One of the significant structures on Red Square which its name changed several times throughout history, and even once completely demolished and rebuilt again is the Resurrection Gate. This gate, and later its chapel was quite important to people of Russia and the imperial family during the Tsarism era. The gate was the central entrance to the square, and for a while, it was the main entrance to the city of Moscow. The chapel of this gate was once one of the most important religious sites of Moscow in which beggars prayed to its icons alongside the imperial family and even Tsars. The gate is located at the northwest of the square next to the Kazan Cathedral and the State Historical Museum of Russia.
The original gate was built in 1535 during the Ivan the Terrible reign. It built as a part of Kitai-Gorod wall and designed by Italian architect, Petroc Minor. The structure didn’t complete at once and built in several stages. At first, the two arched gates were placed in the wall. Since several lions which were a gift from the Queen of England to Ivan the Terrible, lived inside the moat near the gate, the gate acquired the name the Lions Gate. After a few years, a chapel built between the two arched gates and housed the famous miracle workers Mother of God icon which was an Iveron icon that painted in Athos Mountain and brought to Moscow. The name of the gate changed after that event to Iberian Gate. The gate had several other names too throughout history including the Trinity Gate, the Kuretny Gate, and the Iversky gate.
In 1680, two tented roof towers added to the gate on each arched entrance which Tsar and Tsarina used to go to its chapel to observed the ceremonies on the Red Square. The famous icon of the Resurrection of Christ was painted between the two towers in the same year and changed the name of the gate to The Resurrection Gate. At the end of the 18th century, the Russian architect, Matvey Kazakov replaced the brick chapel with a stone structure. Following the damages that it got after the war of 1812, Pietro Gonzaga reconstructed the structure and replaced the demolished decoration with several new ones.
The gate and its chapel survived until around 1930, but following the anti-religious plans of the Soviet Union, the chapel of the gate completely demolished, and its famous icon transferred to the Resurrection of Christ’s Cathedral in Sokolniki, and the chapel replaced by a colossal statue of worker instead. The gate was demolished in less than two years after the demolition of the chapel due to the Stalin’s plans for having the largest military parade inside the Red Square and the urgent of engaging the heavy machines inside the parade.
Both the Iberian Chapel and the Resurrection Gate were rebuilt in 1995 on their original place after the fall of the Soviet Union. One replica of the famous Iveron icon which was painted in 1995, transferred and installed on its former place, inside the chapel. During the reconstruction of these structures, a medieval wooden construction, some part of the original gate stones, and the Moscow’s first birch bark manuscript found on the site of the construction.
The first things one will encounter after entering the Red Square from the gate would be the Kazan Cathedral and the State Historical Museum of Russia, but after a few steps, one can also find the Gum Mall and the Lenin’s Mausoleum in front of the Kremlin’s wall. Though most of the time there are loads of tourists in front of the gate which can confuse people if they wouldn’t know about the Point Zero Kilometer. One can often find tourists who stand in a circle with a metal plaque at the center of it and tossing coins over their shoulder. In the urban legends of Moscow, if one can toss a coin inside the circle while facing the Resurrection gate, their wishes will come true. The zero kilometers is the point where all the distance in Moscow measures from there.
Since the gate and its chapel are quite famous in Russian history, and also tourists love the urban legends about the Kilometer zero circle, the Resurrection Gate became one of the most crowded places inside the Red Square. If you want to enter the Red Square from the Resurrection Gate, you can use the Moscow Metro and get off the train on the Ploshchad Revolyutsii station or the Okhotny Ryad station near the Red Square. While you visit Red Square be sure to check out the Saint Basil’s Cathedral and the Kremlin with all of its attractions including the Cathedral of Annunciation, the Cathedral of Archangel, Dormition Cathedral, Terem Palace, etc.
