Troitskaya Tower, Fortified tower in Tverskoy District, Russia

The Troitskaya Tower is a red-brick structure with a tall, steep green spire, rising 80 metres on the Kremlin's northwestern wall. Its lower block has a dark arched gateway and a clock face; above, white stone trim outlines pointed arches, gables and corner pinnacles, then an octagonal tier supports the spire. A crenellated red-brick wall runs forward from its left side.

Built in 1495–1499 by Italian architect Aloisio da Milano, the tower replaced the Rizopolozhensky Gates during Ivan III's rebuilding of the Kremlin in brick. Work was delayed by the fires of 1493. Its two-storey basement held a prison in the 16th–17th centuries, with two 'stone sacks' reached only through a ceiling opening, and executions took place at the gates.

The tower's current name dates from 1658, when it was renamed after the Troitskaya Coaching Inn inside the Kremlin. Before that Muscovites called it Rizopolozhenskaya, Bogoyavlenskaya, Znamenskaya or Kuretnaya, after the gate icon and the tsar's palace gates. Since 1585 it has carried a clock; the original had a rotating dial divided into day and night and a fixed pointer.

This is the main visitor entrance to the Kremlin, so queues can form during peak times, especially in warm months. Arriving early in the day helps avoid crowds, and having your identification documents ready will speed up the entry process.

The tower's clock, installed in 1585, had a rotating dial divided into day and night while the pointer stayed fixed. Its keepers earned four rubles and six altyns a year, less than the Spasskaya Tower watchmakers, who were often called in to do their repairs.