.
Red Square was established back in the 15th century. Initially, it was supposed to be a location to hold balls, along with a place to accommodate public proclamation and ceremonies, also occasionally equipped with the Russian Tsars coronation. Ever since that, it was gradually built and used for many times by the Russian governments to hold official ceremonies.
During its early days, Red Square was more commonly referred to as Trinity Square, as a tribute to the Trinity Cathedral amidst the rule of Ivan the Great. However, from the 17th century forward, the Russians started to address this site by its Krasnaya Ploschad – its current name.
Even though the Krasnaya Ploshchad is famous for being a political symbolism, the name was taken from the old Russian word “Krasnaya”, that’s derived from “Krasnyi” or “red”, with the meaning of “beautiful”.
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The shape of this site is rectangular
The Red square shape is nearly rectangular. The area stretches from northwest to southeast, in line with a part of the Kremlin wall that serves as the boundary of its southwest side.
The width of this area is measured at 70 meters (approximately 229.6 ft), while the length is measured at 330 meters (approximately 1,082.6 ft). In total, the entire square has an area of 800,000 sq ft.
There are several attractions to visit
Red Square Russia is often deemed as one of the most visited squares across the world, which is no wonder considering that it has some highly interesting monuments, museums, cathedrals, and galleries.
The most significant one is probably the St. Basil’s Cathedral that has been existed even before the square itself prevails. This cathedral was built as a commemoration of Ivan the Great. Another fascinating attraction is the 1800s-built State Historical Museum, a building with red brick that mimics the appearance of 1500s Russian buildings, and was built upon the request of Tsar Alexander II. One more must-visit site is the GUM Department Store, which for several decades was the most significant shopping center nationwide.
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It contains the resting place of Vladimir Lenin, the Soviet leader
Lenin’s Mausoleum is, without a doubt, the most major Soviet monument across Red Square. Here, you can witness the public display of the leader’s preserved body. It has been there ever since some moments after his death in 1924 – with uncommon exceptions of period of war.
Vladimir Lenin’s mummy has been displayed since 1930. It is placed in the granite tomb, and swabbed with bleach once a week to prevent mold and discoloration.
It has a couple of landmarks that were redone
Two masterpieces on the Red Square Moscow are not older than a couple of decades. Their reconstructions were completed in the early 1990s.
These two monuments are the Kazan Cathedral and the Resurrection Gates. The first structure was reconstructed after being destroyed in 1936 by Joseph Stalin following the Soviet state’s collapse. The second construction was rebuilt in 1004, after a removal in 1931, in order to let the military tanks get into the square.
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It was regarded as a sacred area
Red Square was the procession center during various special events. There were plenty of festive celebrations that were held on the site.
It is used as a location to celebrate Russian triumph over The Commonwealth of Poland during the 17th and 18th centuries. It was also where the famous arrangement of ‘procession on a donkey’ took place on Palm Sunday – where the patriarch along with the tsar sitting on a donkey, while the public hung out at Saint Basil’s Cathedral in the Kremlin.
Red square is amongst the easiest locations to visit across Moscow – you don’t need to queue or have a ticket to get there. That being said, entering one of the sites, such as Lenin’s mausoleum might require you to plan it in advance. Several attractions such as the State Historical Museum and Kremlin also required you to get tickets beforehand during the high-season of summer. To make your plans to visit Red Square easier, you can book a ticket or reserve a hotel room days ahead at Airpaz.com or using Airpaz Apps with affordable fare and convenient process.
