The tallest and oldest buildings in Moscow, Russia| Friendly Local Guides Blog

Moscow is rich in both history and culture. The architecture of Moscow is just as intriguing. Over 100 high-rise Moscow buildings with the height of 100 to 374 meters. Over 10 oldest buildings dating back to 1420-s (the oldest). Finally, hundreds of unique and famous buildings Moscow can be proud of, which are majestic monuments and architectural gems of different times and styles.

Here is just a fraction of what we can show you on our Moscow Must See Tour.

Top 3 Oldest buildings in Moscow Russia

Andronikov Monastery of the Saviour is the oldest building in Moscow. According to the chronicles, the first wooden church was erected along with other buildings of the monastery in 1357, but a fire in 1368 burned it down. In its place was built a new stone cathedral, which after sixty years, between 1420 and 1425 years, was rebuilt and reached our days almost untouched. The painting of the church was done by Russian icon legends Andrei Rublev and Daniil Cherny (Black).
Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin was built in 1326-1327 and was the first stone church in Moscow at that time. But one hundred years later the state of the church no longer corresponded to the status of the main temple of Russia. The construction of the new cathedral began on April 30, 1471 and was commissioned to Russian architects Krivtsov and Myshkin. A tragedy prevented them from finishing the work: the earthquake on May 20, 1474 putting destroyed the walls of the temple.

Ivan III (Ivan the Great) invited an Italian architect Aristotle Fioravanti who started the construction from scratch. The new cathedral was consecrated on August 12, 1479. It is associated with many of the key events in the history of Russia. For example, in 1547 tsar Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible, a grandson of Ivan the Great) was crowned here, and since Peter II the Assumption Cathedral was the place for the coronation of each new Russian emperor, despite the fact that the capital was moved to St. Petersburg (from 1712 till October Revolution in 1918).

At the height of 55 meters, the Assumption Cathedral was the tallest building in Old Moscow from 1479 to 1508.

Famous Moscow buildings

The Palace of Facets – the oldest of the preserved famous buildings in Moscow that were used for governmental purposes. The Palace of Facets was built in 1487-1491, designed by Marco Ruffo and Pietro Antonio Solari. It was the place for meetings of the Boyar Duma and Zemsky Sobor, governmental powers of Old Russia at that time. Surprisingly, the children of the Tsar could watch magnificent receptions of foreign delegations through a special grille in their secret room called “Smotrilnaya Chamber”. Today the Palace of Facets is a part of the residence of the Russian president.

Moscow oldest buildings

Top 3 tallest Moscow buildings

Federation Tower is the tallest skyscraper in Europe consisting of two towers.

The East Tower is the 95-story structure with the height of 373.7 m, completed in 2015.
The West Tower is a 62-storey structure 242.4 meters high.
The total area of the Federation Tower is 442 915.2 sq.m.
The Federation Tower complex has 67 elevators.

OKO Towers is a complex of buildings in Moscow City divided into 2 sections. North Tower is the first tower, which has 49 floors and a height of 245 meters. South Tower is the second tower with 85 floors and the height of 354 meters. The construction ended in 2015. OKO South Tower is second tallest skyscraper in Europe and Russia.

Mercury City Tower is the third tallest skyscraper in Russia and Europe.

With the height of 338.8 meters, the Mercury City Tower was the tallest skyscraper in Europe until 25 September 2014. The tower “Mercury City”, built on the territory of the Moscow international business center, surpassed the height of London skyscraper «The Shard» (306 m), which held the status of the tallest building in Europe for 4 months. The Mercury City got nearly 33 m higher than its London rival.

Built 75 floors above the ground and with 5 underground floors, the total area of the skyscraper is 180,000 sq.m, of which 86 000 m² is A+ office space and 20 000 m² – residential luxury apartments.

Moscow architecture

The list wouldn’t be complete without most original and unique architecture of the capital of Russia!

Moscow has it all: the cosmopolitan dynamism of New York, the charm of Paris and the history of Rome. Not surprisingly Moscow has a nickname “The Third Rome”.

Our Moscow guide Anna has more to show you! Join us on our Moscow tours.