Secrets of the Russian Empire Nevyansk Tower. Nevyansk Tower

Feb 23 2018

Touch the secrets of the Nevyansk leaning tower

"And counterfeit coins
Here Demidov spanked somewhere
And, playfully, for this
I bought the whole world."

The legends and secrets of the Demidov Tower in Nevyansk have long excited the minds of the Ural residents, passed from mouth to mouth. And I suspect that everyone, retelling these stories associated with the Nevyansk Tower, adds new details of their own to make the story seem even more terrible. What is true in these legends and what is fiction? I have long wanted to visit Nevyansk, .

A visit to the leaning tower and the historical and architectural museum in Nevyansk was the final chord in our one-day trip to the Nevyansk region, during which we visited; looked at the old, almost cast iron; and admired the extraordinary.

And finally, the long-awaited Nevyansk is a small city in the Middle Urals with more than three hundred years of history. Founded by decree of Peter I in 1701 in connection with the construction of iron and iron smelting plants. The first mention of a settlement in this place on the banks of the Neiva River - Nevyanskaya Sloboda - dates back to 1621.

The excursion bus dropped us off at Revolution Square, where the Eternal Flame and several different monuments dedicated to Nevyansk warriors and workers of different times are located. And next to it, behind an openwork cast-iron fence with the Demidov coat of arms, there is a historical and architectural museum complex, where we went with trepidation.

Ahead is the majestic Transfiguration Cathedral, built in 1824-1830. But the secrets of the Nevyansk Tower attract the Demidovs so much that we leave the inspection of the cathedral for later and rush to see the legendary tower.

Here is the Demidov Tower - a snow-white slender beauty, truly inclined.

Nearby is an interesting red brick building - a former factory power plant - a monument of industrial architecture of the early 20th century. The main facade of the former power plant resembles a fortress wall with battlements. It turns out that in 1905, a stone gate was built on the side of the factory square, the walls of which connected the inclined tower with the stable building of the manor’s estate, forming with it a single southwestern front of the building. In 1914-15 The gate was reconstructed and adapted for a power plant. After the reconstruction of the building with the restoration of its historical appearance in 2001 (according to other sources, in 2006-07), it houses the Nevyansk Historical and Architectural Museum.

And the Nevyansk Tower was built in 1721-1725. by order of Akinfiy Demidov, the son of the founder of the Demidov family of nobles and mining owners - Nikita Demidovich Antufiev. The tower resembles a multi-tiered bell tower like an octagon on a quadrangle with a two-tier tent attached to it.

“The height of the tower is 57.5 m, the base is a square with a side of 9.5 m. The deviation of the tower from the vertical is about 1.85 m, the greatest inclination is observed at the lower tier (3 ° 16′).” Wikipedia.

Nevyansk leaning tower.

The Nevyansk Tower is often compared to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but unlike the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Nevyansk Tower is not leaning, but inclined. There are two versions of the tilt of the Demidov tower in Nevyansk: one version - the tower was specially built this way for originality, the other - during the construction of two-thirds of the quadrangle, due to uneven precipitation, the quadrangle began to tilt. To keep the tower in balance, the next tiers began to be built with a tilt in the other direction, keeping the center of gravity in the right place. Because of this, the axis of the Nevyansk Tower looks like a saber. This is noticeable if you look closely from the side, although if the guide had not focused our attention on this fact, I would not have noticed.

Information about the architect of the Demidov Tower in Nevyansk has not been preserved, and this became one of the secrets of the Nevyansk Tower, which gave rise to the following legend:

“Upon completion of the construction of the tower, Akinfiy Demidov called the architect to his place, and, being on the balcony of the upper tier, asked if he could build another similar tower. The architect replied: “of course, and even more beautiful and elegant.” Then Demidov pushed the architect from the tower and he fell to his death.”

On the first octagonal tier of the Nevyansk Tower we see the dials of the English chimes; a little later the guide will take us to the room where the clock mechanism is located. Above, on the second octagonal tier, there are 10 copper English bells that chime the quarter and half hours and play melodies eight times a day, and one Demidov bronze bell that chimes the hours. On the same tier there is access to a balcony, along which you can walk around the tower, admiring the panorama of Nevyansk. But access to the balcony is open to tourists from mid-April to mid-October. We were in Nevyansk at the end of October, so we didn’t get to the tier with bells and access to the balcony.

The hipped dome of the Nevyansk Tower is crowned with a spire with a weather vane and a lightning rod. The weather vane, weighing 25 kg and 178 cm long, rotating in the wind, is proof that the Nevyansk Tower does not fall, but was built so inclined, otherwise the weather vane would remain turned in one direction, the side of the tower's inclination.

