Söyembikä Tower
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Söyembikä Tower (Tatar: Söyembikä Manarası/Сөембикә манарасы; Russian: Ба́шня Сююмбикэ́), also called the Khan's Mosque (Tatar: Xan Mäçete), is probably the most familiar landmark and architectural symbol of Kazan. Once the highest structure of that city's kremlin, it used to be one of the so-called leaning towers. By the early 20th century, its inclination was estimated at 194 cm. Diverse stabilization methods were used to straighten the tower in the 1930s and 1990s.
The tower's construction date is enshrouded in mystery. Most scholars date its construction to the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, when the tiered towers were exceedingly popular in Russia. In this case, it is likely that the design was inspired by similar towers of the Moscow Kremlin.
A legend postulates that the tower was erected more than a century earlier by Ivan the Terrible's artisans in just a week's time. As the legend goes, the Kazan queen Söyembikä threw herself down from the highest tier, hence the name.
Some even go as far as stating that the tower is the only extant structure from the pre-Russian Tatar citadel. If the edifice really reflects some original features of Tatar architecture, then its design should have certainly influenced that of the Kremlin towers in Moscow. In the early twentieth century, the architect Aleksey Shchusev reproduced the structure's outline in the Kazan Rail Station of Moscow. Supporters of the theory point out that the only similar structures were built at that time in Central Asia, which was politically and culturally connected with the derelict Khanate of Kazan.
In the Imperial period, the tower used to be topped with a double-headed eagle, which the Bolsheviks replaced with a red star. It is currently crowned with a Muslim crescent.
