Ruined Tower

Ruined Tower is the most romantic building in Tsaritsyno. It’s a dilapidated medieval tower with adjoining wall sections made of brick and white stone.

The tower was designed by the architect Ivan Yegotov in 1804. In the late 18th/ early 19th century artificial ruins were quite fashionable. Initially, the ruined tower was crowned with a gazebo-shaped pinnacle with four columns. A stone staircase was installed on the northern wall. The bottom was decorated with colored moss. The Ruined Tower was nicknamed “The Blind Ladder” since it was easy to climb and difficult to go downstairs. Newspapers reported that several drunk merchants even got injured there.

By the end of the 19th century, the Ruined Tower gradually became dilapidated. In the 20th century it was used for rock climbing. In 2007, the Ruined Tower opened after restoration. But the gazebo-shaped pinnacle could not be restored.