Patriarch’s Palace

Moscow


Built for Patriarch Nikon mostly in the mid-17th century, the highlight of the Patriarch’s Palace is perhaps the ceremonial Cross Hall (Крестовая палата), where the tsar’s and ambassadorial feasts were held. From here you can access the five-domed Church of the Twelve Apostles (Церковь двенадцати апостолов), which has a gilded, wooden iconostasis and a collection of icons by leading 17th-century icon painters.

In its heyday, the palace was a busy place. Apart from the Patriarch’s living quarters, it had huge kitchens, warehouses and cellars stocked with food, workshops, a school for high-born children, offices for scribes, dormitories for those waiting to be baptised, stables and carriage houses. The palace now contains an exhibit of 17th-century household items, including jewellery, hunting equipment and furniture. It often holds special exhibits, which can be visited individually, without access to the other buildings on Sobornaya pl.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Moscow attractions

1. Tsar Cannon

0.02 MILES

The 40-tonne Tsar Cannon was cast in 1586 by the blacksmith Ivan Chokhov for Fyodor I, whose portrait is on the barrel. Shot has never sullied its 89cm…

2. Assumption Cathedral

0.03 MILES

On the northern side of Sobornaya pl, with five golden helmet domes and four semicircular gables, the Assumption Cathedral is the focal church of pre…

3. Ivan the Great Bell Tower

0.04 MILES

With its two golden domes rising above the eastern side of Sobornaya pl, the Ivan the Great Bell Tower is the Kremlin's tallest structure – a landmark…

4. Church of the Deposition of the Robe

0.05 MILES

This delicate single-domed church was built between 1484 and 1486 in exclusively Russian style. It was the private chapel of the heads of the Church, who…

5. Tsar Bell

0.06 MILES

Beside (not inside) the Ivan the Great Bell Tower stands the world’s biggest bell, a 202-tonne monster that has never rung. Bas-reliefs of Empress Anna…

6. Hall of Facets

0.06 MILES

Named for its Italian Renaissance stone facing, the Hall of Facets was designed and built by Marco Ruffo and Pietro Solario between 1487 and 1491, during…

7. State Kremlin Palace

0.07 MILES

The bombastic marble, glass and concrete State Kremlin Palace, built between 1960 and 1961 for Communist Party congresses, is now home to the Kremlin…

8. Terem Palace

0.08 MILES

The 16th- and 17th-century Terem Palace is the most splendid of the Kremlin palaces. Made of stone and built by Vasily III, the palace’s living quarters…