Overview

Originally constructed as a powerful means of defending the Kremlin's Saviour Gate, this beast of a cannon (there is a lion's head roaring under the barrel) was never fired. Nevertheless, at just over 5.3 meters long and weighing 40 tons, it is one of the largest cannons ever made. The cannon itself was cast in 1586, but the depictions decorating the chassis - a lion and a snake wrestling - were added much later in 1835.