Interestingly, the lightning rod in the form of a ball with spikes on the Nevyansk Tower appeared a quarter of a century earlier than this invention was demonstrated by the American Benjamin Franklin. Now the tower has a brand new lightning rod and weather vane, the old ones are in the museum next to the tower.

Lightning rod from the Nevyansk Tower (first half of the 18th century) from the museum’s exposition.

Before the tour starts in the tower, you have some time to walk around the territory of the historical and architectural museum complex. Let's go see the monument to Peter I and Nikita Demidov. On the approach to the monument, the panorama behind the openwork fence attracts attention. The mountainside in the form of terraces rises above the Nevyansk pond. In the guidebook purchased in Nevyansk, this mountain is marked as a viewing trail. I would like to walk along it, look at the city and the Nevyansky pond from above. Along the slope there is a white path dusted with snow, running straight down to the dam. Behind a concrete fence is an old building with a semicircular window on the pediment and the inscription “Depot”.

Nevyansk.

Monument to Peter I and Nikita Demidov, sculptor K.V. Grunberg, architect A.G. Mazaev.

The monument was erected in 2002 and was manufactured at the Uralmashplant in Yekaterinburg. The figures and base are solid cast, cast iron. The weight of the monument is 8 tons. The sculptural composition tells how Peter I, by his decrees in 1702, gave the state-owned ironworks on the Neiva River into the possession of the Tula factory owner Nikita Demidovich Antufiev. Peter I gave the name Demidov to Nikita Antufiev in his decree. Since then, the Demidov family has appeared.

Behind the cast-iron fence is the embankment of the Nevyansky Pond.

Judging by the small seedlings on the embankment and next to the monument, this area began to be improved recently. Previously, this was a factory area.

View from the monument to the historical and architectural complex - the cathedral, the leaning tower and the museum (former power plant).

The Transfiguration Cathedral was built in the 19th century not by the Demidovs, but by the next dynasty that owned the Nevyansk factories - the Yakovlevs. In the 1930s, the temple was partially destroyed, the bell tower was demolished, the dome and vaults were dismantled. What remained was rebuilt into production premises. In the early 2000s, the temple was restored.

Transfiguration Cathedral.

Let's return to the tower. We were already provided with a guide who told an interesting story about the history, facts and secrets of the Nevyansk leaning tower. In addition to the slope and saber-shaped shape of the Nevyansk Tower, when viewed from the outside, black iron pieces catch the eye, as if they were rivets standing out on the white tower from top to bottom. And these, it turns out, are cast-iron figured washers with wedges that fasten the metal frame, which is located inside the stone walls.

Fastening metal ties to the outer walls of the tower.

Metal frame ties penetrate the entire body of the tower, and by the way, they provide grounding. Here they are visible under the arches of the porches; and inside the tower, under the arch of each floor, they can be seen.

Porch of the Demidov tower in Nevyansk.

The tower was examined from all sides, and finally the time had come touch the main secrets of the Nevyansk leaning tower . There is an ominous legend that in the basements of the Nevyansk Tower, counterfeit royal coins, gold and silver, were minted by shackled serfs. When Akinfiy Demidov found out that an auditor was coming to check on him, he ordered to urgently raise the floodgates on the dam and flood the basements along with people and tools.

On the first floor of the Nevyansk Tower there is an exhibition dedicated to the Demidov cellars.

Entrance to the “Cellars” exhibition from the museum side.

Exhibition “Cellars”.

The guide said that no cellars were found under the inclined tower, but underground passages were discovered nearby - under the Demidovs' manor house. Now archaeological excavations are underway there, and then the basements will be equipped for tourists to visit, and an exhibition “In the basements of the manor house” will be created.

The master's house is now located on the territory of the machine-building plant, the former Demidovsky. True, all that was left of the house were the walls and rafters for the roof. I wonder how tourists are organized to visit the basements of the manor house? Maybe the plant will give up part of the territory for a museum complex, as was done with the Nevyansk leaning tower and the former power plant.

View of the manor house from the porch of the tower.

The entrance to the upper floors of the Nevyansk Tower is from a high stone porch with cast-iron railings. Let's go get a tour guide. By the way, you can only get to the Nevyansk Tower with a guide.

Excursion to the Nevyansk Tower.

View from the porch of the Nevyansk Tower.

“Mine”, an open-air exhibition, is lonely and empty. When we walked around the museum complex, we didn’t notice him. Near the tower there are several more exhibits from old factory equipment; we managed to see a trolley.

A spiral staircase rises up from the porch and next to it there are two doors, one wooden in the middle and one cast iron on the edge. We first enter this cast-iron door and feel that we have touched another secret of the inclined tower. Imagine, this door leads to a secret passage, which is located right in the wall. But it must be said that the thickness of the walls of the tower at the base is 2 m, at the upper level - 32 cm. A steep narrow staircase is laid in the thickness of the wall, very narrow, some of our excursion group did not even dare to walk along it.

