The Legends of the Leaning Tower of Nevyansk

 The Leaning Tower is the place of interest in Nevyansk. This tower was built in the 18th century. Its construction was funded by Peter the Great's associate and a famous Russian manufacturer Akinfiy Demidov. The height of the tower is 57,7 m. from the ground. According to recent measurements the deviation of the top part of the tower from a right angle is currently 2,20 m. There is still no evidence to this day as to when exactly the Tower was constructed. Russian historians believe that it was built between 1725 and 1732. Also there is no information about the architect of this unique edifice.

 The Leading Tower has a lot of legends. Historians are still debating about the exact purpose of the Nevyansk Tower. Some say that Demidov used it as a "bank safe", others believe it was either a watchtower or a belltower or a prison, or even a laboratory for conducting chemical experiments and producing counterfeit money. Also it has a legend with a unique clock. This unique clock with bell music made by an English master Richard Phelps. The story has it that Demidov bought the clock for 5000 rubles (for comparison, the construction of the Tower itself cost 4207 rubles). The Tower has 9 floors.

 

 There is one mysterious room in the tower the purpose of which is still being debated. It is the "acoustic room". If a person stands in one corner of this room he/she can whisper words to another person in the opposite corner and they will be perfectly audible. One of the legends has it that the inclination of the tower was an idea of some talented architect. They say that the Tower was purposely inclined to face southwest in the direction of Tula, Demidov's birthplace. Another legend claims that right after the end of construction of the edifice Akinfiy Demidov and the architect went on top of the tower. There, Demidov asked him whether he could build anything better than the Nevyansk Tower. The architect answered "yes" and Demidov ordered him thrown down from the top of the building. the next morning the locans supposedly noticed that the tower had leaned forward a bit and water had started trickling down the walls as if the tower was "crying". So, in Nevyansk has such mysterious and very beautiful building. It remains to me an object of mystery how people could build such wonderful tower in the 18th century.