Predtechenskaya Tower

The stone walls and 12 towers of the Novodevichy Monastery, modeled after those of the Kremlin, appeared at the end of the 16th century during the reign of Boris Godunov. They are irregular pentagons about 900 meters long and were used at that time for defensive purposes to protect the approaches to Moscow from the west. The square Predtechenskaya Tower, built in the 1680s, is part of the central architectural ensemble of the Novodevichy Monastery and, according to documents from the end of the 18th century, was created by architect Peter Potapov, the author of this ensemble and most of the buildings. The tower was named "Predtechenskaya" in honor of the nearby St. John the Baptist Church.