A secret staircase led to the third floor of the tower into the ore laboratory with an “assay forge.” Perhaps this is where silver was secretly cast. Particles of silver were found in the soot on the walls of the chimney, but historians are skeptical about the legend about the production of counterfeit coins in the Nevyansk Tower.

"Assay forge."

Another wooden door from the porch leads to the “treasury office.”

Demidov’s desk in the “treasury office” is exactly opposite the window in the wall with a secret staircase.

Portraits of the Demidovs, the owners of the Nevyansk plant, are also presented here.

Nikita Demidovich Demidov (Antufiev). Unknown artist, first quarter of the 18th century.

In the Nevyansk Tower there is a copy of the portrait of N. Demidov, the original is stored in the neighboring building, in the Nevyansk Historical and Architectural Museum. The portrait is unusual. Either a surrealist or an icon painter painted this portrait; This is how it made me feel.

On the left is a portrait of Akinfiy Nikitovich Demidov, on the right is a portrait of his eldest son Prokofy Akinfievich Demidov. In the center is the chasing of the Nevyansk leaning tower.

We return to the porch and climb the spiral staircase under the “stone two-tier tent” tent. Here we are shown the 18th century iron rafters holding up the hipped roof. The rafters are fastened together with rivets. True, in some places the rivets became loose during this time, and they were replaced with bolts. But the roofing sheets above the stone tent and on the bell tower tent are completely modern, titanium.

Balcony under the tent.

On the lower floors of the Demidov Tower the floors are cast iron.

Spiral staircase.

We go further, again climbing the spiral staircase to the very top of the roof, there is a door leading to the tower. We find ourselves in a room on the 4th floor with an exhibition telling about the Nevyansk Tower; about people who studied Demidov’s legacy in Nevyansk; about famous people who have been here and about other leaning and falling towers of the world.

Exposition in the Nevyansk Tower.

And again we rise higher, now along a wooden staircase; the floors in the tower rooms are also wooden.

On the sixth floor is another secret of the Nevyansk leaning tower - the auditory room.

In the auditory room.

If you stand in opposite corners, with your nose in the corner and speak in a quiet whisper, then the person standing in the opposite corner can hear everything clearly, as if they are speaking directly into your ear. You just need to speak quietly, otherwise those standing in the middle of the room will also hear. Obviously, such acoustics are achieved due to the shape of the ceiling.

Vaulted ceiling. Under the vault are the ties of the metal frame of the Nevyansk Tower.

According to legend, Akinfiy Demidov created similar rooms for receiving important guests in order to find out the secrets of their secret conversations.

View of the plant from the window of the Nevyansk Tower.

On the seventh floor or first octagon is the most interesting place in the Nevyansk Leaning Tower. This is a room with a clock mechanism of English chimes. Mechanical and musical mechanisms of ancient chimes behind a glass partition.

An ancient door leads to a room with a clockwork chiming mechanism.

Description of the work of the chimes of the Nevyansk Tower.

Musical and mechanical mechanisms of chimes.

This is what the dial looks like from the reverse side. There are a total of 4 dials on the Demidov leaning tower.

Reverse side of the chimes dial.

Interestingly, in 1767, the chimes of the Nevyansk Tower were valued at 5,000 rubles, and the construction of the entire tower was valued at 4,207 rubles. 60 kopecks.

It remains a mystery how Akinfiy Demidov acquired chimes for his tower in England. Since, starting from the Northern War (1700) and until 1732 (and this year the chimes were already installed on the tower in Nevyansk), Russia and England were in hostile relations and did not even have diplomatic ties.

Cables stretch from the chiming mechanisms upward to the bells, which are installed on the second octagonal tier of the Nevyansk Tower.

Above the room with the clock mechanism, two beams are visible in a criss-cross pattern. These are iron-cast iron beams, first used in the construction of the Nevyansk inclined tower.

“The architect Podolsky, who examined the Nevyansk Tower back in the 1930s, writes: “It should be noted... the extremely interesting design of the iron beams used here. The solid section of a cast iron beam 190×145 mm, repeating the shape of a wooden beam in the tension zone (below), is reinforced along its entire length with an iron rod 60×36 mm, sunk directly into the cast iron body.

The design of such a beam, which has a span of over six meters, testifies to a very early attempt by the architect (1725) to quite correctly combine two dissimilar materials, which, when worked together, give an excellent system, widely used only in the 20th century in a similar combination of concrete and iron.”

Engineering historians consider the use of such metal structures to be the first in the world. The second time a similar method was used during the construction of the dome of the Mainz Cathedral on the Rhine in 1828, and the third time during the construction of St. Isaac’s Cathedral in St. Petersburg.”

