The Armoury Chamber, Moscow, Russia

Armoury Chamber, Moscow

About the Armoury Chamber

The Armoury Chamber is a part of the Grand Kremlin Palace complex and a true treasure chest. It's one of Moscow's oldest museums housed in an 1851 building designed by Imperial architect Konstantin Thon. Being one of the "musts" of a Moscow sightseeing tour, it encompasses a collection of more than 4,000 items of Russia's applied art, religious artifacts, and the famous Monomakh's cap - the ancient state regalia.

The Armoury began as the arsenal of the Moscow Kremlin as early as 1508, where were housed the finest of Muscovite gunsmiths, jewelers, and painters. Their resulting collection later served as the Kremlin's Great Treasury and included many of the precious items that have been preserved for centuries.

Later, in Soviet times, the treasures of the Patriarch's vestry joined it, as did a large number of precious icons from across Russia. Despite the fall of the Communists, these historical church items remain housed among the state artifacts.

Exhibition at the Armoury Chamber

Some of the exhibits were made in the Kremlin's workshops, others were accepted as ambassadorial gifts. During an Armoury Chamber tour, you'll surely see ancient state regalia, ceremonial tsar's vestments and coronation dress, vestments of the Russian Orthodox Church's hierarchy, the largest collection of gold and silverware by Russian craftsmen, West European artistic silver, ceremonial weapons, and arms, carriages, horse ceremonial harness.

In total, there are more than 4,000 pieces of applied art from Russia, Europe, and the Far East kept by the State Armory, from as early as the 4th century and as late as the Russian Revolution. The high artistic level and the historical and cultural value of the exhibits have made the State Armory of the Moscow Kremlin a world-renowned museum.