Sukharev Tower, one of the most mysterious buildings in Moscow, was built in 1692 on the site of the old wooden Sretensky Gates of the Zemlyanoy City. It got its name in honor of the colonel of the streltsy army Lavrenty Sukharev, who proved his loyalty to the tsar during the streltsy revolt in 1689. His regiment guarded the Sretensky Gate at one time.
In April 1700, the tower passed into the possession of the Navigation School. And the history of the school is closely connected with the name of the associate of Peter I - Jacob Bruce, who was called in the capital only as Bruce the Sorcerer.
Bruce, who was the tsar's closest associate, opened the first research center in Russia at this school. In the tower, regular astronomical observations were carried out, various physical and chemical experiments were staged, maps were drawn, foreign ones were translated and their textbooks and manuals were written, talented scientists and practitioners taught. But the common people were firmly convinced that Bruce was doing terrible witchcraft things in the tower, and avoided it.
Bruce was a respected astronomer and engineer, a student of Isaac Newton, and only a few knew about his secret connections with the alchemists of Europe and about the laboratory equipped in the basement of the Sukharev Tower. There he was looking for the secret of the Philosopher's Stone, and there, according to rumors, was hidden the main value of mystics and magicians - the "Black Book", which once belonged to King Solomon.
Popular rumor quickly dubbed Jacob Bruce a sorcerer and warlock. The amazing achievements of Jacob Bruce in astrology, medicine, chemistry and mechanics did not fit into the minds of ordinary people of that time. This is where the legends of the "sorcerer" appeared, who predicted fate from the stars, revived corpses, turned lead into gold, and living people into flying iron dragons.
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After Bruce's death in 1735, Catherine I personally searched the observatory on the tower and rummaged through the count's scientific archive, which was kept at the Academy of Sciences. She was looking for the famous "Black Book". The search was in vain, and the empress ordered the tower to be sealed and sent to guard, which was removed only in … 1924! Almost two centuries have passed, Russia has experienced wars, revolutions, the collapse of the tsarist power - and the guard was still standing!
The very death of Bruce is also surrounded by rumors and secrets. It was said that the sorcerer died during experiments at his estate in Glinki. As if Bruce told the servant to cut himself into pieces, and then pour the magic elixir of eternal youth, made according to the recipe published in the same book. The experience was practically a success. But when the body parts of the dismembered count began to grow together, Bruce's wife burst into the laboratory, killed the servant and stole the elixir. The restless spirit of the slain, along with the book, moved to the Sukharev Tower.
In 1934, by order of the Stalinist government, the Sukharev Tower was demolished as it interfered with traffic. However, the way in which the demolition took place suggests that the search has actually continued. Stalin ordered to dismantle the Sukharev tower brick by brick. Lazar Kaganovich personally supervised the dismantling of the tower, and all cars leaving the facility and all people leaving were carefully searched by the NKVD officers. Even then, the book was not given to anyone, but part of Bruce's library and archive was allegedly found, and they were later used by Stalinist architects in the construction of Moscow.
They say that since then on Sukharevka they began to meet a tall, thin man in old clothes, gloomily threatening someone with a finger … Bruce, according to legend, frightened Muscovites even after death. His body had already been buried in the crypt at the Lutheran Church of St. Michael in the German Quarter. But every night the lights were still on in the observatory. Muscovites said that it was the spirit of a sorcerer who guarded his magic book.
The foundation and basements of the Sukharevskaya tower were not destroyed; they still rest under the asphalt of Bolshaya Sukharevskaya square.
Today treasure hunters are actively exploring numerous passages under Sukharevskaya Square, the entrances to which were located in the old houses of Sretenka. Everyone is captivated by the legend that in one of the passages to the Kremlin the library of Jacob Bruce can be walled up. However, searches for the library did not yield any results. Moreover, many researchers dreamed of evil black crows throughout the work.
Soon, after the head of the scientific group disappeared without a trace, the work was stopped.
What other dark secrets are kept under the feet of thousands of Muscovites who cross Sukharevskaya Square every day is still unknown.
Alexey Nos