Igor Shakinko. Legends were the Nevyansk tower “Ural Pathfinder” No. 10 1980 http://litresp.ru/chitat/ru/Ш/shakinko-igorj/legendi-i-bili-nevjyanskoj-bashni

On the right in the photo you can see a wooden pipe, inside it there is a wooden spiral staircase to the 7th floor to the bells, there is also an exit to the balcony. But, as I already said, excursions after mid-October are conducted only up to the 7th floor. There is also a balcony on the 7th floor, but it is not an observation deck, but rather a technical one.

View from the window of the first octagonal tier of the Nevyansk Tower to the Transfiguration Cathedral.

That's it for the excursion, which allowed touch the secrets of the Nevyansk leaning tower , ended, we went on the next excursion to the historical and architectural museum, where we got acquainted with the history of the Nevyansk region. We left the museum, it was already dark, and we still admired the leaning tower, which still holds unsolved secrets.

Nevyansk Tower against the background of the night sky.

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To this day, the Nevyansk Tower pleases the eye and surprises with its unsolved mysteries - an amazing monument to the history and architecture of the Urals. It was erected in the 18th century on the territory of the plant of the same name by order of the large magnate Akinfiy Nikitich Demidov.

In appearance, the tower resembles a typical Russian bell tower. But with a height of 60 meters, its axis is shifted by almost 2 meters towards the southwest! The brick walls at the base are thick, about 2 meters. The entire structure is mounted on a durable cast iron frame. The floor, door and window openings are also made of cast iron. For that time, this building is unique. The top of the tower is decorated with a tent-shaped dome with a weather vane and a spiked cast iron ball that serves as a lightning rod. What was located on the first floor is unknown. The second floor was Demidov's office, the third was a laboratory where various ores were tested and silver and gold were secretly smelted. Scientists came to this conclusion when they examined scrapings of soot from the walls of the chimney. Only one person can walk along the narrow staircase connecting the office and laboratory. Why were precious metals melted here secretly? The fact is that the Demidovs were afraid that word of the gold finds would reach the king and the land would immediately go to the state treasury. After all, the iron smelter on the Neiva River belonged to the Demidovs only by possession rights. In 1702, Peter I instructed Akinfiy’s father, Tula gunsmith Nikita Demidov, to build this plant. The country urgently needed cast iron cannons. Demidov was allowed to use the bowels of the earth and forests for production needs by the Tsar's charter. The fourth floor of the tower is a mysterious auditory room. Due to the special vaulted ceiling, the quietest whispers here are transmitted diagonally from corner to corner. If you stand in the center, you can’t hear anything. They say that the owner often eavesdropped on other people's conversations in this room. Inconvenient steep steps lead to the upper floors of the tower, where there is a clear tilt and slight swaying in the wind. It becomes uneasy. But here you can see an amazing rarity that still works. This is an English clock with bells and a drum. They say they cost more than the entire tower as a whole. The watch is wound the old fashioned way, by hand every day. The last steep and narrow staircase leads to the observation deck, from where the amazing surroundings of Nevyansk open up to your eyes. According to one ominous legend, an underground mint was located in the basements of the Nevyansk Tower. Demidov's serfs worked here. They minted gold coins for him. It is believed that these cellars were flooded along with the people by order of Akinfiy, when the empress decided to send the formidable prince-inspector. True, historical documents confirming this legend have not yet been found. This legend has long been the reason for the creation of historical novels, films, paintings, and local history excursions with the tempting name “The Mint of Akinfiy Demidov.” The reason for the tilt of the building is also unclear. According to one version, the slope was made by an unknown architect on purpose (hewn bricks are observed in the cut of the walls). According to another, the tilt occurred under the influence of groundwater during the process of laying the foundation of the tower. Research by modern scientists has shown that the structure has only settled slightly over three centuries, and the slope does not increase and the walls do not move. Without exception, all researchers consider the Nevyansk Tower an architectural masterpiece of a talented architect of the early 18th century. Its strength and beauty, the elegance of the brickwork, and the non-standard engineering solution of the metal structure still delight specialists today. Many tried to unravel the secrets of the Nevyansk Tower. They followed in the footsteps of predecessor researchers, looked for new documents in Russian archives, climbed the steep stairs of the tower and descended into its dungeons... But the careful Akinfiy Demidov skillfully hid secret materials from his contemporaries. The entire archive of the plant was completely destroyed during a fire at the end of the 19th century. It would be foolish to look for any information in the documents that the tycoon sent to various government bodies. Nevertheless, the Nevyansk legend reflected a whole layer of industrial development of the Urals and Siberia. It was in these wild places that new ores were found, factories were built, and the secrets of metal smelting were discovered. One amazing object has been preserved from those times - the silver sarcophagus of Alexander Nevsky, a famous exhibit of the Hermitage collection. Surprisingly, he is directly related to the department of Akinfiy Demidov. After the end of the Northern War, Peter I ordered the relics of the great commander, declared a saint, to be placed in the newly built Alexander Nevsky Monastery. In the summer of 1750, Peter’s daughter Elizabeth, who ascended the throne, deigned to build a silver shrine for the relics of Alexander Nevsky. Skilled craftsmen - artists, foundries, and minters - carried out the decree of the empress, spending 90 pounds of precious metal on the manufacture of the sarcophagus. But where did Elizabeth get this silver? In January 1744, Akinfiy Demidov received a letter from the clerk of the Kolyvano-Voskresensk factories in Altai. The message reported that a certain former contract soldier, Saxon Philip Treger, was going to take a denunciation against Demidov to St. Petersburg. The fact is that, by order of Akinfiy, Treger was flogged for a mistake in the case, and was offended by the owner. Being a real predator, Demidov immediately sensed danger. After all, he had crimes on his record for which he might not be spared. Despite the cold and his 60 years, the powerful miner ordered the horses to be harnessed and two carts loaded with gifts. He went from Nevyansk to St. Petersburg! And when he arrived in the capital, he didn’t waste any time. He paid several visits to courtiers who were in particular favor with the Empress, including her personal secretary. He presented everyone with expensive gifts. And very soon he got the opportunity to fall at the feet of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. During this historic retreat, he presented her with a 27-pound silver bar. And at the same time, Akinfiy Demidov asked that from now on he and all the factories, workers and children be “under the protection” of the Most Serene Empress, and that no one else would interfere in his factory affairs. For which he received a “gracious, high-monarchal promise”...

