Syuyumbike Tower

OBJECT DESCRIPTION

Most likely, the tower was erected in the 17th–18th centuries and named after Kazan Tsarina Syuyumbike, who governed Kazan from 1549 to 1551 after the death of her husband Khan Safa Giray. The building served as a watchtower, offering a broad perspective of the surroundings and a view of the Volga and Kazanka rivers from its top.

The Syuyumbike Tower is made of big, hard-burned bricks, occupies 140 square meters, has seven stages, and its total height reaches 58 meters. The three bottom square tiers, which vary in height, have equilateral square contours and are encircled by open galleries (terrace). Ambulatories (gulbishche) are encircled by a parapet of square decorative brickwork (shirinka) on the first tier and belts of ornamental brickwork (border) on the second and third tiers.

The bottom tier of the Syuyumbike tower is made of two pylons connected by a cylindrical arch over the passage between them. The building’s southern and northern façades include circular, tiny windows surrounded with brick rollers, as well as small doors (1 door per façade) that lead to the tower interior. The pylons on the western and eastern façades are embellished with decorative columns (2 columns per 1 side of each pylon, total of 8 columns) and terminate with capitals-consoles after the Bulgarian fashion. The masses of each pylon contain inclined vaulted corridors with stairs leading to the tower’s upper tiers.

The passage is closed by modern forged gates known as “Day and Night”. They were manufactured in 2003 based on a sketch by architect R.M. Zabirov.

The arch that houses the gate is directed at dawn on the winter solstice. This explains the presence of symbolic depictions of the Sun and Crescent, as well as rays and stars depicting the transition of day and night.

The arrangement of the zodiac symbols on the upper section of the gate also symbolizes the passage of day and night: the spring and summer symbols represent the day and the blossoming of nature, while the autumn and winter symbols represent the night and the time when nature sleeps.

The significant proportion of the gate’s circumference is ornamented with a flowery spiral — a tulip-based motif.

Along the borders in the bottom and side sections of the gate, there are zoomorphic depictions of legendary and mythological animals: the Sirin bird takes the hero to the wondrous expanses of a fairyland; the swan is a sign of the miraculous salvation of Queen Syuyumbike; the falcon that attacked the fallow deer is an emblem of power (the tower is placed in close proximity to the former Khan’s palace); an inverted duck with a bit of clay in its beak symbolizes the creation of the world.

The gates are secured by an axe lock, and the knockers are shaped like lion heads, which are believed to ward off evil spirits. The gates are presently used for decorative purpose.

The tower’s second and third tiers have vaulted ceilings, and its window and door openings terminate with three-centred arches with rectangular architraves.

The fourth and fifth tiers are designed as octagons, allowing the tower to be 20% taller while avoiding the strong impact of wind at high altitudes. Simple archivolts (framed with a protruding arc) and semicircular arches (with a semicircle section) adorn the windows of the guardhouse and the fifth tier.

The tower’s sixth tier has the form of a truncated pyramid or faceted hipped roof. The seventh tier is an octagonal watchtower. Lesenes, or thin rollers, accentuate the faces of all tiers.

The tower’s top is a green metal spire with a gilded apple and a crescent moon rising above it.

The tower has a 1.98-meter north-east slope induced by the processes related with the contact of the soil and a varied cultural layer. In 1914–1916, the bottom tier of the tower was ringed by an iron belt to prevent future tilting. Research had been conducted in 1941–1955, and the tower’s foundation was reinforced. Under the direction of architect S.S.  Aidarov, the tower’s outer cladding, interior timber components, and aperture fillings were all renovated in 1958–1959.

The engineering strengthening of the tower’s foundations was completed in 1977–1978 in accordance with a Tatgrazhdanproekt Institute project, which was carried out in workshop No. 2 and supervised by A.I. Iskhakov and O.I. Berim. 

The Tatgrazhdanproekt Institute, under the guidance of A.I. Iskhakov, developed a conservation project for the Syuyumbike Tower in the period from 1985 to 1991.  With the efforts of the Gidrospetsstroy Department, the tower’s foundations were strengthened by means of the regulated injection piles. The Tatar SNRU, led by architect G.M. Gayazova, restored the tower’s façades and interiors using an innovative technology for reinforcing the surface of brickwork and colouring the walls. The Suyumbike Tower’s crescent-shaped ending with gilding had been manufactured and placed.

The tower’s foundations were strengthened in 1998, causing the tower’s movement to stop.