Kul Sharif

Brief information

Kul Sharif was built as a new building, but its meaning is connected with the vanished mosque of the Khanate of Kazan. The historic multi-minaret mosque burned down and was destroyed during the storming of Kazan in 1552; the modern complex, opened in 2005, brings back to the Kremlin not an exact ruin, but the image of a large mosque visible in the city panorama.

The site is important not only for its dome and minarets. The mosque stands in the western part of the Kazan Kremlin, in the center of its own courtyard square, and is deliberately connected with the former cadet school and the southwestern wall of the Kremlin. It is therefore worth reading it as part of the Kremlin: the new religious building here works together with its older surroundings, rather than separately from them.

What to notice first

The exterior is best considered through repetition and symmetry. The main building has six minarets: four main ones define the silhouette, while two smaller ones support the multi-minaret image for which the modern mosque was created. Two semi-pavilions are attached to the sides, and nearby stands a separate two-story pavilion in the same style. In this way, the complex looks not like a single volume, but like a composition assembled around the courtyard square.

It makes sense to compare the white marble cladding with the turquoise dome and spires. The facade is complemented by bronze metal inscriptions and the facets of the portals, while the paving of the square introduces green and red ornaments in the colors of the flag of Tatarstan. Inside, the dome is linked to the image of the “Kazan Cap”; this detail explains why the decor speaks not only about religious function, but also about local historical memory.