At the intersection of roads between Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Tagil and Tyumen stands Nevyansk, founded at the beginning of the 17th century by order of Peter I. This small settlement is famous for the Nevyansk leaning tower, symbolizing the power of the dynasty Demidov family- Ural breeders.

Finding the city is not difficult, there are signs on all the roads, and it is simply impossible to get lost in Nevyansk - the settlement is compact and cozy. We decided to go here not only because of the unsolved mystery of the Nevyansk Tower, but also because of the internal contents of the building: a dungeon, an amazing auditory room, a clock with chimes created by English masters and much more. By the way, in the early 90s, scientists found out that the structure is not falling, but rather inclined.

Until the end of the last century Nevyansk Leaning Tower was located in a closed area, and it was not easy to get into it, but now it is officially recognized as a museum. Before we had time to properly understand what was happening, we were already assigned a guide and given permission to take photos and videos. They paid 400 rubles for everything.

This is what our guide told us. The exact date of construction is not known, since the documents were lost, but approximately it is from 1725–1740. The structure of the building is made of several tiers. The tetrahedral base at the height is replaced by octagonal levels, of which there are nine. We were never able to get to the top one: restoration is underway there.

We and other groups of tourists gradually climbed up the spiral staircases. Honestly, at times I doubted the tilt of the Nevyansk Tower, it is not visible from everywhere, but we still managed to find an excellent place to observe this metamorphosis near monument to Demidov.

The jambs and doors are made of cast iron, after all, the 18th century.

In the wall of the lower tier there is such a staircase.

An incredible masterpiece in the Nevyansk Tower is auditory room.

The effect is amazing, if I hadn’t listened to it myself, I wouldn’t have believed it. With a fairly large size, about 10 meters diagonally from corner to corner, the sound transmission is incredible. If you stand in a corner, you can clearly hear everything that a person standing in another corner says in a whisper. But if you stand in the center of the room, you won’t hear a single sound - checked :). I once had the opportunity to visit Moscow Kremlin, so I observed a similar effect there.

Flights of stairs inside the Nevyansk Tower.

We were lucky enough to watch the winding of the tower clock. This is done by hand, just like 300 years ago. Interesting fact, the cost of these English clock was equal to 5,000 rubles in gold equivalent, despite the fact that the entire construction cost only 4,200 rubles.

Stairs leading to the bells on the eighth level. This is the steepest climb, and it’s seriously dizzying.

There is an observation deck around the tier with bells.

Having risen here, we feel the invigorating gusts of wind and enjoy the beautiful view. The height is colossal.

No one has yet explained this interesting fact. But here's what's interesting: the axis of the tower itself is bent by 2 meters, and the likely scenario is most likely a prosaic mistake by the builders. It is quite possible that during the construction of the first tiers the building sank a little, but they did not rebuild it, but only introduced a kind of correction factor, which is why the bend occurred. Either way, these are just guesses.

So I advise everyone who likes to travel to definitely visit Nevyansk leaning tower and draw your own conclusions.

The effect is amazing, if you hadn’t listened to it yourself

SECRETS OF THE NEVIANSK TOWER

Satan in the unbearable
shine,
Breaking away from the old
frescoes,
Bent over with longing
everlasting
Above the crooked... tower.
N.S. Gumilev.

