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42
Moscow
Moscow was mentioned for the first
time in 1147. Nine years later, the
first timber walls of what was to become
the Kremlin were built under
Prince Yuri Dolgoruky. Protected by
this fortress, the market town slowly
developed into a respectable settlement.
In the first half of the 14 th century,
the city numbered around
30,000 inhabitants. The two last
decades of the 15 th century marked
the beginning of the expansion of
the Kremlin. Many craftsmen and
merchants settled in the area. The
population soon grew to more than
100,000, leading to the construction
of a circular wall around Moscow
and a system of trenches around
1600. Large-scale fires burned two
thirds of Moscow’s buildings during
the Patriotic War of 1812. The erection
of new buildings as well as the
reconstruction of existing structures
began in 1813 and quickly grew beyond
the old municipal defense ring.
By 1900, the city’s population had
grown to around 1 million. On March
12, 1918, Moscow was proclaimed
the country’s capital and the government
moved to the Kremlin near Red
Square.
Innovation 16, Carl Zeiss AG, 2005