Söyembikä Tower

Söyembikä Tower (Tatar, Söyembikä manarası, ́ ́, Bashnya Syuyumbike), also called the Khan's Mosque, is probably the most familiar landmark and architectural symbol of Kazan. Once the highest structure of that city's kremlin, it used to be one of the so-called leaning towers. By 1990s, the inclination was 198 centimeters (78 in). Diverse stabilization methods were used to straighten the tower in the 1930s and 1990s, and it no longer leans. The tower's construction date is enshrouded in mystery. Several scholars date its construction to the turn of the 18th century, when tiered towers were exceedingly popular in Russia. Some scholars believe that the tower may date further back than the 18th century. A legend postulates that the tower was built more than a century earlier by Ivan the Terrible's artisans in just a week's time. As the legend goes, the Kazan queen Söyembikä threw herself down from the highest tier, hence the name. According to scholar Ravil Bukharaev, the need for the tower, which was built as a military watchtower is questionable. He stated that the region was in relative peace at the time and another existing tower already existed next to the Blagoveshchensky Cathedral. He adds that if the tower was built in the 18th century by the Russians, it would have proved superfluous and expensive to constru

Building data from Wikidata (CC0); heights normalised. Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).