Instead of an ellipsis, the outstanding Russian poet has “Pisan”. Today we will talk about another tower, less famous, but no less remarkable and also “crooked” - Nevyanskaya. But the quoted quatrain accurately reflects the essence of this Ural miracle, as if it were written about it: something satanic is really felt in the tower. In addition, all searches for another epigraph to the text about this unique structure turned out to be fruitless - for some reason the tower did not inspire our poets. Even the legendary Kirsha Danilov, who, according to some scientists, lived in Nevyansk and compiled his famous collection of epics commissioned by Akinfiy Demidov, the owner of the tower, did not deign to pay attention to it.
But, before we begin the story about the tower itself, let’s take a short historical excursion.

UNCROWNED KINGS

In April 1699, a state-owned ironworks was founded on the distant Ural river Neiva. On December 15, 1701, the first metal was smelted there. But then things went from bad to worse here. Therefore, in March of the following year, the Nevyansk plant, on the orders of Peter I, was given ownership by the talented Tula blacksmith and industrialist Nikita Demidovich Demidov (Antufiev): “So that in every need, for the needs of the entire Moscow state, they can make all sorts of iron and be able to use it without any foreign iron.”
At that time, Russia did not have enough of its own iron, and it was forced to buy it abroad, mainly in Sweden (“Svei iron”). But Peter I started a war with the Swedes for access to the Baltic Sea, and the import of strategic goods naturally stopped. Therefore, according to one of the conditions for the sale of the plant, Demidov had to supply the state in large quantities with “military supplies, guns, mortars, bombs, grenades...”
Nikita Demidov, busy with urgent matters in Tula, was initially unable to go to the Urals himself, but sent his eldest son Akinfiy there. Akinfiy Demidov brought order to Nevyansk and a few years later turned the local ironworks into one of the best not only in Russia, but also in the world for that time. For example, such a perfect blast furnace as here did not exist anywhere else. As a result, the Nevyansk plant smelted several times more iron than the three neighboring state-owned plants combined. And the quality of Demidov metal was excellent. This is confirmed by another decree of Peter in 1718, according to which iron for the construction of ships began to be accepted only from the “Siberian Nevyansk Iron Works” of Nikita Demidov, “and from other iron factories, His Majesty’s Admiralty was ordered to accept no iron factories due to unsuitability.”
Russia began to sell the same metal, with the Demidovs’ mark “Old Sable,” to many European countries, and from 1732 even to England, the leader in the field of metallurgy at that time. They say that to this day in London there are roofs of houses covered with Demidov iron.
Nevyansk served only as a starting point. From here the Demidovs spread widely throughout the Urals and even reached Altai. By the end of his life, Akinfiy Demidov, who died in 1745, had 22 metallurgical plants, more than 120 blast furnaces, beaters, tanneries and other factories, 85 copper and iron mines, and several saltworks. Many countries at that time did not have such industrial potential. The power of the Demidovs in the Urals was almost limitless.
At the dawn of his power, Akinfiy Demidov built an inclined tower in Nevyansk. How many terrible legends and blood-chilling tales have been written about her! They say that she looked askance from the atrocities of Demidov: the architect and the main builders of the tower, according to one of these legends, were shackled and rotted in the mines at one of the distant factories. Maybe you are right. Who knows now?

