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Outwardly, the Troitskaya Tower, built in 1495, is remarkably similar to the Spasskaya Tower. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, its gate was second in importance only to that of the Spasskaya. People would enter the Kremlin through this gate on their way to the courts of the Patriarch, the Tsaritsa and the princesses. Beneath the ground is a deep, two-level cellar with very thick walls, once used as a prison. The tower was originally called Bogoyavlenskaya, then Znamenskaya, and later Kuretnaya. It became the Troitskaya (Trinity) Tower by the decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in 1658, after the mission (belonging to the Trinity Monastery) beside which it stood. In 1516 a stone bridge was built across the Neglinnaya River between the Troitsky and Kutafya towers. Atop the tower are miniature decorative towers with weathervanes and lancet arches. A clock was mounted on the tower in 1585, but following the great fire of 1812, the chimes were damaged, and were only restored in the late 20th century. A ruby-red star was erected upon the Troitskaya Tower in 1937, and including this star, the tower measures 80 meters, making it the tallest of the Kremlin towers.
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