Moscow, September 26, 2017
Photo: mos.ru Work on the installation of a new massive bell in the bell tower of the men’s Novospassky Monastery on Krestyanskaya Square has been completed, reports Interfax-Religion.
The new bell, made from a fusion of copper and pewter, weighs 17.5 tons; the monastery’s bell tower is 264 ft. high, making it the second tallest in the capital, after the Ivan the Great bell tower in the Kremlin, which measures 266 ft.
Besides the large main bell, ten other smaller bells will also be installed in the tower. They will all be rung upon completion of restorations on the tower in 2018. The restoration of the tower façade is to be completed by the end of the year, and the renovation of the interior, in particular the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh on the second story, in the summer of 2018.
“The restoration of the 18th century bell tower began in December 2016. The façade was destroyed at that time, and it was necessary to prevent further damage to the walls of the building: They were covered with cracks and chips on the outside, which water seeped into. In the winter it froze, making the cracks larger,” said the head of the Moscow Department for Cultural Heritage Alexei Emelyanov.
Certain decorative and architectural elements were lost, in particular.
Specialists reinforced the brickwork, restored the decorative elements, including the white stone basins, columns, and bowls, and plastered and painted the façades. The wrought-iron gates of the entrance arch, which will be painted and opened by November, were restored and the golden dome and cross on the bell tower were gilded. The dial on the tower clock was also restored, and a new clock mechanism will soon be installed.
The Novospassky bell tower was built in 1785 with the support of Empress Catherine II and by private donations. In Soviet times, there was a female reformatory, a children’s home, and a detoxification center on the territory of the monastery at different times, and a hostel, beginning in the 1930s.
The eviction of the tenants from the bell tower began only in 1960, to make room for a large restoration center. The monastery was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church in the 1990s.