NEVIANSK MIRACLE

And she is not scary at all, but very beautiful! And every day is different: if you look at it in a bad mood, then the tower is sad, if you are in a good mood, then it smiles slyly and mysteriously. Yes, there is more than enough mystery in it. At one time, the Demidov archives disappeared without a trace, and therefore many events of the Nevyansk period are shrouded in mystery. Including the construction of the tower.
The exact year of its construction is unknown. Based on indirect information, researchers came to the conclusion that the tower was built in 1725.
It is also unknown who built it. The name of the architect has not survived to this day. According to one legend, Akinfiy Demidov invited Italian architects to build a tower like the Pisan one. But the Nevyansk Tower is inclined, not falling - its deviation from the vertical is constant and does not increase over time. Scientists from the Ural Polytechnic Institute claim that it tilted spontaneously at the beginning of construction and they tried to level it during the construction process. So the version about the Italians is most likely unfounded. Architectural experts also believe that it was built by their own masters - the tower was erected in a typically Russian style.
They built a tower from the so-called heel brick (the clay for it was kneaded with feet - hence the name), which, after firing, was tested for strength by dropping it from a twelve-meter height. To give special strength, in addition to the special “Dutch” masonry, cast iron beams were placed inside the walls of the tower - the principle of reinforced concrete was used long before its invention. The height of the structure with a weather vane and a crowning ball - the sun - is about 60 meters with an inclination to the southwest.
The tower is eight-story, four-tiered. On the ground floor, in the so-called basement, in those distant times there was a jail - a prison for the obstinate. On the second floor is the treasury chamber, which was used as the Demidovs' cash desk. The archive, which then disappeared, was once located here.
Even higher was the assay forge - Russia's first private chemical laboratory, created 23 years before Lomonosov's laboratory. In it, for the most part, ores were analyzed, and it existed quite legally. Therefore, it is not entirely clear why the only entrance to it is through a secret thick cast-iron door along a narrow staircase in the thickness of the wall. Nothing from the laboratory equipment has survived. Only two furnaces for melting metal and two chimneys remained.
The tower ends with an octagonal pyramid - a tent, which was originally made of tinned tin. Now, after restoration, it is covered with titanium sheets. On the tent there is a weather vane with the noble coat of arms of the Demidovs. And finally, the tower is crowned with an orb (or ball - the sun) - a finely crafted ball with a diameter of about 30 cm with spikes of various lengths in the form of trihedral pyramids. The Demidov power was made of gilded iron, now made in Soviet times - of polished stainless steel. The tower is taller than all the buildings surrounding it and, therefore, should be an excellent target for lightning. According to calculations by S. Lyasik, one of the researchers of the Nevyansk Tower, during its existence lightning should have struck it more than 150 times. And they hit: traces of them are visible on the old ball - the sun. The destructive power of lightning is known: it has burned and destroyed many buildings around the world. Meanwhile, the Nevyansk Tower is safe and sound and has never even burned. So what’s the matter, why did the elements spare her? And everything is very simple - there is a lightning rod in the tower! Yes, it was a lightning rod, and it was installed during the construction of the tower, i.e. more than a quarter of a century before its official invention by the American Benjamin Franklin. The lightning rod consists of lightning rod parts: the power, the weather vane and its axis. The axis of the weather vane, an iron rod, is mounted on transverse horizontal metal beams, which in turn are connected to vertical cast-iron frame rods extending into the ground inside the western wall of the building.
Let's now talk about one of the many legends associated with this building.

DEMIDOV RUBLES

A legend has been passed down from generation to generation that there was a counterfeit mint in the dungeons of the Nevyansk Tower. Here, allegedly, Akinfiy Demidov melted silver and minted his money. Moreover, according to rumors, there was more silver in his rubles than in the 77th standard coins that were officially in circulation at that time. But someone informed the empress about the place where counterfeit money was made. Then. Demidov, afraid of punishment for such a serious crime, literally hid his ends in the water: he flooded the basements of the tower along with everyone who worked there.
Was it really like that? Did Akinfiy Demidov mint counterfeit money in Nevyansk? No one has been able to answer this definitely yet. But we will still try to understand this issue on the basis of very meager reliable information. Let's consider two versions. First: Demidov did not make counterfeit money in Nevyansk. This is supported by the fact that the dungeons under the tower have not yet been found. And why should they, if everything could be done perfectly well on the surface? For example, the same assay forge. Another fact: at the beginning of the 18th century, i.e. at the time of the construction of the tower, no silver ore deposits were discovered not only in the vicinity of Nevyansk, but in general in the Urals. And one last thing. The counterfeit Demidov rubles have not yet been found. They are not in any museum or collection. True, it cannot be ruled out that Demidov could achieve such perfection in counterfeiting money that it could not be distinguished from the sovereign’s money.
Let us now consider the second version - in favor of the mint.
Indeed, there was no silver ore nearby, but it could be brought. And, most likely, they carried it. In the distant Altai, Akinfiy Demidov found a deposit of copper ore and founded the Kolyvanovsky plant there. This was incomprehensible, and at first glance, an absolutely unprofitable business, since there was plenty of copper in the Urals. But the Altai ore contained silver as an impurity, and this explains a lot.
At the Kolyvanovsky plant, blister copper was smelted, then transported to Nevyansk, where it was purified. And from the isolated impurities it was quite possible to extract the noble metal. For example, from 1729 to 1731, about 2.5 thousand poods of blister copper were brought. From this amount, approximately 120 kg of silver could be isolated.
In those days, the so-called dry method of obtaining silver was known, by which this noble metal was subsequently extracted at the Kolyvanovsky plant. And at first they could well have used it in Nevyansk. To do this, we first obtained werkblei, a lead alloy. Then zinc was added to the werkley, straightened and gradually cooled. In this case, silver formed an alloy with zinc (2 parts Ag and 3 parts Zn), and the melt was divided into two layers: lead at the bottom, silver and zinc at the top in the form of foam. The foam was squeezed out. Silver was separated from zinc by heating to 1200 degrees (zinc boils and evaporates at 906 degrees).
In the tower's assay forge they found a chimney, which some believe comes from the dungeons. They took samples of soot from it, did a chemical analysis and found traces of silver (1-3 g of Ag per ton of soot), as well as an increased content of lead and zinc in it. All this speaks in favor of an underground mint. It is even assumed that on the territory of the plant there was a whole system of underground passages connecting the tower with the owner’s house and the copper smelter. Perhaps they will be found someday. Then it will be possible to give a final answer to the question of whether Demidov mined silver in the basements of the Nevyansk Tower and whether he minted his money there.

