The famous Russian foundry master Andrei Chokhov became famous for his works, the Tsar Bell and the Tsar Cannon. There is practically no information about his life, even the exact year of birth and the appearance of the craftsman are unknown.
Discipleship time
The foundry was born between 1540 and 1545 in Smolensk. The son of a poor merchant was sent to study literacy and numeracy.
After this stage, teenagers were usually sent to the craftsmen, where the children were taught the craft. Fortress walls were erected in Smolensk, cannons with squeaks were cast. Chokhov and was sent to the caster as an apprentice.
Foundry masters arrived from Moscow with the famous architect Fyodor Kon. The teenager was identified to Ganus. Andrey performed his first job under the guidance of experienced mentors.
He cast the squeak. At the same time, the novice craftsman received his first award. After the completion of the work, the newcomer and his students returned to Moscow. The move drastically changed Chokhov's biography.
Foundry craftsmen were settled on the site of the modern Pushechnaya Street. Grozny tried to strengthen the army with his forces. He paid attention to artillery.
The Works of the Master Cannonman
A lot of guns were cast. Immediately, the weapon went to the army for the artillery detachments. Routine work has turned into a matter of life for Andrey. He also received unique orders.
The giant cannons weren't just for defense. They were used to impress foreigners who arrived in Moscow for incomprehensible purposes.
In September 1554 Chokhov and Hanus cast a huge cannon over a thousand pounds. The gigantic mortar was not sent to the army, leaving it opposite the Kremlin Church of the Intercession on the ditch.
A year later, a second cannon also by Chokhov appeared next to it. Each bore a stamp with the inscription "Chokhov's student". Together with the teacher, he completed the last joint work. From 1566 the work was carried out without the deceased Hanus.
The cannons cast in the fall of 1566 are marked as products of the master Andrey Chokhov. He was appointed one of the leaders of the reconstruction of the Cannon Yard.
The new head has achieved the arrangement of the second casting furnace, the expansion of the territory for the arrangement of a new runner for the installation of cannon molds. The ebb procedure began with a wooden model.
An ornament was cut on the surface of the model. The tree was coated with a layer of clay mixed with manure. The wood was removed after the clay had dried. The resulting mold was placed in a special pit, with a core coated with a clay-manure mixture dipped into the middle of the casting.
The cooled casting was lifted up, freed from clay, and placed on special trestles. The surface was cleaned of defects, and the inner bore hole was ground. Usually the master supervised the activities of apprentices and apprentices, such as Chokhov earlier.
A new kind of activity
As he gained experience, the Russian casters began to lead the entire process. He conceived a serious contribution to the modernization of technology, and therefore an experienced craftsman became an apprentice to the bellmaker Luka.
With him, Chokhov cast bells for the Spassky monastery in the Moscow region. But above all, the master remained a cannon. There is evidence that in the seventies Chokhov established his personal life, got married. By the beginning of the Livonian War, several pishchals were cast for the Smolensk Kremlin.
In 1575, a battering cannon was manufactured for the Belgorod Kremlin. At the same time, the master cast one of the best examples of his work, the "Wolf" cannon. An original novelty was the barrel tapering towards the end. The gun could fire both cannonballs and buckshot.
Together with other large cannons, the "Wolf" was included in a special detachment left in Livonia. In the battles of Wenden, the guns captured by the Swedes shocked the commander so much that he ordered the transportation of trophies to Vilno.
In the winter of 1577, Chokhov manufactured the most impressive siege artillery cannon with a unicorn, called "Inrog". The foundry worker in the fall of 1578 began work on the new "Wolf". He was immediately taken to the scene of the fighting.
In 1591 it was captured by the Swedes. Both trophies were installed in Gripsholm Castle. The guns redeemed under Peter the Great were returned to Russia.
Famous works
The most famous creation of Chokhov was the Tsar Cannon mortar with a portrait of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich. The casting took two years and was completed in the summer of 1586. It took two hundred horses to transport them to Red Square, which were harnessed to a specially made carriage by Chokhov.
In 1589, the mortar was moved to the center of Red Square, placed near the Execution Ground. It remained there until the end of the seventeenth century. Peter the Great ordered the transportation of the gun to the Kremlin. The cannonballs lying nearby were not intended for firing.
To increase the rate of fire, the production of multi-barreled guns began. Chokhov decided to increase their number by developing a system for casting in two furnaces at the same time. In 1588, one hundred units of "forty" were cast in one melt. From 1587 to 1605, the most fruitful time for the master lasted. He presented a "fire squeak" that fired illuminating and incendiary projectiles. From the end of the eighties, the master turned to bells.
His first product in the spring of 1594 was the Swan for the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Then there was a giant "Ivan-bell" for four thousand poods. Chokhov then worked with students. They even received a petition with a request to mark the forgotten Fyodor Prokhorov "through negligence".
Despite the prestige of the new activity, the bell caster signed it as “cannon master Andrey Chokhov”. The last notable works were battering tools. The Achilles was cast in 1617.
The gun stood on a cast iron carriage covered with ornaments. After that, a new "Wolf" and a larger "Krechet" were cast. All products are exhibited in the Kremlin. Chokhov was last mentioned at the end of 1629. Further, his name was not listed anywhere.
