Tsar Kolokol
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Image:Moscow98kremlin8.jpg Tsar Kolokol (Russian: Царь–колокол, literally "Tsar of bells") is a huge bell still on display in the Moscow Kremlin. It weighs 160 tonnes, with a height of 6.14 m and diameter of 6.6 m. It was founded from bronze by masters Ivan Motorin and his son Mikhail in 1733–1735. Ornaments, portraits, and inscriptions were made by V. Kobelev, P. Galkin, P. Kokhtev, P. Serebryakov and P. Lukovnikov. Unfortunately, the bell was never rung — during a fire in 1737, a huge slab (11.5 tons) cracked off while it was still in the casting pit. In 1836, Tsar Kolokol was placed on a stand next to the Ivan the Great Bell Tower in the Kremlin.
The word 'Tsar' in Tsar Kolokol potentially refers to the supposedly common Russian practice of constructing absurdly large objects of various design (such as Tsar Bomba, the world's largest nuclear bomb, or the Tsar Tank, a monumentally huge and unwieldy tank) as a show of prowess or power. It is, however, doubtful that such a nomenclature was invented by a Russian, as it refers to the named object being impractical or useless and is therefore demeaning.
There were two more bells under this name, cast in the early 17th century and in 1654 (approx. 130 tons). The latter shattered during the fire of 1701. Its remnants were used for founding the Tsar Kolokol.
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| Tsar Bell | Tsar Bomb | Tsar Cannon | Tsar Tank |
de:Zarenglocke ja:ツァーリ・コロコル nl:Tsarenklok pt:Tsar Kolokol ru:Царь-колокол
