The story of the Kazan Kremlin
A fortress has stood on this hill above the Kazanka River since the 10th century. After Ivan the Terrible captured Kazan in 1552, the Russian kremlin was rebuilt in white stone. In 2000 it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site as a rare meeting point of Tatar and Russian, Muslim and Christian culture.
Inside the walls are the 16th-century Annunciation Cathedral, the leaning Söyembikä Tower linked to a legend about a Tatar queen, the presidential palace, and the turquoise-domed Kul Sharif Mosque. Several museums tell the story of the Volga Bulgars, the Golden Horde and Tatarstan.
