The Tsar Cannon (Russian: Царь-пушка, Tsar'-pushka) is a large, 5.94 metres (19.5 ft) long cannon on display on the grounds of the Moscow Kremlin. It was cast in 1586 in Moscow, by the Russian master bronze caster Andrey Chokhov. Mostly of symbolic impact, it was never used in a war. However the cannon bears traces of at least one firing[1]. Per the Guinness Book of Records it is the largest bombard by caliber in the world,[2] and it is a major tourist attraction in the ensemble of the Moscow Kremlin.
The very low ratio between its calibre and the length of its barrel makes it technically not a cannon, but a stylized mortar. The Tsar Cannon is made of bronze and weighs 39.312 tonnes[3] and has a length of 5.34 m (17.5 ft).[4] Its bronze-cast barrel has a diameter of 890 mm (35.0 in),[4] and an external diameter of 1,200 mm (47.2 in).[4] The barrel has eight cast rectangular brackets for use in transporting the gun, which is mounted on a stylized cast iron gun carriage with two wheels. The barrel is decorated with relief images, including an equestrian image of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich.
The spherical cast-iron projectiles located in front of the cannon - each of which weighs approximately 1 ton, were produced in 1834 as a decoration. They are too large to have been used in the Tsar Cannon, which would have fired 800 kg stone grapeshot rather than cannonballs. [5] According to legend, the cannonballs were manufactured in St. Petersburg, and were intended to be a humorous addition and a symbol of the friendly rivalry between Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The very low ratio between its calibre and the length of its barrel makes it technically not a cannon, but a stylized mortar. The Tsar Cannon is made of bronze and weighs 39.312 tonnes[3] and has a length of 5.34 m (17.5 ft).[4] Its bronze-cast barrel has a diameter of 890 mm (35.0 in),[4] and an external diameter of 1,200 mm (47.2 in).[4] The barrel has eight cast rectangular brackets for use in transporting the gun, which is mounted on a stylized cast iron gun carriage with two wheels. The barrel is decorated with relief images, including an equestrian image of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich.
The spherical cast-iron projectiles located in front of the cannon - each of which weighs approximately 1 ton, were produced in 1834 as a decoration. They are too large to have been used in the Tsar Cannon, which would have fired 800 kg stone grapeshot rather than cannonballs. [5] According to legend, the cannonballs were manufactured in St. Petersburg, and were intended to be a humorous addition and a symbol of the friendly rivalry between Moscow and St. Petersburg.
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