Not only in the distant city of Pisa there is a leaning tower, there is also a Russian analogue. Yes, not a simple one, but with a historical mystery, whose name is: Nevyansk Leaning Tower

Nevyansk Tower is a leaning tower located in the center of Nevyansk. Built in the first half of the 18th century by order of Akinfiy Demidov.

The deviation of the structure from the vertical axis occurred during the construction process and continued after its completion; by 1935 it was two meters, now it is more than 2 meters 20 cm. Officially, the reason for the tilt of the tower is considered to be uneven settlement of the soil and erosion of the shore of the pond.

“I accepted a lot of sin, that’s why I squinted,” the Nevyans themselves say.

One of the legends says that Demidov threw the tower’s architect from the top floor so that he would not build a better building. The master crashed, and the tower, mourning its builder, bent after him.

Nevyansk Leaning Tower

For more than two hundred years, the walls of the Nevyansk Tower, located near Yekaterinburg, in the former estate of the Demidovs, have remained silent. The history of the creation of this monument is also shrouded in mystery. It is still unknown who was the author of the Nevyansk Tower project and who was its builder. The customers were definitely the Demidovs.

They conceived the tower as an administrative and industrial complex. Its height was approximately the height of a twenty-story building; the tower was a kind of watchtower. Of particular note is the room on the fourth floor, it was called acoustic or auditory. If you say something in a low voice in any of its corners, the words are clearly heard in all other corners. But if a person stands behind the speaker, he will not be able to make out anything - he will only hear muttering.

Nevyansk Leaning Tower

Today it is already possible to explain a similar phenomenon, but then, in 1725, when the Nevyansk Tower was erected, it was a novelty. The chiming clock in the upper part of the octagonal tier was also very luxurious for that time. The giant dials faced north, south and west and could play twenty musical melodies.

Not every wealthy gentleman in those days could afford the construction of such a structure. But the Demidovs did it. Perhaps this is how they wanted to perpetuate the memory of their all-powerful family dynasty? After all, the Nevyansk Tower became, in fact, a symbol of the power of the Ural iron magnates.

Yes, the Demidovs were truly rich, their fortune grew from year to year. In less than a century, they managed to build about 50 metallurgical enterprises: every two years a new plant appeared. Along with the tiers of the Nevyansk Tower growing into the sky, the financial well-being of the Demidov brothers also grew. Is this just a coincidence?

Labyrinths of horrors of the Nevyansk tower

It is reliably known that under the tower there were huge basements, labyrinths of passages that were connected with the Nevyansk metallurgical plant and the Demidovs’ house. Why were they built? They wanted to answer this question back during the Demidov dynasty. But the uncrowned kings of the Urals sacredly guarded their secret.

There is a legend that the Nevyansk Tower turned askew precisely because of the “atrocities of Demidov.” Akinfiy Demidov, having once heard that Prince Vyazemsky would arrive at the plant with a government commission, ordered the basement of the tower to be flooded along with the people. The water washed away the foundation and the structure tilted.

And if this is a legend, then there is a reliable fact that the same Akinfiy, with his denunciations and complaints sent to St. Petersburg, terrorized the head of the Ural mining plants V.N. Tatishchev. The latter was imprudent and tried to penetrate the secrets of the “noble family”, for which he paid with his position.

Evidence has been preserved of Nevyansk old-timers who descended into the Demidovs’ dungeons. Traveling through the labyrinths, they found small rooms with wooden bunks, near which lay clay cups. And chains with shackles were nailed to the walls. Sometimes human bones were found.

Nevyansk Leaning Tower

People also discovered smelting furnaces in the basements.

In 1970, researchers decided to analyze the soot. They scraped samples from the chimneys of the Nevyansk Tower, located at the fourth floor level, and found that the soot contained silver.

Perhaps, it is this evidence that answers the question of whether silver was smelted in the Demidovs’ dungeons. The Russian Empress, who was visiting the estate of Akinfiy Demidov, suddenly asked him, seeing the silver coins: “Whose work, mine or yours?” Demidov, squinting one eye and smiling slyly, immediately said: “Everything is yours, mother...”

Of course, the great industrialist of the Urals was a hypocrite. After all, he minted “money” not for the state treasury, but for the sake of his own well-being.

There is such an interesting attraction very close to Yekaterinburg. If you're in Nevyansk, take a look at Byngi. It's nearby.

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