Lobnoye Mesto

Lobnoye Mesto (foreground, right) in the 18th century

Lobnoye mesto (Russian: Лобное место) is a 13-meter-long stone platform situated on Red Square in Moscow in front of Saint Basil's Cathedral.

Its name is derived from the Russian words for "forehead" (lob) and "place" (mesto). In old Russian lob meant a steep river bank. The platform, believed to have been constructed in brick in the 1530s, was first mentioned in 1547, when Ivan the Terrible addressed the Muscovites from there. Subsequently, it was primarily used for announcing the tsar's ukazes and for religious ceremonies. Despite a common misconception, the circular platform itself was never a place for executions. Sometimes scaffolds were placed by it, but usually public executions were carried out at Vasilevsky Spusk behind St. Basil's Cathedral.

In Tsarist Russia, during Holy Week, the Palm Sunday procession called "donkey walk" would end at the Lobnoye Mesto where a depiction of Calvary had been erected. The Tsar himself, on foot to show humility, would lead the Patriarch of Moscow, who was seated on a donkey, in a procession from the city gates to Red Square.

The nearby Monument to Minin and Pozharsky commemorates the events of 1612, when Prince Pozharsky ascended the Lobnoye Mesto to pronounce Moscow free from Polish occupation. In 1786, the architect Matvei Kazakov had the Lobnoye Mesto rebuilt in white stone, while keeping its original location and proportions.

Moscow Kremlin and Red Square

Kremlin Wall and Towers	Borovitskaya Vodovzvodnaya Blagoveshenskaya Tainitskaya Pervaya Bezymyannaya Vtoraya Bezymyannaya Petrovskaya Beklemishevskaya Konstantino-Eleninskaya Nabatnaya Tsarskaya Spasskaya Senatskaya Nikolskaya Uglovaya Arsenalnaya Srednyaya Arsenalnaya Troitskaya Kutafya Komendantskaya Oruzheynaya

Administrative buildings	Kremlin Senate Kremlin Arsenal Amusement Palace State Kremlin Palace Grand Kremlin Palace Terem Palace The Armory Palace of Facets Tsarina Golden Palace State Historical Museum

Churches	Cathedral of the Assumption Cathedral of the Annunciation Cathedral of the Archangel Church of Saint Ioann Lestvichnik and Ivan the Great Bell Tower Church of the Deposition of the Virgin's Robe in Vlachernon Patriarch's Palace and the Church of the Twelve Apostles Verkhospassky Cathedral and the Terem Churches Cathedral of the Intercession (of Saint Basil the Blessed) Kazan Cathedral

Squares and gardens	Red Square Ivanovskaya Square Cathedral Square Taynitsky Garden Grand Kremlin Public Garden Alexander Garden Manezhnaya Square

Monuments	Kremlin Wall Necropolis Monument to Minin and Pozharsky Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Lobnoye Mesto Tsar Cannon Tsar Bell

Other	Iberian Gate and Chapel

Former	Ascension Convent Chudov Monastery Armorial Gate Robespierre Monument Kremlin Presidium (Building 14)

Coordinates: 55°45′12″N 37°37′21″E / 55.75333°N 37.62250°E / 55.75333; 37.62250

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